Website's Mid-Winter Manoeuvres

Time for a monthly look behind the scenes at Wolves Heroes - and an outline of the other calls and meetings we've had over and beyond our pursuit of the stories that have actually made it on line. Tues, Dec 20: Met up briefly over coffee in Trentham Gardens with Denis Smith, Harry Burrows, John Ruggiero and the wife of Terry Conroy. It was Stoke City business obviously but I regretted not having chance to ask their memories of games against Wolves - or whether any of them had ever come close to moving to Molineux. I have to make a return visit, though, so maybe next time.....

Fred Provides A Missing Link

Fred Kemp has stepped in to fill one of the few remaining gaps in a signed football card collection that is being sold to raise money for needy children in Africa. The former Wolves wing-half, along with his team-mate David Wagstaffe, were two of the handful of players still being chased by organisers of a project to help fund a new school in Zambia.

Arch Rivals United In A Compelling Cause

Former Wolves players are being urged to join their Albion counterparts next month by supporting a pre-derby walk in aid of the Acorns Children's Hospice. Groups of supporters from the two clubs are crossing the Black Country on foot before the big Molineux return on February 12.

Spectacular Goal Trails Might Well Have Been Blazed At Molineux

In relatively recent times, Wolves fans have found it painful that Jason Roberts went on to have a prolific, far-reaching career without kicking a ball in first-team football while at Molineux. A decade or two earlier, Charlie Nicholas confessed to departing Wolverhampton in a hurry when he felt homesick during a trial here and this website has already recorded how Wolves missed out on recruiting Alex Ferguson as a manager and Alan Ball as a player despite having both at their fingertips.

How McCarthy Was Thrilled By Former Wath Wanderer

Mick McCarthy has preceded Wolves' lunchtime FA Cup clash at Birmingham by pinpointing Alan Sunderland's 1979 winner against Manchester United as the highlight of his numerous visits to Wembley. The Wolves boss and the 1970s Molineux utility man were born only a few miles apart in Barnsley and Mexborough respectively, although the age difference means their football paths have barely crossed.

A Slice Of History Never To Be Matched

Stephen Ward enjoyed further success as a Premier League utility man of some renown when he struck his fourth goal of the season in the Molineux clash with Chelsea two days ago. But the man who has scored three times for Wolves in 2011-12, as well as once for the Republic of Ireland, still has a lot to do to match the adaptability of the club's ultimate Mr Versatile.

Where A Prawn Sandwich Doesn't Quite Measure Up....

Yesterday's dramatic events featuring Manchester United and Blackburn brought back happy memories for David Thompson - and not just because it was against the latter that the 1960s winger scored his only Wolves goal. He attended the same fixture two seasons ago as a VIP guest at Old Trafford after fixing up a treat for one of his grandchildren.

A Magazine That's Not To Be Missed

If you're mulling over New Year resolutions, may we suggest that you consider becoming a regular Backpass reader as a worthwhile one to make. Nostalgia pours from every one of the 64 pages in this outstanding retro publication, which is now some four and a half years old and set to expand even further in 2012.

Unheard Tales From A Season In Tinseltown

So what did happen to Los Angeles Wolves after Ronnie Allen and his squad of promotion winners had flown back to England in triumph in July, 1967? If you assumed the name ceased to be from the moment the homeward-bound plane carrying the Molineux squad had left the tarmac, you would be wrong. The side lived on for a year and a half as the Americans tried to get a professional game off the ground, the team playing a full season from spring to autumn in 1968 rather than the condensed summer programme Wolves fulfilled to great effect under Allen.

Winger Denies Kicking World Cup Legend

Dave Wagstaffe has dismissed suggestions that he goaded Bobby Moore into the only sending-off of the late England legend's long career. An article in the latest issue of the Backpass retro magazine describes how Wagstaffe - then a young winger at Manchester City - 'aimed a sneaky kick' at the back of the wing-half's legs in a League game at Maine Road more than 50 years ago.