It is a decade since Nouha Dicko joined Wolves permanently having previously been at the club on loan, an overall spell which included many of the typical ups and downs associated with life at Molineux. Here, he looks back, with Paul Berry.
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Within minutes of Nouha Dicko scoring his first Wolves goal against Burnley, a group of seriously disgruntled members of the Molineux faithful invaded the pitch, smashed up the dugout and advertising boards and vented their collective spleens at the club’s Board.
By the time Dicko grabbed his last Wolves goal, away at a Hull team he would join shortly afterwards, Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota were the accompanying names on the scoresheet. Fellow Molineux royalty.
There, in a nutshell, is the perfect illustration of the rollercoaster ride enjoyed – or sometimes endured by Dicko – during his time at Wolves.
Triumph, disaster and very little in between.
Dicko came through the vitriol and anger directed at the club during his spell on loan. Then the pure, unadulterated joy of the record-breaking League One promotion. The promise and frustration of going so close to the Championship play-offs. And the pain of a desperately ill-timed long-term injury.
But through it all, the crowd loved him. His pace, power, passion and predatory instincts in front of goal made him a firm favourite. He was Wolves’ pocket rocket – and the fans loved him for it.
The feeling was mutual.
“It’s that West Midlands accent again,” he chuckles as he picks up the phone from his home in Greece, where he plays for OFI Crete in the Super League.
“It’s nice to hear it, and I still follow Wolves because Wolves will always be a big part of my life.
“Even just talking about them again brings back all the memories.
“I had some amazing times, and some difficult times, and when I left it felt like the break-up of a love story!
“But I will always enjoy those special days and be happy at what we achieved.”
Playing in England was always an ambition for Dicko, who was born in the suburbs of Paris of Malian descent, and first played for Strasbourg, located on the German border in the region of Alsace.
“English football has always been very popular amongst French fans and players, and when I was growing up, I remember watching a lot of Arsenal,” he explains.
“They had a lot of French players, especially that Invincibles season when they won the league and stayed unbeaten.
“I always wanted to discover England, and also Germany, and when Strasbourg went into financial difficulties I was released and was effectively a free agent.
“I had contacts with clubs in both countries, but in the end, Germany didn’t happen and I moved to England, with Wigan, instead.”
At the time Wigan occupied the Premier League, and, after making his debut in the Carling Cup, several loan spells followed as Dicko learned his trade.
Two spells with Blackpool included coming off the bench in the play-off final defeat against West Ham at Wembley – he would later do the same for Wigan in the Community Shield against Manchester United – while a short stay with Rotherham included plenty of goals including a brace in a memorable 3-3 draw against Wolves.
In between all that came that initial loan at Molineux, during a hugely volatile time as the club suffered their second successive relegation amid much pain and acrimony.
Dicko’s debut came as a substitute for the stricken Sylvan Ebanks-Blake in the 3-2 win at Birmingham, but his additional three appearances all ended in defeat which saw the team tumble into League One and manager Dean Saunders lose his job.
That first goal in the final home game against Burnley was merely a consolation which failed to calm the rage and fan fury which spilled over after the final whistle, and last day defeat at Brighton – where Wolves next pitch up in the Premier League on Monday night – sealed the deal.
“I have to be honest, when I first came to Wolves, I hadn’t realised how big the club were,” Dicko admits.
“As I said, there was a lot of interest in English football back in France but it was all about the Premier League and not so much the Football League.
“I know Wolves were struggling at the time, but I remember the two games I played at Molineux and scoring against Burnley and thinking, ‘wow – this club is big’!
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good time for Wolves, the club were in a really difficult phase and not a good cycle.
“I tried my best to help the team but whatever we all did wasn’t enough, and I don’t think I was ready at this time to make a big impact.
“I remember thinking before that Brighton game that we could still stay up, maybe I was being delusional, but we got relegated and the fans were understandably very angry.
“But I also remember talking to the people around me after it all finished to say that even though the experience was difficult, I had enjoyed it, and that I hoped I would come back again one day!”
And come back again, he did!
When, a year on from all that chaos and capitulation, Wolves celebrated a record-breaking League One title success with a carnival against Carlisle, Dicko was on the scoresheet, his 13th goal of a half season that included his one and only hat trick to date in the unforgettable 6-4 win against Rotherham, and made him the club’s top scorer.
Having arrived permanently in the January, ten years ago last weekend, and probably aided and abetted by his brace on the other side of the Wolves/Rotherham fixture at the New York Stadium, Dicko hit the ground running with his customary speed, strength and smile on his face.
“I was so happy to join Wolves permanently, and had been really motivated playing in that game for Rotherham to try and impress,” he recalls.
“At that time, I didn’t know that the move was going to happen, but I think Kenny Jackett liked what he saw and brought me to Wolves.
“I felt really comfortable and settled as soon as I arrived, because I knew the manager wanted me, and there were a lot of players who I knew and who had been there the year before.
“I suppose there were one or two doubts because of what had happened during the loan, but it was so different, and going to a club on the up, the atmosphere is always really good.
“At the time, Jez Moxey (Chief Executive) was there and a big figure for Wolves and I think he made the right changes, they brought the right manager in and kept hold of the right players, and everything turned.
“It was all set up for me to come in and settle well and the team had an amazing few months.”
