# 2006–07 Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. season

The 2006–07 season was the 108th season of competitive league football in the history of English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers. They played the season in the second tier of the English football system, the Football League Championship.

## Season summary

The season was the first under new manager Mick McCarthy who replaced Glenn Hoddle after the latter resigned suddenly in July 2006. McCarthy's appointment coincided with a new approach by the club after their parachute payments stemming from their Premier League relegation two years earlier ceased. After numerous senior players departed under these new financial conditions, a fresh ethos of recruiting younger players from lower league sides emerged.
The team finished fifth, qualifying for the play-offs. Their promotion hopes were ended by local rivals West Bromwich Albion - whom they met a record five times during the campaign - who beat them in both legs of the play-off semi finals to win 4–2 on aggregate.

## Results
### Football League Championship

A total of 24 teams competed in the Championship during the 2006–07 season. Each team would play 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 22 June 2006, but was subject to change in the event of matches being selected for television coverage or police concerns.
Final table
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 | L | W | W | W | L | L | W | L | W | W | L | D | L | W | L | D | D | D | W | L | W | D | W | L | W | D | L | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | D | L | L | W | D | L | W | W |
| Position | 9 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |

### League Cup
## 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 | | |
| No. | Pos | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline | Notes |
| 1 | GK | Michael Oakes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Mark Clyde † | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Lee Naylor † | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Neill Collins ‡ | 22(2) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25(2) | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Seyi Olofinjana | 43(3) | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 47(3) | 10 | 7 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Gary Breen | 42 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| 6 | DF | Jody Craddock (c) | 30(6) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 31(6) | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | Jackie McNamara | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| 8 | MF | Karl Henry | 34 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 37(1) | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Carl Cort | 7(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7(3) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | FW | Jay Bothroyd | 21(14) | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21(14) | 9 | 4 | 0 |
| 11 | DF | Jamie Clapham | 21(5) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23(5) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | Rob Edwards | 24(9) | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25(11) | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 13 | FW | Jemal Johnson ¤ | 14(6) | 3 | 0(3) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 14(10) | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Darren Potter ‡ | 37(3) | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 41(3) | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Dénes Rósa ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Mark Davies | 0(7) | 0 | 0(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(10) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | Leon Clarke † | 11(11) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 11(12) | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | Stephen Ward | 11(9) | 3 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11(10) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | Craig Davies ‡ | 6(17) | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10(17) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | Guilherme Finkler ‡ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | GK | Matt Murray | 44 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | Tomasz Frankowski ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | Lewis Gobern | 6(6) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6(6) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | Keith Lowe ¤ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | Gábor Gyepes † | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | Daniel Jones | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | Mark Little | 19(8) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23(8) | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 27 | DF | Charlie Mulgrew | 5(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | Rohan Ricketts ¤ | 15(4) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19(4) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | Kevin O'Connor | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | Carl Ikeme | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | GK | Wayne Hennessey ¤ | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | David Wheater ‡ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | Michael McIndoe ‡ | 27(2) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30(2) | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | Martin Riley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | Stephen Gleeson ¤ | 0(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | Elliott Bennett | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | DF | Lee Collins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | MF | Chris Cornes † | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | MF | Michael Kightly ‡ | 26 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| 38 | DF | Craig Fleming ‡ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | FW | Andy Keogh | 19 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 40 | GK | Jan Budtz ‡ | 2(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* ↑ Loanee who was signed permanently during the season.
* ↑ Contract terminated by mutual consent to allow injury rehabilitation back in his homeland.
* ↑ Contract terminated having earlier tested positive for cocaine use.

