Wolves under Premier League radar says Birmingham captain Carsley
Nov 27 2008 by Andy Walker, Birmingham Post
Birmingham City captain Lee Carsley has surprisingly labelled promotion rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers as the Championship’s dark horses.
Whether or not the midfield general is attempting to unsettle Saturday’s opponents with Sir Alex Ferguson-style mind games, the Republic of Ireland international’s opinion will no doubt raise eyebrows at Birmingham’s local rivals’ Compton training ground.
The general consensus is that Wolverhampton, who enjoyed a one-season sojourn in the Premier League during the 2003/2004 campaign, are Championship heavyweights who have been steadily plotting an inevitable return to the English top flight ever since Mick McCarthy took charge two years ago.
However, Carsley’s argument is that Wolves had avoided the same intense scrutiny and ‘favourites’ tag that the Premier League’s most recent members Birmingham and Reading have come under this season.
The veteran has a point but that in no way diminishes the titanic encounter that awaits those packed into Molineux at noon on Saturday and of course those tuning in from the comfort of their armchairs.
“I think Wolves are going to do well this season,” said Carsley, already a clear front-runner for Birmingham’s player-of-the-season award. “In many ways people are keeping an eye on us and Reading as opposed to Wolves and Sheffield United because we are the Premier League teams that came down.
