WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS F.C.
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(Redirected from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
'Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.' are an English football club playing at Molineux Stadium. Usually referred to by a shortened version of its name, 'Wolves', the club is known in the UK for its distinctive team colours and long history.
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.
The European Cup competition itself was brought about due to Wolves playing against top European sides[1] in the 1950s.
They were founder members of the Football League and before the outbreak of World War I they had won the FA 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 FA Cup winners twice between 1949 and 1960. Wolves have yet to match the successes of the Stan Cullis era, although they did contest the UEFA Cup final in 1971 against Tottenham Hotspur and won 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.
The team was founded as St. Lukes in 1877 by John Baynton and John 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.
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 Stadium 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.
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.
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 the goal average prevented the First Division 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 fierce 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.
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.).
The club's return to the English top flight heralded another period of relative success, finishing the 1970-1971 season in 4th place, qualifying them for the newly created UEFA Cup. Stars of this era included Derek Dougan, Kenny Hibbitt and Frank Munro.
En route to the final, they beat Académica 7-1 on aggregate, ADO Den Haag (again 7-1 on aggregate), FC Carl Zeiss Jena 4-0 on aggregate, Juventus 3-2 on aggregate in the quarter-final and Ferencvaros 4-3 in the semi-final.
Thus Wolves reached the UEFA Cup final, losing the home leg against Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 (goal from Jim McCalliog) and drawing at White Hart Lane 1-1 (goal from David Wagstaffe).
Two years later they beat Manchester City to win the 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 again bring League Cup glory to Molineux in 1980. Wolves have yet to win another major trophy.
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. The nadir came with the FA Cup 1st Round 2nd replay defeat at non-league Chorley (where Wolves were defeated 3-0) in 1986. 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.
The key player behind the club's resurgence was Steve Bull 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 and took part in the Italia 90 World Cup Finals. Bull scored 306 goals for Wolves (250 of them in league matches) before retiring at the end of the 1998-99 season.
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 play-offs - 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.
The club's ageing ground was comprehensively rebuilt to meet new government inspired regulations in the early 1990s with the Stan Cullis Stand erected on the site of the North Bank in 1992, and the Billy Wright Stand replacing the Waterloo Road Stand in August 1993. Both of these stands were reportedly funded by the club owner. In December of that year the ground was completed when the Jack Harris Stand (funded by the national government) replaced the South Bank and the John Ireland Stand (renamed as the Steve Bull Stand in the summer of 2003) was completely refurbished by the owner.
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 play-off 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 play-off 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 play-off 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 play-off places. His assistant Colin Lee took over but the club just missed out on the play-offs. 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. However, end of season slump saw them being pipped to automatic promotion by deadly rivals West Bromwich Albion. Defeat at the hands of Norwich City in the play-off semi-finals finally put paid to their promotion hopes.
Wolves experienced sporadic form during the early part of 2002-03, and thus were never in contention for the automatic promotion places. Following a patchy first half of the season, Dave Jones' side turned the corner with a classic 3-2 FA Cup win over Newcastle United.
The team lost just 2 of their 20 league games after this, securing them 5th place, and a play-off semi-final clash against newly-promoted Reading. Wolves had trailed 1-0 in the home leg but hit back with 2 goals in ten minutes to secure a 2-1 victory. Alex Rae scored the goal in a 1-0 win at the Madejski Stadium, and earned Wolves a place in the Play-off Final against Sheffield United. In the Cardiff final, three goals in the first half from Mark Kennedy, Nathan Blake and Kenny Miller, respectively, were enough to earn Wolves a long awaited place in the Premiership, after 19 years in the lower echelons of British football.
Life in the Premiership was hard for Wolves, who did not win until their eighth match. They did manage some decent results, in particular a 1-0 win over Manchester United in January, 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.
Wolves made a dismal start to the 2004-05 Championship campaign, and at one point sat as low as 19th in the table. Following a humiliating encounter with Gillingham at Priestfield, which Wolves had lost 1-0, Jones was sacked at the beginning of November with the dreaded double drop looking a real possibility.
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 play-offs.
