Tag: Wolverhampton Wanderers

Fans Favourite: Steve Bull – Wolves

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Steve-Bull-6

Wolves fans of recent years don’t have to think too hard about a modern day hero at Molineux, there is one man’s name on the lips of most fans, no not David Kelly, but the legendary Steve Bull. It’s no surprise the find that he is Mick Harper’s Fans Favourite.

He was a one club man, he came from West Brom but he was very loyal to us. He could have gone on and played at a higher level but he didn’t.
I remember the first time I saw him play, I think it was Wrexham at home. Him and Andy Thompson made their debuts on the same day and I was asked on the Monday what I thought of them, I said I didn’t think too much of the little man, Andy Thompson, and he turned out to be really good, and I said I’ll reserve judgement on the other fellow. Sure enough he started to produce the goods.

I was at Cardiff in the Old Sherpa Vans Trophy when he scored his first goal, there were only 60 or 70 Wolves fans there. He was local lad who came from West Brom but he soon won us over, he hadn’t played too many games for West Brom so that was ok. I remember his 300th goal as well, that was against Bradford and that was an emotional night.

He was 100 per cent, whole-hearted, dedicated. A lot of people used to say that his first touch wasn’t very good but his first touch was often smashing it into the back of the net. He could ruffle all sorts of defenders, he had a lot of steel and that is maybe why his career finished prematurely, because of all the kicking he got.

I remember him coming on as a sub and scoring for England against Scotland, I toyed with the idea of actually travelling up and watching the game because it was him but we watched it on the TV and I remember jumping up in the air in front of my TV.

I think he should have had more games for England than he actually had, he had 13 actual appearances and he scored four goals, but he was only on the pitch for the equivalent of eight games so I like to think that he had a record of scoring a goal once every two games.

Initially I was worried that we might lose him but as time went on it came clear that he probably wouldn’t leave. The closest he came to leaving is when Coventry came in for him but I remember the relief when it was decided that he would be staying.

They are having a game against Aston Villa to celebrate 20 years of him signing and I think he will be playing in that.

I think he’d have done alright in the top flight, at his peak he would have been a 20-goal-a-season man in the Premiership.

Flashback: Wolves 1st March 2005

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Preston North End have had some crucial and interesting meetings with Wolves down the years not surprising for two of the founder members of the football league.

The first big occasion between the two sides came at the Oval in March 1889, the Lilywhites had already completed the inaugural Football League season unbeaten as Champions and they arrived in London for the FA Cup Final hoping to complete the double.

North End had already defeated Birmingham and West Brom in the previous two rounds of the cup and they were hoping to complete the hat-trick over their Midlands rivals.

The Invincibles were born that afternoon at Surrey County Cricket Club when goals from Ross, Dewhurst and Thomson ensured a 3-0 win and also ensured that PNE would go throughout the whole competition without conceding a goal.

One of the more interesting battles between the two sides came in the 1926/27 season when the two sides clashed for a Second Division clash at Molineux. Not for the first or last time at Wolves, North End were down to 10 men in the first half, but nobody was sent off. In bizarre circumstances David Morris was forced out of action as early as the third minute when the laced part of the ball hit him in the eye and caused a blood clot which impaired his vision. PNE still had their sights set on victory though, a goal from Tommy Roberts and an o.g. from Wolves’ Shaw ensured a 2-1 win.

Two decades later and there would definitely be no celebrations for North End at Molineux. 54,425 fans crammed into the home of Wolverhampton Wanderers, not that the game had any real significance for Stan Cullis’ side, other than the fact that Wolves had just been to Wembley to win the FA Cup! The Lilywhites on the other hand were battling to avoid the drop and would have to do so without the injured Tom Finney.

The carnival atmosphere obviously allowed the Wolves players to relax a little and it wasn’t long before Mullen fired home their first goal of the afternoon after just 17 minutes.

North End’s Jimmy Gooch was performing all sorts of heroics in goal but the keeper could do little to stop Hancocks doubling the lead midway through the first-half hitting a 25-yard thunderbolt that scorched through the goalkeeper’s hands.

Bobby Langton grabbed a late consolation effort three minutes from the end when he fired home a penalty but it was too little too late for PNE, as was North End’s 2-0 home win over Liverpool one week later as results elsewhere contrived to send the Lilywhites down to the Second Division.

If Wolves victory inflicted pain on North End in sending them down, four years later they would inflict further damage but this time on North End’s quest to win the Football League Championship in the 1952/53 campaign.

It was a three way battle for the Championship, Stan Cullis’ Wolves, Tom Whittaker’s Arsenal and Preston’s Scot Symon all were in the mix as managers of their respective clubs.

And with just five games left of the season in what many considered to be the final eliminator Wolves would travel to Deepdale for an all important clash. Expectation levels were high amongst 35,788 North End fans that went through the turnstiles, the Lilywhites had already defeated Wolves 5-2 in an FA Cup tie earlier in the season and Tom Finney was back in the side after a five game absence.

But the efforts of the Preston Plumber were not to be enough as despite a Jimmy Baxter goal for PNE, the two sides could only manage a 1-1 draw. North End would defeat Arsenal at Deepdale in the penultimate game of the season but once again it was not enough to rescue the title as the Gunners claimed the Championship on goal difference!

North End would enjoy some titanic contests with Wolves throughout the 1950s and five years after Cullis’ side had denied Preston the Championship, they did it again and this time the Midlands club were the beneficiaries.

The Lilywhites and the Wanderers were both gunning for the League title in the 1957/58 season and with just three games to go of the campaign Harry Catterick took his Preston side to Molineux knowing that the winners would probably finish top of the table.

Preston had only been beaten once in the league since the turn of the year on a run of form that included an 8-0 thrashing of Birmingham City. Tom Finney scored twice against the Blues but he would be unavailable for the title decider due to international commitments.

Finney scored 26 goals that season, imagine Arsenal playing a title decider against Manchester United without the services of Thierry Henry!

North End also had Tommy Docherty missing through international duty but they soldiered on regardless.

It was not to be Preston’s day or year for that matter, the home side took advantage of some indecision in the North End defence in the 38th minute when Deeley from the Wanderers picked up on a lucky ricochet to slam the ball into an empty net.

PNE battled back in the second half and Hatsell almost levelled matters when his flick header brought a good save out of Wolves keeper Finlayson. Farrell drove inches wide and Hatsell again came close with a header.

But it was all in vain and Wolves put the Championship of Preston’s reach in the dying minutes when Milne sliced into his own net trying to clear a Broadbent chip.

Wolverhampton’s win would be the last time that the team in gold and black would finish as the top team in England and the 1957/58 season would also represent the last time that the Lilywhites would ever really be considered as challengers for English football’s ultimate title.