Johnny Phillips: Some talk the talk, Wolves walk the walk

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ 2017/18 campaign will be remembered for many years to come, with headlines being made on and off the pitch.

The dust had barely settled on last weekend’s fixtures before attentions turned to the ongoing doubts about the structure of Wolves’ ownership model.

One report claimed there was a ‘growing clamour’ amongst rival Championship clubs to have Wolves investigated. Language is a wonderful thing.

Let us put aside the imagery of indignant club chairman banging at the door of the Football League headquarters whilst waving their rulebooks in anger.

These vague quotes attributed to ‘club officials’ propped up stories of Wolves’ supposed skulduggery.

The gist of it all seemed to be dissatisfaction that Wolves had found some half-decent players, rather than the sums they’d actually paid for them.

This has never gone away. But it is important to stick to the facts. Wolves will be treated like any other club.

They have just released a set of accounts for the last financial year that show a significant loss, but not a deficit that broke Financial Fair Play rules.

Next year they will have another loss to account for. And if rules have been broken they will be punished, just as other clubs have been.

The EFL executive – to keep the clamourers happy – now intends to meet with Wolves to ‘reiterate the requirements’ of the regulations regarding the relationship between the club, Fosun and Jorges Mendes.

Wolves were compliant in July 2016 and have confirmed nothing has changed.

There is a paper trail of every transfer.

This is neither a defence nor criticism of the club, but until there comes a point when Wolves are found guilty of anything what is there left to say?

At Tuesday’s pre-match presser what were Nuno Espirito Santo’s thoughts about these external concerns?

“I don’t know and I don’t care,” he said, with a polite smile.

By Tuesday evening there were more pressing matters. The promotion rivals are mounting their challenge at just the right time.

The brilliance of Cardiff, Aston Villa and Fulham should be applauded.

Neil Warnock working wonders on a shoestring. Villa on a phenomenal roll with nine wins in 11. And Fulham, the purists’ choice, playing with style and swagger.

What a fight they are making of this. Are Wolves up for it?

The away end at Elland Road, tucked at the back right corner of the Main Stand, was a noisy place on Wednesday night.

A mixture of defiance towards the critics and determination to back the team created a cauldron of noise that barely let up all game.

‘There’s only one Jorges Mendes’ was a predictable offering but such was the quality of performance on the pitch that for the most part it was Nuno and his players who were the subject of the singing.

There are times when a manager must turn to what he knows best – in terms of playing personnel and formation.

It is a circumstance one could call the Armageddon match. Imagine a fixture that will be the last one ever played and pick the side accordingly.

The team that took to the pitch against Leeds United was that one.

Nuno went with those he trusted most and who had been most effective for him over the course of the season.

Leo Bonatini’s rapport with Diogo Jota had been missing in recent weeks as the manager tried other options, but it was restored here.

Only the Brazilian’s finishing let him down on a night when he brought the best out of Jota and made more space for Ivan Cavaleiro.

In midfield, with Ruben Neves absent, Romain Saiss and Alfred N’Diaye were instructed to seize control of the game and they did so brilliantly, displaying a disciplined positional sense in the process.

At the back, club captain Danny Batth came in alongside the imperious Willy Boly and natural leader Conor Coady.

Sometimes it is good to get an opposition perspective on the team.

Mark, my Leeds-supporting brother-in- law, was along for the ride, trying and failing to look happy in amongst the jubilant gold and black hoards.

He picked out Coady’s display as the best of many – that impeccable reading of the game and faultless positioning.

“Wolves are everything Leeds want to be but aren’t,” was his assessment of a grim night for the home fans.

The gulf in class was stark. Benik Afobe’s brilliant third capped it all off.

These are the moments when the real talking is done. The phoney war recedes into the background.

Days of innuendo about the way the club is being run.

Then the questions about the players’ stomach for the fight. Wolves’ players took to the field against a backdrop of doubt and walked off it having made their most emphatic statement yet.

It was left to Leeds chairman Andrea Radrizzani to have the final say, making an ill-judged grab for the moral high ground with a Twitter rant about Wolves’ supposed unfair advantage.

The Leeds fans have enough on their plate and were not buying such a lame attempt to deflect the blame.

There will be more whispers and suggestions from afar as the campaign reaches its denouement.

Villa’s Dr Xia tweeted about the situation earlier this season and chief executive Keith Wyness has since boarded the bandwagon.

Wolves are a team on everyone’s lips right now. But Oscar Wilde was right. There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.