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It’s nearly five years since Mick McCarthy first took the reigns at Molineux. The club has seen some drastic changes in that time, converting from a relegation candidate in the Championship – to a Premier League side. A lot of that progress can be accredited to McCarthy, who has been responsible for the vast amount of transfer activity at Molineux these past few years. International stars Kevin Doyle and Matt Jarvis, as well as bargain buys Michael Kightly and Karl Henry, were all McCarthy purchases. After being handed a transfer budget of just £1 million when he first took over, you can’t help but admire the dealings of McCarthy.

But, with more talk of future signings, this got me thinking about the first Wolves team he picked. A bit of research has shown how far the team has truly come since that away game at Plymouth five years ago. Here’s what happened to that side.

Matt Murray – Starred for Wolves in their unsuccessful play-off campaign in McCarthy’s first year. Was forced to retire in 2010 due to a series of injuries, but would almost have definitely gained international honours if it had not been for injury.

Mark Clyde – Another product of the Wolves academy, Clyde was also forced to retire in the middle of the 2006/07 season. After nearly two years away from the game, he joined non-league side Worcester City, where he is currently in a player/assistant manager role.

Gary Breen – A favourite of McCarthy from his time at Sunderland and the Republic of Ireland, Breen spent two years at Wolves. He left in the summer of 2008 and joined League Two side Barnet, before retiring in 2010.

Jody Craddock – A survivor of the early-McCarthy years. Craddock remains at Molineux and has recently been offered a new contract, following a number of impressive performances in defence this season. A firm fan’s favourite at the club.

Lee Naylor – Lasted just a couple of game under McCarthy before joining Celtic, in a deal that saw Charlie Mulgrew move to the Black Country. Naylor spent nearly four years in Scotland, picking up two SPL titles and a Scottish Cup. Joined up with former boss Dave Jones at Cardiff last summer, and missed out on promotion to the Premier League in the play-off’s this season.

Jamie Clapham – Played a bit part in the 2006/07 season, and was transfer listed after the play-off failure. Spent time on loan at Leeds before joining Leicester on a free transfer in January 2008. He was on the move again in the summer of 2008 when he joined Notts County, where he remained until 2010. Joined Lincoln at the start of last season, but was released after their relegation from the Football League.

Rohan Ricketts – Found himself out of favour early on and was sent out on loan to QPR, before being released at the end of the season. A brief spell at Barnsley in the 2007/08 season was followed by time playing in Canada, Hungary and Moldova. Currently playing for SV Wilhelmshaven in Germany, but has been linked with a move back to England.

Karl Henry – Another survivor, Henry was one of Mick’s first signings at Molineux. Went on to lift the Championship trophy as captain in 2009, and remains skipper of the team today. He overcame criticism for ‘full-blooded’ displays last season and is an integral part of the current Wolves side.

Kevin O’Connor – Another product from the youth setup at Molineux, O’Connor made his Wolves debut in the Plymouth game. He also scored in the game, but the goal was later accredited as an own goal. A series of injuries saw his time at Molineux end in 2008 and, after a time away from the game, he joined local side AFC Telford. Now plays alongside Clyde at Worcester City.

Carl Cort – Suffered with injuries throughout the campaign and was released in May 2007. He spent six months with Leicester, before another brief spell at Marbella. He returned to England in December 2008 and joined Norwich, but was released at the end of the season. Cort then signed for newly-promoted Brentford and spent a year-and-a-half there before leaving in January this year.

Jay Bothroyd – A regular in the side that campaign, Bothroyd seemed to be enjoying his time at Molineux. However he found himself out of the side the next season and spent time on loan at Stoke. Joined Cardiff in the summer of 2008, where he went on to become a regular in the side, as well as earning his first senior England cap. Has recently left the club after contract negotiations failed.

The subs…

Michael Oakes – also joined Cardiff, but retired in 2008.

Rob Edwards – promoted with Blackpool in 2010, recently released on a free.

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Lewis Gobern – after a series of loan spells, joined MK Dons in 2009. Also spent time at Grimsby, but is not with Notts County.

Crag Davies – spent time at Oldham and Brighton, won League Two with Chesterfield this season.

