Shaw Plans Trip To See Wolves At The Lane

Wolves’ visit to Sheffield United this month is due to marked by a visit from a little-seen full-back who served both clubs.

Bernard Shaw, who has not been to Molineux for several decades, has received a corporate invite to the clash despite confessing he has largely fallen out of love with watching the game.

He returned from a family week in Majorca on Monday to declare himself as unimpressed with England’s efforts against Slovakia and admits to gaining more enjoyment these days from watching games featuring his grandchildren.

But he said: “I will be going to the Blades v Wolves match with some members of the family and am told I am on Tony Currie’s table. I was last there two or three years ago in a similar role and know there is some hospitality involved.

“I don’t have much to do with the game these days but I still have an interest in watching on TV and keeping up-to-date, with my old clubs especially.”

Shaw, now 72 and still living in North Derbyshire, has the unusual record of having played more than 100 League games for the arch-rivals in his home city and 156 first-team matches for Wolves in between.

A dependable full-back, he also briefly looked as though he might follow his older brother, Graham, into the England side via the age-group teams he served at international level.

“Our Graham should have won more than his five England caps,” he added. “He was a very good player. I remember being taken to watch him play at Wembley and I was sitting next to the Beverley Sisters because Billy Wright was playing.

“Jimmy Armfield was his main rival at right-back, Don Howe also at times, but he obviously impressed people because Arsenal were interested in him at one point.

“He really should have gone there but we were a Sheffield family and he found it hard to break away. I grew up a lot when I joined Wolves – Bill McGarry treated me well and I was happy in the West Midlands.”

So how did the intense city rivalry impact on him? He did, after all, move to Hillsborough after leaving Wolves.

“Not many players, other than myself and Graham Ford, seemed to play for both clubs in the city around that time,” he said. “Our father was a Wednesdayite but mom took me on the bus to Bramall Lane and that was where my loyalties lay.

“I put my two fingers up once, both hands, when the Wednesday fans in that big stand were having a go at me. But I got my head down and won them over, I think.

“It isn’t easy going to your favourite club’s big rivals but you are accepted if you perform. My grandkids still love the film of me scoring from a free-kick for Wednesday against Manchester United. Moments like that help you get accepted!”