Welcome Notice

Hello and welcome to Molineux Mix a forum for Wolves fans by Wolves fans.

Register Log in

Jackett, Ricketts and Murray at The Cleveland Arms

Mark Rankines Lovechild

Just doesn't shut up
Joined
Sep 1, 2008
Messages
13,658
Reaction score
10,880
A few people asked me to give a summary of tonight’s speaking event at the Cleveland Arms.

It was an enjoyable evening and, as no one will be surprised to hear, Kenny Jackett is an absolute gentleman. Murray is a good compare and Ricketts came across well but it seems he has less enthusiasm for the game, post playing, than Kenny. Sam is currently enjoying a venture into the builders merchants/garden centre business and where that takes him. There were a few things I took away from the evening;

. Both have a genuine affection for Wolves and loved their time here.

. Jackett went through three interviews to get the Wolves job: Thelwell then Thelwell and Moxey the Moxey and Morgan. By the time of the third interview he
knew he was in the final 2 and, as he drove to Morgans hotel, for the final interview, Paul Tisdale came driving out so he knew who he was up against.

. Kenny Jackett had been Milwall manager for six years, had watched the double Wolves relegation and the fan disconnect. He understood what he would do if he
got the job and The ”Bomb Squad” approach was his alone. Rightly or wrongly he said he couldnt have a team full of older pro’s, essentially who had failed (twice),
but still expected to play. He saw that Batth, Price, Doc, Griffiths etc were all young and good enough to play and provide competition and that he took the
decision to move players on that had become stale, Henry, Johnson, Doyle etc…it was nothing to do with Morgan or Moxey

. Griffiths head was turned by Celtic but he felt he upgraded in buying Dicko who had scored three against us For Rotherham. He did say that, injuries hampered
Dicko performing even better for us. He did also say, that of all the strikers, Adobe for a period of time during his first stint at Wolves was on anther level and the
best of the lot.

. I feel bad for this one but; after missing the playoffs by goal difference after promotion; During the third season when the football became turgid and hard to watch I remember my stomach being in knots at how boring and negative we were and giving him grief. Jacket said that he was told at the start of the season he had to streamline, and simply concentrate on keeping Wolves in the league. Morgan was going to sell and there were several buyers interested. I could be wrong but Morgan said he decided to sell after getting abuse from Wolves fans on a train journey- which I think Spiers lapped up, this suggests an exit was already in the plans By M & M.

. MacDonald, Stearman and others were sold as part of the ‘Streamlining” with little effort from Wolves shown to keep them when there were better potential
contracts in the offing From other clubs. Jacket said both MacDonald and Stearman loved it at Wolves and would have signed new contracts if we had made any effort. We really werent serious about a challenge in that final season it seems. Sako was a top lad, loved the club and tried hard all the time he was at Wolves but also fell to the same issue as above. I may be wrong but when Stearman was sold on the day of a game we were all up in arms. I am sure I remember Jackett saying “he was sold for football reasons” when questioned. This wasn't untrue but will make me think again when I hear it in future, the temptation is to believe it means they are no longer suited to the team / role…in this instance the owners wanted them gone.

. When it came to O’Hara he said that his brief comeback was fuelled by injuries to the first team at the time and that he had worked hard, been exemplary in his
approach and never put a word out of place. He got a chance but then othe players came back fit and stepped in. Jackett didnt say this but, the response he
received from the fans, I suspect, ended any comeback hopes. Ricketts said the squad had absolutely no issues with O’Hara or his return to the first team he was exemplary in attitude and application In training during his time there.

. Hennesseys refusal to play, he didn't deny happened, but skirted around a little. Jackett said that Pat Mountain (GK Coach) had said at the start the season to him that Hennessey, once fit, would not be at Wolves - he was Prem bound. Therefore it was pointless to play him and from the outset they decided to concentrate on Ikeme for the first team. Ricketts said that, at the start of the League 1 promotion season we won games we had no right to due to Ikeme and that he was the best keeper he ever played with including Hennessey, Jaaskelainen and Myhill.

. Fosun, Jackett said, were from the day they arrived totally upfront and honest with him as to their plans. He held no malice towards them as he said they did only what they said they would do but obviously would like to have had an opportunity with the resources subsequently put to other people. He accepted though that this was the nature of the business. I probably missed stuff but these were the key issues for me.

Edit:

Ricketts also said that it was him that rang Jackett to see if he could come to Wolves. Bolton had just been relegated but he could see they had problems coming behind the scenes. He knew Jackett from Swansea and that he'd do a good job.

