Farewell Hughesie, See You Tomorrow!

A host of Wolves favourites were at Molineux last night for a party to mark Graham Hughes's official retirement. The club's former chairman Jonathan Hayward, who was also at the home victory against Leicester two weekends ago, put in an appearance, as did the club's long-time secretary Keith Pearson - a man rightly lauded as having done much to stave off the threat of extinction in the mid-1980s.

Egotistical Rant A Travesty On 'Fair And Just' Cullis

I am close to finishing (if I do) the autobiography of an ex-Wolves player. I don’t want to dignify the tome by mentioning his name, to be truthful. Thankfully, we are talking of someone who had no more than a very brief first-team career at Molineux.

A Wembley Reminder

Wednesday, August 29: Travelled to a hotel near Manchester Airport to interview Mike Summerbee for the highly evocative Backpass magazine - and found Wolves 'angles' spilling out of our chat. Issue 25, which is out soon, will reveal more but he said much about his personal build-up and fall-out from Wolves' Second Division home game against Manchester City in 1965 and surprised me with the reminder that he had been Ron Saunders's captain for the 1974 League Cup final.

Tim Smitten By Twin Tasks

Tim Flowers on Molineux duty last weekend.Tim Flowers has made another match-day visit to Molineux as he continues to successfully combine his two post-playing roles. The 45-year-old was part of an impressive goalkeeping entourage at Wolves' victory over Leicester four days ago, when Mike Stowell and Peter Schmeichel were also present.

Journeyman Eli Goes Into Print

Billy Wright and Derek Dougan wrote several books, Stan Cullis and Ron Flowers each compiled autobiographies, Bert Williams has come up in recent years with a delightful 'my life in pictures' publication and Steve Bull has his name on several hardbacks or paperbacks. To the list of former Wolves men who have entered the literary world, though, we can now add one Roger Eli.

Neil Next Up For JR Talk-In

John Richards is going international this autumn with the next interview in his Player Q & A series. At the suggestion of one of our loyal readers, he will be targeting Neil Emblen and asking him all about life Down Under, with particular emphasis on his growing reputation as a decorated coach and as the man in charge of the New Zealand squad at the Olympics this summer.

Ryan Heroics Kept Champagne On Ice

Wolverhampton Wanderers have spent only three seasons in the third tier of English football. In 1923-24, they finished top of Division Three North and, under Graham Turner six and a half decades later, they were champions again, the year after winning the Fourth. In between, in 1985-86, they departed that grade by the opposite route as they tumbled to the basement for the first and only time.

Olympian Who Became A True Molineux Icon

Where do you best start a feature about Bill Slater OBE, CBE? With his leadership of the Wolves side who defeated Blackburn to win the 1960 FA Cup final? With his pivotal role in helping bring three League Championship titles here in the 1950s or with all those England honours, as an amateur and a professional? Then again, of course, he was also a Footballer of the Year and has those letters after his name.

American Idea Could Stiffen The 'Stiffs'

I used to stand on the Waterloo Road paddock at Molineux. I was always in fear and trepidation of some giant arriving at the last minute to obscure my view but, thankfully, it seldom happened. I’d be there as soon as the gates opened. I would soak it all in, to the flavour of a Wagon Wheel and Bovril (an unlikely food-drink pairing, I know, but I have strange tastes).

(Sadly, We're Talking Literature, Not Today's Result!)

Oh that Wolves could this afternoon have pulled off a repeat of one of the most remarkable results in their 135-year history. It is 57 years tomorrow since Stan Cullis's side went to South Wales and trounced Cardiff 9-1 in the top flight, with Johnny Hancocks and Roy Swinbourne each hitting hat-tricks.