Trusty Raul Lifts The Mood
Thursday, June 11: Molineux spirits needed raising after this week’s managerial upheaval and the appalling news about Kenny Jackett, so thank-you, Raul Jimenez. He struck the killer second goal for co-hosts Mexico against South Africa tonight – hopefully a sign of what he will be capable of in next season’s Championship. That is a level at which he has yet to play for Wolves.
Friday, June 12: Heartiest congratulations to Bobby Gould on the occasion of his 80th birthday today. The former forward is looking forward to the England matches, in particular, over the next few weeks, having been in the Wembley crowd for the World Cup final in 1966. Much more recently, he travelled, both as Wales manager and a proud parent, to see Scotland games in the 1998 tournament in France, where his son, Jonathan, was part of Craig Brown’s squad.
Saturday, June 13: Another Wolves link at the World Cup, with the sightings of Jolen Lopetegui on the touchline during his Qatar side’s 1-1 Group B opener against Switzerland in San Francisco tonight. A satisfactory start for the last tournament hosts was secured by a second-half equaliser and, although they still look outsiders, their pool appears to be one of the more comfortable.
Wednesday, June 17: ITV commentator Sam Matterface identified Darren Anderton in the crowd at tonight’s England v Croatia game in Dallas. He also reminded us that, seven years before the start of the midfielder’s brief Wolves career, he was a member of Glenn Hoddle’s England World Cup finals squad in France.
Tuesday, June 23: Gary O’Neil has found himself linked closely with various jobs since his sacking by Wolves 18 months ago and was today appointed on a three-year contract by Ipswich. The 43-year-old has been in France’s top flight for several months with Strasbourg but is clearly delighted to be back in the Premier League and with the club just lifted to the top flight twice in three years by the now-departed Kieran McKenna.
Thursday, June 25: Tim Flowers, who won 11 caps for England but missed out on probable World Cup experience when Graham Taylor’s side failed to qualify for the tournament in the USA in 1994, is looking forward to the 2026-27 season as manager of seventh-tier side Bromsgrove Sporting. He previously had an interim spell at the helm there and took over with them this time 17th in the Southern League Premier Central Division. The former Wolves youngster did go to the 1998 World Cup finals but didn’t play in any of the games in France.
Sunday, June 28: Wolves Heroes contributor Chris Westcott has been reflecting during the tournament on two precious meetings with Wolfgang Overath, one of a handful of Germans to have won a World Cup, been a runner-up and received a third-place medal. The attacking midfielder played in all the matches in the 1966, 1970 and 1974 tournaments and Chris recalled: “I first met him in 2017. Initially, he claimed not to speak English but my 1970 ‘O’ level German just got me through. A very firm hand-shake was followed by a great natter – and his English was fine. He was particularly interested in the health of the 1966 England team – Germany’s side have fared better – and he kindly signed my copy of his autobiography and made me promise to return. I guess he doesn’t see many English fans! Fast forward to 2023, his same office in Cologne and the same warm welcome. This time, I gave him a photo book for his 80th birthday.”
Monday, June 29: Surprised to hear that Rob Kelly has parted company with Reading after seven months on their payroll. He has returned to the north-west, citing family reasons, with his boss Leam Richardson saying: “Family always comes first and we completely understand and support his decision. While we’ll miss him enormously, everyone at the club wishes Rob and his family nothing but happiness and success for the future.”