Tomasz Frankowski – a loan spell at Tenerife was followed by a move to Chicago Fire. Now playing in Poland. So, there we have it, the first Wolves team Mick McCarthy picked for a league game.

It’s clear that the club have come on leaps and bounds since that day at Plymouth five years ago. Yes, millions have been spent, but promotion has also brought millions into the club. Players have become internationals, the ground is being expanded and the club remains in the Premier League. Mick can sit back and be proud of the work he has done so far.

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Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry has leapt to the defence of under-fire manager Roberto Mancini.

The England international believes the Italian tactician is the right man for the job despite their recent struggles in the Premier League.

The 3-0 home reversal to Arsenal on October 24 was followed by a demoralising 2-1 setback at lowly Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday afternoon.

The Citizens' frustrations were obvious as senior players Vincent Kompany and Emmanuel Adebayor were seen having a heated exchange on the Molineux pitch as tempers flared.

Although Yaya Toure and Carlos Tevez are rumoured to be unsettled at Eastlands, Barry insists the club's personnel are striving to get things right and he wants them to grab a positive result in Thursday's Europa League clash at Lech Poznan.

"The truth is that there is a group of players working together, working hard and working for the manager, trying to do the right things. Everyone in that dressing room and that training complex wants to do their best for Manchester City football club," he said.

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"As a group of players we let the club and the fans down at Wolves. We are sorry for that but it is only one result and as a team we are now desperate to put that right.

"The best way of doing that is on the pitch with wins, starting on Thursday in the Europa League."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

There was a football match recently in the football league, a competitive match between two teams only a few miles apart. There is no love lost between the respective fans, as is often the way in a (near) derby. The chairman of one of the teams had recently died, a tragedy their fans were reminded of during the match as the opposition fans chanted “where’s your chairman gone?”

Welcome to modern football.

But we are not all savages of course, happy to twist the knife and wind up the fans of the other side with the vilest, sickest song we can think of, to find their Achilles heel, the event in their history that will upset them most. But whilst a minority of fans use tragedy to abuse other fans, it often takes a tragedy to remind us what decent people we generally are, to remind us that football fans are a family, with a common bond, a common passion.

That Spurs fans (and Bolton fans too of course) acted with dignity during the horrific events on the White Hart Lane pitch on Saturday should not be something inspirational that deserves endless praise – they were acting how any decent human being should do. But we all know football fans don’t act that way sometimes, that normal men (and women, but mostly men) who have families, decent jobs, and a sunny disposition go to a football match and become possessed, become animals. So it is only fair after all that praise goes to the Spurs fans – it was a response from them that deserves to be acknowledged, and acts as a reminder to those that don’t follow the sport that grounds are filled with everyday people like you and I. Credit too apart from the brilliant actions of the medical staff must go to Howard Webb for his handling of the situation.

But as mentioned, bad news unites, crosses boundaries. The death of Gary Speed for example was a shocking event that resonated throughout every club, throughout every fan, even those that had never seen him play for their team, or manage their country. Horrible things happen outside football every day, some worse than we could imagine, and it passes by, but there is no need to feel guilty about feeling more when something horrific happens on or around the sporting field. The idea that our heroes, these supreme athletes, can be cut down in their prime is hard to accept. Hard to accept that these people with millions in the bank, successful careers, the adoration of millions and beautiful families could ever be anything other than perfectly happy.

Football is tribal, and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Though as people pray for Muamba and celebrate the early signs of what is hopefully a miraculous recovery, soon we will return to our default settings. Slagging off opposing fans, teams and managers, defending our own. Perhaps there is too much hatred in the sport, but that’s the way it is. Muamba’s collapse did indeed put things into perspective, but football does still matter nevertheless. And things will only be put in perspective for a short while, before we all return to behaving how we did before – that is the way of the world. And it’s because football matters to us all so much that incidents like Muamba’s hit many so hard, more than similar incidents elsewhere. And if people want to pray for a stricken footballer, then fine. I am an atheist, but football is the closest thing to a church, it’s the only place I have ever said a prayer (usually for a much-needed goal).

