Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
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| Wolverhampton Wanderers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club |
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| Nickname(s) | Wolves, Old Gold | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1877 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Molineux Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capacity | 29,400 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman |  Jez Moxey (de facto) |
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| Manager |  Mick McCarthy |
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| League | The Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005-06 | The Championship, 7th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. is a Wolverhampton-based football club playing at Molineux. The club is mostly referred to by a shortened version of its name, Wolves.
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.
[edit] History
[edit] Beginnings in Blakenhall
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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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 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.
[edit] 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.).
[edit] 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 creaed UEFA Cup.
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 2-1 (goal from Jim McCalliog and drawing at White Hart Lane 1-1 (goal from Dave Wagstaffe).
Two years later they 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.
[edit] 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. 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. Bull scored 306 goals for Wolves (250 of them in league matches) until he retired at the end of the 1998-99 season.
[edit] 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.
The club's aging ground was comprehensively rebuilt to meet new 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. In December of that year the ground was completed when the Jack Harris Stand replaced the South Bank and the John Ireland Stand (renamed as the Steve Bull Stand in the summer of 2003) was completely refurbished.
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.
[edit] Wolves in the 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, admittedly 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 West 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.
[edit] 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 and 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 1 July 2006.
Wolves hit the headlines in July 2006, when young striker Chris Cornes received a 6-month ban after testing positive for cocaine.[1]
[edit] Summer Departures
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. However, 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 £1.5 million.
Former Republic of Ireland and Sunderland manager Mick McCarthy was confirmed as Glenn Hoddle's replacement as manager on 21 July 2006, shortly after the arrival of compatriot Gary Breen.
In a boardroom shake-up on 31 July 2006, Rick Hayward and Paul Manduca stepped down as directors and local businessmen Kevin Threlfall and John Gough were appointed to replace them.
[edit] The 2006/2007 Season
Wolves commenced the season away at Plymouth Argyle F.C. with only bare bones of a first team squad. New Manager Mick McCarthy knew he was in for a challenge and stated to local media "The initials MM on my top stand for Mick McCarthy, not Merlin the Magician". With a first game draw at Plymouth Argyle F.C. and a second match win at home against Ipswich Town F.C., fans could already be heard around the stadium singing 'Merlin's' praises. The signings of Jay Bothroyd and Gary Breen, left-sided midfielder Jamie Clapham, and the loan signings of striker Craig Davies from Verona and Guilherme Finkler, the first Brazilian ever to sign for the club, signaled McCarthy's ambition and intent for the club.
Despite an early setback against Preston North End F.C., Wolves went on to win three straight matches against Burnley F.C., Luton Town F.C. and Leeds United signaling the new managers intention to turn Sky Sports prediction of a fourteenth place finish on its head. Five matches into the season and Wolves found themselves in the dizzying heights of third place and on equal points to the league leaders. Wolves went on to lose the following two games to Derby and Barnsley 1-0 to leave them in 8th place, 1 place above rivals West Bromwich Albion, although Wolves bounced straight back up the league with an impressive 2-0 home win over Stoke which left them in 6th place. Next Wolves travelled to Cardiff, where they had a bad day, conceding 4 goals without reply to the league leaders, managed by former Wolves boss Dave Jones, and had a player sent off. However, Wolves quickly bounced back the following week with a 1-0 win over newly promoted side Colchester at the Molineux. This result was followed by another 1-0 home victory in midweek against Coventry City. Wolves took a hammering though, when they lost 3-0 to West Bromwich Albion in the first meeting between the two sides for five years.
[edit] Hooliganism
During the late 1970s and early 1980s a group of teenagers would ambush fans in the subway adjacent to the ground. The group began with Roger Quinton and Gary Johnson and called themselves the Subway Army.
The firm eventually dissolved and were replaced with the Bridge Boys, loosely led by Gilroy Shaw. He achieved notoriety when unwittingly taking part in a BBC undercover expose on hooliganism in the UK, under the alias Lenny.
Many of this faction were arrested in one of Thatchers dawn raids, under code name 'Operation Growth' or Get Rid Of Wolves Troublesome Hooligans. However there continued to be much trouble involving Wolves hooligans not only at league games but also during international fixtures.
[edit] Stadium
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Current squad
As of December 1, 2006:
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[edit] Players out on loan
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[edit] Notable former players
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See also: Category:Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
[edit] Notable Managers
- Dave Jones - Revered by many Wolves fans for achieving the team's first promotion in 19 years. However, with insufficient backing, was unable to keep Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premiership.
- 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.
[edit] Club Honours
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, 1954, 1959, 1960
[edit] Local rivals
West Bromwich Albion - easily the club's most fierce rivals, as both clubs have played in the same divisions for most of their history. Often mockingly referred to as "Sandwell Town" or "The Tesco Carrier Bags" due to the likeness of their home shirt to the appearance of a Tesco bag.
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.
Birmingham City - have been in the same division for much of their history, and in 2006-07 this rivarly will be exercised for only the second time in five seasons.
Walsall F.C. - though the teams rarely meet in the League due to life spent in different ends of the Football League, there is quite a strong rivalry due to being close neighbours.
[edit] Club Records
[edit] 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
[edit] 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)
[edit] 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 : £6 million from Coventry City for Robbie Keane, August 1999
[edit] External links
- Official Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. site
- Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. on BBC Sport: Club News - Recent results - Upcoming fixtures - Club stats
- Planet Wolves - The Independent WWFC Fansite
- Molineux Mix - Active Wolves Discussion Forum
- Wolves statistics
- Wolverhampton Wanderers News
- Wolvescentral.com
- 'The Wolves' Site
- The Molineux Way
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Barnsley | Birmingham City | Burnley | Cardiff City | Colchester United | Coventry City | Crystal Palace | Derby County | Hull City | Ipswich Town | Leeds United | Leicester City | Luton Town | Norwich City | Plymouth Argyle | Preston North End | Queens Park Rangers | Sheffield Wednesday | Southampton | Southend United | Stoke City | Sunderland | West Bromwich Albion | Wolverhampton Wanderers edit |
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