### Awards

| Award | Winner |
| Fans' Player of the Season | Matt Murray |
| Players' Player of the Season | Matt Murray |
| Young Player of the Season | Michael Kightly |
| Academy Player of the Season | Lee Collins |
| Goal of the Season | Jay Bothroyd (vs Leeds United, 10 September 2006) |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Player | From | Fee |
| 20 July 2006 | Gary Breen | Unattached | Free |
| 27 July 2006 | Jay Bothroyd | Unattached | Free |
| 2 August 2006 | Jamie Clapham | Unattached | Free |
| 3 August 2006 | Karl Henry | Stoke City | £175,000 |
| 17 August 2006 | Jemal Johnson | Blackburn Rovers | Undisclosed |
| 24 August 2006 | Charlie Mulgrew | Celtic | Part exchange |
| 1 January 2007 | Michael McIndoe | Barnsley | £250,000 |
| 1 January 2007 | Michael Kightly | Grays Athletic | £25,000 |
| 5 January 2007 | Neill Collins | Sunderland | £150,000 |
| 16 January 2007 | Stephen Ward | Bohemians | £100,000 |
| 18 January 2007 | Darren Potter | Liverpool | £250,000 |
| 23 January 2007 | Andy Keogh | Scunthorpe United | £600,000 |

### Out

| Date | Player | To | Fee |
| June 2006 | Kenny Miller | Celtic | Free |
| June 2006 | Darren Anderton | Released | Free |
| June 2006 | Colin Cameron | Released | Free |
| June 2006 | Vio Ganea | Released | Free |
| June 2006 | Paul Ince | Released | Free |
| June 2006 | Stefan Postma | Released | Free |
| June 2006 | Maurice Ross | Released | Free |
| June 2006 | Silas | Released | Free |
| 14 June 2006 | Joleon Lescott | Everton | £5 million |
| 11 July 2006 | Mark Kennedy | Crystal Palace | Free |
| 11 July 2006 | Seol Ki-Hyeon | Reading | £1.5 million |
| 24 August 2006 | Lee Naylor | Celtic | £600,000 |
| 28 September 2006 | Chris Cornes | Released | Free |
| 15 January 2007 | Leon Clarke | Sheffield Wednesday | Undisclosed |
| 9 February 2007 | Mark Clyde | Retired | – |
| 20 April 2007 | Gábor Gyepes | Released | Free |

### Loans in

| Date | Player | From | End date |
| 25 July 2006 | Guilherme Finkler | Juventude | 31 January 2007 |
| 4 August 2006 | Craig Davies | Verona | End of season |
| 17 August 2006 | Darren Potter | Liverpool | 18 January 2007 |
| 26 September 2006 | David Wheater | Middlesbrough | 15 November 2006 |
| 2 November 2006 | Neill Collins | Sunderland | 2 January 2007 |
| 17 November 2006 | Michael Kightly | Grays Athletic | 1 January 2007 |
| 23 November 2006 | Michael McIndoe | Barnsley | 1 January 2007 |
| 19 January 2007 | Craig Fleming | Norwich City | 15 February 2007 |
| 25 January 2007 | Jan Budtz | Doncaster Rovers | 23 April 2007 |

### Loans out

| Date | Player | To | End date |
| 31 July 2006 | Keith Lowe | Brighton & Hove Albion | 28 August 2006 |
| 11 August 2006 | Wayne Hennessey | Bristol City | 8 September 2006 |
| 26 August 2006 | Tomasz Frankowski | Tenerife | End of season |
| 8 September 2006 | Keith Lowe | Cheltenham Town | 10 October 2006 |
| 26 October 2006 | Keith Lowe | Cheltenham Town | 22 November 2006 |
| 3 November 2006 | Stephen Gleeson | Stockport County | 3 February 2007 |
| 4 January 2007 | Keith Lowe | Cheltenham Town | End of season |
| 11 January 2007 | Wayne Hennessey | Stockport County | 10 April 2007 |
| 19 February 2007 | Jemal Johnson | Leeds United | End of season |
| 9 March 2007 | Dénes Rósa | Cheltenham Town | 9 April 2007 |
| 22 March 2007 | Rohan Ricketts | Queens Park Rangers | End of season |

## Kit

The season saw new home and away kits, both manufactured by Le Coq Sportif. The away kit was an all-white design. Chaucer Consulting sponsored the club for a third season.