September 2022

Oh Rob, Why Did You Do It?

Four-Month Reign Adds To The Bewildering Madness

This isn’t being wise after the event. It looked a very questionable choice even while the dust was settling on the 2021-22 season and Rob Edwards should have been lapping up the acclaim that came with leading Forest Green to the League Two title. “It will be different from now on…..there will be much more time……no more knee-jerk reactions,” they told us around the time of his appointment at a club still then in the Premier League. Really? What value do we put on ANY pronouncements coming out of Watford?

Saying It With Flowers At Wembley

How Teenage Wolves Hopeful Graced The Grandest Stage

With two notable exceptions, Joe Owen never had the chance to rub shoulders with the Wolves players he idolised as a youngster. But he regularly does so now on local fairways and greens with those of a slightly different generation.

Teams, Teams Everywhere

Massive Pool Of Players Was Central To Talent Development

I often tune into You Tube over here to watch Wolves’ under-21 games. There’s some significant talent there, with much more out and about on loan, of course. The last time I checked, there were 20 lads from Molineux playing for a diversity of other clubs, including four goalkeepers! I can’t help but feel, though, that it is much less demanding for the youngsters in the various academy sides than it was for the reserves and up-and-coming talent when I first started watching in the 1960s.

A Moving Send-Off

Sammy Honoured After A Life Wonderfully Lived

It was planned as a Monday funeral, only for a local clash of dates to prompt a rethink that became a blessing after certain momentous events were added to the international calendar. Sammy Chung, we were told at his well-attended farewell, would have responded to any change of arrangements by insisting: “It’s ok….ladies first.”

Right Royal Occasions

Molineux’s Most Important Visitor

Dot Wooldridge spoke of her fears of what football people might refer to as ‘going to ground’ and Rachael Heyhoe Flint jokingly advised Steve Bull how to make sure he didn’t mete out the sort of physical contact he might occasionally have considered appropriate for Steve Walsh and others. Well, being introduced to her Majesty came with very real responsibilities and considerable nervousness.

Kindo In Countdown To Popular Return

Matches Aplenty For Speedy Forward

Steve Kindon is making light of his medical problems by attending a healthy number of early-season games – and vowing to be back at Molineux as soon as possible. The former Wolves forward, who was an onlooker at the Former Players Association golf day at Oxley Park 11 days ago, has been at a trio of matches involving both of his other old clubs, Huddersfield and Burnley, in the opening weeks of 2022-23.

Kings For A Day

Here’s Hoping For Another Royal Engagement

No football team have met a reigning male head of the Commonwealth for over 70 years – and, in Wolves’ case, that time span has been extended by more than another decade. The last time a Wolves side lined up to shake hands with a king was on what proved to be a bitterly disappointing occasion on April 29, 1939, at the FA Cup final against Portsmouth.

Retracing Those Early Steps

Norwegian Trip Renews Some Old Friendships

Bobby Gould has made an emotional return visit to the Scandinavian outpost at which he launched his coaching career. The former Wolves striker and his wife Marge were guests at a reunion that was attended by many members of the squad he found himself helping oversee for several months in the late 1970s.

Dear Diary Entry 131

Off The Mark On Day One

Monday, August 1: A satisfactory start for Mark Kennedy in his new role as head coach of League One Lincoln. A 1-1 home draw against Exeter rang in the new era at Sincil Bank after the former Wolves and Republic of Ireland player left Birmingham’s backroom team in May in the wake of Lee Bowyer’s departure. Good to him in his first crack at management.

Sammy Chung: 1932 – 2022

Farewell To The Loveliest Of Coaches

He was the cheese to Bill McGarry’s chalk. The good cop alongside the bad cop. He was liked and appreciated whereas the manager garnered respect but didn’t care if he was unpopular. Wolves’ players loved Sammy Chung and, as he lasted at Molineux for a few days shy of ten years, we can be sure he loved them and loved life at the club.