Tragedy struck north of the border too, with Kilmarnock’s Liam Kelly’s tragic loss of his father, who suffered a heart attack at full time, the greatest day of the Kilmarnock players’ lives overshadowed by this horrible turn of events. But at the weekend comes the next Old Firm derby, and no doubt the “banter” will be as vociferous as ever. That’s not a dig, but just saying that nothing will ever change, as we all know. And football needs tribalism, as whilst it may stray over the line of decency on many an occasion, it also helps make the game as passionate as it is – it would be pretty boring if we all sat in our seats politely applauding everything that happened.

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Football is always of huge importance, it brought Muamba away from civil war, it brought so many others away from poverty, it kept them out of prison, it provided for them and made many rich and it entertains us. So it’s nice to see the scarves of many clubs lain outside a ground as a sign of respect, it’s good to hear a crowd applause as one for someone, or stay quiet for the same reason, the silence almost deafening. It’s great that a bad thing happening to another teams player is of importance to us, is sufficient to make us reflect, if even for a day. And fans can get along, it’s not always a relationship based on hatred (though half and half scarves is pushing it). But we all move on, and when Chelsea visit the Etihad stadium this week, I’ll be booing John Terry (on the bench) and accusing David Luiz of diving just like I always would have done. God bless football.

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There is always plenty of media speculation doing the rounds on where Cesc Fabregas will be playing his football next season. With the sheer volume of rumours it’s beginning to look like it’s unlikely the Spaniard will be at Arsenal next season. However, before Arsenal fans start worrying about how to replace the midfield star, pause for a moment and consider the silver lining. For the last few seasons we have looked at the Arsenal squad and wondered where the British players are – but could all that be about to change. With Fabregas gone surely Jack Wilshere would move into centre stage and could well be supported by the likes of Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey and possibly even Henri Lansbury. The player who has been on loan at Norwich, this week said he is targeting the Arsenal first-team and with Fabregas gone his chance might just come.

But let’s come back to Wilshere and consider him as the star of the midfield. However, at the age of 19 you surely wouldn’t dream of handing the captaincy over to him, would you? But even so Wilshere can grow as a leader of that midfield in either his organizational skills or by the example he sets by his play. Recently Wilshere has been playing as a holding midfielder for Arsenal – but he is one of those rare talents that can adapt to any role in the midfield. Therefore, Arsenal can build their team around him without having to worry too much about the position he will play.

However, with news that Wilshere has been selected for the England U21’s the dangers of burn out are there for all to see and could there be such a thing as pushing too much too hard. Well with most youngsters there might be something in that – but Wilshere is a very special talent and I think extra responsibility on his shoulders is the sort of conditions that will allow Wilshere to blossom into both a top level Premier League and England player.

In many ways it’s tempting to throw him straight into the England side now and I can certainly see Wenger’s issues with having him play for both the England U21’s and England national sides. However, Wilshere is still young and needs to get playing a good amount of games to allow him to develop his skills in the best way possible. There is always the mental attitude to consider; surely it can only benefit Wilshere to play in big games in big stadiums now. That level of experience will stand him in good stead in the future – when playing in big games for Arsenal and England; if he has been there before he won’t need to worry about nerves so much so can just focus on his performance. How often do we hear of an England manager’s reluctance to play a youngster in the World Cup because of his lack of experience? Furthermore you can understand why Stuart Pearce is interested in picking the best players he can and who can blame him.

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So with everything being said the future looks very bright for Jack Wilshere, if he continues to develop the way he has done he will be a terrific player. And don’t underestimate the power of having the Arsenal team built around him. Fabregas will be a big loss but with Wilshere coming into his prime maybe it’s just natural progression.

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Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed on Saturday evening, after Manchester United’s 2-0 win against Tottenham, that Manchester United would not be making new signings in January. Speaking to the Independent, Sir Alex Ferguson stated, “We won’t be buying in January, definitely not.”

It has been widely rumoured that Sir Alex Ferguson have been given a £100m war chest to purchase new players.  It is obvious that Ferguson trusts his young squad but is the Manchester United manager demonstrating signs of being on power trip considering Wayne Rooney’s damging comments two weeks ago.

However, Sir Alex Ferguson has to put Manchester United first and what would be the point in purchasing youngsters over a period of years just to replace them all with big name signings this January. What Ferguson is creating at Old Trafford is exciting. There is some real talent coming through at Manchester United, the likes of Javier Hernandez, the Da Silva twins, whilst Ben Amos looked solid in goal against Wolves. Ferguson must be aware United need to strengthen, but January would be the wrong time to change the look of the squad.

