Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Mick McCarthy | league =
The Championship | season =
2005-06 | position =
The Championship, 7th | shirtsupplier=
Le Coq Sportif |
shirtsponsors= Chaucer |
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leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=FFFFFF|socks2=FFFFFF|
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. are a
Wolverhampton-based
football club playing at
Molineux. The club is mostly referred to by a shortened version of its name: "Wolves". The club's local rivals are West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa and Birmingham City.
Molineux Stadium is situated on Waterloo Road and has four stands, three named after players who have become legendary at the club -
Billy Wright,
Steve Bull and
Stan Cullis and one after a former director called Jack Harris. The John Ireland Stand (now the Steve Bull Stand) was built in the late 1970s, the other three stands were added in the early 1990s.
Wolves were founder members of the Football League and before the outbreak of the Great War they had won the F.A Cup twice. But Wolves really established themselves as a top side under the management of Stan Cullis after the Second World War. They were league champions three times and F.A Cup winners twice between 1949 and 1960. Wolves have yet to match the successes of the Stan Cullis era, although they did win the League Cup in 1974 under Bill McGarry and again in 1980 under John Barnwell. Since 1984 they have spent just one season in the top division.
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Beginnings in Blakenhall
The team was founded in
1877 by John Baynton, Jack Addenbrooke and Jack Brodie after a group of pupils at St Luke's school in
Blakenhall had been presented with a football by their headmaster Harry Barcroft. Two years later, they merged with local
cricket and football club The Wanderers, to form Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The club was given the use of two fields - John Harper's Field and Windmill Field - both off Lower Villiers Street in Blakenhall in its early years. From there, they moved to a site on the Dudley Road opposite the Fighting Cocks Inn in
1881. The club became one of the twelve founders of the English
Football League in
1888 and finished the inaugural season in a creditable third place, as well as reaching the
FA Cup Final for the first time, losing 3-0 to the first "Double" winners,
Preston North End.
Early cup triumphs
Wolves remained as members of the
Football League First Division from
1888 until relegation in
1906, winning the
FA Cup for the first time on March 26,
1893. They beat Everton 1-0 at
Fallowfield in Manchester. Two years after relegation the team enjoyed another FA Cup win, as a
Second Division club, surprisingly beating
Newcastle United 3-1 in the final on April 25, 1908. After struggling for many years to regain their place in the top division, Wolves suffered relegation again in
1923, dropping into the
Third Division North. Wolves' first promotion was won just a year later, narrowly claiming the Third Division North title at the first attempt ahead of
Rochdale.
Interwar adventures
Following eight more years back in the Second Division, Wolves finally achieved a return to top division football in
1932, claiming the Second Division title and another promotion. In the years leading up to the
Second World War, the team became established as one of the leading club sides in England. In
1938 Wolves needed only to win the last game of the season to be champions for the first time, but were beaten 1-0 at
Sunderland and
Arsenal claimed the title. They again finished as runners-up in
1939, this time behind
Everton, and endured more frustration with defeat in the
FA Cup Final, losing 4-1 to underdogs
Portsmouth...
The Stan Cullis glory era
When league football resumed in
1946, Wolves suffered yet another heartbreaking failure in the First Division. Just as in 1938, victory in their last match of the season against
Liverpool would have won the title but a 2-1 win gave the
1947 championship to the Merseyside club instead. That game had been the last in a Wolves shirt for
Stan Cullis, and a year later he became manager of the club. In Cullis' first season in charge he led Wolves to a first major honour in 41 years as they beat
Leicester City 3-1 in the FA Cup Final, and a year later only goal average prevented a first league title being won.
The
1950s were by far the most successful period in the history of Wolverhampton Wanderers. Captained by
Billy Wright, Wolves finally claimed the league championship for the first time in
1954, overhauling local rivals
West Bromwich Albion late in the season. The club was described by some as the greatest football team in the world after beating the
Hungarian side
Honvéd 3-2, having been 2-0 down at half time.
Spartak Moscow,
Dynamo Moscow and
Real Madrid all came to Molineux and were beaten. Wolves were also league champions in
1958 and
1959, and in
1960 became the first team to pass the 100 goal mark for three seasons in succession. Coming agonisingly close to a hat-trick of titles and the first "double" of the twentieth century, Wolves finished just one point behind
Burnley and had to make do with a fourth FA Cup win, beating
Blackburn Rovers 3-0 in the final.
Cullis goes
The early
1960s saw Wolves begin to decline, and Cullis was sacked in September
1964 at the start of a dreadful season during which the club was never out of the relegation zone. The club's first spell outside the top division in more than thirty years would last just two seasons, as an eight game winning run in the spring of
1967 led the way to promotion.