Included within that was a fierce local derby away at Walsall, when Dicko scored his first away goal for Wolves, followed by his second, in a 3-0 win.
It’s a game which is also remembered for some lively scenes after his opener, when he celebrated in front of the home fans, one of whom ran on to confront him.
“That was a terrific game, with a lively atmosphere in front of a full house,” he explains.
“I was probably still getting used to life in England at the time, even though I had been there for a couple of years.
“I scored the goal and celebrated in front of their fans and one of them came onto the pitch to confront me.
“I didn’t back down – if I can say that – and it was great to see Bakary (Sako) come over to back me up.
“It’s obviously not something that you want to see happening but I think it made for an iconic picture at the end and something that I can frame on the wall in my house!
“And that Rotherham game was a crazy one!
“I was motivated again to play against my former club, and it just felt like one of those days when it was going to be a great game.
“It finished 6-4, I scored three and got an assist, and it’s still the only hat trick of my professional career.”
Then came 2014/15, and another season full of excitement and attacking football which sadly, was destined to end in frustration.
Wolves opened with a 1-0 win over relegated Norwich at a vibrant Molineux. A head of steam developed over the second half of the season – thanks in part to the arrival of Benik Afobe – but it wasn’t quite enough to cross the play-off line as even an excellent points tally of 78 saw Wolves miss out on goal difference.
Ah yes, Benik Afobe. Dicko, Afobe, Sako. What a trio. Given their lingering legacy and in fact legendary status among Wolves fans, it is easy to forget they only spent four months together at Molineux.
The talented triumvirate started 13 games in the same Wolves team, of which nine were wins and one was drawn, the three of them providing 24 of the 31 goals.
As part of an overall team which had brought so much pride back to the club following double relegation, their contribution was substantial.
“In the first few months of that season I got a few goals but I wanted more, and I benefited a lot from Benik coming in,” Dicko reveals.
“With Bakary as well, the three of us played well together along with Rajiv van La Parra, who was doing well also.
“The three of us only played together for a few months, but it felt like years, and we are still in touch now.
“I know the fans remember that partnership and I remember the song – it still gives me goosebumps even now!
“For the team, we had a really good season with the fans right behind us, but I think there is some regret and frustration – it felt like that was our big chance to reach the Premier League.
“But the Championship that season was so entertaining and competitive, and normally getting 78 points is easily enough to reach the play-offs.”
On this occasion it wasn’t. And, sadly, Wolves’ momentum couldn’t last.
Out of contract, Sako landed the Premier League move his three years at Wolves deserved, and Afobe followed him in January, perhaps in part due to a resetting of ambitions as the club was put up for sale, not to mention a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained by Dicko which required surgery.
By the time he was fit again, almost a year later, Wolves had new owners in Fosun, and by the time Nuno arrived 12 months on, Dicko’s days at Molineux were numbered.
But that certainly wasn’t on his account – he was desperate to prove himself and to try and win a place in the new era, even though ultimately it wasn’t to be.
“Bakary was out of contract and I think he deserved to go to the Premier League because of his performances for Wolves in the Championship and League One, but I was still excited to see how my partnership with Benik would develop,” says Dicko.
“Unfortunately, I got a bad injury soon into that season, which was a blow for me and for the club, and by the time I was back things had changed.
“When Nuno arrived, I came back early for pre-season, I’d be out running on Tettenhall Road and I remember a fan taking a picture and putting it on Twitter!
“I was so focused, and wanted to make sure I was good enough to be in Nuno’s team and keep playing for Wolves.
“I did well in pre-season, scoring in some of the friendly games, then in the EFL Cup and in that league win at Hull.
“I really wanted to stay but unfortunately the club was moving in a different direction.
“I cannot say they definitely wanted me to leave, but they didn’t really try to keep me when the offer came in and they accepted it, and unfortunately, I had to go.
“I knew that team would get promoted to the Premier League, I could already see what was coming, and, while I couldn’t be involved, I have followed Wolves ever since.
“Hopefully I left a bit of a mark there, that is what you always want to do at a football club, that is what it’s all about.
“I know the fans can be sometimes harsh, they were with me from time to time, but when I interact with them now on social media, I think they remember me as someone who always gave their all for Wolves and tried to help the team.
“If they are happy when they remember me playing for Wolves then I am happy too!”
Now 31, Dicko is still on the hunt for goals, just as he has been since departing Molineux, with Hull, Vitesse Arnhem in the Netherlands, Gazisehir and Malatyaspor in Turkey, and now, in the top division in Greece.
“It’s a nice place to live and to play football – very different to England with a different mentality, although the weather is better than in Wolverhampton,” he laughs.
“I am just happy to still be playing and enjoying my football.”
Dicko remains, like many from that squad who helped Wolves turn the tide and paved the way for the spectacular years which have followed, a hugely popular figure among fans who remember his contribution with much fondness.
They love their strikers to be quick, direct, to shoot on sight, and Dicko provided just that in a team which, during Jackett’s first two seasons, were always full of running and packed with attacking intent.
And Dicko’s part in delivering those clinical statistics of the contribution he made alongside Afobe and Sako – not to mention the song which graced Molineux and away terraces up and down the country with so much passion and enthusiasm – has not been forgotten.
In total he scored 35 goals in 108 appearances for Wolves across his two spells. It was magic, you know.
