Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Full name	Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Nickname(s)	Wolves, The Wanderers
Founded	1877 (as St. Luke's)
Ground	Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton
Capacity	29,195
Owner	Steve Morgan OBE
Chairman	Steve Morgan OBE
Manager	Mick McCarthy
League	Premier League
2009–10	Premier League, 15th
Home colours Away colours

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is a professional football club representing the city of Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands region of England, and currently playing in the Premier League. Commonly referred to by its nickname "Wolves", the club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at Molineux. Historically, Wolves have been highly influential, most notably as being founder members of the Football League, as well as having played an instrumental role in the establishment of the European Cup, later to become the UEFA Champions League.

Having won the FA Cup twice before the outbreak of the First World War, Wolves consolidated their reputation as a top side under the legendary management of ex-player 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 established, after the English press declared Wolves "Champions of the World" following their victories against such top European and World sides as South Africa, Racing, Spartak Moscow, and Honvéd in some of football's first live televised games.

Wolves have yet to match the successes of the Stan Cullis era, although they did contest the first UEFA Cup final in 1972 against Tottenham Hotspur, and won the League Cup in 1974 under Bill McGarry and again in 1980 under John Barnwell. However, a decline set in and they found themselves in the Fourth Division by 1986, before a revival and back-to-back promotions under manager Graham Turner and record goalscorer Steve Bull saw them finish the decade in the Second Division, winning the Football League Trophy along the way. Their 19-year exile from the top flight ended when manager Dave Jones guided the club to promotion to the Premier League for a solitary season, whose departure following relegation lead to a brief spell under Glenn Hoddle. However a new approach under former Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy saw a four year plan which duly delivered promotion to the Premier League in 2009, two years earlier than planned, this time as Football League Championship Champions.

History

Graph charting Wolves' performance from the first season of the English Football League in 1888–89, to 2007–08, when they finished seventh in the Championship.

The team were founded as St. Luke's 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 were initially given the use of two fields — John Harper's Field and Windmill Field — both off Lower Villiers Street in Blakenhall. From there, they moved to a site on the Dudley Road opposite the Fighting Cocks Inn in 1881. The club then 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 & inter-bellum adventures

File:Wolves1893.jpg

The Wolves team that won the FA Cup in 1893

In the first year of the Football League, Wolves benefitted from the first own goal in the league's history, scored by Gershom Cox of Aston Villa.

Wolves remained as members of what became the First Division from 1888 until relegation in 1906, winning the FA Cup for the first time in 1893 when 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 1908 final. 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 last pre-War FA Cup Final, losing 4–1 to underdogs Portsmouth.

The Stan Cullis era & the birth of European football

"Many say Manchester United would have won the championship in 1958 if not for the Munich air crash in February 1958. They were a great side, but even if the crash had never happened, they could not have caught us. Even after the disaster we didn’t drop enough points for that to happen."

 Malcolm Finlayson,
Wolves goalkeeper and Title winner, 1958 & 1959

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. Two further titles were later won in successive years, as Wolves cemented their position as the premier team in English football and became globally renowned for their on-field success as well as high-profile floodlit friendlies against top European club sides and the pioneering development of the Cullis “kick and rush” style of football.

Building upon Buckley's principles of hard work in training, exceptional physical fitness coupled with early pioneering use of sports science, strict discipline and a doctrine of all-out attack on the field, Cullis's kick and rush method incorporated long passes and speed of execution, hitting the opposition penalty box faster and more frequently to apply the percentage principle to goalscoring. The method was characterised by a defensive resilience, built as it was around the England internationals Bert Williams in goal and Billy Wright at half-back, but also incorporated quick movement of the ball and swift attacking support for the player in possession, particularly around the wing play of Johnny Hancocks and Jimmy Mullen.

