Wolves' squad, with Stan Cullis and his trainer Joe Gardiner, in the South African sun 53 years ago.

Wolverhampton Wanderers were already big news in South Africa when they headed there on tour a week or so after winning 3-0 against Aston Villa in their final First Division game of 1956-57.

The club had been widely lauded in the republic for their 12-wins-from-12-matches visit in 1951, since when they had won their first League Championship and made a first-team regular out of a young Johannesburg-defender called Eddie Stuart.

Excitement was high, then, about their return trip six years later to a land that was relatively untrodden by footballers from Great Britain.

Many of England’s present-day finest may have had experience of playing in South Africa, at club as well as international level, before they were jetted in last week on World Cup duty.

But Wolves, under Stan Cullis, were trail-blazers half a century ago. Not too many of their counterparts around the First Division had been to the Southern Hemisphere with their clubs or to one or two of European football’s hot-beds – and certainly not to Russia.

As was the manager’s way, his players were training within a few hours of landing in Johannesburg, where the pitch at the Rand Stadium so impressed him that he said: “If we can’t play here, we should give up.”

Familiar backers for games so far from home.

Wolves certainly did ‘play,’ especially Jimmy Murray. The forward scored all their goals in the opening 5-2 victory over Southern Transvaal, with three of them set up by crosses from Harry Hooper and the home side’s replies both coming from penalties, the score at one stage standing at 1-1.

It’s worth reminding ourselves that the game was played at an altitude of 6,000ft – the extra challenge that prompted Fabio Capello to take his players south so early this year. But Wolves were grateful for the cool, rainy conditions as they thrilled a 6,000 crowd with what South African FA president Fred Fell called ‘a brilliant exhibition.’

The outcome left Stuart particularly proud. With Billy Wright not due to arrive until much later because he was initially on England duty, the powerful homecoming boy was named tour captain – a role he fulfilled with immense pleasure.

Wolves may have won every one of the 20 matches they have played in the African continent but the one against Combined Northern and Eastern Transvaal in Pretoria four days later was as close as they ever went to being held.

A side showing four changes and including lesser lights Noel Dwyer and Gwyn Jones had seen Hooper carried off on a stretcher before they struck with a winner in the last minute, again through Murray.

There were no such alarms after the squad had flown to Durban for their third fixture. Peter Broadbent rounded the Natal keeper to open the scoring and Norman Deeley added the second from 40 yards just past the half-hour. Jimmy Mullen’s magnificent cross then paved the way for Broadbent to make it 3-0 and the brilliant inside-forward crashed in a rebound to complete his hat-trick after Deeley had contributed another fine opportunist effort.

Star visitors for the game in Durban.

The games might be regarded all these decades on as friendlies but they were much more competitive than what the tag now implies. As well as having Hooper on the sidelines, Wolves lost Malcolm Finlayson with the score at 4-1 in Durban with an arm injury that required x-rays to confirm there was no break.

The very concept of a club following up a 44-game competitive season by choosing to travel several thousand miles to play another eight is alien to today’s thinking. And Cullis surveyed his battered squad and found that his side for the clash with Western Province in Cape Town on May 15 was effectively picked for him by the fact he had only 11 fit players.

Hooper was back, but not Finlayson, as the spotlight switched to the wingers. Johnny Hancocks, who was prevented from making such trips by his acute fear of flying, had been transfer-listed shortly before the players left Wolverhampton but Mullen showed he still had something in the tank by turning on the style with two of the goals in Wolves’ 6-0 romp in Table Mountain’s shadow.

Colin Booth (2), Broadbent, with a fine first-timer, and Hooper were also on target at a time when Wolves had announced they were signing native youngster Cliff Durandt. The forward would be carrying more than just his belongings to England. He also had to shoulder the burden of a big reputation, having been dubbed the Duncan Edwards of South African football.

Wolves’ big victory was an unhappy experience for Western Province keeper Albert Uytenbogaardt, who had once faced them in Sam Bartram’s absence for Charlton. And the game against Southern Transvaal had pitched them into opposition to a couple of the players from the South Africa side who strode out at Molineux in 1953 for the match that marked the official opening of Wolves’ first floodlights.

Johannesburg was back on the itinerary for a game on May 18 that looked like being the hardest of the eight. Thankfully, Wolves had their big guns back and pulled away in the second half to beat a South African X1 4-1 following the relief of a penalty miss against them.

Broadbent was again the hero with a hat-trick, Deeley netting the other, and there was another star in the squad’s midst when Billy Wright arrived in the city on the day of the tourists’ 7-3 win under lights in an additional fixture, against a President’s X1.

Cliff Durandt.....spotted by Wolves in South Africa and promptly signed.

Youngster Colin Tether was given his first and only outing of the trip for a side who led 4-1 at half-time on their way to winning 7-3, Deeley (2), Murray (2), Bobby Mason (2) and George Showell scoring the goals. Seventeen-year-old Cliff Durandt was in the President’s line-up and scored twice.

Wolves said goodbye to South Africa to fulfill their final two fixtures before heading home, dropping in first on Bulawayo for a May 24 game against Southern Rhodesia. In less than demanding circumstances, they had Wright back in their defence as they won 10-1 with their tally made up by Deeley (3), Mullen (2), Broadbent (2), Murray, Mason and a Turnbull own goal.

And it was a very similar outcome in Kitwe against Northern Rhodesia, who trailed 6-0 at half-time in front of a 14,000 crowd and were eventually overwhelmed 11-1. Mullen (4), Deeley (3), Murray (2) and Booth (2) were their marksmen at the end of a trip that brought the side one goal short of a half century, with only nine against.

Wolves’ outward journey had spanned 25 hours and the long haul home became a bit longer when floods at Nairobi Airport caused a re-routing via Entebbe in Uganda, as well as Khartoum and Rome.

Broadbent and Mullen, survivors of the squad who had visited South Africa in 1951, nevertheless described this tour as its equal when interviewed by the Express & Star back in Wolverhampton. There was no sign, though, of two other members of the party. Director James Marshall was returning by sea in the company of the young Durandt while manager Cullis had stepped off the plane in London and gone straight to a Football League meeting.

Within a year, he would be celebrating the club’s lifting of the League crown for a second time.

Wolves squad: Malcolm FINLAYSON, Noel DWYER, Eddie STUART (captain), Gerry HARRIS, Eddie CLAMP, George SHOWELL, Ron FLOWERS, Harry HOOPER, Norman DEELEY, Peter BROADBENT, Jimmy MURRAY, Colin BOOTH, Jimmy MULLEN, Bobby MASON, Gwyn JONES, Colin TETHER. Billy WRIGHT joined up with the squad late.

