Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 217730 226068719 2008-07-16T18:11:13Z Dreaded Walrus 1715206 rv unreferenced/POV {{Football club infobox | clubname = Wolverhampton Wanderers | image = [[Image:WolvesBadge.png|150px]] | fullname = Wolverhampton Wanderers<br />Football Club | nickname = ''Wolves''<br>''The Wanderers'' | founded = 1877 (as St. Luke's) | ground = [[Molineux Stadium]]<br/>[[Wolverhampton]]<br/>[[England]] | capacity = 28,525| CEO = [[Jez Moxey]] | owner = [[Steve Morgan (businessman)|Steve Morgan]] | manager = [[Mick McCarthy]] | league = [[Football League Championship|The Championship]] | season = [[2007-08 in English football|2007-08]] | position = The Championship, 7th | pattern_la1=_blackborder|pattern_b1=_blacksidepiping|pattern_ra1=_blackborder| leftarm1=febd11|body1=febd11|rightarm1=febd11|shorts1=000000|socks1=000000| pattern_la2=_borderonblack|pattern_b2=_vneckonblack|pattern_ra2=_borderonblack| leftarm2=99FF33|body2=99FF33|rightarm2=99FF33|shorts2=000000|socks2=000000| }} '''Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club''' are a professional [[football (soccer)|football]] club based in [[Wolverhampton]], in the [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]] of [[England]]. Usually referred to by a shortened version of its name, '''Wolves''', the club is known for its distinctive team colours and long history. The club were founded in 1877 and since 1889 has been based at [[Molineux Stadium]]. Historically, Wolves have been highly successful, being founder members of the [[English Football League teams|Football League]], and winning the [[FA Cup]] twice before the outbreak of [[World War I]]. Wolves really established themselves as a top side under the management of [[Stan Cullis]] after the [[Second World War]], going on to win the League three times and the [[FA Cup]] twice between 1949 and 1960. It was at this time that the [[European Cup]] competition was initiated in the mid-1950s after English newspapers declared Wolves "Champions of the World" following victories against top European sides. Wolves have yet to match the successes of the Stan Cullis era, although they did contest the first [[UEFA Cup]] final in 1971 against [[Tottenham Hotspur]], and won the [[Football League Cup|League Cup]] in 1974 under [[Bill McGarry (footballer)|Bill McGarry]] and in 1980 under [[John Barnwell]]. Since 1984 they have, however, spent just one season in the [[Premier League|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 [[English Football League teams|Football League]] in 1888 and finished the inaugural season in a creditable third place, as well as reaching their first ever [[FA Cup Final]], losing 3-0 to the first "Double" winners, [[Preston North End F.C.|Preston North End]]. </div> ===Early cup triumphs=== [[Image:Wolves1893.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Wolves team that won the FA Cup in 1893]] 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 F.C.|Everton]] 1-0 at [[Fallowfield Stadium]] in Manchester. Two years after relegation the team enjoyed another FA Cup win, as a [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] club, surprisingly beating [[Newcastle United F.C.|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 [[Football League Third Division North|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 A.F.C.|Rochdale]]. ===Inter-war 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 A.F.C.|Sunderland]] and [[Arsenal F.C.|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 F.C.|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 F.C.|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 F.C.|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 (footballer)|Billy Wright]], Wolves finally claimed the league championship for the first time in 1954, overhauling fierce rivals [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]] late in the season. In this period, football played under floodlights was still a novelty. The summer of 1953 saw the first set of lights installed at Molineux, which were first tested in a friendly game against a South African XI. Over the next months, Wolves played a series of "floodlit friendlies" against foreign opposition. Beginning with [[Racing Club de Avellaneda|Racing Club of Argentina]], they also played [[FC Spartak Moscow|Spartak Moscow]] of the USSR, before meeting [[Budapest Honvéd FC|Honvéd]] of Hungary in a game televised live on the BBC. The Honved team included many of the "Magical Magyars" team who had humbled England twice. Wolves won the game 3-2, beating the [[Hungary national football team|Hungarian]] side despite having been 2-0 down at half