Wembley Rivals On The Airwaves

John Richards has had a surprise link-up with a League Cup final adversary in a promotional interview in the countdown to Wolves’ pre-season games in the United States.

The chairman of the club’s Former Players Association was contacted on Zoom to discuss the forthcoming tour by Gary O’Neil’s men across the Atlantic and told us: “I was greeted by Rodney Marsh! Apparently, he has been a co-presenter of the morning soccer programme on Sirius XM, Grumpy Pundits, for almost ten years.

“We had a great chat about Wolves, the trip to the States and their chances for the coming season. Not wishing to miss an opportunity, I thanked him on behalf of the Wolves supporters for his assistance in my goal in the 1974 League Cup Final – he said the City fans still hadn’t forgiven him!”

There was another coincidence on recording day. Marsh’s co-presenter is one Tommy Smyth – the same pronunication, if not spelling, as one of the men Richards left trailing when he raced away to score Wolves’ winner in the quarter-final at home to Liverpool in that season’s competition.

Marsh, in case we should forget, had the misfortune to deflect Alan Sunderland’s late pull-back at Wembley into the path of Richards, who struck the winner in Wolves’ 2-1 victory.

The record-breaking striker was part of the Wanderers squad who went to Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco (and Vancouver) in the summer of 1972 and returned to the States, this time to Florida, for a one-off friendly in Jacksonville under John Barnwell in 1981.

But he admitted: “My memories of that game are almost nil, although I have been told that I scored. I do remember that Noel Cantwell was the Jacksonville manager and Ally Brown scored one of the goals against us. But my dominant memory is of our visit to Disneyworld.

“A few of us hired a car and spent the day in the Magic Kingdom. We’d never seen anything like it and I was so impressed that I took the family there the following year.

“What I have just become aware of for the first time is that there are more official Wolves supporters clubs in the States than we have in the UK.”

There will be one big difference when Wolves head into their series of games in America this time. Unlike all previous visits to that part of the world, this adventure is part of a pre-season countdown and was not arranged as a send-off into the summer break.

In 1963, 1967, 1969 and 1972, Wolves spent substantial spells over there but always as an add-on to a First Division campaign. Even when Barnwell’s men went in 1981 for a one-off friendly in Jacksonville, where they will face West Ham on Saturday, it was in May.

O’Neil’s squad also play Crystal Palace in Annapolis, Maryland, next Wednesday, with a clash against Leipzig to follow in early August.

Wolves have twice previously played West Ham in America, losing 3-2 to them in Baltimore and then gaining revenge six days later with a 4-2 win in Kansas City on their way to winning the 1969 USA Tournament.