2017 review part one: A year of change and emotion

January

Wolves made a big statement of intent by snapping up Portuguese winger Helder Costa for a then club-record fee.

Costa was the shining light for the Molineux side during the first half of the Championship season, on loan from Benfica.

He joined on a permanent basis for £13million after playing a key role in Wolves’ huge 2-1 FA Cup fourth round success against Liverpool. Richard Stearman and Andreas Weimann got the goals against Jurgen Klopp’s charges at Anfield.

That made it back-to-back wins over Premier League opposition in the Cup, after Paul Lambert’s side beat Stoke 2-0 earlier in the month.

Their fierce rivals, Albion, also made a big-money signing in January.

Midfielder Jake Livermore was snapped up for £10million from top flight strugglers Hull City.

And the Baggies managed to finally offload striker Saido Berahino, for an initial £12million to Stoke.

Villa brought in the likes of Scott Hogan, Conor Hourihane and Henri Lansbury while Walsall only made a couple of loan signings.

Tributes were paid to former Villa, Wolves and England boss Graham Taylor, who passed away aged 72.

Taylor led Villa back to the top flight in 1988 and steered them to a second-place finish two years later.

We also remembered ex-England Women’s cricket captain and Wolves vice-president Rachael Heyhoe-Flint, who died aged 77.

Shrewsbury boss Paul Hurst overhauled his squad – bringing in eight new faces and letting several players, including Jim O’Brien and Andy Mangan, leave.

They only lost one of their five games in January too.

Also in football, the FIFA Council announced plans to expand the World Cup to 48 teams from 2026 onwards and England Women’s record scorer Kelly Smith retired.

Darts standout Michael van Gerwen claimed his second PDC World Championship title with a 7-3 victory over Gary Anderson at Alexandra Palace.

And in snooker, Ronnie O’Sullivan won the Masters for a record seventh time with a 10-7 triumph against Joe Perry.

February

This was very much a month to forget for Wolves. After the joy of beating Liverpool, they were dumped out of the FA Cup by eventual Premier League winners Chelsea at Molineux – and they lost all four league games.

Albion supporters had reason to cheer though, as they went unbeaten in February. And Baggies chief Tony Pulis and Stoke boss Mark Hughes confirmed Saido Berahino served a suspension – reportedly for testing positive for a recreational drug – before he moved to the Potters.

Villa ended the month with two much-needed victories – against Derby, and Bristol City.

Non-league outfit AFC Telford signed veteran centre forward Lee Hughes, formerly of Albion and Kidderminster Harriers.

He made an instant impact for the Bucks as well, netting on his debut to clinch a 1-1 draw with National League North leaders AFC Fylde.

Another non-league side made the headlines that month, with a farcical incident overshadowing their great run in the FA Cup.

Sutton United, from the National League, finally bowed out of the competition with a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in the fifth round.

But rather than the fact they gave Arsene Wenger’s men a decent run for their money, the big talking point was Wayne Shaw’s pie-eating antics.

The club’s reserve goalkeeper tucked into a pie, in the dugout, on live TV after a bookmaker had offered odds on him to do so – and he resigned shortly after.

Also out of a job was Claudio Ranieri. He was sacked as Leicester manager less than a year after their miraculous Premier League title win, with ex-Albion and Walsall man Craig Shakespeare taking the reins.

In cricket, Alastair Cook stepped down as England captain after 59 Tests in charge.

Joe Root described himself as ‘privileged, humbled and very excited’ after being confirmed as Cook’s successor.

Former South Africa rugby star Joost van der Westhuizen died, aged 45, following a long battle with motor neurone disease.

March

Albion’s 3-1 win over Arsenal on March 18 turned out to be their last of the 2016/17 season.

They released long-serving defender Jonas Olsson by mutual consent towards the end of the month, with him moving to Djurgardens in his homeland of Sweden.

Olsson spent nine years at The Hawthorns and was a fan favourite, but made just seven appearances in his final campaign.

Wolves went on a four-match unbeaten run to move clear of danger.

That impressive run earned Paul Lambert the Championship’s Manager of the Month award for March.

He was given the gong ahead of Steve Bruce, Lee Johnson and Garry Monk.

Lambert said after winning the award: “I’ve got to thank the players, they’re the ones that actually play the games and get results and they’ve come through a little sticky patch and the form has been excellent.”

Villa won three of their four games while Walsall had a mixed month of two wins, a draw and two losses.

Shrewsbury’s hopes of survival in League One were dented as they failed to win any of their games in March.

In non-league, Hednesford appointed former Walsall striker Gary Birch as their permanent boss.

He had been in charge on a temporary basis following the sacking of Paul Casey and four victories from eight Evo-Stik Premier games – and progressing to the semi-finals of the Staffordshire Senior Cup – proved enough to stay in the hotseat.

His tenure was short-lived though as he stepped down in May and joined Walsall Wood.

England retained the Six Nations crown with a 61-21 victory over Scotland at Twickenham, equalling New Zealand’s record of 18 successive Test wins.

They missed out on a second straight Grand Slam though, losing their last match of the competition 13-9 to Ireland in Dublin – their first loss under Eddie Jones.

In boxing, Tony Bellew managed an upset victory over David Haye who was withdrawn in the 11th round at London’s 02 Arena. Anthony Crolla failed to regain the WBA lightweight title, losing to Jorge Linares.

April

Ex-Villa and Albion defender Ugo Ehiogu passed away at the age of 44 after suffering a cardiac arrest.

