In 1888 the club became founder members of the English Football League and reached the final of the FA Cup in 1889 where they were beaten by the legendary Preston North End side. The same year the club moved from the basic fields of Blakenhall to play their games at Molineux on the Waterloo Road. Little did the youngsters at the time who played for the club and their original fan base of the 19th century days know, but Molineux would go on to be the clubs home for 120 years to come and counting, as well as host some of the greatest games of club football the nation has ever seen.
In the pre-war period league form varied greatly for the Wolverhampton side but the strong cup tradition which bore out of the defeat to PNE in 1889 gathered strength and in 1893 the Wolves won their first of four FA Cups with a 1-0 victory over Everton. Despite sliding down to the second tier of the Football League six years after the turn of the century; Wolves registered their second FA Cup triumph in 1908 as a Second Division side, beating Division 1 Newcastle 3-1. The interwar period began typically for the early Wolverhampton side with a cup final in 1921 followed by relegation to the third tier of English football in 1922, before bouncing back immediately to Division 2. Wolves would be frustrated in the second tier of football for a few years to come – before a WW1 veteran and ex Aston Villa footballer was to move the club into a transitional period which would have glorious consequences for the Wolverhampton club.
Major Frank Buckley retained his military title along with his disciplinary aura and tactical mind. His managerial ideas were influential to the wider game of football as well as Wolverhampton Wanderers. Being one of the first managers to use a scouting network across England and Wales, the Major nurtured some of the great international stars of his era such as John Charles of Leeds and Wales, but more relevantly a local boy from Ironbridge, Shropshire named Billy Wright.
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| Stan Cullis: 1916-2001 |
The greatest player of Buckley’s various Wolves sides in the interwar period was of course Stan Cullis whose name is still used at Molineux to signify the ‘Stan Cullis Stand’, affectionately known as ‘The North Bank’. Cullis wrote that the Major ‘did not suffer fools gladly’ which was not only praiseworthy of his authoritarian leadership style but also best describes his shrewd business acumen and rational mind. Besides leading Wolves back to Division 1 in 1931 and turning them back into a nationally competitive club, Buckley was instrumental in making Wolves one of the richest clubs in Britain before the outbreak of World War Two due to his style of selling established stars and bringing through youth. After a four year interlude in the aftermath of WW2 and Buckley’s departure from Molineux, Wolverhampton Wanderers were ready to imprint their name in the books of football history forever by the late 1940s, under the guidance of one of the clubs most famous sons even to this day, Stan Cullis.
Cullis, Wright, and the Golden Years: 1948-1964
The successes of Wolves in this era under the stewardship of Stan Cullis and the captaincy of the great Billy Wright, who also has a stand and a statue in his honour at Molineux today, went hand in hand with the pride of the nation and football culture across the world. Before moving to the wider successes of Wolves during the 1950s and the career of Billy Wright, let us begin with the official honours achieved in this era.
In 1949 Stan Cullis became the youngest manager to win the FA Cup at Wembley with a 3-1 victory over Leicester City, and so began the Golden Years of football in Wolverhampton. Cullis guided Wolves to three successful league campaigns in 1953/54, 1957/58 and 1958/59. The decade was rounded off beautifully with the fourth FA Cup victory in 1960 over Blackburn Rovers at Wembley and even with all this in mind these official honours were not really what the fans of Wolverhampton believe makes our team unique to any other.
‘Wolves champions of the world now!’
The famous floodlit friendlies of the fifties made the world sit up and take notice of the incredible side which Stan Cullis had assembled. Between September 1953 and December 1954 Molineux hosted challenges from South Africa’s National Team, Celtic, Racing Club de Buenos Airies, Vienna, Maccabi Tel-a-Viv, Spartak Moscow and of course, Honved. The only side to gain as much as a draw in this series of internationally recognised challenges was Vienna – but the real story of these floodlit fixtures was written in December 1954 when the Hungarian side Honved made the journey from eastern-Europe back to England.