By Jim Heath

Phew, he's still here! Bully reporting for pre-season action. All photos provided by courtesy of Jim Heath.

The pre-season of 1995/96 saw Wolves eschew the glamour (and presumably expense) of an overseas trip as they embarked on one of the most low-profile preparations the club had undertaken in the modern era.

As a marked change from the norm in that decade, Graham Taylor chose nothing more exotic than a visit to two non-League clubs in the Home Counties of Buckinghamshire and Kent.

Failure to capitalise on a fabulous start to the previous campaign had seen Wolves’ promotion dreams ultimately lying in tatters on an acrimonious night at Burnden Park, where they suffered a miserable play-off semi-final KO which left them licking their wounds during an equally low-key summer.

This was in stark contrast to those of 1993 and 1994, when the likes of Geoff Thomas, Kevin Keen, David Kelly, Neil Emblen, Steve Froggatt and Tony Daley were all signed and sealed before pre-season training commenced.

This time, the main focus at Molineux was not on the quality of new arrivals but the possible dramatic departure of fans’ hero Steve Bull.  With Coventry manager Ron Atkinson offering £1.5m, the decision was ultimately left with the striker on whether to take this opportunity of playing Premier League football.

Thankfully, amid huge sighs of relief, Steve Bull was part of the squad who journeyed south to take on Amersham Town on a balmy Thursday evening a couple of weeks or so later. Also included were long-term injury casualties John de Wolf, Daley, Thomas and the little-seen Neil Masters.

Amersham v Wolves at Chesham. Not your normal match-day setting.

Amersham could boast Graham Taylor as club president – a relationship that developed when he was manager at nearby Watford – but not much else. Lying in the nether regions of the pyramid, they struggled in the Spartan League Premier Division the previous season (a regional feeder league to what is now the Ryman League) and used the modest surroundings of neighbours Chesham Town to host this prestige friendly.

A strong Wolves line-up contained Andy de Bont in goal and blonde Dutch trialist David De Jong in midfield while Amersham were bolstered by St Albans striker Barry Blackman, who had the reputation for being one of the hottest goal-scoring properties in non-League.

Blackman also attracted the interest of Portsmouth and Coventry, and a fee of £150,000 was being talked up by his home club for a player who was due to join Wolves on a short trial after the tour.

Not surprisingly, the match was pretty much one-way traffic and Wolves opened the scoring through Andy Thompson in the 13th minute, with a brace from Bull following before the interval.

It was good to see Daley back in action and he saw a lot of the ball during a full 90-minute work-out – his first meaningful football for eight months.

Five changes were made at the break, including the welcome return of De Wolf, who had clearly not fully recovered from a serious knee injury as he wore a rather worrying leather protective brace.

To add to the ‘jumpers for goalposts’ feel of the match, Blackman switched sides (replacing Bull), but it was not until the 64th minute that Wolves added a fourth and then went on to score an astonishing seven more before the end.

Never since have they hit double figures in the UK and the 500 or so visiting fans in the 1,000-strong attendance were content enough at witnessing this curio. Blackman could also claim his 15 minutes in the sun, scoring for Wolves before withdrawing with an injury. Sadly for him, a move to the professional game never materialised.

An unequal contest......

After warming up with 11 goals, the squad moved on to Kent for a couple of nights at the Pembury Resort Hotel before setting foot in the pleasant surroundings of Longmead Stadium, the home of Tonbridge Angels.

This Saturday 3pm fixture, played under clear blue skies, was going to be a much sterner challenge as the Angels were just a couple of rungs below the Football League and the bone-dry pitch looked bare and slightly rutted. The hospitality was excellent, though, with the clubhouse making the healthy Wolves contingent welcome and the Angels having Neil Emblen’s dad, Phil, as their manager and his younger brother, Paul, lining up in their side.

It was altogether an intimate affair for the 1,446 crowd, many of whom were lazing on the touchline enjoying the sun. All that was missing was the iced pimms and the sound of willow on leather!

Wolves started with Bull, David Kelly and Don Goodman operating together up front and winger Daley further echoing the attacking bravado Taylor had shown in the previous season. However, even with this substantial battalion, Wolves couldn’t force a breakthrough in the first half, which was scrappy as Tonbridge competed on equal terms.

As the temperature dipped in the second half, Wolves turned up the heat and goals from Bully, Kelly and, to cap it all, skipper-for-the-day Emblen (a splendid 20-yarder) wrapped up a 3-0 victory.

In the following two weeks, preparations stepped up with prestige Molineux friendlies against Manchester City (won 2-1) and Arsenal (lost 2-0). But, three months into the season, Taylor had been sacked and Wolves finished a disappointing season in 20th place, just three points above the drop zone to the third tier.

Wolves on the attack at Tonbridge.

Mark McGhee was by then in charge and told his players to make sure their passports were up to date for his first pre-season…….

* As the new Wolverhampton Wanderers Complete Record does not carry the details of the matches on this tour, we are happy to do so. 

27 July, 1995:  Amersham Town 0 Wolves 11. Attendance: 1,000 (unofficial)

Team: De Bont, Smith, Thompson (Masters, HT), De Jong, Shirtliff (De Wolf, HT), Thomas (Richards, HT), Daley, D Kelly (Goodman, HT), Bull (Blackman, HT), Cowans (Emblen, HT), Dennison. Kelly went back on for Blackman, 71. Sub not used: (keeper) Paul Jones.

Goals: Thompson, Bull (2), Quinn og, Goodman (2), Blackman, Emblen, Kelly (2), Daley.

29 July, 1995:  Tonbridge Angels 0 Wolves 3.  Attendance: 1,446

Team: Jones, Rankine (Thompson, 20), Masters (Smith, 61), Emblen, De Wolf (Shirtliff, HT), Richards (Thomas, HT), Goodman, D Kelly, Bull, Cowans (De Wolf, HT), Daley (Dennison, HT). Sub not used: De Bont.

Goals: Bull, Kelly, Emblen.

Jim Heath is a long-time contributor to A Load Of Bull and remains a valued supporter of Wolves Heroes.

Wolves' players, with skipper George Showell nearest the camera, line up on tour in 1963.

Wolverhampton Wanderers had just finished the last of the many fine seasons they enjoyed under Stan Cullis when they headed across the Atlantic for the first time more than 46 years ago.

Having twice visited South Africa in the previous decade and a bit and also played in Russia, the club found their plane pointing in another direction as they set off on a five-week trip that was to bring them nine wins and a draw from their ten matches.