During the summer of
1967, Wolves played a season in
North America as part of a fledgling league called the United Soccer Association. This league
imported twelve entire clubs from
Europe and
South America to play in
American and
Canadian cities, with each club bearing a local name. Wolverhampton, playing as the "Los Angeles Wolves", won the Western Division and then went on to earn the league title by defeating the Eastern Division champion Washington Whips (
Aberdeen of
Scotland) in the championship match. (This
FIFA-sanctioned league merged the following season with the non-sanctioned National Professional Soccer League, which had also begun in 1967, to form the
North American Soccer League.).
Cup finals and relegation struggles
The club's return to the English top flight heralded another period of relative success, as Wolves reached the
UEFA Cup final in
1972 and two years later beat
Manchester City to win the
Football League Cup for the first time. In
1976 Wolves were relegated again, but bounced back right away as Second Division champions. Three years later, an
Andy Gray goal defeated reigning European champions
Nottingham Forest to bring League Cup glory to the Molineux in
1980. Wolves have yet to win another major trophy.
Sharp decline and quick (semi) revival
Wolves went through a bad spell in the
1980s. After bouncing straight back from relegation in
1982, the club suffered three consecutive relegations in
1984,
1985 and
1986, sliding into the
Fourth Division for the first time in their history. Ownership of the club changed, and Graham Turner was appointed manager in October
1986, shortly after the drop into Division Four, and by
1989 Wolves were back in the Second Division following two successive promotions.
Steve Bull: Goal Machine
The key player behind the club's resurgance was
Steve Bull (born in
Tipton on
28th March 1965), who had been signed, along with Andy Thompson, from neighbours
West Bromwich Albion for a combined fee of £64,000. He had scored 50+ goals in all competitions during both promotion winning seasons, and while still a Third Division player he was capped by
England. Bull scored 306 goals for Wolves (250 of them in league matches) until he retired at the end of the 1998-99 season.
Playoff agony
In
1990 Wolves were bought by lifelong supporter Sir
Jack Hayward, and his money has led to much better times for the club. Wolves narrowly missed out on the Second Division playoffs - and the chance of a unique third successive promotion - at the end of the 1989-90 season. They did not make the playoffs until 1995, by which time the Premiership had been formed and its feeder division was now called Division One. Graham Turner had quit in March 1994 to make way for former England manager Graham Taylor. Wolves looked set for a return to the big time after beating Bolton 2-1 in the first leg of the playoff semi finals, but a 2-0 defeat in the second leg ended their promotion hopes.
Taylor was ousted in October 1995 after Wolves made a slow start to the 1995-96 season. His successor Mark McGhee inspired a brief turnaround in fortunes and as late as March they were just outside the playoff zone. But their dismal form returned and by the end of the season they had finished 20th - just two places above the drop zone and their lowest league finish since they slipped in the Fourth Division a decade earlier.
Wolves were much more confident in 1996-97, but were pipped to the second automatic promotion place by Barnsley and lost to Crystal Palace in the playoff semi-finals. They reached the F.A Cup semi finals a year later but McGhee was finally dismissed in November 1998 with Wolves slipping out of contention for the playoff places. His assistant Colin Lee took over but the club just missed out on the playoffs. A similar disappointment followed in 1999-2000 and Lee was finally dismissed in December 2000 with Wolves just a few places above the drop zone.
Former Southampton manager Dave Jones was named as Lee's successor and Wolves improved during the second half of the 2000-01 season, but their dismal early season form counted against them and they were unable to achieve anything more than a mid table finish. Wolves returned to their winning ways in 2001-02 and spent much of the season in the top two places before being pipped to automatic promotion by deadly rivals West Bromwich Albion. Defeat at the hands of Norwich City in the playoff semi-finals finally put paid to their promotion hopes.
Playoff glory sends Wolves into Premiership
Wolves were never in contention for the automatic promotion places in Division One during 2002-03 but a fifth place finish was enough for the playoffs and they overcame Reading in the semi-finals to reach the final, where they faced Sheffield United. Wolves won 3-0 and reached the top flight for the first time in almost 20 years, admitedly having spent over £20 million in the past two seasons to achieve this.
Life in the Premiership was hard for Wolves, who didn't win until their eighth match. They did manage some decent results, in particular a 1-0 win over Manchester United in January (the first time in 25 years that United had been beaten by a Midlands team apart from Aston Villa or Coventry City in a competitive game), but failing to win a single away game meant that their relegation battle was ultimately lost. Wolves finished bottom of the table on goal difference, bracketed together on 33 points with the two other relegated teams - Leicester City and Leeds United.