Manchester United fans have to trust Sir Alex Ferguson. Sir Alex Ferguson will have many players on his radar but he will not risk rushing the process. Manchester United has the squad that is capable of challenging this season. Why would Ferguson go out and purchase a player in January that he couldn’t play in the Champions League.  It wouldn’t make business sense and Sir Alex Ferguson would be seen as panic buying. What Manchester United need to do is expose these young players to as many big game situations (as has been the policy in the Champions League this season) to test how good they could become. Manchester United’s policy of avoiding the January transfer window is a good decision.

January would be the wrong time to start replacing Van der sar, Giggs, Neville and Scholes. The prices are astronomical for top players, and the way the transfer window is staged, Old Trafford would become a media circus. With one of the busiest and most important periods of the season, it would be detrimental to the squad if every player under the sun was linked to the club. With Ferguson ending all speculation that Manchester United are set to buy, the circus can roll up at another club.

What people should not forget is the size of the Manchester United squad. Sir Alex Ferguson expects Antonio Valencia back by the end of February, by that time Owen Hargreaves could be back in first team action as well as Michael Owen. Add these three players to the squad as it stands now and Manchester United look very healthy. Of course, no one knows whether Hargreaves or Valencia will be the same players again – Manchester United have never adopted the policy of selling an injured player down the river. Manchester United needs to be patient and wait for the right deal. As Real Madrid showed this summer, there are bargains out there in the transfer market.

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What was said in the meeting between Wayne Rooney, David Gill and Sir Alex Ferguson, we will never know. We can speculate as much as we want, but what is fact is Wayne Rooney is staying at Manchester United. That is the most important signing they have made in years and it showed to Manchester United fans that Ferguson is still the boss. Is Ferguson being stubborn because of what Wayne Rooney said? It is possible, but it doesn’t seem likely that Ferguson would put Manchester United in that predicament. Ferguson rarely buys in January, because of the lack of value. There is no change this time. The squad that Sir Alex Ferguson has assembled at Manchester United will challenge in a big way in the next few years. Ferguson’s attention in the coming weeks should be on bringing Carlos Queiroz back to Old Trafford.

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Gareth Bale believes that Tottenham should go into this afternoon’s game at the Emirates as favourites and feels there has been a swing in power in North London. The Welsh winger feels that last season’s 3-2 victory, having comeback from 2-0 down, was further evidence of the new found belief the football club has gained in the last 18months and thinks the club deserves all the plaudits it is currently getting.

Elsewhere in the news Pepe Reina reveals his European hopes; Frank Lampard concedes his relationship with Villas-Boas isn’t ideal, while Arsenal is set to offer Van Persie a bumper new deal to keep him at the Emirates.

Headlines

Stuart Pearce has praised Harry Redknapp and likened his managerial style to a mix of Shankly, Clough and Ferguson – Observer

Arsene Wenger has called for loyalty in this afternoon’s North London derby and is hoping the supporters show the same level of commitment as the players will throughout the 90mins – Observer

Pepe Reina is relishing a return to the European arena, providing they can beat Cardiff at Wembley this afternoon – Daily Telegraph

Ian Holloway believes that had Roman Abramovich been in charge of Manchester United he would have sacked Sir Alex Ferguson years ago – Independent

Frank Lampard has revealed there is a split at Chelsea and his relationship with Andre Villas-Boas isn’t ideal – Daily Mail

Martin Jol and Mark Hughes were involved in a heated exchange at the final whistle. The QPR boss felt he was being patronised when the Dutchman patted him on the head after the pair exchanged handshakes – Daily Mail

Arsenal are set offer Robin Van Persie a whopping 150k a week in order to keep the Dutchman at the Emirates Stadium – Daily Mail

Harry Redknapp has revealed that the England job is one that you will struggle to turn down if the opportunity presents itself – Mirror

Sir Alex Ferguson believes that the race row with Luis Suarez has left Patrice Evra mentally shattered – Mirror

