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 Wolverhampton England |
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| Capacity | 28,525 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman |  Jez Moxey (de facto)(for Sir Jack Hayward) |
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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. are an English 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 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.
[edit] History
[edit] Colours
Wolverhampton Wanderers play in one of the most famous and recognisable strips in British football. The traditional colours are 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.
[edit] Badges
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.
[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 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 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 Englandand took part in the Italia 90 World Cup Finals. 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 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 before 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.
[edit] Wolves in the Premiership
Wolves experienced sporadic form during 2002-2003, and thus were never in contention for the automatic promotion places. Following a languid and patchy first half of the season, Dave Jones' side eventually came into their own towards the final few months, a 6-0 thrashing of Gillingham F.C. proving the turning point.
It was to be the first of a 12 game unbeaten run that saw Wolves win 7 and draw 5, 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 towards the end of the second half to secure a 2-1 victory. Alex Rae was to score the goal that sealed a 1-0 win at the Madejski Stadium, and booked Wolves a play-off Final showdown with Sheffield United. 3 goals in the first half from Kenny Miller, Mark Kennedy, and Nathan Blake 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.
[edit] Setback and fightback
Wolves made a dismal start to the 2004-05 Championship campaign, and at one point found themselves sat as low as 19th in the table. Following a humiliating encounter with Gillingham at Priestfield, in which Wolves had lost 1-0, despite the home side being down to 10 men for almost 80 minutes, 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, although they were highest-placed of the three teams relegated from the Premiership, (Leeds United finished 14th and Leicester City 15th).
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 inept tactics from the increasingly bewildering Glenn Hoddle, including the placing of 6ft 4" Carl Cort on the wing, and 5ft 9" Tomasz Frankowski in the middle awaiting crosses 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. Wolves finished a shocking 8 points off the play-offs, which were the minimum objective before the season had begun. 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. Though the move was unsurprisingly met with delight by the majority, the state the former England manager had left the club in was a quickly realised and hard hitting reality.
[edit] Summer departures
In pre-season 2006 Wolves cut their wage bill in half following the departure of 12 senior players; Kenny Miller, Colin Cameron, Joleon Lescott, Stefan Postma, Silas, Ioan Viorel Ganea, Maurice Ross, Mark Kennedy, Seol Ki-Hyeon, George Ndah, Paul Ince 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. Lee Naylor was subsequently sold to Celtic F.C for £600,000
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 2006-07 Season
Wolves commenced the season away at Plymouth Argyle 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 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, signalled 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 signalling the new manager's intention to turn Sky Sports prediction of a fourteenth place finish on its head. But consistency of results was lacking, as victories and defeats came in equal measure leading up to the end of 2006.
Their FA Cup hopes were ended on 29 January 2007 with a 3-0 home defeat against local rivals West Bromwich Albion in the fourth round, but there then followed an impressive run of form - 6 wins in a row, unbeaten in 8 - including a vital 1-0 win against fierce rivals West Bromwich Albion at Molineux on March 11.
[edit] 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.
In recent years there has been less violence inside the stadium apart from in 2005-6 when several Cardiff fans were involved in scuffles with the police because of a dispute about a bar being closed at half time. Reading fans also complained at being spat at and having drinks thrown at them in the Play-Off Semi-Final in 2003.
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. There are also very few arrests when compared with the numbers of arrests made at certain other British football grounds.
[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. Commonly referred to as the 'golden palace'.
[edit] Players
[edit] Current squad
As of January 31, 2007:
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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] Manager history
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[edit] Club honours
Wolves are the only club to have won titles in five different Football League divisions.[citation needed]
- (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] 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.
[edit] Musical Anthems
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, but use of the song ceased following a request from the West Midlands Police who claimed that the alternative lyrics sung by fans could lead to hooliganism. The song has made occasional re-appearances at important promotion and play-off matches over the years.
The latest song that the fans have adopted at the second half of the 2006/07 season is Dario G's version of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire. This song is sung by the fans at both home and away games.
[edit] Fanzine
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. ALOB is currently edited by Charles Ross and regular contributors include Estate Agent Wolf, Burbage Bob, JIWAL, Very Old Gold, TitusWolf and Eddie the Adventurer.
[edit] External links
- Official Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. site
- Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. on BBC Sport: Club News - Recent results - Upcoming fixtures - Club stats
- Wolves statistics
| Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club |
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| The Club | Stadium | Records | Seasons | Players | Managers |
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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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Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | English football clubs | Football League founder members | Sport in the West Midlands | United Soccer Association teams | Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. | FA Premier League clubs | Football (soccer) clubs established in 1877 | Sport in Wolverhampton
