22 Oct 2026 22:12:12
Number 4
CBs
An area where frankly,(and astonishingly), you should acknowledge Wolves have done very well.
The 4 first choice options are Djiga, Yerson, Toti and Krejci.
Conveniently the first 2 are RCBs and the second 2 are LCBs
My first pair would be Djiga and Krejci.
At this level, (and I genuinely believe, albeit perhaps giddily on the basis of Djiga's astonishing transformation, that they could step up if Wolves were to be promoted), they are a class act.
The big question that will be screaming out to some of you is Krejci's attitude and desire to be here.
Clearly that is a question that only he really knows the answer to. To date though for me at least his on-field performances do not indicate that there is an issue. His regular absences do cast doubts though.
Again only he and the club know if the injuries are real but at the moment I am still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Some will and indeed have also questioned if he is as good as his pedigree would indicate.
He is good on the ball and is strong in the air but is perhaps a little less than rapid.
However I believe that his ability to read the game and his power and strength mitigates this lack of real pace and indeed I firmly believe he already is a premier league quality player.
He was bought for a high fee but is surprisingly on reasonably modest wages at least relative to some other squad members - although clearly they are very high for a championship player!
Finally the fact that he is clearly both more than capable of playing at CM and an experienced and consistently successful penalty taker is a bonus.
His partner though is one of the 2 major success stories of the season.
When Djiga was bought for £10m, (albeit on very modest wages), he looked like he was a complete write off and was sent out on what I gather was not a totally successful loan to Scotland.
However after gaining his place due to Yerson's injury he has rapidly transformed into a diamond!
Good on the ball - perhaps my only criticism is that he overplays occasionally - strong in the air and in the tackle he has been the rock in the Wolves defence.
Again it is only a small sample but at the moment it looks like he could easily step up.
The back ups are obviously by definition not as good as the first choices.
However Yerson, despite his horrendous initial run of injuries and his somewhat erratic on field antics, has developed into a solid uncompromising defender who I still believe has a potential Prem defender in him.
He was bought for pennies and is on very modest money.
Even Toti, who I have criticised massively, has a great attitude, tries very hard and is a decent athlete which means, like Jackson, he is an adequate defender. Sadly like Jackson, although not as bad, Toti is a car crash on the ball.
He was also bought for nothing but bizarrely and totally unexplainably he has been put on a ludicrous contract so is obviously totally unsaleable.
However although for me he is not even a Championship player in a back 4, he showed with better players around him - (RAN was amazing at helping him out by taking all sorts of rubbish passes from him and using his brilliance to clean things up and Dawson was brilliant in helping him with his positioning/thinking) - that he could and indeed did play regularly in the Prem in a 5.
However if Wolves are to play him regularly even at this level let alone in the Prem he does need to be protected and have most of his ball playing responsibilities removed.
This is not possible in the current system or with the current squad but if by some miracle the club was promoted AND signed a quality LB, (please can we have RAN back now that he is 3rd choice at city), who could take over his ball playing duties then even he, particularly in a 5, could be a 4th option in the Prem.
23 Oct 2026 09:18:13
Inlike ur posts on the team bro go u!
23 Oct 2026 11:08:44
Thank you very much.
I am trying to analyse each position using three factors.
Financials - wages and fees.
Forward planning - suitability for next year and beyond in whichever division the club is playing
and finally the level of competence for this season.
Gks are pretty poor on the first two counts and only modestly adequate on the 3rd.
RBs are a disaster on all 3 counts - especially as Trippier seems incapable of performing to the level expected or indeed even getting onto the pitch regularly
LBs although cheap as chips are merely adequate on the 3rd count and need massive optimism to imagine competence on the 2nd issue.
CBs however apart from Krejci's fee and Toti's inexplicable wages score well on all three counts even if on count 2 it does require an element of faith.
DMs etc still to come.
23 Oct 2026 12:01:18
Personal opinion i would have kept Bueno over Krejci. Bueno reads the game better and positions himself better. Krejci has a habit of being out of position. I still think he is a good player but wouldn't surprise me if he is gone in Jan.
23 Oct 2026 12:12:49
Agree that Krejci and Djiga are our best pairing but Toti (footballing reasons) and Mosquera (attitude) are liabilities for me. Mosquera clearly hasn't learnt while out injured as he could easily have got himself sent off the other night despite only being on the pitch for a few minutes.
Although raw, Olaganju who is only 19 looks promising and his performance at Sheffield Wednesday was excellent.
I think you can forget RAN coming back but he'd get exposed in a back 4 anyway and I don't think we should be reverting to a 5 anytime soon.
23 Oct 2026 13:50:12
Alex - he may well be - although it appears that Wolves are not willing on this occasion to sell cheaply.
Consequently it will require someone very keen and obviously someone who rates him far higher than you do.
Note Santi's option price is a fraction of the fee that seemingly will be required to sign Krejci.
It is of course all about opinions but for me Santi is just too slow - Krejci isn't quick but he looks like Bolt compared to Santi.
Old both points you make re Toti and Yerson are v fair.
oti obviously will never improve as a footballer but I believe that a good manager with better players might be able to hide him sufficiently to make him a 4th choice - note he is going nowhere due to his stupid contract so Wolves really have no option but to go down that route.
Yerson just needs to grow up and again a better manager should be able to get him to achieve that.
Then for me he becomes a real option.
Maybe the young ex Chelsea lad could get some game time in the FA cup and maybe be used as bench cover some weeks to see if he can step up.
Re RAN of course you are correct. Wolves can't afford him and he would be far too good to be at Wolves anyway. You are obviously correct to say he would be better in a 5 but i think he is a million miles better than any of Hugo, Trippier, Jackson or Konan and Wolves are playing them in a 4 in the Champ.
I still cling to a stupid dream that Wolves will be promoted, Fosun will re engage and the sun will come up on Neves leading a massive revival of the club's fortunes.
In that case RAN even only on loan from Man City looks like a great idea.
Of course it is a stupid dream but at my age dreaming is for free!
23 Oct 2026 20:11:13
KREJCI is not a match winning defender. he cant keep clean sheets.
TOTI on his day actally is.
i much prefer krejci in midfield and he'd be good there next to andre.
23 Oct 2026 21:05:32
Interesting point "owt" I agree 50%.
I would like to pick Krejci in midfield where I think he would be great alongside Andre and James.
Note with the players currently available as I have said before I would go 4,3,2,1 with those 3 in mid and Lopez and Mane behind a cf - which tragically would have to be Armstrong even though he is clearly not a good number 9 but that is another issue - wait till I gt to the number 9 in the series to read my views on that debacle!
However I disagree that Toti is a better defender than Krejci in fact I think Krejci is far superior to Toti who for me is definitely 4th choice CB due to his lack of ball playing abilities.
I recognise he is an adequate defender in a v limited role but Krejci is both a better defender and a far superior ball player.
For me Krejci is one of the better players in the squad - only obviously behind Andre and astonishingly this season Lopez and Djiga- and given he can play 2 roles really well - and in positions where the club is short of quality- it is a shame we don't have 2 of him!