A lack of fortitude in the striking department, a lack of passion and pride on the whole from the team, and ultimately dull, cautious and bizarre tactics from Glenn Hoddle, including the placing of 6ft 4" Carl Cort on the wing, and 5ft 9" Tomasz Frankowski in the middle, saw Wolves finish a disappointing 7th in 2005-2006. It was a gut wrenching season for the Wolves faithful, many of whom had vowed towards the end of the season that they would not be renewing their season ticket as long as Hoddle was in charge. Though the board expressed no displeasure with Hoddle, with Jez Moxey affirming his faith in the under fire manager, the season had been frowned on by both local media, and most importantly, the fan base. However, few had anticipated Hoddle's sudden resignation mere moments before England's World Cup quarter-final clash with Portugal.
In pre-season 2006, Wolves cut their wage bill in half following the departure of 12 senior players; However, Wolves only received a transfer fee for two (the sales of Joleon Lescott and Seol Ki-Hyeon).
Former Republic of Ireland and Sunderland manager Mick McCarthy was confirmed as Glenn Hoddle's replacement as manager on 21 July 2006.
Wolves therefore commenced the 2006/07 season with only the bare bones of a first team squad and with the lowest expectations around the club in years. New manager Mick McCarthy acknowledged the challenge, stating to local media "The initials MM on my top stand for Mick McCarthy, not Merlin the Magician". The manager quickly scraped together a squad and the team started well before falling into inconsistency. After several key signings in the January transfer window, an impressive run of form followed and the club eventually made the play-offs, despite earlier expectations. They were paired with West Bromwich Albion in the semi-finals. Goalkeeper Matt Murray, voted player of the season by Wolves supporters, broke his shoulder in the final training session, which led to Wayne Hennessey making his Wolves debut in place of Murray. The tie ended 4-2 to Albion after two legs, ending Wolves' season.
Despite the defeat, McCarthy echoed the "overachieving" thoughts of most commentators when he said ''"I have got nothing but pride for what our young lads have achieved this season, they have come from virtually nowhere and been brilliant. They all sat hanging their heads, but they will all look back on this as being a good season with pride and satisfaction."''[2]
On 9 August 2007, businessman Steve Morgan finally completed a protracted takeover of the club for £10 in return for a £30million investment into the club, ending Sir Jack Hayward's 17 year reign.[3]
After last season's surprising play-off finish, manager Mick McCarthy has stated that this season "automatic promotion has to be the aim".
[4]
The club have strengthened by signing the likes of Freddy Eastwood, Stephen Elliott and Michael Gray, but were rocked by the news that goalkeeper Matt Murray - who had only just recovered from a broken shoulder - will miss 6 months of the campaign after suffering a knee injury in pre-season training.
[5]
As with all large city teams the club attracted a number of hooligans in the 1960s. During the late 1970s and early 1980s a group of teenagers calling themselves "The Subway Army" would ambush fans in the subway adjacent to the ground. They attended selected games, but many of the members claimed that they were not actually Wolves fans. Indeed, on visits to several away fixtures including Leeds they stood apart from the travelling Wolves supporters.
This criminal firm eventually dissolved due to the large number of arrests and were replaced by other groups. One recent hooligan achieved notoriety when unwittingly taking part in a BBC undercover expose on hooliganism in the UK. He was not publicly named and was reported in the media as being unemployed and claiming disability benefit from the government. Many of this faction were arrested in one of the nationally organised police dawn raids, under code name 'Operation Growth' or Get Rid Of Wolves Troublesome Hooligans. However there continued to be trouble involving a small group of 'Wolves' hooligans not only at league games but also at international fixtures, including in Poland.
It is worth noting that the vast majority of Wolves supporters have nothing to do with hooliganism. The ground and its surroundings are relatively trouble free and visiting football supporters move around safely.
Wolverhampton Wanderers play in one of the most famous and recognisable strips in British football. The traditional colours are old gold shirts and black shorts although in the club's early days the team sported various versions of these colours including old gold and black stripes and old gold and black diagonal halves. The traditional away colour of Wolves is all white.
The first badge to be worn on Wolves shirts was the city crest of Wolverhampton which was usually worn on special occasions such as cup finals. In the late 1960s, Wolves introduced their own club badge which consisted of a single leaping wolf that was later increased to three leaping wolves. In 1979, Wolves brought out the now famous wolf-head badge. Its simple and stylised design has made it one of the most recognisable club badges in British football and it still proudly adorns the famous old gold shirts today.
Main articles: Molineux Stadium
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.
