Wolves' promotion teams and Nuno's boys – a combined XI

And a searching question was posed last week (hat tip @JasonJ1987) – if you were to choose a combined XI from Wolves' 2003 and 2009 promotion teams, as well as the current high-flying crop, who would you pick?

It's not as easy as it might sound...

Goalkeepers

Three contenders – Matt Murray, Wayne Hennessey and John Ruddy. All fine custodians of the jersey, keeping in line with Wolves’ tradition of producing or signing consistent and reliable goalkeepers for the past three decades.

Hennessey was an excellent young keeper (aged just 21) with no obvious weaknesses but, at that time, perhaps no outstanding attribute either, while Ruddy’s command of his penalty area has been as good as any keeper has produced in years.

But Murray gets the nod. It’s easy to forget this guy was being widely touted as a future England number one. His reflexes were phenomenal and there were occasions he earned points on his own with a succession of scarcely believable saves.

Full backs

Denis Irwin, Lee Naylor, Kevin Foley, Stephen Ward, Matt Doherty and Barry Douglas are the choices.

Irwin provided much-needed maturity and experience when Wolves needed it, Foley was a model of consistency and won player of the year in 2009, Ward did a superb job in what was an alien position at the time and Douglas’ assists and goals have given Wolves an extra dimension this season.

Doherty has developed into an excellent full back/wing back who can play on either flank, is rarely beaten or makes a mistake, regularly bombs forward and always provides an outlet. He’s been remarkably consistent, too. And Naylor was a mainstay for many years, playing 333 times for the club and enjoying his best campaign in 2002/03. It's a really difficult one but they just about it.

Centre halves

Take your pick from Paul Butler, Joleon Lescott, Jody Craddock, Richard Stearman, Christophe Berra, Neill Collins, Willy Boly, Danny Batth, Ryan Bennett, Conor Coady and Roderick Miranda. Quite the list.

Craddock and Stearman were fantastic servants for the club over many years, as Batth will continue to be, while Coady's move to centre half has been a huge success for the past six months.

However for pure talent and possessing a number of attributes that mean they wouldn't look out of place at a higher level, can you really look further than Lescott and Boly?

Lescott went to the very top of the game and justified his enormous potential. He made defending look easy in 2003 and Boly is doing that now. Too good for the Championship, both of them.

Central midfielders

The choices are Paul Ince, Alex Rae, Colin Cameron, Karl Henry, David Jones, Dave Edwards, Ruben Neves and Romain Saiss.

All very good players at Championship level but for me this is the easiest position. Ince was the best leader seen at Wolves in the past three decades and played a crucial role in galvanising Wolves in 2002 after their Devon Loch moment.

As for Neves, technically he is without doubt the finest central midfielder to grace Molineux since...well, for a very long time.

Attacking midfielders/wingers

Shaun Newton, Mark Kennedy, Matt Jarvis, Michael Kightly, Helder Costa, Diogo Jota and Ivan Cavaleiro...boy there's some talent there.

In 2008/09 Kightly and Jarvis – two classic Molineux wingers who loved to beat their man and swing a cross in, but could also cut inside to great effect (witness Kightly's beautiful strike in a memorable 5-1 thumping of Nottingham Forest) were a unstoppable at times.

They played the game the way that fans love – all action, big hearted, fast, skilful and committed. They have to be in.

Of the current crop, Jota is arguably the most complete player of the trio and so just gets the nod over Costa. If Cavaleiro was more consistent he'd be in there too. Pretty tough, isn't it?

Striker

Trying to narrow Kenny Miller, Nathan Blake, Dean Sturridge, George Ndah, Chris Iwelumo, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Leo Bonatini down to one is about as easy as choosing your favourite Oasis song.

Miller's goals were crucial, Bonatini has a great all-round game but, while he may not fit exactly into this system, 2008/09 goal machine Ebanks-Blake is the best out-and-out striker on this list and without his 25 goals (in 41 games) that season may have turned out differently.

Team (4-2-3-1): Murray; Doherty, Boly, Lescott, Naylor; Neves, Ince; Kightly, Jota, Jarvis; Ebanks-Blake.