How Wolves Were Defeated - And Feted - By The Soviets

Only once have Wolverhampton Wanderers visited Russia - and their trip to the home of the 2018 World Cup finals left them with a lifetime full of memories. It wasn't the results that were special; it was the window it provided on this alien culture, the warmth of the welcome and the magnitude of two games that most of us would nevertheless regard as friendlies.

Might World Cup Glory Have Come Eight Years Earlier?

Seeing Billy Wright lifting the Jules Rimet Trophy would have filled Wolves fans with pride. Knowing that he had three club colleagues at his side and a fourth as a regular England team-mate would have intensified the feeling towards bursting point.

Memories of Eccentric Forward Who Had A Rich Goal-Scoring Knack

He didn't win a full England cap - a lot of very good players didn't back then. But Ernie Hunt accumulated three under-23 appearances and claimed a strange link to the most famous 11 in this country's football history. He was born Roger Hunt.

Edwards Reveals Spirit Of That Magical Welsh Month

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson will have been well prepared for this World Cup. As far back as mid-March, on the night of Reading's emphatic defeat at Wolves, he said he couldn't wait to get to Russia. And, in one of his Madejski Stadium colleagues, he has a friend who will no doubt have done all he could to prepare him for his crack at the global stage.

A Link To The Boys Of 66

Last time Wolves went to Switzerland on a pre-season tour, England had just lifted the Jules Rimet Trophy......well, we had to launch our three or four weeks of World Cup-themed stories on an upbeat note! These are exciting days all round. The publication of the Premier League fixtures has whetted Molineux appetites for the journey ahead and, against Tunisia in Volvograd tomorrow, Gareth Southgate's side take their first steps in the finals of Russia 2018.

Hayward Family Living On Strongly At Molineux

For the best part of a decade, he literally travelled the length of the country in Wolves’ cause, his heart undeniably on his sleeve. Today, with his notes and thinning hair blowing in the wind, Jonathan Hayward addressed a gathering of several hundred fans outside Molineux and spoke proudly of his family’s enduring links with the club and Wolverhampton. Well, not many can say their dad has had a statue unveiled in his memory.

Caswell Opens Up On His Fleeting Molineux Stay

What in some ways was viewed as lift-off day in the Wolverhampton Wanderers renaissance proved to be the end of Brian Caswell's brief Molineux story. A 2-0 Fourth Division victory at Cardiff in the early months of Graham Turner's management underlined the coming of Steve Bull as a major force and the emergence of Andy Thompson as a penalty-taker of some note. January 24, 1987 also happened to be the day on which Wayne Hennessey was born.

Posting With A World Cup Flavour

World Cup 2018 is almost here - and we are preparing ourselves for a partial change of direction to reflect the fact. As with the finals of other major tournaments in the last decade or so, we are planning to tailor our output on here for a few weeks to capture the mood of the country.

One Artist Paying Tribute To Another

Tuesday, May 1: Have been marvelling, like many others, at the fabulous work of Louise Cobbold, a Suffolk-based artist who has become known in Wolves circles for her depiction of Reuben Neves, Conor Coady, Ivan Cavaleiro and various other players on canvas.

Busy Time on Signing Circuit

Peter Withe is still hoping to add at least one Wolverhampton date to the hectic schedule that has come with the release of his autobiography. The feelers have been put out both at Molineux and in the city centre with Waterstone's as the striker continues apace on the promotional trail.