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 9,500-seat John Ireland Stand (in 2003 renamed the Steve Bull Stand) and the much reduced South Bank Terrace (15,500) was in use. This reduction in capacity was due to the fact that the other two stands were wood-built and declared unsafe following the Bradford City disaster in 1985.
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 28,525 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. Should Wolves win promotion again, the other three corners will be filled in to achieve a 32,500 capacity, and should they become established as a top-division team, the Steve Bull and Billy Wright Stands would be expanded to create a 40,000+ capacity.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have supporters clubs in Sweden, Germany, Iceland and Norway affiliated to the official Wolves Supporters club, as well as supporters clubs across the UK.
The Wolves fanzine is called A Load Of Bull (ALOB), in part reference to former legend Steve Bull. The publication was founded in 1989 and is written voluntarily by ordinary Wolves supporters. It is currently edited by Charles Ross. It was announced in Issue # 131 that sales have fallen and unless subscriptions improve, the fanzine will "not be here in 2008-2009".
:''As of 15 August, 2007'':
N.B. Lee Collins, Mark Salmon, Elliott Bennett, Matthew Bailey and Liam Hughes are still eligible for the Under 18s team.
:''As of 10 July, 2007'':
Main articles: List of Wolverhampton Wanderers players
The following have either played for or managed Wolves and have been inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame:
★ Billy Wright 2002
★ Stan Cullis 2003
Wolves are the only club to have won titles in five different Football League divisions.
★ (Old) Division One Champions: 1953/54, 1957/58, 1958/59
★ FA Cup Winners: 1893, 1908, 1949, 1960; runners-up: 1889, 1896, 1921, 1939
★ (Old) Division Two Champions: 1931/32, 1976/77
★ Division One Play-off Winners: 2003
★ (Old) Division Three Champions: 1988/89
★ (Old) Division Three North Champions: 1923/24
★ (Old) Division Four Champions: 1987/88
★ League Cup Winners: 1974, 1980
★ Sherpa Van Trophy Winners: 1988
★ Texaco Cup Winners: 1971
★ UEFA Cup Runners-Up: 1971/72
★ FA Community Shield Winners: 1949, 1954, 1959, 1960
★ Football League War Cup Winners: 1942
★ United Soccer Association (Western Division) Champions 1967 - Playing as Los Angeles Wolves
★ North American Soccer League International Cup Winners 1969 - Playing as Kansas City Spurs
Wolves' main local rivals are West Bromwich Albion (with whom they contest the Black Country derby), Aston Villa and Birmingham City. The club also has lesser rivalries with Stoke City, Walsall, Coventry City and Cardiff City.
Wolverhampton Wanderers are famous for running out to Hi Ho Silver Lining, a rock song released in 1967 by Jeff Beck. Wolves supporters modify the lyrics of the chorus to "Hi Ho Wolverhampton!"
In the 50s and 60s, their signature tune was 'The Happy Wanderer'. Later The Liquidator by the Harry J. Allstars became very popular, although use of the song ceased following a request from the West Midlands Police who claimed that the lyrics the fans sang as a chorus could lead to hooliganism. The tune has made occasional re-appearances at important promotion and play-off matches over the years.
★ Official Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. site
★
★ Wolves statistics
1. http://galeb.etf.bg.ac.yu/~mirad/archive.html#opocetku
2.
3. Morgan completes Wolves takeover
4. McCarthy eyes automatic promotion
5. Murray faces long Wolves lay-off
'Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.' are an English football club playing at Molineux Stadium. Usually referred to by a shortened version of its name, 'Wolves', the club is known in the UK for its distinctive team colours and long history.
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.
The European Cup competition itself was brought about due to Wolves playing against top European sides[1] in the 1950s.
They were founder members of the Football League and before the outbreak of World War I they had won the FA 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 FA Cup winners twice between 1949 and 1960. Wolves have yet to match the successes of the Stan Cullis era, although they did contest the UEFA Cup final in 1971 against Tottenham Hotspur and won 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.
History
The team was founded as St. Lukes in 1877 by John Baynton and John 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 Stadium 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 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 the goal average prevented the First Division 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 fierce 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, finishing the 1970-1971 season in 4th place, qualifying them for the newly created UEFA Cup. Stars of this era included Derek Dougan, Kenny Hibbitt and Frank Munro.