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Aston Villa’s hopes this season has been dashed by news that Darren Bent could be set to face a long spell on the sidelines. Alex McLeish has said that the injury appears to be serious and it could be damage to his ankle ligaments – Mirror

Manchester United are reportedly keen on Porto’s James Rodriguez, who is known as the South American Cristiano Ronaldo – Metro

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Sunderland have decided to refuse an option to purchase on-loan midfielder Sulley Muntari, and have confirmed that the Ghana international will return to Inter immediately. The 26 year-old, who has also featured in the Premier League for Portsmouth, failed to impress Steve Bruce following his arrival in January, with the Black Cats’ boss politely acknowledging: “Sulley has been a great professional in his time here and naturally we’d like to thank him for his contribution to our season and wish him all the best for the future.”

Although Muntari didn’t do enough to earn a further season at the Stadium of Light, several other loan signings can certainly claim to have contributed enough to their adopted Premier League clubs this season to force their temporary managers to consider splashing the cash. Daniel Sturrdige’s 8 goals in twelve starts for Bolton catapulted the Chelsea striker in to most Premiership managers’ consciousness. The former Manchester City apprentice had struggled to assert himself at Stamford Bridge during his first two seasons following his free transfer from Eastlands, and the £50million January arrival of Fernando Torres suggested a premature end to his time at Stamford Bridge.

But the England Under-21 forward, clearly with a point to prove, outshone his Spanish team-mate, and is likely to attract serious offers from the Premier League’s developing clubs outside of the top four this summer. “It’s great to have this opportunity [playing for Bolton] and it has been good to show Chelsea what I’m all about,” Sturridge told Chelsea’s official website last week. “It was difficult for me not starting as many games as I’d have liked, as a young player with a lot of pressure you have to take the opportunities that are in front of you,” he added.

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He undoubtedly took his opportunity – with both feet – and was curiously ignored by Fabio Capello for England’s Euro 2012 qualifier with Switzerland on June 4th even after Jermain Defoe’s withdrawal left the Italian with just Bobby Zamora, Peter Crouch and Darren Bent as forward options for next month’s Wembley encounter. While Sturridge is likely to attract a plethora of offers from all directions, now his loan contract has terminated, what happens to the other loanees whose short spells away from their parent clubs failed to encourage a turn in form? John Carew was considered a shrewd addition to Tony Pulis’ Stoke squad when he joined the club in January, especially considering his physical attributes are compatible with the Potters’ robust style, but the Norwegian only managed to find the net once in the League, and failed to finish any of his chances during the first six months of the season playing for Aston Villa.

The striker will be 32 within a month of next season’s inauguration, so represents a risky option for a Stoke side who have appeared to alter their transfer tact recently in order to identify younger, more progressive flair. On a more positive note, Jamie O’Hara seems to have won the hearts of his provisional faithful at Wolves, having scored in the club’s final game of the season to secure the Molineux side’s Premiership status for another year. The Tottenham midfielder has almost forged an entire career from being loaned away from White Hart Lane, and Mick McCarthy would do well to seriously consider making a permanent move for the 24 year-old who should himself be seeking some stability at his age. “There’s a deal on the table and Wolves need to say they want me, a fee has been agreed with Tottenham, but the deal has got to be done within a week. That’s up to the chairman and the gaffer to see what they want to do,” the former Arsenal trainee announced this week. “I want to stay. Hopefully the gaffer will want me to stay. Hopefully I’ll be speaking to him over the next week or so and get something sorted,” a confident O’Hara added.

It will be interesting to see where any of this season’s loan signings will end up come August, not least Emmanuel Adebayor, who will face particular scrutiny on his return to Manchester City from his short, and unexpected, stint at Real Madrid. Although loaning out players usually enables them to return with renewed confidence, and signing players on loan represents a low-risk transfer strategy, not all of the short-term additions have flourished this season, and an intriguing summer of transfer activity awaits.

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Who do you think your club should sign this summer? Let me know on Twitter

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Liverpool have moved a major step closer to being sold after the High Court ruled against current co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett in their dispute with the club's board.

Hicks and Gillett failed in their attempt to block a £300million sale of the club to the owners of the Boston Red Sox baseball franchise.

Last week the board of the Anfield club, led by independent chairman Martin Broughton, agreed to sell to their parent company, New England Sports Ventures (NESV).