time, which led many, including Cullis, to proclaim Wolves "Champions of the World", in spite of Honved's defeat to [[Red Star Belgrade]] (then lying seventh in their domestic league) days earlier. This was the final spur for [[Gabriel Hanot]], the editor of [[L'Équipe]], who had long campaigned for a Europe wide club tournament to be played under floodlights. {{Cquote|''Before we declare that [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton]] are invincible, let them go to [[Moscow]] and [[Budapest]]. And there are other internationally renowned clubs: [[A.C. Milan]] and [[Real Madrid]] to name but two. A club world championship, or at least a European one - larger, more meaningful and more prestigious than the [[Mitropa Cup]] and more original than a competition for national teams - should be launched.''}} :::::::::::::::::::'''(Gabriel Hanot, editor of L'Équipe)''' The [[UEFA]] congress of March 1955 saw the proposal raised, with approval given in April of that year, and the kick-off of the first [[European Cup]] the following season. Later, [[FC Spartak Moscow|Spartak Moscow]], [[FC Dynamo 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 F.C.|Burnley]] and had to make do with a fourth FA Cup win, beating [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|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 [[North American Soccer League#United Soccer Association (USA) 1967|imported twelve entire clubs]] from Europe and South America to play in [[United States|American]] and [[Canada|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 F.C.|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 F.C.|Juventus]] 3-2 on aggregate in the quarter-final and [[Ferencvarosi TC|Ferencvaros]] 4-3 in the semi-final. Reaching the [[UEFA Cup|UEFA Cup final]], Wolves lost the home leg against [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]] 2-1 (goal from [[Jim McCalliog]]) and drew at White Hart Lane 1-1 with a goal from [[David Wagstaffe]]). Two years later they beat [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]] to win the [[Football League Cup|League Cup]] for the first time. Despite relegation again in 1976, Wolves were to bounce back as Second Division champions, and three years later, an [[Andy Gray (footballer born 1955)|Andy Gray]] goal defeated reigning European champions [[Nottingham Forest F.C.|Nottingham Forest]] to again bring [[Football League Cup|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 [[Football League Division Four|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 F.C.|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 national football team|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 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 F.C.|Barnsley]] and lost to [[Crystal Palace F.C.|Crystal Palace]] in the play-off semi-finals. They reached the F.A. Cup semi-finals a year later but McGhee was 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 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 3-2 [[FA Cup]] win over [[Newcastle United F.C.|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 F.C.|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 [[Football League Championship play-offs#2003|Play-off Final]] against [[Sheffield United]]. In the Cardiff final, three goals in the first half from [[Mark Kennedy (footballer)|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. With key players Matt Murray & Joleon Lescott out for entire season and several others like Kenny Miller injured from the start of the season, life in the [[Premier League|Premiership]] was hard for Wolves, they did not win until their eighth match. They did manage some decent results, in particular a 1-0 win over [[Manchester United F.C.|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 F.C.|Leicester City]] and [[Leeds United A.F.C.|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 [[FIFA World Cup|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, receiving a transfer fee for only 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. [[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, but it was third time unlucky for McCarthy as the team lost out over two legs, losing 3-2 at Molineux and 1-0 at The Hawthorns. 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 {{Cquote|''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.