En route to the final, they beat Académica 7-1 on aggregate, ADO Den Haag (again 7-1 on aggregate), FC Carl Zeiss Jena 4-0 on aggregate, Juventus 3-2 on aggregate in the quarter-final and Ferencvaros 4-3 in the semi-final.
Thus Wolves reached the UEFA Cup final, losing the home leg against Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 (goal from Jim McCalliog) and drawing at White Hart Lane 1-1 (goal from David Wagstaffe).
Two years later they beat Manchester City to win the 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 again bring League Cup glory to Molineux in 1980. Wolves have yet to win another major trophy.
Sharp decline and 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. The nadir came with the FA Cup 1st Round 2nd replay defeat at non-league Chorley (where Wolves were defeated 3-0) in 1986. 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.
The key player behind the club's resurgence was Steve Bull 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 and took part in the Italia 90 World Cup Finals. Bull scored 306 goals for Wolves (250 of them in league matches) before retiring 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 play-offs - 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.
The club's ageing ground was comprehensively rebuilt to meet new government inspired regulations in the early 1990s with the Stan Cullis Stand erected on the site of the North Bank in 1992, and the Billy Wright Stand replacing the Waterloo Road Stand in August 1993. Both of these stands were reportedly funded by the club owner. In December of that year the ground was completed when the Jack Harris Stand (funded by the national government) replaced the South Bank and the John Ireland Stand (renamed as the Steve Bull Stand in the summer of 2003) was completely refurbished by the owner.
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 play-off 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 play-off 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 play-off 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 play-off places. His assistant Colin Lee took over but the club just missed out on the play-offs. 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. However, end of season slump saw them being pipped to automatic promotion by deadly rivals West Bromwich Albion. Defeat at the hands of Norwich City in the play-off semi-finals finally put paid to their promotion hopes.
Wolves in the Premiership
Wolves experienced sporadic form during the early part of 2002-03, and thus were never in contention for the automatic promotion places. Following a patchy first half of the season, Dave Jones' side turned the corner with a classic 3-2 FA Cup win over Newcastle United.
The team lost just 2 of their 20 league games after this, securing them 5th place, and a play-off semi-final clash against newly-promoted Reading. Wolves had trailed 1-0 in the home leg but hit back with 2 goals in ten minutes to secure a 2-1 victory. Alex Rae scored the goal in a 1-0 win at the Madejski Stadium, and earned Wolves a place in the Play-off Final against Sheffield United. In the Cardiff final, three goals in the first half from Mark Kennedy, Nathan Blake and Kenny Miller, respectively, were enough to earn Wolves a long awaited place in the Premiership, after 19 years in the lower echelons of British football.
Life in the Premiership was hard for Wolves, who did not win until their eighth match. They did manage some decent results, in particular a 1-0 win over Manchester United in January, 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 at one point sat as low as 19th in the table. Following a humiliating encounter with Gillingham at Priestfield, which Wolves had lost 1-0, Jones was sacked at the beginning of November with the dreaded double drop looking a real possibility.
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 play-offs.
A lack of fortitude in the striking department, a lack of passion and pride on the whole from the team, and ultimately dull, cautious and bizarre tactics from Glenn Hoddle, including the placing of 6ft 4" Carl Cort on the wing, and 5ft 9" Tomasz Frankowski in the middle, saw Wolves finish a disappointing 7th in 2005-2006. It was a gut wrenching season for the Wolves faithful, many of whom had vowed towards the end of the season that they would not be renewing their season ticket as long as Hoddle was in charge. Though the board expressed no displeasure with Hoddle, with Jez Moxey affirming his faith in the under fire manager, the season had been frowned on by both local media, and most importantly, the fan base. However, few had anticipated Hoddle's sudden resignation mere moments before England's World Cup quarter-final clash with Portugal.
A new approach
In pre-season 2006, Wolves cut their wage bill in half following the departure of 12 senior players; However, Wolves only received a transfer fee for two (the sales of Joleon Lescott and Seol Ki-Hyeon).
Former Republic of Ireland and Sunderland manager Mick McCarthy was confirmed as Glenn Hoddle's replacement as manager on 21 July 2006.
