Wolves squad of the century: The defenders

From veterans with already-distinguished careers to young talents who broke through in gold and black, plenty of top players have graced Molineux.

But who would make the ultimate squad from those who have played at Wolves since January 1, 2000?

Well, with lockdown leaving plenty of us looking for stuff to do, we gave Wolves fans a bit of homework and asked them to come up with a 23-man World Cup-style squad.

In keeping with a World Cup format, there were just two rules.

Firstly, they had to name three goalkeepers, and secondly the squad had to have balance and cover in case of injury or suspension.

In total, 67 Wolves fans came back with their squads, so let’s go through the results – today being the defenders.

Defenders: Willy Boly, Matt Doherty, Joleon Lescott, Conor Coady, Jonny Castro Otto, Dennis Irwin, Romain Saiss, Jody Craddock

Colossal centre-half Boly was the pick of the bunch when it came to defenders.

In fact, he – in the same manner as keepers Rui Patricio and Matt Murray – was included in every single submitted squad.

And it is not hard to see why, having proven himself to be one of the most dependable centre-halves in the Premier League over the past couple of years.

Just missing out on the honour of being included in everyone’s squad was marauding wing-back Doherty, who received 66 votes.

The Irishman has been with the club for almost 10 years, and over the past few been a reliable source of goals – 15 over the past two seasons – while helping the backline keep many clean sheets.

After Boly, fans deemed Lescott as the next best centre-back of the century.

He got 61 votes, having famously helped Wolves to 2003 play-off final glory against Sheffield United.

A severe knee injury prevented him from playing in the top flight for Wolves, but he would later go on to win the Premier League twice with Manchester City before spells at Albion and Villa towards the end of his career.

Current skipper Coady got 60 votes, deservedly earning him a place on the proverbial plane.

Transformed from a midfield to a sweeper by Nuno Espirito Santo, the Liverpudlian has represented the club passionately and gracefully both on and off the pitch.

He has played every single minute of Wolves’ last 102 league matches.

Another dependable figure, Otto, also came in with 60 votes – blowing all the other left-backs (or left-wing-backs) out of the water.

Because of that, he technically does not have an understudy in this squad, but Irwin – who got 49 votes – was capable of playing on either side.

Brought in after a stellar decade at Manchester United as a left-back, Irwin played at right-back while at Molineux – his nous proving crucial in getting to the top flight in 2003.

And speaking of players who are comfortable in a couple of positions, Moroccan utility man Saiss got in with 42 votes. His inclusion adds depth to both the backline and the middle of the park, with many supporters putting him down as a midfielder in their squads.

The last defender to make the squad with 34 votes was Craddock, who was captain of the 2008/09 Championship-winning team.

Just missing out was Kevin Foley (26 votes). Barry Douglas and Lee Naylor (14 each) were the others in double figures while Isaac Okoronkwo and Ronald Zubar were among the more unusual picks.