Setback and fightback
Wolves made a dismal start to the 2004-05 Championship campaign, and Jones was sacked at the beginning of November with a second successive relegation looking a real possibility. Jones was said to be furious that the £20 million pound transfer kitty promised to him never materialised, when Sir Jack Hayward decided to put the club up for sale.
Coach Stuart Gray was put in temporary charge of the first team for a month after Jones's dismissal, before Glenn Hoddle was appointed on a rolling one-year contract. Wolves lost only one of their final 25 league games but drew 15 of their games and finished ninth in the final table - not enough to qualify for the playoffs, although they were highest-placed of the three teams relegated from the Premiership (
Leeds United finished 14th,
Leicester City 15th).
Wolves were one of the hardest Championship teams to beat during the 2005-06 season, but failed to qualify for the playoffs due to too many drawn games, finishing eight points off the pace in 7th. Though the board expressed no displeasure with Hoddle, the season has been frowned on by both local media, and most importantly, the fan base. There was significant support for the 'Hoddle Out' campaign. Hoddle resigned as manager on 1st July 2006.
2006-07 will be a very important season for Wolverhampton Wanderers, as they will be again one of the favourites to be promoted into the Premiership, even though they will have a far reduced budget because their "
parachute payments" ended after the 2005-06 season.
In pre-season 2006 Wolves cut their wage bill in half following the departure of 11 senior players;
Kenny Miller,
Colin Cameron,
Joleon Lescott,
Stefan Postma,
Silas,
Ioan Viorel Ganea,
Maurice Ross,
Mark Kennedy,
Seol Ki-Hyeon,
George Ndah and
Darren Anderton. Meanwhile, Wolves only received a transfer fee for two of those players with the sale of fans' favourite Joleon Lescott to
Everton for a fee of £5 million and South Korean Seol Ki-Hyeon to
Reading for £1 million.
Wolves hit the headlines in July 2006, when young striker Chris Cornes received a 6 month ban after testing positive for Cocaine.[
1]
Former Republic of Ireland and Sunderland manager
Mick McCarthy was confirmed as Glenn Hoddle's replacement as manager on 21st July 2006, shortly after the arrival of compatriot
Gary Breen.
In a boardroom shake-up on 31st July 2006,
Rick Hayward and Paul Manduca stepped down as directors and local businessmen Kevin Threlfall and John Gough were appointed to replace them.
*
Billy Annis*
Peter Broadbent*
Steve Bull - scored 306 league goals for Wolves between 1986 and 1999
*
Colin Cameron - Scottish midfielder who joined Wolves in 2001
*
Robbie Dennison*
Derek Dougan*
Mel Eves*
Ron Flowers*
Don Goodman - striker between 1994 and 1998
*
Andy Gray*
Johnny Hancocks*
Bill Hartill*
Kenny Hibbitt*
Paul Ince*
Denis Irwin - Experienced full-back who joined Wolves just before his 37th birthday in 2002 and helped them reach the Premiership in his first season
*
Robbie Keane - Brilliant young striker who was sold to Coventry City for £6million in 1999, just after his 19th birthday
*
Kevin Muscat*
Kenny Miller*
Jackie McNamara - Glenn Hoddle's first major signing, a former
Celtic captain
*
Jimmy Mullen*
Frank Munro*
Lee Naylor*
Michael Oakes - English goalkeeper who has been at
Molineux since 1999.
*
Mixu Paatelainen*
Derek Parkin - most senior appearances by any player
*
Tom Phillipson*
Alex Rae - Scottish midfielder who played in the side that won promotion to the Premiership in 2003
*
John Richards - striker during the 1970s and early 1980s
*
Bill Slater*
Andy Thompson*
David Wagstaffe*
Bert Williams - goalkeeper in the great postwar side
*
Dennis Wilshaw *
Billy Wright - centre half and captain during the postwar glory era, who was also England's first 100-cap footballer
*
Dave Jones - Took Wolves into the Premiership in 2003, but was unable to keep them there
*
Graham Turner - Rebuilt Wolves in seven-and-a-half years as manager, winning two successive promotions and bringing in legendary striker Steve Bull
*
John Barnwell - Guided Wolves to League Cup glory in 1980, their most recent major trophy to date
*
Stan Cullis - Managed Wolves for nearly 20 years after the Second World War, winning three league titles and two F.A Cups. The club have failed to win either of these prizes since Cullis's departure, and have spent a total of just 15 out of more than 40 seasons in the top flight.
History
Wolverhampton Wanderers have played at
Molineux,
Whitmore Reans, since 1889. Their previous home was in the
Blakenhall area, and although no signs of the ground remain, a nearby road is called Wanderers Avenue.