Seven days after a 5-1 last-day defeat at Blackburn that was out of keeping with the form that had left them in a final placing of fifth, Wolves’ 17-man squad were accompanied on lift-off from London Airport by manager Cullis, trainer Joe Gardiner, coach Bill Shorthouse, chairman James Marshall, deputy chairman John Ireland and fellow directors Wilf Sproson and Cliff Everall.

There was no place for Bill Slater, who had been given a free transfer prior to taking up a post as deputy director of the National Recreation Centre at Crystal Palace, but management opinion of Peter Knowles was high enough for him to be included with the seniors rather than be held back for an FA Youth Cup semi-final replay, which Wolves lost 4-2 at West Ham despite goals by Clive Ford and Gordon Roberts.

The tour was neatly divided into five games in America and five in Canada, the first of them against Montreal Cantalia on Tuesday, May 23, three days after their arrival.

The Eastern Canada Professional League side provided suitably comfortable opening opposition, Ted Farmer’s headed goal being followed by others from Chris Crowe and Terry Wharton before half-time. Although the local side pulled one back, Crowe and Gerry Harris struck to complete a 5-1 Wolves victory.

As a later generation of Wolves players were to discover in 1967, 1969 and 1972, any tour of the USA comes complete with many an hour spent in airports, the party then flying to New York, where sightseeing – at the right time – was very much on the agenda.

Cullis’s team had their minds on the job in hand on a wet Friday evening, though, when they ran out 4-2 winners over Schalke 04, the club who had knocked them out of the 1958-59 European Cup.

Again, the bulk of the work was done in the first half, Farmer setting up Jimmy Murray for the opener and Wharton doubling the lead before the half-hour. Wharton turned provider as Murray made it 3-1 at the break, although Fred Davies saved a Berni Klodt penalty to keep the Germans at bay. Victory was assured in a quieter second half by a Peter Broadbent shot that bounced in off a defender.

Two of Wolves stars on their travels - keeper Fred Davies (left) and inside-forward Peter Broadbent.

Wolves, boosted on their travels by the news that Molineux winger Alan Hinton had scored a hat-trick for England under-23s in Belgrade, made the shortish hop to Philadelphia for their next assignment – against Ukranian Nationals after the luxury of a four-day rest.

In considerable heat, the US Eastern Championship winners were a tough nut to crack in a game played on a baseball pitch, although a Krawec own goal was followed five minutes later by a Farmer header from Murray’s cross. From 2-0 down, a side who included former Blackpool player Barry Oliver hit back to level and then force a fine save from Davies, who had gone on for Malcolm Finlayson. But Farmer hit the winner after Murray’s shot had been well saved.

Back in New York, this time on Randall’s Island, Wolves were much less stretched in beating an American Soccer League XI at the start of their second full weekend Stateside, Gerry Harris opening the scoring from 30 yards and Crowe making it 2-0.

The injury-plagued Farmer, who had scored nine times in only 13 League matches in 1962-63, made the game safe with two quick goals at the start of the second half and Barry Stobart, having earlier had an effort disallowed, hit the fifth from 15 yards as Wolves’ 5-0 success made it four wins from four games.

The squad flew half way across the continent for their next game three days later and went one better by hammering Catholic Youth Council 6-0 in St Louis. The heat, all 82 degrees of it, was more testing than the opposition under floodlights as Crowe led the way with two goals and an ‘assist’ for one of Farmer’s two, Wharton and Broadbent also figuring among the scorers.

For the first time, Wolves sampled life on the west coast as they took on a Mexican City Select XI on June 9 in a game that would have been against a San Francisco XI had the organisers been able to reach financial agreement with them.

Within 20 minutes, it looked another comfortable mission as Farmer, set up by Broadbent, struck the first and the in-form Crowe the second and the side were barely tested before Wharton hit the third in the last minute to send the 7,000 crowd home content with what they had seen.

Broadbent steams in to no avail.

The big figure missing from the trip was Ron Flowers, who had been on England’s summer tour of Europe. He lined up alongside Jimmy Melia – later to move to Molineux – in an 8-1 romp in Switzerland that came as Wolves cut a winning swathe on their criss-crossing of a more faraway land.

But the victorious run ended at six as Bangu dug in for a 2-2 draw in Vancouver in a match watched by far the biggest crowd of the tour, 19,339. Crowe cut in to open the scoring from outside the area in only the tenth minute and Murray soon drove in the second after two shots had been blocked. But the Brazilians hit back and were to equalise a few minutes after Dave Woodfield was sent off at the end of the first half.

The only player not yet used in the starting line-up was Ken Knighton, who had been sidelined by an ankle injury picked up in training. But he was given an outing as Wolves edged home 2-1 in Victoria, British Columbia, against West Victoria All Stars. Stobart quickly opened the scoring with a powerful shot from a pass by the impressive Broadbent, who was denied by two fine saves. Then Murray, on as a second-half substitute, hit the winner after a link-up with Johnny Kirkham before blazing a penalty over the bar.

Wolves were back in Vancouver for match no 9, five of their young players having been treated to some home comforts in their earlier stay in the city. Knighton, Knowles, Wharton, Fred Goodwin and John Galley were all dinner guests at the home of the aunt of Les Wilson, who had been spotted by Cullis and Gardiner when playing in a local match and invited to train with the squad.

This time there was clear daylight between the sides as the tourists won 4-1 thanks largely to a Farmer brace in the opening 26 minutes, the second of them superbly set up by Crowe. Davies had to make several fine saves after Vancouver All Stars had pulled a goal back, though, and Wolves needed an angled shot from Murray to make themselves comfortable, substitute Stobart then going past two defenders to net the fourth.

Wolves’ party fitted in a visit to Niagara Falls before packing their bags for home and, amid their travel-weariness, spared a thought for their final opponents, Bangu. The re-match came near the end of the Brazilians’ three-month tour of Europe and North America, so the 4-1 scoreline was perhaps understandable.

On the sidelines are (from left): Stan Cullis, Bill Shorthouse, Ken Knighton, John Galley, Gerry Harris, Barry Stobart, Peter Broadbent and Fred Davies.

Stobart crashed in the opener, Farmer cashed in on a mix-up to double the advantage and Gerry Harris added a third before a consolation goal went in at the other end. Stobart’s 76th minute clincher underlined Wolves’ superior finishing and had them in good heart as they travelled back to Wolverhampton – to be greeted by their first sight of rain in weeks!

Cullis, although disappointed by the quality of pitches, was delighted with the tour and described his players as ‘fine ambassadors.’ “They played every match as though it was a League fixture,” he said. And he wouldn’t have settled for anything less.