Wolves therefore commenced the 2006/07 season with only the bare bones of a first team squad and with the lowest expectations around the club in years. New manager Mick McCarthy acknowledged the challenge, stating to local media "The initials MM on my top stand for Mick McCarthy, not Merlin the Magician". The manager quickly scraped together a squad and the team started well before falling into inconsistency. After several key signings in the January transfer window, an impressive run of form followed and the club eventually made the play-offs, despite earlier expectations. They were paired with West Bromwich Albion in the semi-finals. Goalkeeper Matt Murray, voted player of the season by Wolves supporters, broke his shoulder in the final training session, which led to Wayne Hennessey making his Wolves debut in place of Murray. The tie ended 4-2 to Albion after two legs, ending Wolves' season.
Despite the defeat, McCarthy echoed the "overachieving" thoughts of most commentators when he said ''"I have got nothing but pride for what our young lads have achieved this season, they have come from virtually nowhere and been brilliant. They all sat hanging their heads, but they will all look back on this as being a good season with pride and satisfaction."''[2]
2007-08 season
On 9 August 2007, businessman Steve Morgan finally completed a protracted takeover of the club for £10 in return for a £30million investment into the club, ending Sir Jack Hayward's 17 year reign.[3]
After last season's surprising play-off finish, manager Mick McCarthy has stated that this season "automatic promotion has to be the aim".
[4]
The club have strengthened by signing the likes of Freddy Eastwood, Stephen Elliott and Michael Gray, but were rocked by the news that goalkeeper Matt Murray - who had only just recovered from a broken shoulder - will miss 6 months of the campaign after suffering a knee injury in pre-season training.
[5]
Hooliganism
As with all large city teams the club attracted a number of hooligans in the 1960s. During the late 1970s and early 1980s a group of teenagers calling themselves "The Subway Army" would ambush fans in the subway adjacent to the ground. They attended selected games, but many of the members claimed that they were not actually Wolves fans. Indeed, on visits to several away fixtures including Leeds they stood apart from the travelling Wolves supporters.
This criminal firm eventually dissolved due to the large number of arrests and were replaced by other groups. One recent hooligan achieved notoriety when unwittingly taking part in a BBC undercover expose on hooliganism in the UK. He was not publicly named and was reported in the media as being unemployed and claiming disability benefit from the government. Many of this faction were arrested in one of the nationally organised police dawn raids, under code name 'Operation Growth' or Get Rid Of Wolves Troublesome Hooligans. However there continued to be trouble involving a small group of 'Wolves' hooligans not only at league games but also at international fixtures, including in Poland.
It is worth noting that the vast majority of Wolves supporters have nothing to do with hooliganism. The ground and its surroundings are relatively trouble free and visiting football supporters move around safely.
Colours and badge
Wolverhampton Wanderers play in one of the most famous and recognisable strips in British football. The traditional colours are old gold shirts and black shorts although in the club's early days the team sported various versions of these colours including old gold and black stripes and old gold and black diagonal halves. The traditional away colour of Wolves is all white.
The first badge to be worn on Wolves shirts was the city crest of Wolverhampton which was usually worn on special occasions such as cup finals. In the late 1960s, Wolves introduced their own club badge which consisted of a single leaping wolf that was later increased to three leaping wolves. In 1979, Wolves brought out the now famous wolf-head badge. Its simple and stylised design has made it one of the most recognisable club badges in British football and it still proudly adorns the famous old gold shirts today.
Stadium
Main articles: Molineux Stadium
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 9,500-seat John Ireland Stand (in 2003 renamed the Steve Bull Stand) and the much reduced South Bank Terrace (15,500) was in use. This reduction in capacity was due to the fact that the other two stands were wood-built and declared unsafe following the Bradford City disaster in 1985.
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 28,525 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. Should Wolves win promotion again, the other three corners will be filled in to achieve a 32,500 capacity, and should they become established as a top-division team, the Steve Bull and Billy Wright Stands would be expanded to create a 40,000+ capacity.
Supporters
Wolverhampton Wanderers have supporters clubs in Sweden, Germany, Iceland and Norway affiliated to the official Wolves Supporters club, as well as supporters clubs across the UK.
The Wolves fanzine is called A Load Of Bull (ALOB), in part reference to former legend Steve Bull. The publication was founded in 1989 and is written voluntarily by ordinary Wolves supporters. It is currently edited by Charles Ross. It was announced in Issue # 131 that sales have fallen and unless subscriptions improve, the fanzine will "not be here in 2008-2009".