On the subject of having a lot of resources in League 1 Ricketts said that when he arrived Jackett said: every game played was going to be a cup final for the opposition. He actually said one team (forget who he said it was) were so pumped up that, as the arrived at the Molineux they all ran straight off the bus, past the changing rooms and ran a lap of the pitch.

More importantly; I won a bottle of Tequiila in the raffle and my lad won a bottle of wine.
 
Last edited:

freezin

Just doesn't shut up
Joined
Aug 5, 2006
Messages
9,301
Reaction score
4,475
A few people asked me to give a summary of tonight’s speaking event at the Cleveland Arms.

It was an enjoyable evening and, as no one will be surprised to hear, Kenny Jackett is an absolute gentleman. Murray is a good compare and Ricketts came across well but it seems he has less enthusiasm for the game, post playing, than Kenny. Sam is currently enjoying a venture into the builders merchants/garden centre business and where that takes him. There were a few things I took away from the evening;

. Both have a genuine affection for Wolves and loved their time here.

. Jackett went through three interviews to get the Wolves job. By the time of the third interview he knew he was in the final 2 and, as he drove to Morgans.Hotel, for
the final interview Paul Tisdale came driving out so he knew who he was up against.

. Kenny Jackett had been Milwall manager for six years, had watched the double Wolves relegation and the fan disconnect. He understood what he would do if he
got the job and The ”Bomb Squad” approach was his alone. Rightly or wrongly he said he couldnt have a team full of older pro’s, essentially who had failed (twice),
but still expecting to play. He saw that Batth, Price, Doc, Griffiths etc were all good enough to play and provide competition and that he took the decision to move
players on that had become stale, Henry, Johnson, Doyle etc…it was nothing to do with Morgan or Moxey

. Griffiths head was turned by Celtic but he felt he upgraded in buying Dicko who had scored three against us For Rotherham. He did say that, injuries hampered Dicko
performing even better for us. He did also say, that of all the strikers, Adobe for a period of time during his first stint at Wolves was on anther level and the best of
the lot.

. I feel bad for this one but; after missing the playoffs by goal difference after promotion, during the third season when the football became turgid and hard to watch I remember my stomach being in knots at how boring and negative we were and giving him grief. Jacket said that he was told at the start of the season he had to streamline, and simply concentrate on keeping Wolves in the league. Morgan was going to sell and there were several buyers interested. I could be wrong but Morgan said he decided to sell after getting abuse from Wolves fans - which I think Spiers lapped up, this suggests an exit was already in the plans By M & M.

. MacDonald, Stearman and others were sold as part of the ‘Streamlining” with little effort from Wolves shown to keep them when there were better potential
contracts in the offing From other clubs. We really werent serious about a challenge in that final season it seems. Sako was a top lad, loved the club and tried
hard all the time he was at Wolves but also fell to the issue as above. I may be wrong but when Stearman was sold on the day of a game we were all up in arms. I
am sure I remember Jackett saying “he was sold for football reasons” when questioned. This wasn't untrue but will make me think again when I hear it in future, the temptation is to believe it means they are no longer suited to the team / role…in this instance the owners wanted them gone.

. When it came to O’Hara he said that his brief comeback was fuelled by injuries to the first team at the time and that he had worked hard, been exemplary in his
approach and never put a word out of place. He got a chance but then othe players came back fit and stepped in. Jackett didnt say this but, the response he
received from the fans, I suspect, ended any comeback hopes. Ricketts said they had absolutely no issues with O’Hara or his return to the first team.

. Hennesseys refusal to play, he didn't deny happened, but skirted around a little. Jackett said that Pat Mountain (GK Coach) had said at the start the season that
Hennessey, once fit, would not be at Wolves - he was Prem bound. Therefore it was pointless to play him and from the outset they decided to concentrate on Ikeme
for the first team. Ricketts said that, at the start of the League 1 promotion season we won games we had no right to due to Ikeme and that he was the best keeper
he ever played with including Hennessey, Jaaskelainen and Myhill.

. Fosun, Jackett said, were from the day they arrived totally upfront and honest with him as to their plans. He held no malice towards them as he said they did only
what they said they would do but obviously would like to have had an opportunity with the resources subsequently put to other people./. He accepte though that
this was the nature of the business. I probably missed stuff but these were the key issues for me.

More importantly; I won a bottle of Tequiila in the raffle and my lad won a bottle of wine.
.