<ref>{{Citation | last =Swain | first =Martin | title =Molineux men fill McCarthy with pride | newspaper =[[Express & Star]] | pages =63 | year =2007 | date =[[17 May]] [[2007]] }}</ref> ''}} McCarthy was later to be linked with international positions at South Korea and his previous post as Republic of Ireland manager. However he has persistently confirmed he wants to stay at Wolves. ===2007-08 season=== On [[9 August]] [[2007]], businessman [[Steve Morgan (businessman)|Steve Morgan]] finally completed a protracted takeover of the club for £10 in return for a £30million investment into the club, resulting in the departure of [[Jack Hayward|Sir Jack Hayward]] after 17 years as chairman.<ref>{{cite web | title = Morgan completes Wolves takeover | publisher =[[BBC News Online]] | date =[[2007-08-09]] | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wolverhampton_wanderers/6937817.stm | accessdate = 2007-08-09}}</ref> After last season's surprising play-off finish, hopes were high for the club to go one step further this time, with manager stating automatic promotion was his aim.<ref>{{cite web | title =McCarthy eyes automatic promotion | publisher =Birmingham Mail | date =[[2007-07-04]] | url =http://icwolverhampton.icnetwork.co.uk/sport/localsport/wolves/tm_headline=mccarthy-eyes-automatic-promotion%26method=full%26objectid=19402441%26siteid=50002-name_page.html}}</ref> The side was strengthened by signing [[Freddy Eastwood]], [[Stephen Elliott (footballer)|Stephen Elliott]] and [[Michael Gray]], but last season's Player of the Year, goalkeeper [[Matt Murray]] - who had only just recovered from a broken shoulder - missed the whole campaign after suffering a knee injury in pre-season training<ref>{{cite web | title =Murray faces long Wolves lay-off | publisher =[[BBC News Online]] | date =[[2007-08-08]] | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wolverhampton_wanderers/6932326.stm | accessdate = 2007-08-08}}</ref>. On the field, the team started the season inconsistently, but a strong October and November saw them push as high as third, just three points from the summit. However, an injury suffered by key player [[Michael Kightly]] seemed to severely weaken the team's creativity and preceded a dismal Christmas period that saw them pick up just 4 points from a possible 21, leaving them mid-table, and without hopes of an automatic finish. More players were brought in during the January transfer window, most crucially striker [[Sylvan Ebanks-Blake]] from [[Plymouth Argyle F.C.|Plymouth Argyle]], who scored 12 goals in the remainder of the season, finishing the division's top scorer on 23 goals. However his goals alone could not bring about a second successive play-off finish, as the side finished outside the final spot on goal difference, two goals short of [[Watford F.C.|Watford]]. Despite suffering just two defeats in their final 15 games, several crucial late goals that were conceded in the second half of the season ultimately proved costly. Indeed, just two more goals on the final day of the season would have booked them a playoff place. == Colours and badge == [[Image:Wolvarms.PNG|left|thumb|100px|City Crest.]] {| class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" | class="toccolours" style="padding: 0; background: #FFFFFF;" | {{Football kit |pattern_la = _blackborder |pattern_b = _blacksidepiping |pattern_ra = _blackborder |leftarm = febd11 |body = febd11 |rightarm = febd11 |shorts = 000000 |socks = 000000 |title = Current colours }} |- |} {| class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" | class="toccolours" style="padding: 0; background: #FFFFFF;" | {{Football kit | pattern_la = _red stripes | pattern_b = _red stripes | pattern_ra = _red stripes | leftarm = FFFlFF | body = FFFFFF | rightarm = FFFlFF | shorts = FFFFFF | socks = | title = Original colours }} |- |} 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 which later became three leaping wolves. In 1979, Wolves changed to 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 is still in use to the present day. ==Stadium== {{main|Molineux Stadium}} ===History=== [[Image:Molineux Ground, Wolverhampton.jpg|thumb|400|Molineux]] Wolverhampton Wanderers have played at [[Molineux stadium|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. The Molineux name originates from Benjamin Molineux, a local merchant who built his home on the grounds. Northampton Brewery, who later owned the site, rented its use to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1889, who had previously lacked a permanent home. After renovating the site, the first ever league game was staged on [[7 September]] [[1889]] in a 2-0 victory over Notts County before a crowd of 4,000. In 1953, the stadium became one of the first to install floodlights, at a cost of around £10,000. The first ever floodlit game was held on [[30 September]] [[1953]], as Wolves won 3-1 against South Africa. The addition of the floodlights opened the door for Molineux to