Hahnemann gives Wolves boss the most welcome of headaches

There are plenty of weaknesses in the Wolverhampton Wanderers squad, but with Marcus Hahnemann and Wayne Hennessey vying for the number one shirt, the goalkeeping department isn’t one of them. This is without mentioning the seemingly forever injured Matt Murray, who many fans believe to be the best ‘keeper at the club when fit, and the promising Carl Ikeme who is on loan at Queen’s Park Rangers.

Hahnemann, who should be on his way to the World Cup as the USA’s second or third choice stopper this summer, is currently the man between the sticks at Molineux, and thoroughly deserved this honour is too. The American has been exceptional since being brought into the team in November, after a string of uneasy performances from Hennessey. The Welsh international has shown why he is regarded as one of the best young ‘keepers in the country over the past three years after first breaking onto the scene while on loan at Stockport County, where he set a new football league record of nine consecutive clean sheets and wins. But there are a couple of areas where he, understandably, is not quite as good as the big American.

The 23-year-old has proved himself to be a magnificent shot stopper and while he has improved his ability to claim crosses this season, he has made a couple of silly errors such as the one at home to Arsenal, where he failed to cut out a routine corner. And a major reason for this inadequacy is the Welshman’s timid nature on the pitch. As soon as Hahnemann claimed the green jersey there was a marked difference in how he communicated with his defenders. Now when a mistake is made the back four knows about it because the 37-year-old is rushing out and giving them a good old rollicking. Conversely, the Bangor-born youngster (in goalkeeping terms at least) comes across as a shrinking violet. Assertion is definitely something he needs to learn over the upcoming campaigns.

Mick McCarthy had a mixed bag with his signings last summer. A few of his purchases simply haven’t worked, with Greg Halford and Stefan Maierhofer probably acting as the best examples. And while Kevin Doyle has proved to be an exceptional piece of business, and the club’s buy of the summer, I would make a case for Hahnemann being second on the list, especially as a free transfer.

Many fans were surprised by McCarthy’s decision to bring the Seattle-born ‘keeper into the side. But his experience has proved vital in a very young side and Wolves have become more difficult to score easy goals against since his inclusion. Some supporters saw him purely as back up this season, due to his age. But after seven successful years at Reading, Marcus was always going to want to push himself for first team action. And he has looked so comfortable I wouldn’t be surprised to see another contract offer on the table at the end of the season.

I am not knocking Hennessey in this argument, for I believe he will go on to be a great goalkeeper and cement his place at Wolves and Wales’ number one. Ever since his first appearance in the gold and black, in the playoffs against West Brom almost three years ago, he has been the man to oust from the Wolves goal. He’ll make his way back in there in the future and he has plenty of years to work on the parts of his game that occasionally let him down. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go on and smash Neville Southall’s (Hennessey’s hero) record of 92 caps for Wales and hope Wolves can keep hold of him when bigger clubs inevitably come calling in the years to come.

But for now at least, Hahnemann is McCarthy’s choice. Experience wins over potential when avoiding relegation from the Premier League is the aim. If Wolves do stay up, the contribution of both the emperor and his apprentice should not be ignored.