Their innovation on the pitch was matched elsewhere, as Molineux was one of the first grounds to provide their team with floodlights in the summer of 1953, as the club also blossomed financially thanks to high-profile friendlies with top sides such as Real Madrid who all came and suffered defeat at the hands of Cullis’ men. The following series of famous "floodlit friendlies", beginning with a game against a South African XI, had a huge effect in raising the profile of the club, enthusing many such as the young Wolves fan George Best and others who were lucky enough to be able to watch the games on the BBC in some of football's first televised games. These high-profile games continued against top national sides such as Racing Club of Argentina and Spartak Moscow of the USSR, before meeting Honvéd of Hungary in a landmark game for English football, televised live on the BBC. Faith in the English national team was at an all time low, and Wolves faced a Honvéd team that including many of the "Magical Magyars" team who had recently so humbled England twice, and had been 1954 World Cup finalists. In front of the watching nation, Wolves came from two goals down at half time to beat the Hungarian side 3–2, which coupled with their previous European exploits, lead the national media to proclaim Wolves "Champions of the World". 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 Wanderers 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. The 1959 title win saw Wolves play in the European Cup for the first time, being only the second English club after Manchester United to enter. Later, Spartak Moscow, Dynamo Moscow and Real Madrid all came to Molineux and were beaten, as Wolves saw mixed successes in the European Cup against teams such as Red Star Belgrade, Schalke 04 and Barcelona, during Real Madrid's period of domination. Wolves were also League Champions in 1958 (Though Malcolm Finlayson's assertion that Wolves did not drop sufficient point after February 8, to have lost the league to their rivals is not the case. At the time of the Munich air disaster Wolves had a 6 point lead over Manchester United. Wolves subsequently dropped 6 points and beat Manchester United at Old Trafford. on the 21st April (a reverse result would have made a difference of 8 points.) Manchester United could, in fact, have won the league but it would have been a monumental effort, almost impossible. Equally Wolves had, at the time of Munich, a much better goal average and, further, lost their final game to the bottom team in the league, Sheffield Wednesday, when the league championship had already been won.) 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 sacked, Wolves American champions

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 Wanderers, playing as the "Los Angeles Wolves", won the Western Division and then went on to earn the League Title by defeating the Eastern Division champions 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).

The Seventies resurgence

The club's return to the English top flight heralded another period of relative success, with a squad that included stars Derek Dougan, Kenny Hibbitt and Frank Munro finishing the 1970–71 season in fourth place, qualifying them for the newly created UEFA Cup. En route to the 1972 UEFA Cup Final, they beat Académica 7–1 on aggregate, ADO Den Haag 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. Wolves lost the home leg of the two-legged final 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 in 1974 they went on to beat Manchester City in the 1974 League Cup Final, taking the trophy for the first time. Despite relegation again in 1976, Wolves were to bounce back at the first attempt as Second Division champions, and three years later in 1980, Andy Gray scored to defeat the reigning European Champions and League Cup holders Nottingham Forest to again bring League Cup glory to Molineux.

Sharp decline & revival

Wolves went through a bad spell in the 1980s, triggered by serious financial difficulties that almost resulted in the club's extinction. The club's infamous owners, the Bhatti brothers, had sucked Wolves dry, and three consecutive relegations in 1984, 1985 and 1986 saw a bankrupt Wolves slide into the Fourth Division for the first time in the club's history, the club hanging by a thread and with two sides of the decaying stadium condemned. The nadir finally came with a 3–0 FA Cup 1st Round exit at the hands of non-league Chorley in 1986.

By 1987, having been saved by the local council, Wolves began the climb away from rock bottom, with ownership of the club changed, and Graham Turner appointed manager in October 1986, shortly after the drop into Division Four. By 1989, Wolves were back in the Second Division following two successive promotions. This period included one further visit to Wembley, for the Sherpa Van Trophy final in May 1988. Wolves' 2–0 victory over Burnley drew a record attendance of 80,841, with more than 50,000 supporting Wolves.

The key player behind the club's resurgence was undoubtedly Steve Bull, who had been signed along with Andy Thompson for a combined fee of £64,000 from neighbours West Bromwich Albion. His feat of scoring 50+ goals in all competitions during back-to-back promotion-winning seasons subsequently saw him capped by England and take part in the 1990 World Cup Finals. His record of 306 goals for Wolves (250 of them in league matches) before retiring at the end of the 1998–99 season still stands as the club's record goalscorer. He is the only player to have played for England while contracted to Wolves in the last quarter of a century.

The Hayward years

In May 1990 Wolves were bought by lifelong supporter Jack Hayward, who immediately set about funding a comprehensive rebuild of the club's aging and decrepit ground to meet the new government regulations of 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. In December of that year the renovated stadium was officially opened on 7 December 1993, marked by a prestigious friendly with Honvéd, the Hungarian team who had been beaten in one of Molineux's most famous original floodlit friendlies.

