Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.

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Wolverhampton Wanderers

Full name	Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club
Nickname	Wolves
Founded	1877
Ground	Molineux stadium, Wolverhampton
Capacity	29,400
Chairman	Rick Hayward
Manager	Glenn Hoddle
League	The Championship
2003-04	Premier League, 20th (relegated)
Home colours 　 Away colours

Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. is a Wolverhampton-based football club playing at the Molineux.

Molineux Stadium is situated on Waterloo Road and has four stands all named after players who have become legendary at the club - Billy Wright, Steve Bull, Stan Cullis and Jack Harris.

History of the club

The team was founded in 1877 by John Baynton 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 the local cricket and football club to form The 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 fo the twelve founders ofthe English Football League in 1888.

Notable Players

It enjoyed prominence in the 1950s under manager Stan Cullis, winning the first division championship three times and winning the F.A. Cup twice. The club was described by some as the greatest football team in the world after beating the Hungarian side Honvéd 3-2 after being 2-0 down at half time. Players in the team included Billy Wright (OBE) who was the first footballer to win over a hundred international caps (taking 105 caps in total) and captained the England team 90 times. The club's top goalscorer is Steve Bull with 306 goals. Other notable players include Derek Dougan, John Richards, Frank Munro, Mel Eves, Bill Slater, Ron Flowers, Robbie Keane, and Seol Ki-hyun.

Wolves are the only club to have won titles in five different Football League divisions (see Club Honours below).

Decline and rescue

The club went through a bad spell in the 1980s, being relegated to the Fourth Division and almost going bankrupt. More recently the club was bought by Sir Jack Hayward and is enjoying better times. This general improvement culminated in manager Dave Jones taking the club through the First Division play-offs, into the Premiership for the first time, in 2003.

The club, got off to a disastrous start in the 2003/4 season playing for 2 months without a single win until earning its first premiership win against Manchester City in October. They were relegated to the Football League Championship at the end of the season. Following a poor start to the 2004/5 season Dave Jones was dismissed as manager on November 1, 2004.

Sir Jack Hayward also stepped down as Chairman and passed the ownership on to his son Rick Hayward writing off the £40 million owed to him. The club are commonly known as Wolves; the club logo features a wolf head.

The club's fierce local rivals are West Bromwich Albion, "shit on the Albion" being a common chant for Wolves fans, regardless of the occasion. Also the Subway Army are renowned for hooliganism at Wolves' matches.

Club Honours

• Division One Champions : 1953/4, 1957/8, 1958/9
• Division Two Champions : 1931/2, 1976/7
• Division Three Champions : 1988/9
• Division Three (North) Champions : 1923/4
• Division Four Champions : 1987/8
• FA Cup Winners : 1893, 1908, 1949, 1960
• FA Cup Runners-Up : 1889, 1896, 1921, 1939
• Football League Cup Winners : 1974, 1980
• Sherpa Van Trophy Winners : 1988
• Texaco Cup Winners : 1971
• UEFA Cup Runners-Up : 1971/2

Club Records

Appearances

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

Individual Records

• Most goals scored (career) : Steve Bull - 306 (1986-99)
• Most league goals scored (career) : Steve Bull - 250 (1986-99)
• Most goals scored (season) : Steve Bull - 52 (1987-8)
• Most league goals scored (season) : Dennis Westcott - 38 (1946-7, First Division)
• Most goals scored (FA Cup) : John Richards - 24 (1969-83)
• Most goals scored (League Cup) :
  • John Richards - 18 (1969-83)
  • Steve Bull - 18 (1986-99)
• Most hat-tricks scored : Steve Bill - 18 (1986-99)
• Most goals in european competition football : Derek Dougan - 12 (1967-75)
• Most goals scored (individual, game) :
  • 5 - Joe Butcher against Accrington Stanley - 1892 (Division 1)
  • 5 - Tom Phillipson against Bradford City - 1926 (Division 2)
  • 5 - Billy Harthill against Notts County - 1929 (Division 2)
  • 5 - Billy Harthill against Aston Villa - 1934 (Division 1)
• Fastest recorded goal : 12 seconds, John Richards against Burnley - 1976-6 (Division 2)
• Most international caps received whilst playing for Wolves:
  • England - Billy Wright, 105 - 90 as captain (1939-59)
  • Scotland - Andy Gray, 13 (1979-83)
  • Wales - Dai Richards, 11 (1927-35) {need to check this statistic - Paul Jones is current first choice goalkeeper for Welsh team)
  • Northern Ireland : Derek Dougan, 26 (1966-75)
  • Republic of Ireland : Robbie Keane, 9 (1998-99)

Team Records

• Most league goals (season) : 115 (Division 2 ; 1931-2)
• Most points scored :
  • Two points for a win : 64 (Division 1, 1957-8)
  • Three points for a win : 92 (Division 3, 1988-9)

• Best home victory (league) : 10-1 against Leicester City, Division 1 ; 15 April, 1937
• Best away victory (league) : 9-1 against Cardiff City, Division 1 ; 3 September, 1955
• Worst home defeat (league) : 0-8 against West Bromwich Albion, Division 1 ; 27 December, 1897
• Worst away defeat (league) : 1-10 against Newton Heath, Division 1 ; 15 October, 1892

• Best home victory (FA Cup) : 14-1 against Crosswell's Brewery ; 2nd round, 13 November 1886
• Best away victory (FA Cup) :
  • 5-0 against Reading ; 1st round, 15 January, 1910 (match played at Molineux)
  • 5-0 against Grimsby Town ; semi-final at Old Trafford, 25 March, 1939
• Worst home defeat (FA Cup) : 3-6 against Derby County ; 3rd round, 14 January, 1933
• Worst away defeat (FA Cup) : 0-6 against Rotherham United ; 1st round, 16 November 1985

• Best home victory (League Cup) : 6-1 against Shrewsbury Town ; 2nd round, 1st leg, 24 September 1991
• Best away victory (League Cup) : 5-1 against Fulham ; 2nd round, 2nd leg, 3 October 1995
• Worst home defeat (League Cup) :
  • 1-3 against Fulham; 2nd round, 11 September 1974
  • 1-3 against Luton Town; 2nd round, 30 August 1977
• Worst away defeat (League Cup) :
  • 0-5 against Fulham; 3rd round, 5 October 1966
  • 0-5 against Sunderland; 2nd round, 2nd leg, 27 October 1982

• Highest transfer fee paid : 3.5 million pounds to Bristol City for Ade Akinbiyi, September 1999
• Highest transfer fee received : 6 million pounds from Spurs for Robbie Keane, August 1999

External link

• Official Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. site
• Wolves statistics

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