Wolves squad: Fred DAVIES, Malcolm FINLAYSON, George SHOWELL, John HARRIS, Gerry HARRIS, Ken KNIGHTON, Fred GOODWIN, Dave WOODFIELD, Johnny KIRKHAM, Chris CROWE, Barry STOBART, Jimmy MURRAY, Ted FARMER, Peter KNOWLES, Peter BROADBENT, John GALLEY, Terry WHARTON.

* Pictures kindly provided by the family of former Wolves chairman John Ireland.

By Jim Heath

Wolves’ pre-Premier tour to Western Australia in July is sure to evoke memories of the pioneering globe-trotting adventures the club have undertaken in years gone by. But it comes nowhere near the mammoth trip to North America on which they embarked after their promotion-winning season of 1966-67.

From May 27 and July 14, Wolves were re-branded the Los Angeles Wolves and played a stamina-sapping 14 matches in what was called the USA (United Soccer Association) Championship, with the 93,000-seat LA Memorial Coliseum as their home.

Encouraged by TV viewing figures for England’s World Cup victory the previous summer (about 9,000,000 tuned into NBC’s broadcast), interested parties set off in a race to launch ‘soccer’ on the other side of the Atlantic.

To cut a long story short, the United States Soccer Association-approved NASL (North American Soccer League) announced plans for a professional league starting in October, 1967, based on city franchises. But, in the meantime, the NPSL (National Professional Soccer League), backed by media giants CBS, gazumped them with proposals for a competition kicking off in April of that year. The NASL response was to bring its project forward and compete head-to-head with the renegade league. Their strategy was simple: Instead of importing players and constructing clubs from scratch, it would parachute in entire teams.

A flying Phil Parkes adorns the cover of the programme for the Sunderland game in LA, complete with maximum hype.

Commissioning Jimmy Greaves and the BBC’s Kenneth Wolstenholme to help with the search, organisers ended up with a host of representatives from Britain. Alongside Wolves were Stoke, Shamrock Rovers, Glentoran, Aberdeen, Hibernian, Sunderland and Dundee United, plus Cagliari from Italy, ADO Den Haag from Holland, Bango from Brazil and Cerro from Uruguay.

Each club were assigned to a city franchise and their name adapted accordingly. At least Wolves retained a clear reference to their origin (they were initially going to be playing as the LA Zorros) but some lost their identity entirely, Cagliari becoming the Chicago Mustangs and Cerro the New York Skyliners. In a final marketing twist, the NASL changed the name of the competition to the aforementioned USA Championship, officials claiming it was to ‘make it easier for fans to remember that the league is sanctioned.’ But the patriotic overtones seemed more than a happy coincidence.

Wolves took a squad of 17 – one fewer than the line-up, with subs, they will need in next season’s Premier League – including Derek Dougan, Peter Knowles and Ernie Hunt. Mike Bailey flew out late after recovering from injury. The LA franchise had been bought for a cool $250,000 by sports entrepreneur Jack Kent Cooke, who also owned the LA Lakers basketball team.

The Doog, writing in his autobiography ‘Attack’, caught the mood perfectly. “Clinching promotion with Coventry, we were jubilant……I could not have joined Wolves at a better time, with the thrill of promotion, then a trip to the States to represent Los Angeles.” He continued: “In effect, we were demonstration salesmen and we piled on the sale pressure in 14 matches. In every game, we played superb football. As soon as we arrived in Los Angeles, we were given film star treatment.”

Based in Hollywood at the swish Beverly Hills Wilshire Hotel, Wolves had only 14 days between signing off their promotion campaign at Selhurst Park and pitching up at the brand spanking new Houston Astrodome to take on Bangu (aka the Houston Stars). The 1-1 draw was claimed to be the first professional match in the world to be played on plastic grass, even if the impressive 34,965 crowd had been attracted mainly to the self-proclaimed ‘Eighth Wonder Of The World,’ with its bars, restaurants, padded seats, $2m scoreboard and general space-age ambience, rather than by the reputation of the boys from the Black Country!

The Coliseum.......Wolves' home for a month and a half 42 years ago.

Wolves’ success was built on some excellent ‘home’ form at the Colisuem, where their opening 2-1 win (Hunt and David Burnside scored) over Cerro set the tone as it was followed by 5-1 and 4-1 victories against Sunderland and Glentoran respectively. Life on the road was a sterner test, with a 2-1 success in Toronto against Hibernian the only ‘away’ win. One way or another, they racked up thousands of air miles as they zig-zagged across the states by taking in Cleveland, Washington DC twice and San Francisco. It was an itinerary more akin to a rock band than a football team.

According to Bailey, all those hours’ travelling were excellent for team spirit. “I’m absolutely convinced the tour did us good. We tried many ideas, talked a lot about the game and really blended,” he said. It was a sentiment shared by manager Ronnie Allen. “We made a tremendous impact in the States and helped promote the game,” he said. “But what was more important was that my youngsters gained a lot from the fierce competition and really came of age.”

Apart from the matches, the players were able to experience the American way of life as well as meeting the great and good. They became acquainted with pop stars of the day The Monkees, then Tommy Steele took them on a tour of the Hollywood studios where he was starring in ‘The Happiest Millionaire.’ Even screen legend Maureen O’Hara was drafted in on promotional activities and teamed up with The Doog for a photo shoot to entice Irish-Americans to the area.

The Doog lines up with Shamrock's skipper, screen star Maureen O'Hara and a tournament official.

Back on the pitch, Wolves had to replay a match against Aberdeen (the Washington Whips) due to inadvertently flouting the substitution regulations. Northern Ireland champions Glentoran (Detroit Cougars) were kicking up a storm as their games degenerated into fist fights and their player-coach John Colrain was infamously suspended for thumping a linesman during a match against their southern adversaries Shamrock (Boston Rovers). In New York, the fixture between the Skyliners (Cerro) and Mustangs (Cagliari) was abandoned after fans took to the pitch in protest over a refereeing decision and attempted to attack him.

Despite these controversies, Wolves’ excellent form ensured a place in the final against Aberdeen at the Coliseum after they won the Western Division. And some spectacle it was!

An extraordinary game, lasting an unprecedented 126 minutes, saw Wolves home 6-5. Peter Knowles’ early opener was cancelled out by Aberdeen’s Jim Smith but the real fireworks started around the hour. Twice in four minutes, Dave Burnside brought Wolves level after Frank Munro and Jim Storrie edged the Dons – sorry, the Whips – ahead. After Smith was given his marching orders, Burnside completed his hat-trick and the trophy was in Wolves’ grasp as they led 4-3. But the pesky Munro equalised again with a last-minute penalty.