With the stadium completed, Hayward gave the club its first substantial investment into its playing side since the late 1970s. While stadium work was prioritised in the early 1990s, the club under manager Graham Turner had consolidated in midtable but failed to make any inroads toward promotion to the top flight (now the newly-formed Premier League). The summer of 1993 saw the first recruits in a heavily-funded bid for promotion that would characterise much of Hayward's reign, although by March 1994 their play-off chances were fading and Turner quit, making way for the tenureship of former England manager Graham Taylor.

Wolves under Taylor completed their best finish in the Football League structure in over a decade, but they were denied promotion after losing 2–3 to Bolton Wanderers on aggregate in the play-off semi finals, and Taylor was soon ousted under fan pressure in November 1995 after only one full season as Wolves - now bearing the burden of being promotion favourites - 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 poor 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 into Fourth Division a decade earlier. The 1996–97 season was far stronger, but they were pipped to the second automatic promotion place by Barnsley and lost to Crystal Palace in the play-off semi-finals.

Although reaching the FA Cup semi-finals a year later, McGhee was dismissed in November 1998 as Wolves were 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. With a far more limited budget than his two predecessors enjoyed, Lee could only guide the club to a second successive 7th place finish in 1999–2000. He was dismissed in December 2000 after a poor run of form left Wolves just a few places above the drop zone.

Former Southampton manager Dave Jones was named as Lee's successor in January 2001, 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 midtable finish. The close season saw heavy investment into the team, which helped them spend much of the 2001–02 season in the top two places. However, an end of season slump saw them 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 experienced sporadic form during the early part of 2002–03, and thus were never in contention for the automatic promotion places. The team turned the corner with a thrilling 3–2 FA Cup win over Newcastle United, going on to lose just two of their 20 league games after this, securing them 5th place and a play-off semi-final clash against newly-promoted Reading. Victory in both legs earned Wolves a place in the Play-off Final against Sheffield United, their first play-off final at their fourth attempt. In the Millennium Stadium-staged final, three first half goals 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 English football.

Their debut season in the Premiership was tough, with key players Matt Murray and Joleon Lescott out for the entire season, and several others injured from the start. Their spending power to strengthen the team was relatively low as Hayward instead put the club up for sale. Despite these setbacks, Wolves overcame their seven game winless start, to eventually achieve some commendable results, in particular a 1–0 win over Manchester United. However, failing to win a single away game meant that their relegation battle was ultimately lost, and they finished bottom of the table on goal difference, bracketed together on 33 points with the two other relegated teams.

Despite hopes for an immediate return to the top flight, their 2004–05 Championship campaign began dismally, and at one point the side sunk as low as 19th place. Following a 0–1 defeat at Gillingham, a side Wolves had beaten 6–0 just eighteen months previous, Jones was sacked at the beginning of November.

Another former England coach was hired the following month, as Glenn Hoddle was appointed on a rolling one-year contract. Under Hoddle, Wolves lost only one of their final 25 league games, but drew 15 to finish ninth in the final table — not enough to qualify for the play-offs. Wolves then finished a disappointing seventh in 2005–06 as fan discontent grew, disenchanted with the lack of passion and pride from the team, including from Hoddle himself who had not moved to the area. Though the board expressed no displeasure with Hoddle publicly, with Jez Moxey affirming his faith in the under fire manager, the season had been frowned on by both local media and 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 regime, a new start

Following the exit of Hoddle in pre-season in 2006, Wolves staged a complete clearout, stripping the squad and wage bill down and appointing former Republic of Ireland and

manager Mick McCarthy. 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.

McCarthy acknowledged the challenge, stating to local media "The initials MM on my top stand for Mick McCarthy, not Merlin the Magician", and quickly scraped together a squad, largely from the club's youth ranks, out of contract players and loanees. After an inconsistent first half to the season, an impressive run of form followed and the club eventually made the play-offs, despite earlier expectations. They were paired with local rivals West Bromwich Albion in the semi-finals, where they lost out over two legs.

