One of the major talking points for Wolves fans over the last couple of seasons has been whether or not Michael Kightly will be able to fulfil his potential.
Kightly, now 25, had an incredible start to his Wolves career after being purchased for just £25,000 from Grays Athletic in 2007. In his first season with the club he delivered astonishing performances which led to him being linked with a move to the likes of Manchester United. He was also a runner-up in Wolves’ Player of the Year award, second only to the magnificent goalkeeper Matt Murray.
Since his storming introduction to the Football League, Kightly’s career has been hindered by serious injuries, including those to his ankle, metatarsal and his knee. He has made several attempts to return to the first-team but has been held back by further injuries each time.
Now, finally, the winger has had a consistent run of games after going on loan to Watford earlier in the season. He was a key figure at Vicarage Road and also got three goals to go along with his string of impressive displays. Kightly returned to Molineux and was put straight back into the fray as he started the last away game versus Tottenham at White Hart Lane. Here, he was praised by on looking journalists and pundits after putting in a solid performance in helping Kevin Foley deal with the ever-dangerous Gareth Bale.
Despite him seemingly being back to full fitness, the decision to put Kightly straight back into the starting XI was a controversial one amongst the Wolves faithful. If there’s one position that the club is not short on in terms of quality – it’s out wide. With the likes of Matt Jarvis, Stephen Hunt, Adam Hammill and now Anthony Forde all vying for two starting places, was Mick McCarthy right to bring Kightly straight back in?
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Personally, I thought it was unfair to give him a free pass ahead of Hunt, Hammill & Forde. These three have shown enough this season to warrant a starting place between them. Adam Hammill in particular has always looked dangerous whenever he is called upon, but Kightly’s introduction meant there wasn’t even room on the bench for the former-Barnsley man at White Hart Lane last weekend.
However, after all, there is a reason Michael Kightly holds a special place in all of our hearts. He is the one player in Wolves’ modern history that everyone is proud of. He gave us that extra something, and he has the ability to do things out of the ordinary. There was no better sight for any Wolves fan than seeing him back on the Premier League platform last weekend – ready to show the world what all the hype was about.
The gamble on putting Kightly straight back into the starting XI paid off massively at home to Aston Villa at the weekend. Kightly, who turns 26 later this week, put in a simply mesmerising performance, and managed to grab himself a goal to go along with it. His performance led to opposing manager Alex McLeish replacing attacker Gabby Agbonlahor with left-back Stephen Warnock at half-time, in order to try and put a stop on the effect Kightly was having on the game.
Now we have all seen a glimpse of the old Michael Kightly that we all know and love, we are all begging for more. As Wolves slipped to 19th in the Premiership table, we need our special players firing. The foundation has finally been set and now the former England Under-21 international can hopefully build on this and work towards getting back to his best.
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