As the teams went into extra-time, The Doog slammed home Wolves’ fifth and Aberdeen looked a beaten team when Terry Wharton stepped up to take a penalty near the end. But Jim Clark saved it and, sensationally, Munro popped up in the last minute to not only complete his hat-trick but also bring the scores level at a remarkable 5-5.

The match was to be decided by ‘golden goal,’ with the next side to score the winners. Not surprisingly, Wolves’ numerical advantage told on a stifling, humid night and it took only another six minutes for Ally Shewin to deflect in Bobby Thomson’s cross – and for Wolves skipper Dougan to lift the trophy.

A spokesman said: “The Wolves have been a delight to know and to watch in action. We couldn’t have had more capable representatives. To a man, they were personable, friendly and fun to be with.” One of the valuable legacies of the trip was the signing of Munro. So impressed was Allen with his performance in the final that he was brought to Molineux the following January for a bargain £55,000.

In the meantime, the renegade NPSL dragged on until October amid a lot less enthusiasm than the official championship. It was clearly not helped by the brutally frank assessments of CBS analyst and former Northern Ireland captain Danny Blanchflower of the quality.

In December, 1967, the USA merged with the NPSL to form the North American Soccer League (NASL). As a result, LA Wolves became founding members of the new league and players were recruited on an individual basis. After finishing third in their division, LA were one of several franchises to fold after only two seasons.

The idea of importing teams to represent franchises was revived during the 1969 NASL season and Wolves returned to the United States, this time representing Kansas City and winning the NASL International Cup. But that’s another story…..

Ernie Hunt in the news - and getting a sweat on in LA.

WHO WAS WHO

Aberdeen (Washington Whips); ADO Den Haag (San Francisco Golden Gate Gales); Bangu (Houston Stars); Cagliari (Chicago Mustangs); Cerro (New York Skyliners); Dundee United (Dallas Tornado); Glentoran (Detroit Cougars); Hibernian (Toronto City); Shamrock Rovers (Boston Rovers); Stoke City (Cleveland Stokers); Sunderland (Vancouver Royal Canadians); Wolverhampton Wanderers (Los Angeles Wolves).

WOLVES RESULTS

May 27: Bangu 1 Wolves 1 in Houston (Woodfield). Att: 34,965.

June 4: Wolves 2 Cerro 1 in Los Angeles (Hunt, Burnside). Att: 7,000.

June 7: Stoke 0 Wolves 0 in Cleveland. Att: 4,128.

June 11: Hibernian 1 Wolves 2 in Toronto (Thomson, Dougan). Att: 5,000.

June 14: Wolves 5 Sunderland 1 in Los Angeles (Buckley 2, Hunt, Dougan, Knowles). Att: 6,000.

June 18: Wolves 4 Glentoran 1 in Los Angeles (Thomson, Dougan, Hunt, Knowles). Att: 5,381.

June 20: Aberdeen 1 Wolves 1 in Washington DC (Burnside). Att: 7,847. Match annulled and replayed on July 10 as Wolves fielded three outfield substitutes and only two were allowed.

June 25: Wolves 1 Shamrock 1 in Los Angeles (Wharton pen). Att: 8,000.

June 28: ADO Den Haag 1 Wolves 0 in San Francisco. Att: 7,123.

June 30: Wolves 2 ADO Den Haag 0 in Los Angeles (Wharton, Davies). Att: 12,000.

July 5: Wolves 2 Cagliari 2 in Los Angeles (Hunt, Wharton pen). Att: 11,000.

July 9: Dundee United 2 Wolves 2 in Dallas (Knowles, Thomson). Att: 7,946.

July 10: Aberdeen 3 Wolves 0 in Washington DC. Att: 7,641.

July 14: Wolves 6 Aberdeen 5 in LA (Knowles, Burnside 3, Dougan, Thomson). Att: 17,824. Wolves line-up: Parkes, Taylor, Thomson, Holsgrove, Woodfield, Burnside, Wharton, Hunt, Dougan, Knowles, Wagstaffe.

Steve Froggatt in hot pursuit in Salzburg.

Sir Jack Hayward once said that one of Mark McGhee’s greatest strengths was remembering the names of all the players he had signed for Wolverhampton Wanderers.

It was less than veiled criticism of the Scot’s management of the club in 1998 after he had, shortly before their appearance in the FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal, unveiled five newcomers together – Steve Claridge, David Connolly, Robbie Slater, Stephen Wright and the returning Neil Emblen.

Not surprisingly, noses were pushed out as a result and there was some making-up to do a few months later when, for the second time in three summers, Wolves set off on a pre-season tour of Austria and Germany.

Claridge hadn’t scored in any of the six appearances he had made at the end of 1997-98 and was vowing to win over sceptical fans while Dougie Freedman was intent on a fresh start after falling out with McGhee, the man who bought him from Crystal Palace only the previous October.

As if that wasn’t enough, Keith Curle had had a bitter mid-July slanging match in the Press with managing director John Richards over contract talks and the skipper’s place in the 18-man tour squad was in doubt virtually up to the moment he checked in at Birmingham Airport on a Salzburg-bound flight at the start of the 12-night trip.

Wolves had to do without Robbie Keane, who was away at a youth tournament with the Republic of Ireland, and had a tough opening assignment against top-flight opponents who had played in Europe in two of the previous five seasons.

Keith Curle leads Wolves out against Lask Linz.

Wustenrot Salzburg had also had two players at that summer’s World Cup finals and ran out convincing 2-0 winners on a warm evening on which Steve Bull was captain because of a slight injury Curle was nursing.

There was an unfortunate legacy of the defeat, with Steve Sedgley taken to hospital with an ankle injury. The utility man would be sent home within a couple of days but not before demonstrating his devilish sense of humour when, sitting in a car full of players on their way back down from a punishing training run up a mountain, he turned the heating up to maximum.

Tony Daley twice and Adrian Williams had also been flown home early from trips in the mid-1990s and, with Freedman struggling because of sore shins, Steve Corica – himself without a start for 14 months following two cruciate knee operations – was hastily summoned from England.

Wolves were staying a few miles along the valley from where Arsenal and Benfica were bedded in for pre-season commitments of their own. But they were failing to hit the heights that such giants are used to scaling.

They suffered a second 2-0 defeat on Austrian soil when a Saturday night game switched 30 miles to the industrial town of Grieskirchen saw them outplayed by Lask Linz.

Not the worst place in the world to prepare for a new season......

In the hosts’ ranks was Eugene Dadi, the striker Wolves had had on trial on their two-game tour of Scotland in 1997, and McGhee’s men were struggling to escape the worrying goal shortage that had hastened their alarming slide the previous spring.