There was further change when businessman Steve Morgan took control of the club for a nominal £10 fee in return for a £30million investment into the club, resulting in the departure of Sir Jack Hayward (who remains as Life President) after 17 years as chairman. The protracted takeover was finally completed on 9 August 2007, upon which the club set out their future ethos:

It is intended that the new capital, over a period of time, will be used to help re-establish Wolves as a Premiership club. Although this is a significant amount of money there will not be an ’open cheque book’ approach to signing players; instead the club will build on the current strategy of steadily and progressively developing a team of young, hungry and talented players. — Club Statement

Despite Morgan's arrival, the 2007–08 season ultimately brought more disappointment as the club failed to match the previous campaign's playoff finish. Poor form around Christmas saw them slump to midtable and only a late rally, aided by the goal power of new signing Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, put them back in the promotion hunt. They finished just outside the final play-off spot on goal difference, one goal short of Watford.

Wolves Football League Championship trophy presentation at Molineux on 3 May 2009

The 2008–09 season saw the club's strongest start since 1949–50, as an opening day draw preceded a run of seven consecutive wins. Fired by the goals of Ebanks-Blake and new signing Chris Iwelumo, the club hit the top of the table for the first time in years by the end of August and never left the automatic promotion spots after. A second run of seven consecutive wins tightened their grip on the lead by Christmas.

Despite a dismal start to 2009, the equally faltering form of their rivals allowed Wolves to retain the top spot. March saw a return to form with 13 points from a possible 15, strengthening their position at the top of the table that they had led since October. Promotion to the Premier League was finally confirmed on 18 April 2009 with a 1–0 win over Queens Park Rangers. The following week, Wolves clinched their first divisional title since the 1988–89 season.

Their return to the Premier League saw the club reach its highest league position in 30 years, with a 15th place finish granting survival. This marked the first time Wolves had survived a season at the highest level since 1981. This achievement was built on a solid defensive element to the team, counting its lack of goalpower, despite the addition of striker Kevin Doyle for a club record fee.

Soon after the 2009/10 season had ended, Wolves started to target their new signings for the new season. They wasted no time in signing 4 players (Jelle van Damme, Steven Fletcher, Steven Mouyokolo and Steven Hunt) within in the space 3 weeks, as well as making Adlene Guedioura's loan deal permanent.

Colours & badge

File:Wolvarms.PNG

City Crest.

Contemporary colours

Original colours

The first badge to be worn on Wolves shirts was the city crest of Wolverhampton, usually worn on special occasions such as cup finals. In the late 1960s, Wolves introduced their own club badge consisting of a single leaping wolf, which later became three leaping wolves in the 1970s. In 1979, Wolves changed to the now famous wolf-head badge. Its simple and stylised design made it one of the most recognisable club badges in British football and, despite a brief return to the Wolverhampton city crest in the mid 1990s, it is still in use to the present day.

The club's traditional colours allude to the city's motto "out of darkness cometh light" with the gold and black representing light and darkness respectively. 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. It remains one of the most famous and recognisable strips in British football today. The traditional away colour of Wolves is all white although recently on occasion has been all black and will be so during the 2010-11 season.

Stadium

Main article: Molineux Stadium

History

Molineux Stadium, home of Wolverhampton Wanderers

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 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 an estimated cost of £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 FA 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.

Present day stadium

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 making Molineux the twenty-sixth largest in English football. But by the time of the 2003 promotion, Molineux was the fifteenth largest 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.

As a result of Wolves' promotion to the Premier League in 2009, Wolves reinstated the temporary seating stand in the southwest corner of the stadium (officially titled the Wolves Community Stand) raising the current capacity to 29,195. This had previously been employed between 2003–2006, after their previous promotion to the top flight (then known as the Graham Hughes Stand).

Planned redevelopment

In 2010, plans were announced for a £40 million investment to increase the stadium capacity to 36,000 seats for the 2014–15 season, by rebuilding firstly the Stan Cullis Stand (in 2011), then the Steve Bull Stand (between 2012–14). The new design will include numerous additional corporate and hospitality facilities, improved fan facilities and bring the stands closer to the pitch.

Two further plans tentatively exist to add a second tier to the Jack Harris Stand (raising capacity to 38,000) and to later redevelop the Billy Wright Stand (creating a potential capacity of 50,000). However, these plans are without a timeframe and are subject to future demand.

Training ground

The Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground, opened in 2005, is a £4.6m, state-of-the-art development located in Compton, Wolverhampton. The modern two-storey building stands approximately one mile to the west of the stadium, and features five high-quality under-soil heated training pitches, eleven changing rooms, a fully-equipped gymnasium, and a hydrotherapy pool – one of only a handful of English clubs to own such equipment.

