Ebanks-Blake takes aim at old pals

Wolves striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake makes his return to Home Park tomorrow to face former employers Plymouth Argyle in the opening game of the season.

Hot shot Ebanks-Blake is ensured a spiky reception from the home supporters after making the £1.5m switch from Devon to the West Midlands in January.

The newly-crowned No 9 smashed 12 goals in 20 games for Wolves in the second half of last season and added a further two over pre-season to secure his place in the starting line-up despite the arrivals of Chris Iwelumo and Sam Vokes.

Also arriving at the club have been Leicester City defender Richard Stearman and Derby County midfielder David Jones, giving Mick McCarthy plenty of depth.

"It's always good to get the campaign off to a good start so we are looking to go down there and win for the fans," said Jones.

A travelling army of 2,700 will be at Plymouth tomorrow to watch Wolves against an Argyle outfit who have found it hard going in the summer transfer window.

This week they secured the signing of 20-year-old midfielder Simon Walton for an undisclosed fee.

The only other new recruits have been Barnet winger Jason Puncheon - who cost £250,000 - and former Colchester United captain Karl Duguid on a free transfer.

"I envisaged it to be hard to bring in players, but not this hard and it's causing me a lot of frustrations," admitted manager Paul Sturrock.

Argyle have seen a host of players go in the opposite direction, including star Hungarian winger Peter Halmosi and captain Paul Wotton.

By Sean Wozencroft