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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". The club's local rivals are West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa and Birmingham City.

Molineux Stadium is situated on Waterloo Road and has four stands, three named after players who have become legendary at the club - Billy Wright, Steve Bull and Stan Cullis and one after a former director called Jack Harris. The John Ireland Stand (now the Steve Bull Stand) was built in the late 1970s, the other three stands were added in the early 1990s.

Wolves were founder members of the Football League and before the outbreak of the Great War they had won the F.A Cup twice. But Wolves really established themselves as a top side under the management of Stan Cullis after the Second World War. They were league champions three times and F.A Cup winners twice between 1949 and 1960. Wolves have yet to match the successes of the Stan Cullis era, although they did win the League Cup in 1974 under Bill McGarry and again in 1980 under John Barnwell.

A sharp decline during the 1980s saw Wolves endure three successive relegations and fall into the Fourth Division for the first time in 1986. But a boardroom takeover and the addition of prolific striker Steve Bull saw Wolves return to the Second Division in 1989, and they remained at this level for 14 years before finally reaching the Premiership in 2003. But their Premiership tenure lasted just one season and in their two subsequent seasons they have just missed out on the Championship playoffs due to a habit of drawing too many games.

Significant former managers include Dave Jones, Graham Turner, John Barnwell, Bill McGarry, Stan Cullis and Major Frank Buckley. Significant former players include Steve Bull, Billy Wright, Bert Williams, Tim Edwards, Johnny Hancocks, Geoff Palmer, Mel Eves, John Richards, Emlyn Hughes and Robbie Keane.

History of the club

Formation

The team was founded in 1877 by John Baynton, Jack Addenbrooke and Jack Brodie after a group of pupils at St Luke's school in Blakenhall had been presented with a football by their headmaster Harry Barcroft. Two years later, they merged with local cricket and football club The Wanderers, to form Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The club was given the use of two fields - John Harper's Field and Windmill Field - both off Lower Villiers Street in Blakenhall in its early years. From there, they moved to a site on the Dudley Road opposite the Fighting Cocks Inn in 1881. The club became one of the twelve founders of the English Football League in 1888 and finished the inaugural season in a creditable third place, as well as reaching the FA Cup Final for the first time, losing 3-0 to the first "Double" winners, Preston North End.

Pre-Second World War

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.

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. ..

Post-War Success

When league football resumed in 1946, Wolves suffered yet another heartbreaking failure in the First Division. Just as in 1938, victory in their last match of the season against Liverpool would have won the title but a 2-1 win gave the 1947 championship to the Merseyside club instead. That game had been the last in a Wolves shirt for Stan Cullis, and a year later he became manager of the club. In Cullis' first season in charge he led Wolves to a first major honour in 41 years as they beat Leicester City 3-1 in the FA Cup Final, and a year later only goal average prevented a first league title being won.

The 1950s were by far the most successful period in the history of Wolverhampton Wanderers. Captained by Billy Wright, Wolves finally claimed the league championship for the first time in 1954, overhauling local rivals West Bromwich Albion late in the season. The club was described by some as the greatest football team in the world after beating the Hungarian side Honvéd 3-2, having been 2-0 down at half time. Spartak Moscow, Dynamo Moscow and Real Madrid all came to Molineux and were beaten. Wolves were also league champions in 1958 and 1959, and in 1960 became the first team to pass the 100 goal mark for three seasons in succession. Coming agonisingly close to a hat-trick of titles and the first "double" of the twentieth century, Wolves finished just one point behind Burnley and had to make do with a fourth FA Cup win, beating Blackburn Rovers 3-0 in the final.

Down... and up again (the 1960s)

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.).

More Success (the 1970s)

The club's return to the English top flight heralded another period of relative success, as Wolves reached the UEFA Cup final in 1972 and two years later beat Manchester City to win the Football League Cup for the first time. In 1976 Wolves were relegated again, but bounced back right away as Second Division champions. Three years later, an Andy Gray goal defeated reigning European champions Nottingham Forest to bring League Cup glory to the Molineux in 1980. Wolves have yet to win another major trophy.

Decline and Rescue (the 1980s)

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 resurgance was Steve Bull (born in Tipton on 28th March 1965), who had been signed, along with Andy Thompson, from neighbours West Bromwich Albion for a combined fee of £64,000. He had scored 50+ goals in all competitions during both promotion winning seasons, and while still a Third Division player he was capped by England. Bull scored 306 league goals for Wolves until he retired at the end of the 1998-99 season.

Waiting for success (the 1990s)

In 1990 Wolves were bought by lifelong supporter Sir Jack Hayward, and his money has led to much better times for the club. Wolves narrowly missed out on the Second Division playoffs - and the chance of a unique third successive promotion - at the end of the 1989-90 season. They did not make the playoffs until 1995, by which time the Premiership had been formed and its feeder division was now called Division One. Graham Turner had quit in March 1994 to make way for former England manager Graham Taylor. Wolves looked set for a return to the big time after beating Bolton 2-1 in the first leg of the playoff semi finals, but a 2-0 defeat in the second leg ended their promotion hopes.

Taylor was ousted in October 1995 after Wolves made a slow start to the 1995-96 season. His successor Mark McGhee inspired a brief turnaround in fortunes and as late as March they were just outside the playoff zone. But their dismal form returned and by the end of the season they had finished 20th - just two places above the drop zone and their lowest league finish since they slipped in the Fourth Division a decade earlier.