It was ironic then that Richards, scorer of a cool 194 goals for the club, should arrive to watch the middle two games of the tour – and to play in a training game which thankfully saw him on the same side as the now fit Curle!

Wolves left behind their idyllic Alpine base for the four-hour drive towards the old East Germany, where the temperature would reach the mid-90s – and that in the early evening.

Several members of their party had to move into a different hotel as there weren’t enough beds in their new HQ near Nuremberg, a problem caused in part by the presence of several foreign trial players who were seen in training but not in matches.

Richards was looking forward to the third game, against Carl Zeiss Jena, as it presented him with the prospect of a return visit to the stadium where he had scored the winner in a European tie more than a quarter of a century earlier. But he was disappointed at a switch of venue to a bumpy, sloping pitch an hour away in the town of Schleiz, where he was nevertheless introduced to two players he had faced in that UEFA Cup assignment.

A 1-0 victory over Jena, secured by a 21st minute Bull goal, lifted Wolves’ spirits and the performance of Curle at the centre of defence was another reassuring sight. Not that the skipper was taking anything for granted. “I could be here for two days, two weeks or two years,” he said as he reflected on Wolves’ decision not to extend a deal that still had a year to run.

Wolves fan Kelvin Weatherer had presented the host club with a mounted programme from the 1971 Wolves v Carl Zeiss meeting and there was another friendly supporter gesture when Manchester-born Phil Painter welcomed members of the touring party to his adopted home city of Berlin 24 hours later by handing them souvenir pieces of its famous dismantled wall!

Mike Stowell on his knees as Wolves trail to Union Berlin.

The Friday night game against division three club Union Berlin started badly for Wolves, who had made a six-hour journey on match-day to the once-divided city. They fell behind after only three minutes but rallied to win 2-1 with spectacular second-half left-foot strikes by Carl Robinson and Paul Simpson to bring the curtain down on their stay on the Continent with a record of two victories and two defeats.

The start of the 1998-99 season was only two weeks away when Wolves flew home the following day and, yes, Curle did stay at Molineux; for another two years, in fact. McGhee, however, departed in the November.

Wolves’ squad: Mike STOWELL, Kevin MUSCAT, Steve FROGGATT, Lee NAYLOR, Adrian WILLIAMS, Keith CURLE, Dean RICHARDS, Neil EMBLEN, Steve SEDGLEY, Simon OSBORN, Darren FERGUSON, Paul SIMPSON, Steve BULL, Dougie FREEDMAN, Mixu PAATELAINEN, Steve CLARIDGE, Carl ROBINSON, Mark ATKINS. Keith ANDREWS also travelled while recuperating from injury and Steve CORICA replaced Steve SEDGLEY.

Cricketers have been touring the Caribbean for decades but there was something unusual about the sweltering visit Wolves made to the region in the final months of Stan Cullis’ reign.

Trips by football clubs to the West Indies were even rarer then than they are now, so players the manager had taken to the United States, Canada and South Africa in previous summers were entering the unknown when they flew out of London some three weeks after the 1963-64 Molineux campaign had ended with successive 4-0 victories over Fulham and Bolton.

What made the adventure even more of a novelty was the fact that it was billed as a joint enterprise between Wolves and Chelsea, who would face each other five times in two weeks of tiring island-hopping.

A photo-copy from the Caribbean shows Fred Davies looking on as Gerry Harris goes to ground, watched by Bobby Woodruff.

The sides first met on May 21 in Barbados, where Chelsea had already beaten an island X1 7-0, two of the goals coming from Frank Upton, who later seved as a coach at Molineux.

And Wolves had the measure of a team they had beaten home and away in the First Division programme as they ran out 3-1 winners in Bridgetown. Against a team who included manager Tommy Docherty in the first half and his assistant Dave Sexton in the second, Dick Le Flem opened the scoring with a 30-yarder in the first minute and Ray Crawford flicked in Jimmy Melia’s free-kick to restore the lead just before half-time after Barry Bridges’ equaliser.

Barry Stobart replaced Le Flem in the intense heat and crossed for Crawford to seal the win in the 57th minute, although Fred Davies had to make several good saves to keep the lead intact.

On tour, Wolves were without Ron Flowers, who was playing for England, while the country’s under-23s initially deprived Chelsea of Bobby Tambling and their keeper Peter Bonetti, who later served as a coach at Molineux.

Three days later, Wolves were in action in Pointe a Pierre, Port of Spain, and made light work of the Trinidad National X1. Tour skipper Melia and John Kirkham combined to enable Crawford to back-heel Wolves into an early lead and the same player headed the second before completing his hat-trick just past the hour. Stobart rounded off a 4-0 win in a downpour which left the pitch treacherous and the uncovered 12,000 crowd thoroughly soaked.

There was little time for recuperation and, still in Port of Spain, Wolves lined up with Chelsea again the following day. Once more, heavy rain cooled the players in an exciting game settled by a Terry Venables penalty two minutes from time in front of a 25,000 turn-out.

Following a goalless first half, Le Flem equalised Eddie McCreadie’s opener, only for Bridges to restore the Londoners’ lead. Peter Knowles levelled 20 minutes from time before Gerry Harris brought Bridges down in the dying stages of a contest in which a collision with Crawford had left Chelsea keeper John Dunn needing three stitches near his eye.

“It was the most luxurious tour you could imagine but all the matches were nothing short of full-blooded,” Crawford writes in his book, Curse Of The Jungle Boy. And the no 9 would soon learn that he had made an impact of a different kind…..

Jimmy Melia introduces his players to a dignitary in Barbados. Nearest the camera is Johnny Kirkham.

Dunn’s injury had prompted Wolves to hand Jim Barron over as a replacement keeper for Chelsea, who by now had Bonetti suffering from a temperature. And the young Molineux reserve was outstanding in denying Melia, Crawford and Chris Crowe.

The ‘circus’ moved on to Jamaica, where Wolves immediately took revenge on Chelsea in the capital Kingston. More than 13,000 in the National Stadium saw Venables give Docherty’s men an early lead in the evening fixture, only for Crawford (2) and Le Flem to put Wolves in charge. An Upton own goal more than compensated for the one Tambling netted at the other end and the final score was 4-2 on the night Mike Bailey, then a Charlton player, made his England debut in a 10-0 slaughter of the USA in New York.

And the goals flowed once more as Wolves then ran amok to beat a Jamaican X1 8-4. Four of them came in the first 15 minutes and, although tiredness and perhaps complacency allowed the hosts to fight back, the introduction of three substitutes saw the tourists pull away again to win handsomely.

