Mick McCarthy led Wolves to the Championship title and returned the club to the top flight of English football for the first time in five years.

They clinched the league with a draw at Barnsley but the campaign as a whole saw Wolves as the leading team throughout most of the year and the competition with local rivals Birmingham City, who also were promoted as runners-up, gave the success a little more sweetness. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake bagged 25 league goals and with Chris Iwelumo also lodging 14, the threat of their strike force was evident to all.

Recent seasons have seen younger players from lower leagues brought to Molineux with the intent of building a club capable of reaching the Premier League once again without the usual reliance on substantial expenditure. Whilst McCarthy must be aware that the quality of close season signings will dictate the level of expectation for progress next year, he will look to the examples of two other Cities -Hull and Stoke - both of whom have secured another season with the big boys without having to spend vast sums of money. 2009/10 will be a difficult season at Molineux but no-one will take Wolves lightly.