'I Never Felt Comfortable At Wolves From The Start'

At a fund-raising dinner in these parts in the autumn of 2017, Dave Thomas pulled no punches by admitting he hated his time at Wolves. Now, the autobiography he has followed up with in aid of Guide Dogs leaves no-one in any doubt as to how unhappy he was at Molineux after choosing the West Midlands over a move to Manchester United.

Disappointment Of Lad Who Had Quickly Caught Stan's Eye

“Jimmy Hill told me he would get me into the Northern Ireland side if I signed a two-year contract at Coventry City. That would have been a dream come true, to have played for my country.” It didn't happen and if it had, Danny Blanchflower, Jimmy McIlroy, Harry Gregg and others would have been mightily puzzled by their new colleague’s accent. To this day, Bob Allen retains a very distinct Welsh lilt.

Cup Keeper Heading For Record

In decades gone by, the nickname 'Splinters' would routinely have been applied to players who had a spell of duty in the no 12 shirt. So how are we to rename John Ruddy, the trusty senior campaigner who is emerging as one of the heroes of Wolves' 2021 FA Cup journey.

Chorley '86 And Some Snippets We Would Rather Have Forgotten

As a way of building up to tomorrow's scarcely believable FA Cup fourth-round pairing, here are 15 memories of by far the blackest night in Wolverhampton Wanderers history, interspersed with some associated thoughts.....

Illuminating Memories From The Beeb

Midlands TV viewers said goodbye to a highly familiar face last month when Ian Winter called time on his 35-year service to the BBC. The Blackburn-born sports presenter arrived on the patch in the mid-1980s to head up Radio WM's sports team and, after a stint with the corporation at BBC Look East in Norwich, returned to Birmingham to work in TV.

Goalscorer's Amazement At Chorley Repeat

Who would have guessed there would ever be another pairing between Wolves and Chorley in the FA Cup? Certainly not Matt Forman, who contacted us soon after those two names came out of the hat together this week. For the clubs to meet once in the competition is one thing - to be drawn again in opposition now in round four is something else completely, especially as the sixth-tier minnows have never progressed this far before.

And Not Of Just ANYONE

In the Molineux press box memoir I wrote and published in 2018, I told how Graham Taylor once spectacularly tried to bring Elton John to his senses by plonking some booze in front of him at a dinner party at which other guests were served the finest food. My decision to use the anecdote was a bit of a punt, based on the insight of a highly respected former Watford Observer reporter called Oliver Phillips.

Food For Thought From Long Ago

Wolves have a four against their name in the area of the record books reserved for showing FA Cup final triumphs. But that doesn't tell the whole story. There is a school of thought that those clubs who lifted the Wartime League Cup achieved something very close. And, as we embark on third-round weekend, we look in more detail at how Wolves won that trophy almost 80 years ago.

'Sid' Adds To The Sad News

Tuesday, December 1: Caught up on a moving feature with Gordon Cowans in which he spoke of his diagnosis of early Alzheimer's, aged only 61. He said he no longer worked but was determined to make the most of his good times and was enjoying his Dogs For Good charity work.

RIP Tommy Docherty

True as it is that Wolves saw nothing like the best of him, we should not allow the passing-away of Tommy Docherty to slip by without due mention. Football has lost one of its most colourful characters with his death this week at the age of 92.