Express & Star readers were being kept well informed by reports from Associated Press and Reuter, although not that well as to know who scored the eight goals in Kingston!

But it was at about this time that Crawford had news of a different kind. he added: “I was drinking a long rum and coke one evening in the bar of the hotel both teams were staying at when Docherty came over for a chat. He didn’t beat about the bush before asking if I would like to join Chelsea, adding that he would throw Barry Bridges in as part-exchange.”

Ray Crawford heads goalwards against Nottingham Forest in October, 1964.

Crawford stressed how flattered he was but said ‘no’ and got back to business as Wolves were next beaten 3-0 by the Londoners in Kingston.

And, on the fourth of the new month, Cullis’ men had more than they bargained in front of a 13,000 crowd in Port Au Prince as a surprisingly skilful Haiti side held them to a 1-1 draw despite Terry Wharton’s 65th minute opener. The goal came after a series of Wolves corners but it was by the same means that Calixte equalised near the end.

Wanderers’ stay in Haiti didn’t prove the happiest as they then lost 2-0 in their farewell game to leave Chelsea slightly ahead in the five-match series between the two. What with a spectacular downpour and the sight of even the groundsmen carrying revolvers, Wolves’ players weren’t sorry to leave the island! 

E&S reporter Phil Morgan was on hand to welcome them back on June 9 and wrote that many had ‘gay straw hats’ as souvenirs of their trip. Wharton was still in sunglasses following a whack near the eye that had required a hospital visit in Haiti as a precaution.

The long-serving correspondent described David Woodfield, who had departed only a week after his wedding, as having the best sun tan from what chairman Jim Marshall called ‘a memorable trip.’ Cullis, however, called the football ‘variable’ and Peter Broadbent declined to call it the best of the many Wolves tours he had been on across the world.

As chance would have it, Chelsea visited Molineux on the first day of the new season, won 3-0 and Cullis departed less than a month later. Crawford regretted not going to Chelsea after all…..

Wolves squad: Fred DAVIES, Jim BARRON, George SHOWELL, Gerry HARRIS, John KIRKHAM, David WOODFIELD, Bobby WOODRUFF, Terry WHARTON, Chris CROWE, Jimmy MELIA (skipper), Peter BROADBENT, Barry STOBART, Ray CRAWFORD, Peter KNOWLES, Dick LE FLEM, Graham HAWKINS.

Can there ever have been a football trip like it? America, Canada, New Zealand and Australia all in one go. Twelve matches in three countries in 29 days.

Players wouldn’t stand for it today, not to mention managers, sports scientists, nutrionists and fitness coaches. And the carbon footprint would be extra extra large.

Bill McGarry didn’t seem to tolerate it either. He oversaw the American sector of the marathon expedition Wolverhampton Wanderers undertook at the end of their thrilling 1971-72 season and then handed the reins to Sammy Chung while he himself headed off on holiday and his squad headed Down Under.

This article confines itself to the Australian leg of a journey that was literally round the world and is based on the memories of defenders Frank Munro and Gerry Taylor, both of whom were fortunate enough to regard themseles as enthusiastic travellers.

Gerry Taylor in his Wolves days.

“It was a great way to see different countries without paying for it,” Taylor says. “I’ve been to America a few times but hadn’t been to Australia before and haven’t been since.

“As I remember, the visit Down Under came about at short notice because Manchester United dropped out of a trip, so the facilities were absolutely fabulous and we were brilliantly looked after.

“But it was very hectic. We would fly into a place, rest for a day, play and fly out again. Although I remember seeing Sydney Harbour because our hotel was in that area, there was very little time for sightseeing.”

Taylor nearly missed going to Australasia as he had picked up a hamstring strain in America. It was only because Toby Andersen – ‘an excellent physio’ in the full-back’s words – was with the party and there was no medical back-up at Molineux that he stayed with the group and received treatment en route as required.

The opening game in Oz was a 1-0 defeat against a National X1 in Melbourne – a match Munro remembers for two reasons.

“My clearest memory is of Waggy stretching his hand through the railings outside Olympic Park and handing a ticket to a school friend he hadn’t seen since the late 1950s,” he said. “I became good mates with this bloke and he bought my house off me after I had lived in Melbourne many years later.

A fan's snap of Wolves and their hosts in Adelaide.

“On the pitch, our opponents were very committed, as Aussies always are, and Hugh Curran received a lot of stick from his markers.”

How wound up the Scottish striker was became clear when, against the same side in Sydney the very next day, he was sent off three minutes from time for turning round and whacking a defender who had hacked him down.

It was in the match against a Queensland X1 that one of the youngsters in Wolves’ squad, forward Peter Eastoe, distinguished himself with a fine hat-trick. Derek Dougan, Kenny Hibbitt and Jim McCalliog also scored in a 6-1 victory that was followed by the rare luxury of three days’ breathing space before the next fixture – an exciting 3-2 success over South Australia in which the goals were netted by Danny Hegan, Alan Sunderland and Hibbitt.

“We actually had a bit of down-time in Adelaide,” Taylor recalls. “I got to know a Wolves fan who had emigrated there and who invited myself and one of the other lads round to his house for tea.

“It was a bungalow out in the suburbs and they were telling us that a few days earlier they’d had a snake in the kitchen which they’d had to beat out with a stick!

“I would guess we had 17 or 18 players in the squad and Peter Eastoe did particularly well in that game in Brisbane, although he was regarded as one of the reserves.”

Wolves make big news in South Australia, with Frank Munro pictured.

Wolves’ players were by now thinking more than ever of home but had one final game to play only 24 hours after match no 4. This was in Perth against Western Australia - one attended by Andy Collins, a young Wulfrunian who had emigrated with his parents to what is often described as the world’s remotest city.

Andy, who subsequently named several of the rooms in his house after Molineux greats, donated a cine film of Wolves’ 3-0 victory against WA to the club archives. And the slightly fuzzy footage shows goals by McCalliog, Dave Wagstaffe and Eastoe in front of a 15,000-plus crowd.

“The game in Perth was quite comfortable but the one in Sydney was hard,” Munro says. “We were still tired following the game 24 hours earlier and after a long flight from New Zealand but we were fired up because of the treatment Hughie received.

“The opposition might only have been about Third Division standard but they were very fit. Australians put a lot of time and energy into their sport, although football comes in behind Aussie Rules and cricket, and swimming is also very big over there.

“Most of us enjoyed the travelling even if hanging round at airports became boring. We were able to sample the Aussie beer and Sydney was a great place and Perth was incredibly clean. I loved the country so much I went back there to live for quite a long while.” 