The training ground's medical and physiotherapy facilities made it the first (and so far only) British sports club to establish a fully-accredited professional sports laboratory, based on AC Milan's Milanello model.

Players

First team squad

As of 31 August 2010

New squad rules operate in the Premier League in the current season. Squads are capped at 25 senior players (those aged 21 and above at the beginning of 2010), and all squads should include a minimum of 8 "homegrown" players.An unlimited amount of players aged under 21 can be used in addition to the main list; these players are marked in italics. Below is the current squad list of players that are eligible to play in the Premier League before the January 2011 transfer window.

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

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	USA	Marcus Hahnemann
2	DF	BEL	Jelle Van Damme
3	DF	CMR	George Elokobi
4	MF	WAL	David Edwards
5	DF	ENG	Richard Stearman
6	DF	ENG	Jody Craddock (vice-captain)
8	MF	ENG	Karl Henry (captain)
9	FW	ENG	Sylvan Ebanks-Blake
10	FW	SCO	Steven Fletcher
11	DF	IRL	Stephen Ward
12	MF	IRL	Stephen Hunt
13	GK	WAL	Wayne Hennessey
14	MF	ENG	David Jones
15	MF	ENG	Greg Halford
16	DF	SCO	Christophe Berra
17	MF	ENG	Matthew Jarvis
20	MF	SRB	Nenad Milijaš
21	DF	ENG	Michael Mancienne (on loan from Chelsea)

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
22	DF	FRA	Steven Mouyokolo
23	DF	GLP	Ronald Zubar
25	MF	BEL	Geoffrey Mujangi Bia (on loan from RSC Charleroi)
27	FW	ENG	Marcus Bent (on loan from Birmingham City)
29	FW	IRL	Kevin Doyle
32	DF	IRL	Kevin Foley
34	MF	ALG	Adlène Guedioura
36	DF	IRL	John Dunleavy
37	MF	ENG	David Davis
38	FW	ENG	Sam Winnall
39	DF	ENG	Danny Batth
40	FW	ENG	Ashley Hemmings
41	DF	ENG	Scott Malone
42	FW	ENG	James Spray
43	DF	ENG	Jamie Reckord
44	MF	IRL	Nathan Rooney
45	GK	IRL	Aaron McCarey

Additional players

Michael Kightly (#7) and Matt Hill (#26) have been omitted from the 25 man list available for league games before the January 2011 transfer window. Although currently out on loan, Carl Ikeme (#30) is included in the 25 man list.

Out on loan

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

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
18	FW	WAL	Sam Vokes (on loan to Bristol City until 5 January 2011)
19	FW	EIR	Andy Keogh (on loan to Cardiff City for the 2010–11 season)
30	GK	NGA	Carl Ikeme (at Leicester City until 22 September 2010)
33	FW	AUT	Stefan Maierhofer (on loan to MSV Duisburg for the 2010–11 season)
35	MF	ENG	Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (on loan to Peterborough United for the 2010–11 season)

Academy

Wolves academy has produced several high profile graduates including Robbie Keane, Joleon Lescott and Lee Naylor. Many other players have gone on to play first team football at Molineux, including current players Wayne Hennessey, Carl Ikeme, Matt Murray and Ashley Hemmings. Current academy player Johnny Gorman has been capped for Northern Ireland despite having not yet played at senior level. The academy is managed by Kevin Thelwell and is based at the club's Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground.

Other teams

Wolverhampton Wanderers Reserves play in the Premier Reserve League South. They were promoted into this division as part of the first team's promotion to the Premier League in 2009. Home games are staged at AFC Telford United's New Bucks Head home.

Wolves Women became the club's official women's team in 2008. They currently play in the Midland Combination Women's Football League, at the third tier of women's football. Their home games are held at Goodrich Sports Ground in Wolverhampton.

Backroom staff

As of 9 August 2009.