Current squad
:''As of 15 August, 2007'':
Out on loan
N.B. Lee Collins, Mark Salmon, Elliott Bennett, Matthew Bailey and Liam Hughes are still eligible for the Under 18s team.
Academy under 18s squad
:''As of 10 July, 2007'':
Notable former players
Main articles: List of Wolverhampton Wanderers players
English football hall of fame
The following have either played for or managed Wolves and have been inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame:
★ Billy Wright 2002
★ Stan Cullis 2003
Manager history
★ George Worrall (Aug 1877-May 1885) ★ Jack Addenbrooke (Aug 1885-Jun 1922) ★ George Jobey (Jun 1922-May 1924) ★ Albert Hoskins (Jun 1924-Mar 1926) ★ Fred Scotchbrook (Mar 1926-Jun 1927) ★ Major Frank Buckley (Jul 1927-Mar 1944) ★ Ted Vizard (Apr 1944-May 1948) ★ Stan Cullis (Jun 1948-Jul 1964) ★ Andy Beattie (Jul 1964-Aug 1965) ★ Ronnie Allen (Sep 1965-Nov 1968) | ★ Bill McGarry (Nov 1968-May 1976) ★ Sammy Chung (Jun 1976-Nov 1978) ★ John Barnwell (Nov 1978-Jan 1982) ★ Ian Greaves (Feb 1982-Aug 1982) ★ Graham Hawkins (Aug 1982-Apr 1984) ★ Tommy Docherty (Jun 1984-Jul 1985) ★ Bill McGarry (Sep 1985-Nov 1985) ★ Sammy Chapman (Nov 1985-Aug 1986) ★ Brian Little (caretaker) (Aug-Oct 1986) ★ Graham Turner (Oct 1986-Mar 1994) | ★ Graham Taylor (Mar 1994-Nov 1995) ★ Mark McGhee (Dec 1995-Nov 1998) ★ Colin Lee (Nov 1998-Dec 2000) ★ Dave Jones (Jan 2001-Nov 2004) ★ Glenn Hoddle (Dec 2004-Jul 2006) ★ Mick McCarthy |
Honours
Wolves are the only club to have won titles in five different Football League divisions.
★ (Old) Division One Champions: 1953/54, 1957/58, 1958/59
★ FA Cup Winners: 1893, 1908, 1949, 1960; runners-up: 1889, 1896, 1921, 1939
★ (Old) Division Two Champions: 1931/32, 1976/77
★ Division One Play-off Winners: 2003
★ (Old) Division Three Champions: 1988/89
★ (Old) Division Three North Champions: 1923/24
★ (Old) Division Four Champions: 1987/88
★ League Cup Winners: 1974, 1980
★ Sherpa Van Trophy Winners: 1988
★ Texaco Cup Winners: 1971
★ UEFA Cup Runners-Up: 1971/72
★ FA Community Shield Winners: 1949, 1954, 1959, 1960
★ Football League War Cup Winners: 1942
★ United Soccer Association (Western Division) Champions 1967 - Playing as Los Angeles Wolves
★ North American Soccer League International Cup Winners 1969 - Playing as Kansas City Spurs
Rivals
Wolves' main local rivals are West Bromwich Albion (with whom they contest the Black Country derby), Aston Villa and Birmingham City. The club also has lesser rivalries with Stoke City, Walsall, Coventry City and Cardiff City.
Music
Wolverhampton Wanderers are famous for running out to Hi Ho Silver Lining, a rock song released in 1967 by Jeff Beck. Wolves supporters modify the lyrics of the chorus to "Hi Ho Wolverhampton!"
In the 50s and 60s, their signature tune was 'The Happy Wanderer'. Later The Liquidator by the Harry J. Allstars became very popular, although use of the song ceased following a request from the West Midlands Police who claimed that the lyrics the fans sang as a chorus could lead to hooliganism. The tune has made occasional re-appearances at important promotion and play-off matches over the years.
External links
★ Official Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. site
★
★ Wolves statistics
References
1. http://galeb.etf.bg.ac.yu/~mirad/archive.html#opocetku
2.
3. Morgan completes Wolves takeover
4. McCarthy eyes automatic promotion
5. Murray faces long Wolves lay-off
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