Fluctuating attendances
When Wolves were at their height of success during the 1950s (three league championships and two F.A Cups) Molineux regularly held over 50,000 mostly standing spectators. But by the time of the sharp decline during the 1980s, only the newly built 8,000-seat John Ireland Stand (in 2003 renamed the Steve Bull Stand) was in use.
Redevelopment
Between 1991 and 1993, Molineux was comprehensively redeveloped. The Waterloo Road stand was replaced by the all-seat Billy Wright Stand, the North Bank terrace was replaced by the Stan Cullis Stand, and the South Bank terrace was replaced by the Jack Harris Stand. By the 1993-94 season the Molineux had a 28,000 all-seated capacity and was one of the largest stadiums in England. But by the time of the 2003 promotion, Molineux was the fifth smallest Premiership stadium. In the previous decade, many of the smaller stadiums had either been expanded or replaced to hold a capacity of between 30,000 and 67,000 seated spectators. For the 2003/04 to 2005/06 seasons, the corner between the Billy Wright and Jack Harris Stands was filled in with temporary seating to create a further 900 seats (called the Graham Hughes by most of the fans and now the club), bringing the ground's capacity to 29,400. For the 2006/07 season the temporary seating was removed.
Future plans
If Wolves win promotion again, the other three corners will be filled in to achieve a 32,500 capacity. If Wolves are eventually re-established as a top-division team, the Steve Bull and Billy Wright Stands are set to be expanded to create a 40,000+ capacity.
Wolves are the only club to have won titles in five different
Football League divisions.
*
(Old) Division One Champions : 1953/4, 1957/8, 1958/9
*
FA Cup Winners : 1893, 1908, 1949, 1960 Runners-Up : 1889, 1896, 1921, 1939
*
(Old) Division Two Champions : 1931/2, 1976/7
* Division One
Play-off Winners : 2003
*
(Old) Division Three Champions : 1988/9
*
(Old) Division Three North Champions : 1923/4
*
(Old) Division Four Champions :1987/8
*
League Cup Winners : 1974, 1980
*
Sherpa Van Trophy Winners : 1988
*
Texaco Cup Winners : 1971
*
UEFA Cup Runners-Up : 1971/2
*
FA Community Shield Winners : 1949 (Shared with Portsmouth), 1954 (Shared with West Bromwich Albion), 1959, 1960 (shared with Burnley)
*
West Bromwich Albion - probably the club's most fierce rivals, as they have played in the same divisions for most of their history. In 2006-07, they will be playing against each other for the first time in five years.
*
Aston Villa - there is a strong rivalry between the two clubs, as they played each other almost every season leading up to 1983-84, but since then have been in the same division for the 2003-04 season only.
*
Walsall - near neighbours, but have spent most of their history in different divisions. Their last meeting was in the 2002-03 season.
The hooligan followers of Wolverhampton Wanderers are mainly known as the "Subway Army", due to their tactic of ambushing and attacking rival supporters in subways. Their main targets are the supporters of West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa.
"Hi-Ho Silver Lining" by Jeff Beck - with the lyrics changed to "Hi-Ho Wolverhampton".
"The Liquidator" by Harry J. Allstars - original version have no lyrics but Wolves fans would sing "Fuck off West Brom" and West Midlands police eventually ordered the club to stop playing the track on matchdays.
"Michael row the boat ashore, halle-jujah" - traditional folk song with the lyrics changed to "Sandwell Town are going down, halle-jujah" in reference to West Bromwich Albion being relegated.
"Yellow submarine" - Beatles song with the lyrics changed to "Albion are going down like a Russian submarine", again referring to West Bromwich Albion's relegation.
'Mary's Boy Child - Boney M song, with the lyrics changed to "Hark now hear the South Bank sing, a new King's born today, his name is Stevie Bull, and he's better than Andy Gray", sung throughout Bull's Molineux career, and refrained whenever Bull comes on to the pitch on matchdays.
