| Club: | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| Season: | 2004–05 |
| Manager: | Dave Jones (until 1 November) Glenn Hoddle (from 7 December) |
| Mgrtitle: | Manager |
| Chairman: | Rick Hayward |
| Chrtitle: | Chairman |
| League: | Football League Championship |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | 4th round |
| Cup2: | League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | 2nd round |
| League Topscorer: | Kenny Miller (19) |
| Season Topscorer: | Kenny Miller (20) |
| Highest Attendance: | 28,516 (vs. Brighton, 28 December 2004) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 12,566 (vs. Millwall, 8 January 2005) |
| Average Attendance: | 26,620 (league only) |
| Prevseason: | 2003–04 |
| Nextseason: | 2005–06 |
The 2004 - 05 season was the 106th season of competitive league football in the history of English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers. They played the season in the 2nd tier of the English football system, the Football League Championship, after having suffered relegation from the Premier League during the previous campaign.
Despite hopes for an immediate return to the top flight, their 2004–05 Championship campaign began dismally, and at one point the side sunk as low as 19th place. Following a 0–1 defeat at Gillingham, a side Wolves had beaten 6–0 just 18 months previous, Jones was sacked at the beginning of November.[1]
Another former England coach was hired the following month, as Glenn Hoddle was appointed on a rolling one-year contract.[2] Under Hoddle, Wolves lost only one of their final 24 league games, but drew 15 to finish ninth in the final table – not enough to qualify for the play-offs.
Pre season began on 5 July with training based at the National Sports Centre at Lilleshall,[3] before the squad flew to Tromsø, Norway to begin a three-match tour (16–22 July).[4]
See also: 2004–05 Football League. A total of 24 teams competed in the Championship during the 2004–05 season. Each team would play every other team twice, once at their stadium, and once at the opposition's. Three points were awarded to teams for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats. The provisional fixture list was released on 24 June 2004, but was subject to change in the event of matches being selected for television coverage or police concerns.[5]
Final table
| width=30 | Team | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | West Ham United | 46 | 21 | 10 | 15 | 66 | 56 | +10 | 73 | |
| 7 | Reading | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 51 | 44 | +7 | 70 | |
| 8 | Sheffield United | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 57 | 56 | +1 | 67 | |
| 9 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 15 | 21 | 10 | 72 | 59 | +13 | 66 | |
Results summary
Results by round
See also: 2004–05 FA Cup.
See also: 2004–05 Football League Cup.
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| Award | Winner[6] | |
|---|---|---|
| Fans' Player of the Season | Joleon Lescott | |
| Players' Player of the Season | Joleon Lescott | |
| Young Player of the Season | Leon Clarke | |
| Goal of the Season | Kenny Miller (vs Preston, 11 August 2004) |
| Date | Player | From | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 July 2004 | Seyi Olofinjana | Brann | £1.7 million[7] | |
| 20 July 2004 | Rob Edwards | Aston Villa | £150,000[8] | |
| 5 August 2004 | Joachim Björklund | Unattached | Free[9] | |
| 27 August 2004 |  Seol Ki-Hyeon | Anderlecht | £1.2 million[10] |
| Date | Player | To | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 May 2004 | Ashley Vincent | Cheltenham Town | Free[11] | |
| 18 May 2004 | Alex Rae | Rangers | Free[12] | |
| 14 June 2004 | Paul Butler | Leeds United | Free[13] | |
| June 2004 | Nathan Blake | Released | Free[14] | |
| June 2004 | Denis Irwin | Retired | –[15] | |
| June 2004 |  Steffen Iversen | Released | Free | |
| June 2004 |  Oleh Luzhnyi | Released | Free | |
| June 2004 |  Isaac Okoronkwo | Released | Free | |
| June 2004 | Marlon Walters | Released | Free | |
| 8 July 2004 | John Melligan | Cheltenham Town | £25,000[16] | |
| 31 December 2004 | Michael Townsend | Cheltenham Town | Free[17] | |
| 10 March 2005 | Shaun Newton | West Ham United | £125,000[18] | |
| 18 March 2005 | Dean Sturridge | Queens Park Rangers | Free[19] |
| Date | Player | From | End date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 September 2004 | Mikkel Bischoff | Manchester City | 15 November 2004[20] | |
| 14 March 2005 | Rohan Ricketts | Tottenham Hotspur | End of season[21] | |
| 24 March 2005 | Mikkel Bischoff | Manchester City | End of season[22] |
| Date | Player | To | End date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 June 2004 | Silas | Marítimo | End of season[23] | |
| 30 July 2004 |  Henri Camara | Celtic | 31 January 2005[24] | |
| 7 October 2004 | Sammy Clingan | Chesterfield | 8 January 2005[25] | |
| 13 October 2004 | Gary Mulligan | Rushden & Diamonds | 13 January 2005[26] | |
| 13 October 2004 | Carl Ikeme | Accrington Stanley | 13 November 2004[27] | |
| 1 November 2004 | Lewis Gobern | Hartlepool United | 1 December 2004[28] | |
| 23 December 2004 | Paul Jones | Watford | 23 February 2005[29] | |
| 31 January 2005 | Henri Camara | Southampton | End of season[30] |
The season saw a new kit manufacturer as Le Coq Sportif began a two-year merchandising deal.[31] Chaucer Consulting began a five-year run as the club's shirt sponsor.[32] This meant new home and away kits were produced; the away kit was a navy blue shirt with white shorts and socks.[33]