Little over a year ago Hungary had become the first side to beat England at Wembley. Not only were Billy Wright’s England side beaten, they went down 6-3 to a Hungary side which was driven by the deadly left foot of the great Ferenc Puskas, who would haunt Wright again in 1954 as England’s trip of vengeance to Budapest resulted in them being brutalised by a 9-1 defeat. The first England captain to ever reach the 100 cap mark got his chance of righting the wrongs of the national humiliations in December of the same year, as Puskas would be his challenge yet again although this time in the red and white hooped jerseys of Honved rather than the red and green of Hungary. Although Wright himself would play in the gold and black of his beloved Wolves the nation was behind him and Wolves to restore some pride to the English game. Wolves did just that by scoring a 3-2 victory over Honved and in the eyes of national newspapers becoming the unofficial Champions of the World. The team which triumphed that night including goal scorers Roy Swinbourne and Jonny Hancocks who according to my own late Grandfather who attended all of the fixtures of this era. ‘used to hit the ball so hard if the keeper saved it he’d end up in the net as well!’ The victorious team of that famous night is listed below:
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| Billy Wright: 1924-1994 |
1. Bert Williams
2. Eddie Stuart
3. Bill Shorthouse
4. Bill Slater
5. Billy Wright (c)
6. Ron Flowers
7. Johnny Hancocks
8. Peter Broadbent
9. Ron Swinbourne
10. Dennis Wilshaw
11. Les Smith
1.
1968-1978: The Last of the Great Successes
At no point in the future to this day would Wolves retake their place on the pedestal of international club football. Despite the dizzy heights of the 1950s proving to be too difficult to reach again Wolves tasted success again under Bill McGarry in the 1970s in which they reached the 1972 UEFA Cup Final and won the 1974 League Cup.
The pioneers of European football whose great successes encouraged the establishment of the European Cup in 1955, once again showed their taste for continental football in 1972 in the first ever UEFA Cup Competition. En route to the final Wolves had beaten sides such as ADO Den Haag, Juventus and Ferencavos in two legged ties before losing out to Tottenham Hotspur in the return leg at White Hart Lane.
The heartbreak of failing to achieve an official European success was cured two years later with the euphoria of victory in a Wembley final in 1974 after a 2-1 league cup final victory over Manchester City. The goals on that day were scored by Kenny Hibbit and John Richards and earned the first piece of silverware in fourteen years. Wolves would have to wait a further six before repeating this triumph with a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest in 1980 thanks to a goal from Andy Gray at Wembley. This was to be the last success of the club for almost a decade, as the club plunged into some of the most miserable years of its existence in the next decade.
The Early 80s and Potential Extinction
After flitting between the First and Second Division between 1981-83 Wolves faced impeding collapse at the hands of the Bhati Brothers who took over in 1982 without the best interests of the club at heart. The new owners tested the loyalty of the most staunch Wolves supporters and almost destroyed the reputation of Derek Dougan who until this dark period was hailed as a Wolves hero for his role in the campaigns of the early 1970s. By 1986, after three successive relegations Wolves were reduced to the Fourth Division of English football and with the ownership of the club in tremendous jeopardy the Molineux club looked set to fold. In early 1986 it is fair to say that fans such as my own Grandad, Vernon Evans who had watched their side in the Golden Years were resigned to their greatest joy being stripped of them forever. Only a miracle would save Wolves now and thankfully, we got three!
Saved and Restored: The Bully Years and Sir Jack Hayward: 1986-1994
A consortium made up of the local council, Gallaghers Builders and ASDA bought the flailing club in 1986 and the cries from the terraces of Molineux which could still be heart from the John Ireland Stand despite its distance from the pitch itself were answered. “Sack the Bhatis” they sang and despite the emergency consortium still being unable to put forward any real financial clout, the books were balanced and that was enough for Wolves. In terms of success on the pitch itself, whatever the amound of money involved in putting the Wolves back in business, the price of the footballing recovery came at around £50,000.
In November 1986, then manager Graham Turner spent £70,000 on two reserves from the clubs local rivals West Bromwich Albion who were at this point in the Second Division. One of these was a great servant to the club, a steady left back and a reliable left back who became affectionaly know as ‘Tommo’ as his real name was Andy Thompson. However the other, a striker, went on to score 306 goals for the club and was capped for England 13 times.
In 1987, ‘the goal machine’ gathered steam and the 1987/88 campaign gave Wolves fans something to smile about once more. Bull’s 34 league goals assisted the side to the Fourth Division title which was the first step back on the road to success. In all competitions the Wolves number 9 scored 52 goals, 12 of which came in the Sherpa Van Trophy, which in 1988 became the first piece of silverware since the 1980 League Cup. The 2-1 victory over Burnley was attended by 81,000 at Wembley and while I may be biased, there is no dispute from those in attendance which included my Grandfather, father and uncle, that the vast majority of these spectators were the Gold & Black Army.