He progressed through the Baggies youth ranks and went on to spend nine years at Villa Park – from 1991 until 2000.

Ehiogu played four times for England and was coach of Spurs’ Under-23s until his death. His funeral took place in Highgate, London.

Albion failed to win, or even score a goal, all month.

Wolves had a busy month, playing nine games – winning four, drawing one and losing four – while Shrewsbury managed to stay in League One.

They were bottom of the table when Paul Hurst took over in October 2016.

Hurst said after securing survival: “We’ve got and a group of players that have ultimately dug in and bought in to what we’ve tried to do. I love the challenge, it certainly has been a challenge, but I’m delighted for everyone connected with the football club.”

And county rivals Telford also retained their National League North status.

Italian Gianfranco Zola resigned as Birmingham boss after a miserable spell in charge and Harry Redknapp was appointed to keep them up, which he managed.

Also in football, Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante was named the PFA player of the year and fellow midfielder Joey Barton was banned for 18 months by the FA for breaking its betting rules.

Anthony Joshua heralded the start of a new era of heavyweight boxing by dramatically knocking out Wladimir Klitschko.

Also during April, the prestigious golf Masters was clinched by Sergio Garcia.

He beat Justin Rose in a play-off to come out on top at Augusta – his first major title at the 74th attempt.

In tennis, Johanna Konta became the first British woman to win the Miami Open, with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Caroline Wozniacki.

One For Arthur gave Scotland only its second-ever winner in the Grand National at Aintree.

England all-rounder Zafar Ansari announced his retirement from cricket.

May

It was all change at Wolves.

Paul Lambert was sacked and, the day after, Nuno Espirito Santo was hired.

The former Porto and Valencia chief was entrusted to kickstart Fosun’s ‘Wolves project’ – first and foremost, to get promoted to the Premier League.

Chairman Jeff Shi, who at the time was main director, said on Nuno’s appointment: “Since the very beginning of the Wolves project, Fosun has been very clear on our strategic thinking and philosophy, and has huge ambition and confidence to achieve our goals.

“We are very glad to find Nuno with a football philosophy that is similar to ours.

“We are all looking forward to working with Nuno and his staff, and are excited about what he can achieve with Wolves as we go into the new season and beyond.”

Defender Ryan Bennett became the first signing of Nuno’s reign, joining the club on the same day.

In non-league, Stourbridge lost 1-0 in the Evo-Stik Premier play-off final to Spennymoor. It was a heartbreaking end to a great season for the Glassboys, in which they also made it to the third round of the FA Cup – losing 2-1 at Wycombe.

Kidderminster were knocked out of the National League North play-offs in the semi-finals by Chorley.

Michy Batshuayi struck late on to seal a 1-0 victory at Albion – and the Premier League title for Chelsea.

Manchester United won the Europa League, beating Ajax 2-0 in the final in Stockholm.

Arsenal won the FA Cup and finally announced manager Arsene Wenger had signed a new two-year deal with the club, ending months of speculation which saw protests from fans wanting him to leave.

And the FA voted in favour of introducing retrospective bans for players who dive or feign injury.

Away from football, Mark Selby won the World Snooker Championship for the third time by beating John Higgins 18-15 in the final in Sheffield.

Former MotoGP world champion Nicky Hayden died in hospital following a cycling accident in Italy.

June

Wolves’ influx of Portuguese talent since Fosun’s takeover – and super agent Jorge Mendes’ involvement with the club – continued as Roderick Miranda joined from Rio Ave.

The 26-year-old signed a four-year deal and Phil Ofosu-Ayeh – who is yet to play for the Molineux side due to injury – was signed on a free transfer.

Albion had skipper Darren Fletcher leave to sign a two-year contract at top flight rivals Stoke.

Tony Pulis wanted him to stay at the Baggies and Fletcher said after leaving: “It was hard to leave but I depart on good terms having thoroughly enjoyed my time at the club.

“In the end the chance to take up a fresh challenge at Stoke proved too good to resist. I do want to send my best wishes to everyone at Albion.

“It has been a privilege to captain the club in my two and half years there and I wish the club well for the future. I loved every moment of my time at Albion.”

The Baggies avoided another major departure as they rejected Leicester’s advances for Jonny Evans.

There was a major shake-up over at Telford. Rob Smith – after signing more than 20 players in preparation for the new season – was sacked and former Villa and Wolves defender Rob Edwards was brought in, on the same day.

Chairman Ian Dosser also stepped down. The move to appoint Edwards saw the Bucks’ partnership with Wolves strengthen – being granted use of the Compton Park training ground and having Aaron Hayden and Aaron Simpson loaned to them, while Wolves’ Under-23s continued to have the New Bucks Head as their home.

Among the big stories in football was Cristiano Ronaldo reaching 600 career goals as Real Madrid won the Champions League, beating Juventus 4-1 in the final in Cardiff.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin netted the winner and Freddie Woodman saved a penalty as England won the Under-20 World Cup by beating Venezuela 1-0 in South Korea.

It was announced English cricket will return to free-to-air television in 2020 after the BBC won live broadcast rights for 21 matches each summer, including men’s and women’s internationals and the England and Wales Cricket Board’s new Twenty20 competition.

And we were shocked by the death of former Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote, at the age of 30, after he collapsed in training with Chinese club Beijing Enterprises.

Don’t miss the second part of the 2017 review of the year – in your Shropshire Star and online tomorrow.