# 2013–14 Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. season

The 2013–14 season was the 115th season of competitive league football in the history of English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers. The club competed in League One, the third tier of the English football system for the first time since 1988–89. The previous season had brought relegation for a second successive season.
Former Millwall manager Kenny Jackett was appointed as Wolves' new head coach in the close season, replacing Dean Saunders who was fired after overseeing their relegation.
The team achieved promotion back to the Championship with four games to spare, setting a new club record points tally for a season in the process. Their third title at this level was confirmed on 21 April as the team went on to create a new record points amount for the third tier, reaching 103 points.

## Season review

After a second consecutive relegation and four different managers during the previous sixteen months, Kenny Jackett, who had resigned from Millwall weeks earlier, was appointed on 31 May 2013 in the newly titled role of head coach. When pre-season training began on 24 June, Jackett announced that four key first team players – Karl Henry, Stephen Ward, Jamie O’Hara and Roger Johnson – were all now transfer-listed and that he intended to make greater usage of the club's academy players. In addition to the transfer listed players, further key players such as Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Stephen Hunt and Christophe Berra did not have their contracts renewed as the club sought to reduce their salary commitments. Only three new signings were made during the summer transfer window: free signing Sam Ricketts, who became club captain, as well as Kevin McDonald and Scott Golbourne from Sheffield United and Barnsley, respectively.
Wolves' first fixture in the third tier since 1989 was a goalless draw at Preston. This was followed by five consecutive league wins to bring the team into the automatic promotion places and earn Jackett a nomination for August's Manager of the Month Award. Despite their unbeaten league run being ended by local rivals Walsall, a run of eleven unbeaten matches brought them to the top of the table by mid-November.
The following seven matches brought only one victory though, and by early January both Leyton Orient and Brentford stood above Wolves with further games in hand. Wolves sought to strength their squad and recruited five players during the January transfer window - two being loan deals of James Henry and Michael Jacobs being made into permanent signings. Strikers Leigh Griffiths and Kevin Doyle (on loan) were both allowed to leave, with two former players, Nouha Dicko and Leon Clarke being bought as replacements.
With this new squad, the team recorded a club record nine straight victories - including a 3–0 success at promotion rivals Brentford - to return to the top of the table. Although suffering a final defeat of the campaign at Crawley in mid-March, on 12 April, promotion was secured with a 2–0 win at Crewe Alexandra that ensured the club's exit from League One after a solitary season. After two further wins, they were confirmed as champions after Brentford failed to beat MK Dons hours after Wolves had won at Leyton Orient, who had led the table for much of the early part of the season.
A final day win that relegated Carlisle ensured that Wolves set a new points record for the third tier as they reached 103 points. En route to the title, the team also set numerous new club records, including a new points record (surpassing the 92 points they set when last in the third tier) and a record nine consecutive wins, as well as equalling their previous best run of five consecutive away wins. At the conclusion of the season, Kenny Jackett was joint-winner of the LMA Awards Manager of the Year for League One, having earlier won the monthly award for March 2014.

## Results
### League One

A total of 24 teams competed in League One in the 2013–14 season. Each team played every other team twice, once at their stadium, and once at the opposition's. Three points were awarded to teams for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats.
The provisional fixture list was released on 19 June 2013 with the exception of the club's opening fixture, which was announced one day earlier having been selected as part of The Football League's 125th anniversary.

#### Final table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers (C, P) | 46 | 31 | 10 | 5 | 89 | 31 | +58 | 103 | Promotion to Football League Championship |
| 2 | Brentford (P) | 46 | 28 | 10 | 8 | 72 | 43 | +29 | 94 | Promotion to Football League Championship |
| 3 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 25 | 11 | 10 | 85 | 45 | +40 | 86 | Qualification for League One play-offs |
| 4 | Rotherham United (O, P) | 46 | 24 | 14 | 8 | 86 | 58 | +28 | 86 | Qualification for League One play-offs |
| 5 | Preston North End | 46 | 23 | 16 | 7 | 72 | 46 | +26 | 85 | Qualification for League One play-offs |
* ↑ Four teams play for one spot and promotion to Football League Championship.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: Statto.com