Position	Name
Manager	Mick McCarthy (since July 2006)
Assistant Manager	Terry Connor (since August 2008; formerly Reserve Team Coach)
Development Coach, 18-21's	Steve Weaver, UEFA qualified former Wrexham coach, Blackburn Rovers scout and Manchester City academy staff, appointed 2008.
Academy Manager	Kevin Thelwell, former Derby County Academy Manager, English Football's youngest ever academy manager at 32 years of age, and former UEFA A and PRO licence course director for the Welsh FA.
Assistant Academy Manager / Under-18's Coach	Mick Halsall, former head of youth at Walsall F.C., and widely regarded as one of the best youth-team coaches in the midlands.
First Team Fitness and Conditioning Coach	Tony Daley, former Wolves, Villa and England winger, appointed 2007.
Exercise Physiologist	Dr John Iga, (since 2008), Director of the 1st BASES accredited exercise physiology laboratory in the Premiership
Goalkeeping Coach	Pat Mountain since 2008.
Scouts	Dave Bowman (Nike network consultant and Chief Scout), Ian Evans, Jack Whitham.
Club Doctor	Dr Matthew Perry (since 2001)
Head of Medical Department	Steve Kemp
Club Physio	Alan Peacham
Masseur	Mark James

Former players and managers

Statue of Billy Wright outside Molineux Stadium

Notable players

For details on notable former players, see List of Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players

The club has been represented by numerous high profile players over the years, most notably Billy Wright, who captained England a record 90 times and was the first player to win a century of international caps, as well as earning the Footballer of the Year Award, an accolade also won by Wolves inside-forward Bill Slater in 1960. In total, 34 players have won full England caps during their time with Wolves, the last being the club's record goalscorer Steve Bull, who appeared in the 1990 World Cup.

Andy Gray, Emlyn Hughes, Paul Ince and Denis Irwin are all previous League Championship medal winners who have also represented Wolves. Other notable Premier League players not currently playing for the Wolves who began their career with Wolves include Robbie Keane and Joleon Lescott.

The Wolverhampton Wanderers Hall of Fame has inducted the following former players:

• Mike Bailey
• Peter Broadbent
• Steve Bull
• Stan Cullis
• Ron Flowers
• Billy Harrison

• Jackery Jones
• Derek Parkin
• John Richards
• Bill Slater
• Bert Williams
• Billy Wright

Managerial history

Main article: List of Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. managers

Wolves' most successful manager is Stan Cullis (who also served the club as a player), who was at the helm during the club's title-winning era of the 1950s. Other notable managers have included Bill McGarry, John Barnwell, Graham Taylor, Dave Jones, Glenn Hoddle and Club Hall of Fame member Graham Turner. Both Taylor and Hoddle managed the England national team before their arrival at Wolves.

Supporters

Wolverhampton Wanderers has an international support base, with supporters' clubs in Australia, United States, Sweden, Spain, Germany, Republic of Ireland, Malta, Iceland and Norway amongst others. They have an especially large Scandinavian fanbase, due to Scandinavian television coverage of Midlands football during Wolves' dominant period in the seventies. They also have numerous supporters' clubs across the United Kingdom.

Fans' Parliament

Wolverhampton Wanderers' supporters are able to put themselves forward for selection to the Fans' Parliament which sits for two year periods at a time. The initiative, implemented in 2006, invites 35 independently-selected candidates to attend meetings at Molineux every two months. Meetings are usually attended by CEO Jez Moxey, alongside a variety of other club personnel.

Fanzine

Wolves' fanzine is called A Load Of Bull (ALOB), in part reference to Wolves legend Steve Bull. The publication was founded in 1989 and is written voluntarily by ordinary Wolves supporters. ALOB is currently edited by long-serving editor Charles Ross.

Songs

In the 1950s and '60s, the club's 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 obscene lyrics used by some fans during the chorus could lead to hooliganism. The tune has made occasional re-appearances at important promotion and play-off matches over the years, and a groundswell of support still exists among many supporters for its reinstatement as club anthem.

However, the club has since used "Hi Ho Silver Lining", a 1967 rock song by Jeff Beck, modifying the lyrics of the chorus to "Hi Ho Wolverhampton!".

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 only selected games and 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".

Sponsorship

The club are sponsored by internet gambling company Sportingbet. In addition to becoming the official gambling partner of Wolverhampton Wanderers, the deal sees Sportingbet.com branding on the home and away kits, as well as the club website and in prominent positions around Molineux. This partnership began in June 2009 and will run until the end of the 2012–13 season.

Previous shirt sponsors include Tatung (1982–86), Benjamin Perry (1986), Staw Distribution (1986–88), Manders Paint & Ink (1988–90), Goodyear (1990–2002), Doritos (2002–04) and Chaucer Consulting (2004–09).