host a series of midweek friendlies against teams from across the globe. In the days prior to the formation of the European Cup and international club competitions, these games were highly prestigious and gained huge crowds and interest, the BBC often televising such events. The old South Bank at Molineux is also historically the second largest of all Kop ends closely followed by [[Aston Villa]]'s Holte End, both of which regularly held crowds in excess of 30,000. ===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. By the time of their sharp decline during the 1980s, only the newly built 9,500-seat John Ireland Stand (now the Steve Bull Stand) and the much reduced South Bank (15,500) were 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 which a wood-built stand caught fire and killed 56 people in 1985. In the days before the Taylor Report, which required British football stadia to provide seating for all those attending, the ground had a capacity of over 60,000; the record attendance for a match at the ground is 61,315 for a game against Liverpool in the First Division on [[11 February]] [[1939]]. The total seated capacity today is approximately 28,525, making Molineux the [[List of English football stadia by capacity|twenty-sixth largest in English football]], although this was expanded in 2003 by the building of a temporary stand, known as the Graham Hughes Stand, providing capacity for another 900 fans. These temporary seats were removed during the 2006 close season. ===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. Millionaire owner Steve Morgan is keen to 'transform the city centre ground into a venue fit for Premiership football'<ref>[http://www.expressandstar.com/2007/11/10/molineux-in-line-for-revamp/ Molineux in line for revamp : Express & Star:<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> although the scale and speed of the expansion plans will dependent on Wolves being promoted to, and stabilising in, the Premier League. Accordingly, the Steve Bull and Billy Wright Stands would be modified, linking all four stands and expanding both side stands to create a 40-45,000+ capacity, making Molineux one of the [[List of English football stadia by capacity|top ten]] stadia in England by capacity. ===Training ground=== The Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground, opened in 2005, is a £4.6m, state-of-the-art site located in [[Compton]], Wolverhampton. It stands approximately one mile to the west of the stadium. The two storey building has five high-quality training pitches, eleven changing rooms, medical and physiotherapy facilities, gymnasium, and a hydrotherapy pool, one of only a handful of English clubs to own one. == Supporters == Wolverhampton Wanderers have an international support base, with supporter's clubs in Australia, the United States, Sweden, Germany, Ireland, Malta, Scotland, Iceland and Norway, amongst others. They also have supporters clubs across the UK. ===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, and 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". ===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 (underpass)|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, and the vast majority of Wolves supporters have never had any involvement with hooliganism. The Subway Army were eventually dissolved due to the large number of arrests and were replaced by other groups. Many of this faction were arrested in one of the nationally organised police dawn raids, under code name 'Operation Growth' or Get Rid of Wolverhampton's Troublesome Hooligans.<ref> {{cite book | last = | first = | authorlink = | author = Gary Armstrong and Dick Hobbs | editor = Richard Giulianotti, Norman Bonney and Mike Hepworth | others = | title = Football, Violence and Social Identity | origdate = | origyear = | origmonth = | url = | format = | accessdate = | accessyear = | accessmonth = | edition = | series = | date = | year = 1994 | month = | publisher = Routledge | location = London | language = | isbn = | oclc = | doi = | id = | pages = 196-228 | chapter = Tackled from behind | chapterurl = | quote = | ref = }}</ref> ==Current squad== :''As of [[15 July]] [[2008]]'': {{football squad start}} <!