.
Thanks @Mark Rankines Lovechild - appreciate the insight.
 

fleck1

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2017
Messages
606
Reaction score
1,793
Don't think you'll find a wolves fan with a bad word to say about either of them. The right men at the right time, turned the club around and sent us in the right direction when we were in a right mess on and off the pitch.
 

optimuswolf

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2013
Messages
407
Reaction score
331
A few people asked me to give a summary of tonight’s speaking event at the Cleveland Arms.

It was an enjoyable evening and, as no one will be surprised to hear, Kenny Jackett is an absolute gentleman. Murray is a good compare and Ricketts came across well but it seems he has less enthusiasm for the game, post playing, than Kenny. Sam is currently enjoying a venture into the builders merchants/garden centre business and where that takes him. There were a few things I took away from the evening;

. Both have a genuine affection for Wolves and loved their time here.

. Jackett went through three interviews to get the Wolves job. By the time of the third interview he knew he was in the final 2 and, as he drove to Morgans.Hotel, for
the final interview Paul Tisdale came driving out so he knew who he was up against.

. Kenny Jackett had been Milwall manager for six years, had watched the double Wolves relegation and the fan disconnect. He understood what he would do if he
got the job and The ”Bomb Squad” approach was his alone. Rightly or wrongly he said he couldnt have a team full of older pro’s, essentially who had failed (twice),
but still expecting to play. He saw that Batth, Price, Doc, Griffiths etc were all good enough to play and provide competition and that he took the decision to move
players on that had become stale, Henry, Johnson, Doyle etc…it was nothing to do with Morgan or Moxey

. Griffiths head was turned by Celtic but he felt he upgraded in buying Dicko who had scored three against us For Rotherham. He did say that, injuries hampered Dicko
performing even better for us. He did also say, that of all the strikers, Adobe for a period of time during his first stint at Wolves was on anther level and the best of
the lot.

. I feel bad for this one but; after missing the playoffs by goal difference after promotion; Durging the third season when the football became turgid and hard to watch I remember my stomach being in knots at how boring and negative we were and giving him grief. Jacket said that he was told at the start of the season he had to streamline, and simply concentrate on keeping Wolves in the league. Morgan was going to sell and there were several buyers interested. I could be wrong but Morgan said he decided to sell after getting abuse from Wolves fans on a train journey- which I think Spiers lapped up, this suggests an exit was already in the plans By M & M.

. MacDonald, Stearman and others were sold as part of the ‘Streamlining” with little effort from Wolves shown to keep them when there were better potential
contracts in the offing From other clubs. Jacket said both MacDonald and Stearman loved it and Wolves and would have signed new contracts if we had made any effort. We really werent serious about a challenge in that final season it seems. Sako was a top lad, loved the club and tried hard all the time he was at Wolves but also fell to the issue as above. I may be wrong but when Stearman was sold on the day of a game we were all up in arms. I am sure I remember Jackett saying “he was sold for football reasons” when questioned. This wasn't untrue but will make me think again when I hear it in future, the temptation is to believe it means they are no longer suited to the team / role…in this instance the owners wanted them gone.

. When it came to O’Hara he said that his brief comeback was fuelled by injuries to the first team at the time and that he had worked hard, been exemplary in his
approach and never put a word out of place. He got a chance but then othe players came back fit and stepped in. Jackett didnt say this but, the response he
received from the fans, I suspect, ended any comeback hopes. Ricketts said the squad had absolutely no issues with O’Hara or his return to the first team he was exemplary in attitude and application In training during his time there.

. Hennesseys refusal to play, he didn't deny happened, but skirted around a little. Jackett said that Pat Mountain (GK Coach) had said at the start the season that
Hennessey, once fit, would not be at Wolves - he was Prem bound. Therefore it was pointless to play him and from the outset they decided to concentrate on Ikeme
for the first team. Ricketts said that, at the start of the League 1 promotion season we won games we had no right to due to Ikeme and that he was the best keeper
he ever played with including Hennessey, Jaaskelainen and Myhill.

. Fosun, Jackett said, were from the day they arrived totally upfront and honest with him as to their plans. He held no malice towards them as he said they did only
what they said they would do but obviously would like to have had an opportunity with the resources subsequently put to other people. He accepted though that
this was the nature of the business. I probably missed stuff but these were the key issues for me.

More importantly; I won a bottle of Tequiila in the raffle and my lad won a bottle of wine.
.

