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| 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!"
| 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]] (with whom they contest the [[Black Country derby]]), [[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' main local rivals are [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]] (with whom they contest the biggest rivalry in English football<ref>http://www.expressandstar.com/2008/02/29/wolves-v-albion-top-derby-list/<ref/>, the [[Black Country derby]]), [[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</ref>, supporting both the local community in Wolverhampton, and abroad.<ref>[http://wolves-aid.co.uk/uganda]</ref>
Wolves also support WolvesAid, the largest charity in football <ref>http://wolves-aid.co.uk/news</ref>, supporting both the local community in Wolverhampton, and abroad.<ref>[http://wolves-aid.co.uk/uganda]</ref>

Revision as of 14:30, 10 April 2008

Wolverhampton Wanderers
Badge of Wolverhampton Wanderers
Full nameWolverhampton Wanderers
Football Club
Nickname(s)Wolves
The Wanderers'
Founded1877 (as St. Luke's)
GroundMolineux Stadium
Wolverhampton
England
Capacity28,525
OwnerSteve Morgan
ManagerMick McCarthy
LeagueThe Championship
2006–07The Championship, 5th

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club are an English professional football club based in Wolverhampton, West Midlands. 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 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-1950's 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 League Cup in 1974 under Bill McGarry and in 1980 under John Barnwell. Since 1984 they have, however, spent just one season in the 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 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.

Early cup triumphs

File:Wolves1893.jpg
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 1-0 at Fallowfield Stadium 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.

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 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.

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 fierce rivals 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 of Argentina, they also played Spartak Moscow of the USSR, before meeting 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 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.

Before we declare that 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, 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.

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.).

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. Reaching the UEFA Cup final, Wolves lost the home leg against 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 to win the 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 goal defeated reigning European champions Nottingham Forest to again bring 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 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 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 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 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 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. 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. 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 Play-off Final against Sheffield United. In the Cardiff final, three goals in the first half from 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.

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.

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 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

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.[1]

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 finally completed a protracted takeover of the club for £10 in return for a £30million investment into the club, ending Sir Jack Hayward's 17 year reign.[2]

After last season's surprising play-off finish, manager Mick McCarthy has stated that this season "automatic promotion has to be the aim". [3] The club have strengthened by signing Freddy Eastwood, Stephen Elliott and Michael Gray, but goalkeeper Matt Murray - who had only just recovered from a broken shoulder - will miss most of the campaign after suffering a knee injury in pre-season training[4]. On the field, the team started the season inconsistently, but a strong October and November saw them push as high as 3rd, 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. During the January transfer window Sylvan Ebanks-Blake was signed from Plymouth Argyle for £1.5million, David Edwards who was signed from Luton Town for £675,000 scoring on his debut in a 2-0 win over Scunthorpe United, Kevin Kyle who was signed from Coventry City on a 5 month loan deal and George Elokobi who was signed for an undisclosed fee from Colchester United.

Colours and badge

File:Wolvarms.PNG
City Crest.
Today's colours
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

History

Molineux

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.

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 September 7, 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 September 30, 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.

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 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 on 11 February 1939. The total seated capacity today is approximately 28,525, making Molineux the 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 before the beginning of the 2006/07 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'[5] 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 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. 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, Irealand, 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 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 nothing to do 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.[6]

Current squad

As of 7 April, 2008:

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Matt Murray
2 DF England ENG Darren Ward
3 DF Scotland SCO Neill Collins
4 MF Nigeria NGA Seyi Olofinjana
5 DF Ireland EIR Gary Breen
6 DF England ENG Jody Craddock
7 MF England ENG Michael Kightly
8 MF England ENG Karl Henry
9 FW Ireland EIR Andy Keogh
11 FW Ireland EIR Stephen Ward
12 DF Wales WAL Rob Edwards
14 MF Ireland EIR Darren Potter
15 DF England ENG Mark Little
16 MF England ENG Mark Davies
17 MF England ENG Matthew Jarvis
19 FW Ireland EIR Stephen Elliott
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 MF England ENG Lewis Gobern
23 FW Wales WAL Freddy Eastwood
24 MF Ireland EIR Darron Gibson (on loan from Manchester United)
25 GK Ireland EIR Graham Stack (on loan from Reading)
26 MF Wales WAL David Edwards
27 FW England ENG Sylvan Ebanks-Blake
29 MF Ireland EIR Kevin O'Connor
30 GK Nigeria NGA Carl Ikeme
31 GK Wales WAL Wayne Hennessey
32 DF Ireland EIR Kevin Foley
33 DF England ENG Michael Gray
34 FW Scotland SCO Kevin Kyle (on loan from Coventry City)
38 MF Ireland EIR Mark Salmon
39 MF Hungary HUN Dénes Rósa
40 DF Cameroon CMR George Elokobi
41 MF England ENG Matthew Bailey