Frank Munro sees Peter Osgood get a soaking at Stamford Bridge.

Taylor played 192 League and cup games for the club, including two-thirds of the ties in the 1971-72 UEFA Cup run in the months before this huge tour.

“It was an excellent trip but very tiring and it took us a while to get over it,” he added. “Australia was super and I’d like to return but the flight is a daunting proposition.”   

You would have thought Wolves’ players had done enough travelling to last them a year. Not so, according to manager McGarry. Within a month, they were packing their bags again for a pre-season tour of Sweden!

Squad: Phil PARKES, Bernard SHAW, Derek PARKIN, Gerry TAYLOR, Mike BAILEY, Frank MUNRO, John McALLE, Kenny HIBBITT, Alan SUNDERLAND, Jim McALLIOG, Danny HEGAN, Hugh CURRAN, Derek DOUGAN, Dave WAGSTAFFE, Steve DALEY, Peter EASTOE. (John Richards flew home after the USA leg of the tour to report with England under-23s while Derek Dougan and Danny Hegan joined the party at that point after Northern Ireland duty).

No 5 Paul Blades keeps his eye on the ball in Wolves' victory over Hvidovre in Copenhagen.

By David Instone

It was a trip too many for Graham Taylor, who didn’t really want to be there at all. By the time he was appointed by Wolves in the spring of 1994, the recently deposed national manager was done with airports and language barriers, and was going through a phase of believing that the best journeys were those he could make without the need for his passport.

At the end of the following season, he would make a point of telling readers of Wolves’ match-day programme that his 1995 summer holiday was to be a two-week walking break in Yorkshire. And the club’s pre-season tour after his return from the dales wasn’t to take them to Scandinavia, Austria, Germany or any of the other places that football teams often descend on – but Buckinghamshire and Kent!

Three and a half unhappy years with England had taken Taylor all over Europe and beyond, so he could have done without learning that Graham Turner had committed the club, just before his own departure, to a pre-season tour of Denmark and Sweden in July, 1994. It was nevertheless a voyage of discovery and much interest as Taylor had signed Aston Villa wingers Tony Daley and Steve Froggatt over the close season as well as young Millwall defender Neil Emblen, and was longing to put his imprint on the squad.

The trio were in a 20-man party whose opening game was in Copenhagen against a Hvidovre side Wolves had also visited in the late 1970s during Sammy Chung’s reign as manager.

The performance against Peter Schmeichel’s old club was nothing special but a characteristic brace by Steve Bull just before half-time brought a 2-1 victory in a match marred by the harsh sendings-off of youngsters Jamie Smith – until then unseen at senior level – and Lee Mills. “Got yourself a nice story there, haven’t you?” said Kevin Keen, with a wink, as he saw me waiting outside the dressing room afterwards.

Wolves made the short hop to Sweden the following day and were in action within hours of their touchdown, a 6-1 thrashing of fourth division Solve on the south coast being built on strikes by Daley (2), Mills, Froggatt and Robbie Dennison before Dennison delivered the goal of the night late on.

During the ten-day stay across the North Sea, fans in replica gold and black shirts turned up not only at matches but also at the side’s training base, only ten miles or so from Solve’s tiny ground. And it was there that they appreciated the one-man cabaret act that is Steve Harrison, Taylor’s coach at Villa, England and Wolves, and in more recent times a long-serving member of Gareth Southgate’s Middlesbrough backroom team.

Paul Cook on the move as Darren Ferguson prepares to take a throw during Wolves' 2-0 victory in Kristianstad. The no 2 is Darren Simkin.

Skipper Peter Shirtliff, who had had to fly to Scandinavia with physio Reg Brassington on a separate plane because of over-booking, was among the first subject to the Harrison humour. On being spotted dripping with sweat on one of the endlessly hot days, he was asked: “You been caught in a monsoon there, Pete?” The coach proved himself a brilliant impersonator of George Best and Bobby Charlton as well as raising a laugh at a service station stop during which Taylor had told the group to help themselves to whatever they wanted as he would be at the back of the queue ready to pay. Harrison appeared loaded down with spark plugs, batteries and bulbs as well as fruit and drink.

Shirtliff and Bull missed the game against Solve but returned for the two-hour trip to play a Saturday afternoon game against Smedby, a division three side who were swept aside by a high-tempo performance of much promise. Bull matched the five-goal blast he had once produced against Peterborough’s reserves at Molineux by going close to the first double hat-trick of his career, his star contribution being supported by three goals from Lee Mills and one from Andy Thompson in a 9-0 slaughter that suggested the punishing hard work on the training ground was starting to pay off.

The going was much tougher two days later when Kristianstad provided the opposition on a stifling evening that helped show why Taylor had been prepared to splash out £1.5m to sign Daley from his former club. Wolves were made to sweat, in more ways than one, by the division two hosts, who gifted a first-half goal to Bull – his eighth of the tour – but then caused plenty of scares of their own before Daley cut in from the right to score with a brilliant left-foot shot from 25 yards.

Alas that was the last Wolves supporters would see of the England winger until the autumn as he hurt his knee in training the following day and sat out the final tour fixture, against Asarum. Taylor, who had just appointed Barry Holmes as physio to replace Paul Darby, often worked with his players during the tour morning and afternoon, and the demanding workload appeared to catch up with them in a picturesque stadium of which Mills will have particularly happy memories.

He hit all the goals in a 3-0 victory over Asarum, although the fact that the first of them didn’t come until the 65th minute underlined the point that the division four leaders were well organised enough to make it a game as well as to hit back with a fine consolation effort of their own. Wolves looked leg-weary, so much so that they made no fuss whatsoever when Mills completed his second hat-trick of the trip – a reaction that forced their manager to yell from the dug-out: “For God’s sake, will somebody go over and congratulate him!”

Mike Stowell leads the way, followed by Steve Froggatt, on another punishing day for Wolves' players at their Swedish training base.

When Wolves packed their bags for home the next morning, they had the record of five wins out of five and a goal return of 22 against three. There were also blisters aplenty from the hard pitches but it was considered to have been a successful week and a half.

Wolves’ squad: Mike STOWELL, Paul JONES, Darren SIMKIN, Jamie SMITH, Paul BLADES, Peter SHIRTLIFF, Neil EMBLEN, Mark VENUS, Andy THOMPSON, Kevin KEEN, Tony DALEY, Mark RANKINE, Paul COOK, Darren FERGUSON, Chris MARSDEN, Geoff THOMAS, Steve FROGGATT, Robbie DENNISON, Steve BULL, Lee MILLS.