.
Thanks for such an informative writeup. I love these insights.
 

wolfgar

Just doesn't shut up
Joined
Dec 6, 2015
Messages
5,634
Reaction score
8,615
Top man was Kenny, did an absolutely fantastic job and got pretty much all the calls right those first couple of years. Deserved a bit more backing than he got towards the end. I live near the Leyton Orient ground and pop across sometimes and was quite surprised he didn't do better there
 

Alex Rae The Substitute

Just doesn't shut up
Joined
May 14, 2012
Messages
7,444
Reaction score
9,045
Kenny Jackett was the perfect man for the job at the time, and although he had superior resources to other teams in L1 he still had to spend it wisely and get the right squad together.

I was disappointed when he left, you could tell even at the time that the turgid final season was driven by the board and not Jackett. Appointing Zenga to replace him was like replacing Attenborough with Trump on the BBC.
 

Rednal Wolf

Just doesn't shut up
Joined
May 1, 2013
Messages
3,044
Reaction score
2,814
I loved how Jackett immersed players into the clubs history by taking them around the museum and educating them regarding the importance of knowing who you're playing for.
Make no mistake he rescued us and played a pivotal role in now being an established premier league club instead of a sleeping giant in L1 or L2.
He has to be up there with ( since the 70s) McGarry, Barnwell, Turner, Mick and Nuno as doing great things for us.
 

sc91

Just doesn't shut up
Joined
Jan 24, 2012
Messages
16,725
Reaction score
17,962
Couldn't express more gratitude to those lads in the League One season, weirdly, it is one of the season I remember so fondly, probably as we were so good but also the 3pm kick offs, going to unknown grounds and having the core fanbase around, I thoroughly enjoyed that season and Jackett was the reason for that, but I wouldn't want to go back.
 

Tojo the grass

Just doesn't shut up
Joined
May 16, 2018
Messages
4,806
Reaction score
5,724
I really enjoyed the league one season as well, and it was not as easy as our final position suggested; we slipped into gear at the end but for the first two thirds of the season we struggled to get our noses in front of Orient and Brentford and PNE as well if I remember correctly.
 

citrus_wolf

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2016
Messages
800
Reaction score
1,276
A few people asked me to give a summary of tonight’s speaking event at the Cleveland Arms.

It was an enjoyable evening and, as no one will be surprised to hear, Kenny Jackett is an absolute gentleman. Murray is a good compare and Ricketts came across well but it seems he has less enthusiasm for the game, post playing, than Kenny. Sam is currently enjoying a venture into the builders merchants/garden centre business and where that takes him. There were a few things I took away from the evening;

. Both have a genuine affection for Wolves and loved their time here.

. Jackett went through three interviews to get the Wolves job: Thelwell then Thelwell and Moxey the Moxey and Morgan. By the time of the third interview he knew he was in the final 2 and, as he drove to Morgans hotel, for
the final interview, Paul Tisdale came driving out so he knew who he was up against.

. Kenny Jackett had been Milwall manager for six years, had watched the double Wolves relegation and the fan disconnect. He understood what he would do if he
got the job and The ”Bomb Squad” approach was his alone. Rightly or wrongly he said he couldnt have a team full of older pro’s, essentially who had failed (twice),
but still expected to play. He saw that Batth, Price, Doc, Griffiths etc were all young and good enough to play and provide competition and that he took the decision to move
players on that had become stale, Henry, Johnson, Doyle etc…it was nothing to do with Morgan or Moxey

. Griffiths head was turned by Celtic but he felt he upgraded in buying Dicko who had scored three against us For Rotherham. He did say that, injuries hampered Dicko
performing even better for us. He did also say, that of all the strikers, Adobe for a period of time during his first stint at Wolves was on anther level and the best of
the lot.

. I feel bad for this one but; after missing the playoffs by goal difference after promotion; During the third season when the football became turgid and hard to watch I remember my stomach being in knots at how boring and negative we were and giving him grief. Jacket said that he was told at the start of the season he had to streamline, and simply concentrate on keeping Wolves in the league. Morgan was going to sell and there were several buyers interested. I could be wrong but Morgan said he decided to sell after getting abuse from Wolves fans on a train journey- which I think Spiers lapped up, this suggests an exit was already in the plans By M & M.