-- For help using the below template, please see [[Template talk:Football squad player]] --> {{fs player| no= | nat=Wales | pos=GK | name=[[Wayne Hennessey]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=Nigeria | pos=GK | name=[[Carl Ikeme]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=England | pos=GK | name=[[Matt Murray]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=England | pos=DF | name=[[Lee Collins (footballer born 1988)|Lee Collins]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=Scotland | pos=DF | name=[[Neill Collins]]}} {{fs player| no= | nat=England | pos=DF | name=[[Jody Craddock]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=Wales | pos=DF | name=[[Rob Edwards (footballer born 1982)|Rob Edwards]]|other=transfer-listed}}<ref>{{cite web | title = Breen Leaves And Five More Available for Transfer | publisher =wolves.co.uk | date =[[2008-05-08]]| url =http://www.wolves.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10307~1308842,00.html}}</ref> {{fs player| no= | nat=Cameroon | pos=DF | name=[[George Elokobi]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=Ireland | pos=DF | name=[[Kevin Foley (footballer)|Kevin Foley]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=England | pos=DF | name=[[Michael Gray]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=England | pos=DF | name=[[Daniel Jones (footballer)|Daniel Jones]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=England | pos=DF | name=[[Mark Little (footballer)|Mark Little]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=England | pos=DF | name=[[Richard Stearman]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=England | pos=DF | name=[[Darren Ward (footballer born 1978)|Darren Ward]]|other=transfer-listed}} {{fs player| no= | nat=England | pos=MF | name=Matthew Bailey }} {{fs player| no= | nat=England | pos=MF | name=[[Elliott Bennett]]}} {{fs player| no= | nat=England | pos=MF | name=[[Mark Davies]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=Wales | pos=MF | name=[[David Edwards (footballer)|David Edwards]] }} {{fs mid}} {{fs player| no= | nat=Ireland | pos=MF | name=[[Stephen Gleeson]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=England | pos=MF | name=[[Lewis Gobern]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=England | pos=MF | name=[[Karl Henry]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=England | pos=MF | name=[[Matthew Jarvis]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=England | pos=MF | name=[[David Jones (footballer born 1984)|David Jones]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=England | pos=MF | name=[[Michael Kightly]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=Nigeria | pos=MF | name=[[Seyi Olofinjana]]|other=transfer-listed }} {{fs player| no= | nat=Ireland | pos=MF | name=[[Darren Potter]]|other=transfer-listed }} {{fs player| no= | nat=Hungary | pos=MF | name=[[Dénes Rósa]]|other=transfer-listed }} {{fs player| no= | nat=Ireland | pos=MF | name=[[Mark Salmon]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=England | pos=FW | name=[[Jay Bothroyd]]|other=transfer-listed}} {{fs player| no= | nat=England | pos=FW | name=[[Sylvan Ebanks-Blake]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=Ireland | pos=FW | name=[[Stephen Elliott (footballer)|Stephen Elliott]]|other=transfer-listed}} {{fs player| no= | nat=England | pos=FW | name=[[Liam Hughes]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=Scotland | pos=FW | name=[[Chris Iwelumo]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=Ireland | pos=FW | name=[[Andy Keogh]]}} {{fs player| no= | nat=Wales | pos=FW | name=[[Sam Vokes]] }} {{fs player| no= | nat=Ireland | pos=FW | name=[[Stephen Ward (footballer)|Stephen Ward]]}} {{football squad end}} ==Notable former players== {{main|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]]: *{{flagicon|England}} [[Billy Wright (footballer)|Billy Wright]] 2002 *{{flagicon|England}} [[Stan Cullis]] 2003 *{{flagicon|England}} [[Glenn Hoddle]] 2007 ==Manager history== {{col-begin}} {{col-3}} *{{flagicon|England}} [[George Worrall]] (Aug 1877-May 1885) *{{flagicon|England}} [[Jack Addenbrooke]] (Aug 1885-Jun 1922) *{{flagicon|England}} [[George Jobey]] (Jun 1922-May 1924) *{{flagicon|England}} [[Albert Hoskins]] (Jun 1924-Mar 1926) *{{flagicon|England}} [[Fred Scotchbrook]] (Mar 1926-Jun 1927) *{{flagicon|England}} [[Frank Buckley (footballer)|Major Frank Buckley]] (Jul 1927-Mar 1944) *{{flagicon|Wales}} [[Ted Vizard]] (Apr 1944-May 1948) *{{flagicon|England}} [[Stan Cullis]] (Jun 1948-Jul 1964) *{{flagicon|Scotland}} [[Andy Beattie]] (Jul 1964-Aug 1965) *{{flagicon|England}} [[Ronnie Allen]] (Sep 1965-Nov 1968) {{col-3}} *{{flagicon|England}} [[Bill McGarry (footballer)|Bill McGarry]] (Nov 1968-May 1976) *{{flagicon|England}} [[Sammy Chung]] (Jun 1976-Nov 1978) *{{flagicon|England}} [[John Barnwell]] (Nov 1978-Jan 1982) *{{flagicon|England}} [[Ian Greaves]] (Feb 1982-Aug 1982) *{{flagicon|England}} [[Graham Hawkins]] (Aug 1982-Apr 1984) *{{flagicon|Scotland}} [[Tommy Docherty]] (Jun 1984-Jul 1985) *{{flagicon|England}} [[Bill McGarry (footballer)|Bill McGarry]] (Sep 1985-Nov 1985) *{{flagicon|Northern Ireland}} [[Sammy Chapman]] (Nov 1985-Aug 1986) *{{flagicon|England}} [[Brian Little (footballer)|Brian Little]] (caretaker) (Aug-Oct 1986) *{{flagicon|England}} [[Graham Turner]] (Oct 1986-Mar 1994) {{col-3}} *{{flagicon|England}} [[Graham Taylor (football manager)|Graham Taylor]] (Mar 1994-Nov 1995) *{{flagicon|Scotland}} [[Mark McGhee]] (Dec 1995-Nov 1998) *{{flagicon|England}} [[Colin Lee]] (Nov 1998-Dec 2000) *{{flagicon|England}} [[Dave Jones]] (Jan 2001-Nov 2004) *{{flagicon|England}} [[Glenn Hoddle]] (Dec 2004-Jul 2006) <!