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Result | D | W | W | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | D | W | W | W | D | W | D | W | L | L | D | W | D | D | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | L | W | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | D | W |
| Position | 14 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

### Football League Trophy
## Players
### Statistics

Key: ‡ On loan from another club * First appearance(s) for the club
* # = Squad number
* Pos = Playing position
* P = Number of games played 10
* G = Number of goals scored
* GK = Goalkeeper
* DF = Defender
* MF = Midfielder
* FW = Forward
* = Yellow cards
* = Red cards
* † Permanent player left club during the season
* ¤ Loaned to another club for part or all of season
Correct as of end of season. Starting appearances are listed first, followed by substitute appearances in parentheses where applicable.
| No. | Pos | Name | P | G | P | G | P | G | P | G | P | G | | |
| No. | Pos | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Other | Other | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline | Notes |
| 1 | GK | Wayne Hennessey ¤† | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Matt Doherty | 15(3) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17(3) | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | George Elokobi | 1(5) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4(5) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | David Edwards | 22(8) | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23(8) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Richard Stearman | 39(1) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 42(2) | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 6 | DF | Danny Batth | 46 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | James Henry ‡ | 26(6) | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28(6) | 10 | 6 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | David Davis | 12(6) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15(6) | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Leigh Griffiths † | 18(8) | 12 | 1(1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21(9) | 13 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Leon Clarke | 4(9) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(9) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Bakary Sako | 36(4) | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 38(4) | 13 | 5 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Kevin McDonald | 39(2) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42(2) | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | Anthony Forde | 0(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | Carl Ikeme | 41 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Lee Evans | 19(7) | 2 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19(9) | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | Björn Sigurðarson ¤ | 7(11) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 9(12) | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | Jake Cassidy ¤ | 4(10) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8(10) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Razak Boukari ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | Sam Ricketts (c) | 42(2) | 2 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43(3) | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | Jack Price | 20(6) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24(6) | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | Liam McAlinden ¤ | 2(5) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1(1) | 1 | 3(7) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | Zeli Ismail ¤ | 5(4) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6(5) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | Jamie Reckord ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | Bradley Reid ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | Ethan Ebanks-Landell | 4(3) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7(3) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Jamie O'Hara | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | Scott Golbourne | 39(1) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43(1) | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | Michael Jacobs ‡ | 28(2) | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28(2) | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | Tongo Doumbia ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | Kevin Doyle ¤ | 16(7) | 3 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16(9) | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | GK | Aaron McCarey ¤ | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | Kevin Foley ¤ | 0(5) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2(5) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | Georg Margreitter ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | DF | Michael Ihiekwe ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | FW | Nouha Dicko | 17(2) | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17(2) | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| 41 | GK | Jonathan Flatt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | MF | Eusébio Bancessi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | FW | Ibrahim Keita | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Awards

| Award | Winner |
| Fans' Player of the Season | Kevin McDonald |
| Players' Player of the Season | Kevin McDonald |
| Young Player of the Season | Jack Price |
| Academy Player of the Season | Declan Weeks |
| Goal of the Season | Michael Jacobs (vs Brentford, 22 February 2014) |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Player | From | Fee |
| July 2013 | Anthony Breslin | St. Kevin's Boys | Free |
| July 2013 | Aaron Hayden | Chelsea | Free |
| July 2013 | Victor Wagner | Esbjerg fB | Free |
| 4 July 2013 | Sam Ricketts | Bolton Wanderers | Free |
| 15 July 2013 | Albert Torras | Barcelona | Free |
| 14 August 2013 | Kevin McDonald | Sheffield United | £750,000 |
| 30 August 2013 | Scott Golbourne | Barnsley | £700,000 |
| 3 January 2014 | James Henry | Millwall | £250,000 |
| 8 January 2014 | Michael Jacobs | Derby County | £200,000 |
| 13 January 2014 | Nouha Dicko | Wigan Athletic | £300,000 |
| 30 January 2014 | Leon Clarke | Coventry City | £750,000 |
| 31 January 2014 | Kortney Hause | Wycombe Wanderers | £45,000 |
| 31 January 2014 | Răzvan Oaidă | Atletico Arad | Free |