The following season saw successive promotion back to the Second Division, inspired by another half century of goals from Steve Bull who earned an international callup for his endeavours, a rarity for a Third Division footballer in any era of football. In 1990 with Wolves established at the second tier of English football Sir Jack Hayward a boyhood fan and multi-millionaire bought the club from Gallagher Estates before pouring £20 million into the redevelopment of Molineux. Although the much sought after return to the top flight of English football was still just a dream – with Hayward at the helm and Bully on the pitch, the sleeping giant had awoke.
Agony and Ecstasy: 1990-2003
Throughout the 1990s the word “play-off” was taboo in Wolverhampton as despite the new 28,500 capacity stadium, the influx of money to buy new players and the much heralded ‘tatter’ Steve Bull firing on all cylinders, Wolves were denied by playoff defeats twice. In 1994/95 the dream of Premiership football eluded Graham Taylor’s side after a controversial semi-final defeat to Bolton Wanderers and in 1996/97 Mark McGhee’s side were denied by Crystal Palace. In 2001 Sir Jack Hayward placed his final faith in manager Dave Jones who enjoyed a final flurry of millions to build a team which would excel in the post-Bully era. Wolves hearts were broken again in 2001/02 as having stood in an automatic promotion position all season until the final ten game run-in, Jones’ side lost their nerve and were pipped to the post by rivals West Brom. The disappointment hampered Wolves in the play-off semi-final as they lost out to Norwich City and the Molineux faithful began to wonder if they would ever see Premiership football. In the 2002/03 season Jones made two pivotal signings in Denis Irwin and Paul Ince. Although their experience was only enough to guide the side to a play off position once more, this time Wolves at the fourth time of asking kept their nerve and having beaten Reading in the semi-final 3-1 on aggregate, almost 40,000 Wolves fans made the trip to the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, and I am proud to say that I was one of them. A 3-0 triumph over Sheffield United including goals from Mark Kennedy, Nathan Blake and Kenny Miller, plus an outstanding penalty save from man of the match Matt Murray saw Sir Jack Hayward’s dream become a reality and after 19 years of hurt, Wolves were back in the big time if not for one season.
The 2003/04 campaign was not a disaster despite relegation back the second tier. One game that sticks in the memory was the 1-0 victory at home scored over Manchester United and although the team was not ready to stick it out in the Premier League, the hunger and desire had been rekindled.
The Impossible Dream: 2004-2009
A bad start to the return season in the Championship cost Dave Jones his job and his replacement Glen Hoddle re-instilled a negative attitude to Molineux. His inevitable departure in 2006 led to Mick McCarthy taking on the job as Wolves boss and with the season underway and McCarthy’s new look side of fresh faced youth exceeding expectation on the league the club was bought by Steve Morgan with the promise of a £30 million investment.
More activity in the January transfer window saw McCarthy add to the young squad signing affordable players such as Michael Kightly and Andy Keogh. After a series of impressive unbeaten runs the hungry youngsters achieved a play-off place come the end of the year and were beaten by West Brom despite two defiant performances against the heavily invested-in Baggies side. McCarthy failed to build on this relative success the following season by way of promotion but his young team continued to gel and by 2008 the final pieces had been added to the jigsaw of Wolverhampton Wanderers. Strikers Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Chris Iwelumo spear headed an attack which saw Kightly added to by David Jones and Matt Jarvis. The player of the season Kevin Foley led the defensive line alongside a rejuventated Jody Craddock and McCarthy’s side led the Championship from the third game of the season which saw Nottingham Forest dispatched at Molineux 5-1 until the end. Wanderers fans poured onto the pitch after Ebanks-Blake’s 25th goal of the season ensured promotion against QPR and again a week later at Oakwell as Wolves cheered on by over 6000 in fancy dress secured the point that won them the Championship.
The Story of Survival
McCarthy’s side was not fortified too heavily in the close season on 2009 although Wolves broke their club record fee to bring Kevin Doyle to the club for £6.5 million. Other notable signings include Marcus Hahnemann, Ronald Zubar and Michael Mancienne on loan from Chelsea. The prospect of survival took a turn for the worst after away defeats at Bolton and Birmingham but the persistence and gyal of McCarthy’s side culminated in a tremendous 3-1 victory at Upton Park and 3 more vital points away to Burnley at Turf Moor. By April Wolves realistically needed a point to ensure their survivial out of their 3 remaining games, and it was Sylvan Ebanks-Blake who had only one goal to his name before starting the fixture as a substitute who scored the equalising goal in the contest which resulted in thousands of Wolves fans once again invading their own pitch in euphoria. The work is not over yet for Wanderers as they will need to add to their squad to safeguard against ‘second season syndrome’ but as far as hopeful Wolves fans are concerned – the future might have just started to look bright once more.
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