-- Please do not change the Mick McCarthy flag to England. Flags on Wikipedia are used to indicate "representative nationality" NOT legal or birth nationality --> *{{flagicon|Ireland}} [[Mick McCarthy]] (Jul 2006- ) {{col-end}} ==Honours== Wolverhampton Wanderers are the tenth most successful club in the history of English football, having won the [[FA Cup]] on four occasions and been [[English football champions|League Champions]] three times, [[Charity Shield]] winners four times and winning the [[Football League Cup|League Cup]] twice<ref>[http://www.blurtit.com/q830329.html When was Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club founded? - Blurtit<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. Cumulatively, they are the eighth most successful club, behind Chelsea, with 13 wins (see [[Football_records_in_England#Most_successful_clubs_overall_.281888_-_present.29|English Football Records]]). They are the only club to have won titles in five different [[The Football League|Football League]] divisions<ref>http://football.guardian.co.uk/news/theknowledge/0,9204,534448,00.html Your questions answered in The Knowledge | News | guardian.co.uk Football<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, and the only club to have won all top national cups ([[FA Cup]], [[Football League Cup]] and [[Football League Trophy]]){{Fact|date=October 2007}}. In 1988, their Fourth Division title glory made them the first team to have been champions of all four professional leagues in English footballer, although this feat has since been matched by [[Burnley F.C.|Burnley]] in 1992 and [[Preston North End F.C.|Preston]] in 1996. They are also the first team to score 7,000 league goals<ref>[http://www.wolves.premiumtv.co.uk/page/History/0,,10307~60475,00.html Club Records | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Club | History | History<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. * [[Football League First Division|Division One]] Champions: [[1953-54 in English football#First Division|1953/54]], [[1957-58 in English football#First Division|1957/58]], [[1958-59 in English football#First Division|1958/59]] * [[FA Cup]] Winners: [[1893 FA Cup Final|1893]], [[1908 FA Cup Final|1908]], [[1949 FA Cup Final|1949]], [[1960 FA Cup Final|1960]]; runners-up: [[1889 FA Cup Final|1889]], [[1896 FA Cup Final|1896]], [[1921 FA Cup Final|1921]], [[1939 FA Cup Final|1939]] * [[Football League Second Division|Division Two]] Champions: [[1931-32 in English football#Second Division|1931/32]], [[1976-77 in English football#Second Division 2|1976/77]] * [[Football League Championship play-offs|Division One Play-off]] Winners: [[2003 Football League First Division playoff final|2003]] * [[Football League Third Division|Division Three]] Champions: [[1988-89 in English football#Third Division 2|1988/89]] * [[Football League Third Division North|Division Three North]] Champions: [[1923-24 in English football#Third Division North|1923/24]] * [[Football League Fourth Division|Division Four]] Champions: [[1987-88 in English football#Fourth Division 2|1987/88]] * [[Football League Cup|League Cup]] Winners: [[1974 Football League Cup Final|1974]], [[1980 Football League Cup Final|1980]] * [[Sherpa Van Trophy]] Winners: 1988 * [[Texaco Cup]] Winners: 1971 * [[UEFA Cup]] Runners-Up: [[UEFA Cup 1971-72|1971/72]] * [[FA Community Shield]] Winners: 1949 (shared Portsmouth), 1954 (shared West Bromwich Albion),1959 (outright) 1960 (shared Burnley) * [[Football League War Cup]] Winners: 1942 *[[United Soccer Association|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]] ==Club records== {| class="wikitable" |- | Attendance | Gate receipts | Best league win | Worst league loss | Best cup win | Most capped player | League appearances | League goals | Goals in a season |- | 63,315: vs [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] 11/02/1939 FA Cup Round 5 | £319,142: vs [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] 24/01/1999 FA Cup Round 4 | 10 - 1: vs [[Leicester City F.C.