Wolves were much more confident in 1996-97, but were pipped to the second automatic promotion place by Barnsley and lost to Crystal Palace in the playoff semi-finals. They reached the F.A Cup semi finals a year later but McGhee was finally dismissed in November 1998 with Wolves slipping out of contention for the playoff places. His assistant Colin Lee took over but the club just missed out on the playoffs. A similar disappointment followed in 1999-2000 and Lee was finally dismissed in December 2000 with Wolves just a few places above the drop zone.

Up at last... then down again (2000-2004)

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.

Wolves were never in contention for the automatic promotion places in Division One during 2002-03 but a fifth place finish was enough for the playoffs and they overcame Reading in the semi-finals to reach the final, where they faced Sheffield United. Wolves won 3-0 and reached the top flight for the first time in almost 20 years, admitedly having spent over £20 million in the past two seasons to achieve this.

Life in the Premiership was hard for Wolves, who didn't win until their eighth match. They did manage some decent results, in particular a 1-0 win over Manchester United in January (the first time in 25 years that United had been beaten by a Midlands team apart from Aston Villa 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.

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.

Fighting Back (Since 2004)

Coach Stuart Gray was put in temporary charge of the first team for a month after Jones's dismissal, before Glenn Hoddle was appointed on a rolling one-year contract. Wolves lost only one of their final 25 league games but drew 15 of their games and finished ninth in the final table - not enough to qualify for the playoffs, although they were highest-placed of the three teams relegated from the Premiership (Leeds United finished 14th, Leicester City 15th).

Wolves were one of the hardest Championship teams to beat during the 2005-06 season, but failed to qualify for the playoffs due to too many drawn games, finishing eight points off the pace in 7th. Though the board expressed no displeasure with Hoddle, the season has been frowned on by both local media, and most importantly, the fan base. There was significant support for the 'Hoddle Out' campaign. Hoddle resigned as manager on 1st July 2006.

2006-07 will be a very important season for Wolverhampton Wanderers, as they will be again one of the favourites to be promoted into the Premiership, even though they will have a far reduced budget because their "parachute payments" ended after the 2005-06 season. Whoever takes charge of Wolves in the forthcoming season will be expected to stablise the club and achieve a respectable league position.

In pre-season 2006 Wolves cut their wage bill in half following the departure of 11 senior players; Kenny Miller, Colin Cameron, Joleon Lescott, Stefan Postma, Silas, Ioan Viorel Ganea, Maurice Ross, Mark Kennedy, Seol Ki-Hyeon, George Ndah and Darren Anderton. Meanwhile, Wolves only received a transfer fee for two of those players with the sale of fans' favourite Joleon Lescott to Everton for a fee of £5 million and South Korean Seol Ki-Hyeon to Reading for £1 million.

Wolves hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons in July 2006, when young striker Chris Cornes received a 6 month ban after testing positive for Cocaine.*

Notable players

Notable Managers

  • Dave Jones - Took Wolves into the Premiership in 2003, but was unable to keep them there
  • Graham Turner - Rebuilt Wolves in seven-and-a-half years as manager, winning two successive promotions and bringing in legendary striker Steve Bull
  • John Barnwell - Guided Wolves to League Cup glory in 1980, their most recent major trophy to date
  • Stan Cullis - Managed Wolves for nearly 20 years after the Second World War, winning three league titles and two F.A Cups. The club have failed to win either of these prizes since Cullis's departure, and have spent a total of just 15 out of more than 40 seasons in the top flight.

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 8,000-seat John Ireland Stand (in 2003 renamed the Steve Bull Stand) was in use.

Redevelopment

Between 1991 and 1993, Molineux was comprehensively redeveloped. The Waterloo Road stand was replaced by the all-seat Billy Wright Stand, the North Bank terrace was replaced by the Stan Cullis Stand, and the South Bank terrace was replaced by the Jack Harris Stand. By the 1993-94 season the Molineux had a 28,000 all-seated capacity and was one of the largest stadiums in England. But by the time of the 2003 promotion, Molineux was the fifth smallest Premiership stadium. In the previous decade, many of the smaller stadiums had either been expanded or replaced to hold a capacity of between 30,000 and 67,000 seated spectators. The corner between the Billy Wright and Jack Harris Stands has since been filled in 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.

Future plans

If Wolves win promotion again, the other three corners will be filled in to achieve a 32,500 capacity. If Wolves are eventually re-established as a top-division team, the Steve Bull and Billy Wright Stands are set to be expanded to create a 40,000+ capacity.

Club Honours

Wolves are the only club to have won titles in five different Football League divisions.

Local Rivals

  • West Bromwich Albion - probably the club's most fierce rivals, as they have played in the same divisions for most of their history. In 2006-07, they will be playing against each other for the first time in five years.
  • Aston Villa - there is a strong rivalry between the two clubs, as they played each other almost every season leading up to 1983-84, but since then have been in the same division for the 2003-04 season only.
  • Walsall - near neighbours, but have spent most of their history in different divisions. Their last meeting was in the 2002-03 season.

Club Records

Appearances

  • Most appearances (total) : Derek Parkin - 609 (1968-82)
  • Most appearances (league) : Derek Parkin - 501 (1968-82)
  • Most consecutive appearances : Phil Parkes - 171 (127 league) - Sept 1970 to Sept 1973

Individual Records

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)

Current squad

As of June 14, 2006:

Players on loan

External links

-a wolves fansite *

English football clubs | Football League Founder Members | Sport in the West Midlands | United Soccer Association teams | Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. | FA Premier League clubs

Wolverhampton Wanderers | Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club | Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club | וולברהמפטון ונדררס | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | ウォルヴァーハンプトン・ワンダラーズ | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 伍尔弗汉普顿流浪足球俱乐部

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.".

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