Hicks and Gillett's three-and-a-half year reign had left the Anfield club in debt to the tune of £230million.

The decision by Judge Christopher Floyd to side with the board and major creditor the Royal Bank of Scotland has paved the way for a sale to be concluded before Friday's deadline, which could have resulted in administration.

In a further blow to the American pair, who in court were accused of committing "a calculated breach of contract", they were also denied the right to appeal.

"I am not prepared to grant any relief," said Mr Justice Floyd. "If I did it would risk stopping the sale and purchase agreement going ahead."

However, speaking on the steps outside the High Court, Broughton suggested that the sale of the club to NESV might now face a fresh challenge.

On Tuesday, former interested party Peter Lim tabled a new and improved £320million offer, which included £40million for the acquisition of new players.

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The cash-only deal offered by the Singapore businessman is likely be discussed at a hastily arranged board meeting on Wednesday evening.

"We will have a full board meeting this evening once board has been reconstituted and proceed with the sale process," said Broughton.

"We're delighted with the result, justice has been done. That's what we came for and that's what we got. We have a great future."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Football and injuries tend to go hand-in-hand, with players putting their bodies on the line each week. However, it is not just on the field of play where they can find themselves at risk, with a fair few injuries occurring away from the action, and these tend to be absolutely hilarious.

Valencia midfielder Ever Banega found himself as the latest victim of such an incident, when refuelling his car. The Argentine left his vehicle without putting the handbrake on, causing it to roll back over his foot, fracturing both his leg and ankle. The automobile mis-hap may be very unfortunate and worrying for all involved, but that doesn’t make it any less amusing.

Banega is by no means alone in his rotten luck, with many footballing thoroughbreds suffering odd injuries down the years. Here’s a list of some of those stars and the baffling injuries they have suffered.

Click on Banega below to see the Top TEN

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Athletic Bilbao’s Iker Muniain has been likened to the Argentinean wizard Lionel Messi but is he actually as good as him? The 18 year old has been linked with Liverpool in recent days, so what do we know of him?

A product of Bilbao’s youth academy, the Basque became the team’s youngest ever player in July 2009 when he came on as a substitute against Switzerland’s BSC Young Boys in a Europa League qualifier, aged just 16 years, 7 months and 11 days. He then became the youngest player ever to score for the club when he scored in the return leg, helping Bilbao into the group stages.

In August 2009, Muniain made his league debut against Espanyol, and it wasn’t long before he broke another record, by scoring his first league goal against Real Valladolid in a 2-2 draw, making him the youngest player to ever score in La Liga, aged just 16 years and 289 days.

When he initially broke into the side, he played mostly as a support striker, but he prefers to play on the wings, and this campaign he has established himself as a left winger in Joaquin Caparros’s midfield. His style of play is rightly compared to Lionel Messi as at 5ft 6, he possesses great speed and agility on the ball with a similar low centre of gravity, and like the Argentine genius, he is also truly two footed, and possesses great technique and ball control.

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Playing in the top league at the tender age of 16, Muniain has shown a great deal of maturity beyond his years. He has great tactical awareness, and this was emphasised by his manager Caparros when after he provided two assists against Real Zaragoza last season, he said that Muniain possesses a “built-in GPS and eight gears.” Not only is he tactically astute in the offensive third though, he can also track back runners and has a never-say-die attitude which has led some in Spain to compare him favourably to Wayne Rooney.

He never shies away from physical encounters despite his diminutive stature and his hunger for the game is greatly admired. He loves to play the game at high tempo, and he has added goal scoring to his locker this season by scoring nine goals from his left wing position.

Still, there are areas that Muniain will need to improve upon. He is not physically strong, and can be pushed off the ball a little bit too easily. You can imagine that opposition defenders would make mince meat of the player in the Premier League, but with his ball control, speed and skill, he may just be too quick for many defenders, and you only have to look as far as Lionel Messi to know that size and strength isn’t everything in the modern game.

So, in conclusion, Muniain is certainly a promising player. Whether he would be interested in a move to Liverpool is up for debate, but he would certainly fit into the strategy of bringing in quality young players to Anfield.

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Read more of David’s articles at Live4Liverpool