|Leicester City]] 15/04/1938 Division 2 | 1 - 10: vs [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] 15/10/1892 Division 1 | 14 - 0: vs Cresswell's Brewery 13/11/1886 FA Cup Round 2 | [[Billy Wright (footballer)|Billy Wright]]: 105 England | [[Derek Parkin]]: 501 1967-82 | [[Steve Bull]]: 250 1986-98 | [[Dennis Westcott]]: 38 1946/47 Division 1 |} == Miscellaneous == {{trivia|date=July 2008}} In the 1950s 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 obscene lyrics <ref>The offending lyrics were "Fuck off West Brom. The Wolves"</ref> the fans sang as a chorus could lead to hooliganism<ref>{{cite web | title =Can we play you every week? | publisher = [[BBC News Online]] | date =[[28 November]] [[2001]] | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/funny_old_game/1680656.stm | format =HTML | accessdate =2007-09-28 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title =Wolverhampton Council (Licensing and Environmental Protection Panel) Meeting | date =[[21 May]] [[2003]] | url =http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/15397180-2094-4B5E-871B-CC4725E39132/0/limi210503.pdf | format =PDF | accessdate = 2007-09-28 }}</ref>. The tune has made occasional re-appearances at important promotion and play-off matches over the years. Wolverhampton Wanderers are now 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!" Wolves' main local rivals are [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]], [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]] and [[Birmingham City F.C.|Birmingham City]]. The club also has lesser rivalries with [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]], [[Walsall F.C.|Walsall]], [[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City]] and [[Coventry City F.C.|Coventry City]]. Wolves also maintained a long-distance rivalry throughout the late 90s and early into new millennium with [[Bolton Wanderers F.C.|Bolton Wanderers]], which was known as the "Wanderers Derby"{{Fact|date=January 2008}} Wolves also support WolvesAid, the largest charity in football <ref>[http://wolves-aid.co.uk/news Wolves Aid - news<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, supporting both the local community in Wolverhampton, and abroad.<ref>[http://wolves-aid.co.uk/uganda Wolves Aid - uganda<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ==External links== * [http://www.wolves.co.uk Official Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. site] *{{BBC Football Info|BBClinkname=w/wolverhampton_wanderers}} * [http://www.soccerbase.com/teams2.sd?teamid=2848 Wolves statistics] ==References== {{reflist}} {{s-start}} {{succession box | before=[[Mansfield Town F.C.|Mansfield Town]] | title=[[Football League Trophy]] Winners| years=1987-88| after=[[Bolton Wanderers F.C.|Bolton Wanderers]] }} {{end}} {{fb start}} {{Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.}} {{Original Football League clubs}} {{Football League Championship teamlist}} {{English football league system cells | level = 2 | promotion = [[FA Premier League]] | relegation = [[Football League One]]}} {{Football in England table cells}} {{fb end}} [[Category:Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.| ]] [[Category:English football clubs]] [[Category:Football League founder members]] [[Category:Sport in the West Midlands]] [[Category:United Soccer Association imported teams]] [[Category:Premier League clubs]] [[Category:Football League clubs]] [[Category:Football (soccer) clubs established in 1877]] [[Category:Sport in Wolverhampton]] [[Category:FA Cup winners]] [[Category:Football League Cup winners]] [[bn:উভারহ্যাম্পটন ওয়ান্ডারার্স ফুটবল ক্লাব]] [[bg:ФК Уулвърхямптън Уондърърс]] [[ca:Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club]] [[da:Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.]] [[de:Wolverhampton Wanderers]] [[el:Γούλβερχαμπτον Γουόντερερς]] [[es:Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club]] [[fr:Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club]] [[ko:울버햄튼 원더러스 FC]] [[id:Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.]] [[it:Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.]] [[he:וולברהמפטון ונדררס]] [[lb:Wolverhampton Wanderers FC]] [[lt:Wolverhampton Wanderers FC]] [[hu:Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.]] [[nl:Wolverhampton Wanderers FC]] [[ja:ウォルヴァーハンプトン・ワンダラーズFC]] [[no:Wolverhampton Wanderers FC]] [[pl:Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.]] [[pt:Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club]] [[ru:Вулверхэмптон Уондерерс]] [[simple:Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.]] [[fi:Wolverhampton Wanderers FC]] [[sv:Wolverhampton Wanderers FC]] [[zh:伍尔弗汉普顿流浪足球俱乐部]]