Charity

Wolves Aid is the biggest club charity in football, supporting both the local community in Wolverhampton and abroad with specific focus on the disadvantaged and disabled.

The Wolves in the Community scheme, which began in 1991, seeks to encourage more people to support, be involved in and play football in the community. Its initiative formed, and has sustained, the Twilight and Midnight Leagues in 1998, a social inclusion football project in areas of the city that aims to reduce levels of anti-social behaviour. The project has its own Development Centre to which it invites youngsters at Under 7/8s, 10s, 12s and 13/14s levels. The teams take part in friendly matches against other development groups and teams.

Honours

In the all-time table since the league's inception in 1888, Wolves sit in the all-time top four, behind only Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal in terms of all time league position.

Cumulatively, they are the eighth most successful club, behind Chelsea, with 13 major trophy wins (see English Football Records).

Uniquely, they are the only club to have won titles in five different Football League divisions, and in 1988, their Fourth Division title glory made them the first team to have been champions of all four professional leagues in English football, although this feat has since been matched by Burnley in 1992 and Preston in 1996. They remain the only club to have won all top national cups (FA Cup, Football League Cup and Football League Trophy).

During their 1950s domination of English football, Wolves were the first team to pass the 100-goal mark for three seasons in succession, in consecutive 1957/58, 1958/59 and 1959/60 seasons. They are also the first team to score 7,000 league goals and trail only Manchester United in terms of total league goals as of the end of the 2009–10 season.

League

First Division/Premier League

• Champions: 1953–54, 1957–58, 1958–59
• Runners-up: 1937–38, 1938–39, 1949–50, 1954–55, 1959–60

Second Division/Championship

• Champions: 1931–32, 1976–77, 2008–09
• Runners-up: 1966–67, 1982–83
• Play-off winners: 2003

Third Division (North)/Third Division

• Champions: 1923–24, 1988–89

Fourth Division

• Champions: 1987–88

Cup

UEFA Cup

• Runners-up: 1972

FA Cup

• Winners: 1893, 1908, 1949, 1960
• Runners-up: 1889, 1896, 1921, 1939
• Third-place: 1973
• Semi-finalists: 1890, 1951, 1979, 1981, 1998

Football League Cup

• Winners: 1974, 1980
• Semi-finalists: 1973

FA Charity Shield

• Winners: 1949*, 1954*, 1959, 1960* (* joint holders)
• Runners-up: 1958

Football League Trophy

• Winners: 1988

Minor honours

Texaco Cup

• Winners: 1971

Football League War Cup

• Winners: 1942

FA Youth Cup

• Winners: 1958
• Runners-up: 1953, 1954, 1962, 1976

United Soccer Association

• Champions 1967 — playing as Los Angeles Wolves

North American Soccer League International Cup

• Winners 1969 — playing as Kansas City Spurs

The Central League

• Winners 1931–32 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1957–58 1958–59

Club records

Main article: List of Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. records and statistics

Wins/Losses

• Best league win: 10–1 — Leicester City (Division 2, 15 April 1938)
• Worst league loss: 1–10 — Newton Heath (Division 1, 15 October 1892)
• Best cup win: 14–0 — Cresswell's Brewery (FA Cup Second Round, 13 November 1886)

Appearances

• International appearances: 105 caps — Billy Wright (England, 1946–59)
• League appearances: 501 (609 total) — Derek Parkin (1967–82)

Goals

• League goals: 250 — Steve Bull (1986–99)
• League goals in a season: 38 — Dennis Westcott (Division 1, 1946–47)
• Most goals in a season: 52 – Steve Bull (Division 4, 1987–88)
• Most goals in Europe: 12 – Derek Dougan (1967–75)

Gates

• Attendance: 61,315 — Liverpool (FA Cup Fifth Round, 11 February 1939)
• Gate receipts: £525,000 — West Bromwich Albion (Championship play-off semi-final, 13 May 2007)

Fees

• Transfer record signing: Kevin Doyle (←Reading, £6.5m, June 2009) and Steven Fletcher (←Burnley, £6.5m June 2010)
• Transfer record sale: Robbie Keane (→Coventry City, £6m, August 1999)

External links

• Official Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. site
• Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures
• Wolves statistics
• Wolves-Aid.co.uk
• Wolves Stats