BOTH the benefits and drawbacks of success have been revealed to Wanderers in 2004.

This time last year a top half finish would have been considered a huge success for a club simply happy to be in the Premiership.

But the phenomenal achievements of the large majority of the last 12 months have brought with them increased expectations from the manager, players and fans.

It was initially in the Carling Cup that the Whites established themselves as a force to be reckoned with, in a never-to-be-forgotten run that took them all the way to Cardiff.

Wanderers had one foot in the final inside 17 minutes in the first leg of the semi, racing into a 3-0 lead against Aston Villa. Jay-Jay Okocha was the star of the show as he signed off before leaving for the African Nations Cup with two magical free-kick goals as the Whites overcame a comeback from the visitors to win 5-2.

The second leg was a nervy affair for Wanderers fans, as, despite having Gavin McCann sent off, Villa went close to forcing extra time with a 2-0 victory on the night.

That aggregate triumph earned Sam Allardyce his first appearance in a major final as either a player or manager, but it was to end in bitter disappointment, as this time it was Middlesbrough who were quick out of the blocks in front of a passionate 72,634 Millennium Stadium crowd.

A Joseph Desire Job strike and a controversial Bolo Zenden penalty - awarded by Mike Riley who added to his negative reputation among Wanderers fans - left Wanderers with a mountain to climb.

Although Kevin Davies pulled a goal back, they could not prevent Boro winning their first ever trophy and securing the place in the UEFA Cup that Allardyce had wanted so badly.

The first month of the year had given Wanderers hope that Europe could be achieved through the league, as a dramatic comeback from 3-1 down to win at Blackburn, followed by further victories over Portsmouth and Charlton lifted them into eighth place.

But the absence of Okocha coupled with the blow of losing Ricardo Gardner for several months with a cruciate ligament injury affected the Whites, as they lurched into a run of seven games without a win, having already been ousted from the FA Cup by Tranmere.

A 3-1 defeat by Manchester City on Okocha's return left Wanderers low in confidence, and three more reverses to Birmingham, Chelsea and Arsenal saw them facing the possibility of being drawn towards relegation.

But they bounced back in fine style, firstly with a win over Newcastle, then with five straight wins after Easter.

Kevin Davies' last-gasp goal at Molineux all but consigned Wolves to the drop, before wins at home to Tottenham and at Southampton, where fans sung the name of Rivaldo, who - as this website exclusively revealed - had been in England for talks over a possible summer move.

Before the home match with Leeds the town heard the sad news of the death of legendary goalkeeper Eddie Hopkinson, but the game brought a performance he would have been proud of, as Youri Djorkaeff scored twice in a 4-1 victory.

The Frenchman repeated the feat in a 2-1 win at Everton, before playing his last game for the club in a final day defeat to Fulham, which also saw Per Frandsen, Simon Charlton, and Emerson Thome bow out.

An eighth place Premiership finish - the club's highest league position for 44 years - gave Allardyce hope that he could attract big-name signings in the summer.

But one by one his main targets decided against joining Wanderers, although Fernando Hierro and El-Hadji Diouf were among 11 players who did sign.

Only two of the new arrivals - Gary Speed and Julio Cesar - started on the opening day of the new campaign, as Jay-Jay Okocha took just 11 minutes to do what he had not managed to do during the whole of last season - score a goal in the Premiership - in the 4-1 demolition of Charlton that put them top of the table.

A week later they fell woefully below those standards in a defeat at Fulham, but back-to-back wins over Southampton and Liverpool followed by creditable draws against Manchester United and Arsenal left Wanderers sitting pretty in fourth.

After an embarrassing blip at West Bromwich Albion, Wanderers recovered to win their next three league games.

A week later Wanderers were fourth, one point behind Everton, after a 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough.

Wanderers had 22 points from 12 games, but a downturn in fortunes saw them take just two points from their next nine matches and talk of Europe gradually turned to talk of being sucked into a relegation fight.

A fine draw at Chelsea apart, there was nothing to smile about during that period with Diouf adding to the woes by getting suspended for three matches for spitting at an opponent.

Wanderers finished the year on a low, but the many earlier highs ensured 2004 was a year to remember.