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
10 FW England ENG Jay Bothroyd (on loan to Stoke City)
18 MF Ireland EIR Stephen Gleeson (on loan to Stockport County)
20 DF Scotland SCO Charlie Mulgrew (on loan to Southend United)
21 DF England ENG Daniel Jones (on loan to Northampton Town)
No. Pos. Nation Player
35 MF England ENG Elliott Bennett (on loan to Bury)
36 DF England ENG Lee Collins (on loan to Hereford United)
37 FW England ENG Liam Hughes (on loan to Stafford Rangers)
–– DF England ENG Keith Lowe (on loan to Port Vale)

N.B. Lee Collins, Mark Salmon, Elliott Bennett, Matthew Bailey and Liam Hughes are still eligible for the Under 18s team.

Notable former 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:

Manager history

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 League Champions three times, Charity Shield winners four times and winning the League Cup twice[7]. Cumulatively, they are the eighth most successful club, behind Chelsea, with 13 wins (see English Football Records). They are the only club to have won titles in five different Football League divisions[8], and the only club to have won all top national cups (FA Cup, Football League Cup and Football League Trophy)[citation needed].

They are also the first team to score 7,000 league goals[9].

Club Records

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 11/02/1939 FA Cup Round 5 £276,168: vs Tottenham Hotspur 07/02/1996 FA Cup Round 4 10 - 1: vs Leicester City 15/04/1938 Division 2 1 - 10: vs Manchester United 15/10/1892 Division 1 14 - 0: vs Cresswell's Brewery 13/11/1886 FA Cup Round 2 Billy Wright: 105 England Derek Parkin: 501 1967-82 Steve Bull: 250 1986-98 Dennis Westcott: 38 1946/47 Division 1

Miscellaneous

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 [10] the fans sang as a chorus could lead to hooliganism[11][12]. 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 (with whom they contest the biggest rivalry in English footballCite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page)., supporting both the local community in Wolverhampton, and abroad.[13]

References

  1. ^ Swain, Martin (17 May 2007), "Molineux men fill McCarthy with pride", Express & Star, p. 63 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= and |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: year (link)
  2. ^ "Morgan completes Wolves takeover". BBC News Online. 2007-08-09. Retrieved 2007-08-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "McCarthy eyes automatic promotion". Birmingham Mail. 2007-07-04. Retrieved 2007-07-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Murray faces long Wolves lay-off". BBC News Online. 2007-08-08. Retrieved 2007-08-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ http://www.expressandstar.com/2007/11/10/molineux-in-line-for-revamp/
  6. ^ Gary Armstrong and Dick Hobbs (1994). "Tackled from behind". In Richard Giulianotti, Norman Bonney and Mike Hepworth (ed.). Football, Violence and Social Identity. London: Routledge. pp. 196–228. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |origmonth=, |accessmonth=, |month=, |chapterurl=, and |origdate= (help)
  7. ^ [1]
  8. ^ http://football.guardian.co.uk/news/theknowledge/0,9204,534448,00.html Your questions answered in The Knowledge | News | guardian.co.uk Football]
  9. ^ [2]
  10. ^ The offending lyrics were "Fuck off West Brom. The Wolves"
  11. ^ "Can we play you every week?" (HTML). BBC News Online. 28 November 2001. Retrieved 2007-09-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "Wolverhapmton Council (Licensing and Environmental Protection Panel) Meeting" (PDF). 21 May 2003. Retrieved 2007-09-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ [3]
Preceded by Football League Trophy Winners
1987-88
Succeeded by

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Template:Football League Championship teamlist Template:English football league system cells

Template:Fb end