Appearances
* Most appearances (total) :
Derek Parkin - 609 (1968-82)
* Most appearances (league) : Derek Parkin - 501 (1968-82)
* Most consecutive appearances :
Phil Parkes - 171 (127 league) - Sept 1970 to Sept 1973
Individual Records
* Most goals scored (career) :
Steve Bull - 306 (1986-99)
* Most league goals scored (career) : Steve Bull - 250 (1986-99)
* Most goals scored (season) : Steve Bull - 52 (1987-8)
* Most league goals scored (season) :
Dennis Westcott - 38 (1946-7, First Division)
* Most goals scored (FA Cup) :
John Richards - 24 (1969-83)
* Most goals scored (League Cup) :
** John Richards - 18 (1969-83)
** Steve Bull - 18 (1986-99)
* Most hat-tricks scored : Steve Bull - 18 (1986-99)
* Most goals in European competition football :
Derek Dougan - 12 (1967-75)
* Most goals scored (individual, game) :
** 5 -
Joe Butcher against
Accrington Stanley - 1892 (Division 1)
** 5 -
Tom Phillipson against
Bradford City - 1926 (Division 2)
** 5 -
Billy Harthill against
Notts County - 1929 (Division 2)
** 5 -
Billy Harthill against
Aston Villa - 1934 (Division 1)
* Fastest recorded goal : 12 seconds, John Richards against
Burnley - 1976-7 (Division 2)
* Most international caps received whilst playing for Wolves:
**
England -
Billy Wright, 105 - 90 as captain (1939-59)
**
Scotland -
Kenny Miller, 20 (2002-06)
**
Wales -
Paul Jones, 45 (1997-2006)
**
Northern Ireland : Derek Dougan, 26 (1966-75)
**
Republic of Ireland :
Robbie Keane, 9 (1998-99)
Team records
* Most league goals (season) : 115 (Division 2 ; 1931-2)
* Most points scored :
** Two points for a win : 64 (Division 1, 1957-8)
** Three points for a win : 92 (Division 3, 1988-9)
* Best home victory (league) : 10-1 against
Leicester City, Division 1 ;
15 April,
1937* Best away victory (league) : 9-1 against
Cardiff City, Division 1 ;
3 September,
1955* Worst home defeat (league) : 0-8 against
West Bromwich Albion, Division 1 ;
27 December,
1897* Worst away defeat (league) : 1-10 against
Newton Heath, Division 1 ;
15 October,
1892* Best home victory (FA Cup) : 14-1 against Crosswell's Brewery ; 2nd round,
13 November 1886 * Best away victory (FA Cup) :
** 5-0 against
Reading ; 1st round,
15 January,
1910 (match played at Molineux)
** 5-0 against
Grimsby Town ; semi-final at
Old Trafford,
25 March,
1939* Worst home defeat (FA Cup) : 3-6 against
Derby County ; 3rd round,
14 January,
1933* Worst away defeat (FA Cup) : 0-6 against
Rotherham United ; 1st round,
16 November 1985* Best home victory (League Cup) : 6-1 against
Shrewsbury Town ; 2nd round, 1st leg,
24 September 1991* Best away victory (League Cup) : 5-1 against
Fulham ; 2nd round, 2nd leg,
3 October 1995* Worst home defeat (League Cup) :
** 1-3 against Fulham; 2nd round,
11 September 1974** 1-3 against
Luton Town; 2nd round,
30 August 1977* Worst away defeat (League Cup) :
** 0-5 against Fulham; 3rd round,
5 October 1966** 0-5 against
Sunderland; 2nd round, 2nd leg,
27 October 1982* Highest transfer fee paid :
£3.5 million to
Bristol City for
Ade Akinbiyi, September 1999
* Highest transfer fee received :
£5.9 million from
Coventry City for
Robbie Keane, August 1999
As of August 3, 2006:
Players out on loan
(on loan to Brighton) (on loan to Bristol City)2006–07 transfers
In:
*
Jay Bothroyd -
Charlton Athletic (free transfer)
*
Gary Breen -
Sunderland (free transfer)
*
Jamie Clapham -
Birmingham City (free transfer)
*
Craig Davies -
Hellas Verona (season long loan)
*
Karl Henry -
Stoke City (£100,000 rising to possible £175,000)
*
Guilherme Finkler -
Juventude (loan)
Out:
*
Darren Anderton - (released)
*
Colin Cameron -
Coventry City (free transfer)
*
Vio Ganea -
Rapid Bucharest (free transfer)
*
Seol Ki-Hyeon -
Reading (£1 million rising to possible £1.5m)
*
Paul Ince - (released)
*
Mark Kennedy -
Crystal Palace (free transfer)
*
Joleon Lescott -
Everton (£2.5 million rising to possible £5 million depending on appearances.)
*
Kenny Miller -
Celtic (free transfer)
*
George Ndah - (retired)
*
Stefan Postma -
ADO Den Haag (free transfer)
*
Maurice Ross -
Millwall (free transfer)
*
Official Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. site*
Planet Wolves - The Independent WWFC Fansite*
Molineux Mix - Active Wolves Discussion Forum*
Wolves statistics*
Wolvescentral.com*
'The Wolves' Site*
The Molineux Way