. MacDonald, Stearman and others were sold as part of the ‘Streamlining” with little effort from Wolves shown to keep them when there were better potential
contracts in the offing From other clubs. Jacket said both MacDonald and Stearman loved it at Wolves and would have signed new contracts if we had made any effort. We really werent serious about a challenge in that final season it seems. Sako was a top lad, loved the club and tried hard all the time he was at Wolves but also fell to the same issue as above. I may be wrong but when Stearman was sold on the day of a game we were all up in arms. I am sure I remember Jackett saying “he was sold for football reasons” when questioned. This wasn't untrue but will make me think again when I hear it in future, the temptation is to believe it means they are no longer suited to the team / role…in this instance the owners wanted them gone.

. When it came to O’Hara he said that his brief comeback was fuelled by injuries to the first team at the time and that he had worked hard, been exemplary in his
approach and never put a word out of place. He got a chance but then othe players came back fit and stepped in. Jackett didnt say this but, the response he
received from the fans, I suspect, ended any comeback hopes. Ricketts said the squad had absolutely no issues with O’Hara or his return to the first team he was exemplary in attitude and application In training during his time there.

. Hennesseys refusal to play, he didn't deny happened, but skirted around a little. Jackett said that Pat Mountain (GK Coach) had said at the start the season to him that
Hennessey, once fit, would not be at Wolves - he was Prem bound. Therefore it was pointless to play him and from the outset they decided to concentrate on Ikeme for the first team. Ricketts said that, at the start of the League 1 promotion season we won games we had no right to due to Ikeme and that he was the best keeper
he ever played with including Hennessey, Jaaskelainen and Myhill.

. Fosun, Jackett said, were from the day they arrived totally upfront and honest with him as to their plans. He held no malice towards them as he said they did only what they said they would do but obviously would like to have had an opportunity with the resources subsequently put to other people. He accepted though that this was the nature of the business. I probably missed stuff but these were the key issues for me.

Edit:

Ricketts also said that it was him that rang Jackett to see if he could come to Wolves. Bolton had just been relegated but he could see they had problems coming behind the scenes. He knew Jackett from Swansea and that he'd do a good job.

On the subject of having a lot of resources in League 1 Ricketts said that when he arrived Jackett said: every game played was going to be a cup final for the opposition. He actually said one team (forget who he said it was) were so pumped up that, as the arrived at the Molineux they all ran straight off the bus, past the changing rooms and ran a lap of the pitch.

More importantly; I won a bottle of Tequiila in the raffle and my lad won a bottle of wine.
.

.

From the title, thought this was going to be a Wolves-related joke! ('A Jackett, Murray and Ricketts walk into the Cleveland Arms...') but it was all-business.

Great recap of the evening, and some fascinating tidbits shared by the speakers. Thanks for sharing
 

Alex Rae The Substitute

Just doesn't shut up
Joined
May 14, 2012
Messages
7,444
Reaction score
9,045
Meant to add to my previous comment that had we ended up not getting promoted that first season in L1 I think there’s a real chance we could still be there now, as our finances would have taken a huge hit the following season, and we’d have lost a lot of quality from the team.

We’d unlikely be owned by Fosun now, and whatever your stance on them at the moment, we’re certainly in a better place than we were then.

Kudos Jackett for guiding us through what was a critical period for the club.
 

Tojo the grass

Just doesn't shut up
Joined
May 16, 2018
Messages
4,806
Reaction score
5,724
Meant to add to my previous comment that had we ended up not getting promoted that first season in L1 I think there’s a real chance we could still be there now, as our finances would have taken a huge hit the following season, and we’d have lost a lot of quality from the team.

We’d unlikely be owned by Fosun now, and whatever your stance on them at the moment, we’re certainly in a better place than we were then.

Kudos Jackett for guiding us through what was a critical period for the club.
I doubt Fosun would not have taken us over if we were still in league one.
 
Joined
Jun 6, 2022
Messages
126
Reaction score
313
I was friendly with someone who was fairly high up in the Wolves staff hierarchy at the time and they told me it was Moxey who really championed the appointment of Kenny. Morgan had 'driven' the previous two appointments and made a bit of a hash of things so he let Jez take the lead on this one. As already said by many, it proved to be a crucial appointment and , without which, we may not be where we are today.
 

sc91

Just doesn't shut up
Joined
Jan 24, 2012
Messages
16,725
Reaction score
17,962
I really enjoyed the league one season as well, and it was not as easy as our final position suggested; we slipped into gear at the end but for the first two thirds of the season we struggled to get our noses in front of Orient and Brentford and PNE as well if I remember correctly.
We were neck and neck with Orient for a while, the game at Brisbane Road was where we won the title if I remember correctly?
 
Back
Top Bottom