### Out

| Date | Player | To | Fee |
| June 2013 | Jody Craddock | Retired | – |
| June 2013 | Christophe Berra | Released | Free |
| June 2013 | Josh Cooke | Released | Free |
| June 2013 | Aljaž Cotman | Released | Free |
| June 2013 | Dominic Dell | Released | Free |
| June 2013 | Sylvan Ebanks-Blake | Released | Free |
| June 2013 | Johnny Gorman | Released | Free |
| June 2013 | Stephen Hunt | Released | Free |
| June 2013 | Luke Ifil | Released | Free |
| June 2013 | Cieron Keane | Released | Free |
| June 2013 | Jake Kempton | Released | Free |
| June 2013 | Gary O'Neill | Released | Free |
| June 2013 | Sam Winnall | Released | Free |
| 24 June 2013 | Adam Hammill | Huddersfield Town | £750,000 |
| 3 July 2013 | Dorus de Vries | Nottingham Forest | Free |
| 12 July 2013 | Eggert Jónsson | Released | Free |
| 23 July 2013 | Karl Henry | Queens Park Rangers | £1,000,000 |
| 1 January 2014 | Patrick Antelmi | Wigan Athletic | Free |
| 31 January 2014 | Wayne Hennessey | Crystal Palace | £3,000,000 |
| 31 January 2014 | Leigh Griffiths | Celtic | £2,000,000 |

### Loans in

| Date | Player | From | End Date |
| 1 October 2013 | James Henry | Millwall | 1 January 2014 |
| 11 November 2013 | Michael Jacobs | Derby County | 4 January 2014 |

### Loans out

| Date | Player | To | End Date |
| 6 August 2013 | Tongo Doumbia | Valenciennes | End of season |
| 16 August 2013 | Stephen Ward | Brighton & Hove Albion | End of season |
| 21 August 2013 | Wayne Hennessey | Yeovil Town | 17 November 2013 |
| 27 August 2013 | Razak Boukari | Sochaux | End of season |
| 2 September 2013 | Georg Margreitter | Copenhagen | End of season |
| 2 September 2013 | Jamie Reckord | Plymouth Argyle | 1 January 2014 |
| 16 September 2013 | Roger Johnson | Sheffield Wednesday | 2 January 2014 |
| 11 October 2013 | Liam McAlinden | Shrewsbury Town | 6 December 2013 |
| 18 October 2013 | Dave Moli | Boreham Wood | End of season |
| 28 November 2013 | Aaron McCarey | York City | 2 January 2014 |
| 6 January 2014 | Roger Johnson | West Ham United | End of season |
| 8 January 2014 | Zeli Ismail | Burton Albion | End of season |
| 10 January 2014 | Michael Ihiekwe | Cheltenham Town | End of season |
| 24 January 2014 | Jake Cassidy | Tranmere Rovers | 27 April 2014 |
| 25 January 2014 | Jamie Reckord | Swindon Town | 28 April 2014 |
| 31 January 2014 | Kevin Doyle | Queens Park Rangers | End of season |
| 31 January 2014 | Björn Sigurðarson | Molde | 31 December 2014 |
| 27 February 2014 | Kevin Foley | Blackpool | 31 March 2014 |
| 18 March 2014 | Dominic Iorfa | Shrewsbury Town | 18 April 2014 |
| 27 March 2014 | Bradley Reid | Wrexham | End of season |

## Management and coaching staff

| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Kenny Jackett |
| Assistant head coach | Joe Gallen |
| Development coach | Steve Weaver |
| First Team Fitness and Conditioning coach | Tony Daley |
| Goalkeeping coach | Pat Mountain |
| Head of Football Development and Recruitment | Kevin Thelwell |
| Head of Recruitment | Stuart Webber |
| Assistant Academy Manager / Under-18's coach | Mick Halsall |
| Club Doctor | Dr Matthew Perry |
| Club Physio | Phil Hayward |

## Kit

The season brought both new home and away kits manufactured by new supplier PUMA, who had previously worked with Wolves during the 1990s. The new home kit featured the club's traditional gold and black colours, while the away kit was all purple with white trimming. Both shirts featured new sponsor What House?, a property company that had agreed a two-year deal with the football club.