Face To Face….Two Top Guys!

It was a decade and a half ago that I set up the meeting with Bobby Gould that led me to becoming the ghost-writer and publisher of his autobiography, writes David Instone.

On cue, the always entertaining and occasionally madcap forward arrived for our Walsall rendezvous with the match ball he despatched three times into Manchester United’s net at Molineux almost 40 years earlier.

Jason Guy, one of the charity fund-raisers extraordinaire we are so fortunate to have in the Wolverhampton Wanderers family, used a slightly different route to make the same sort of decision – that this well-travelled marksman and then manager was worth getting to know a little better. 

“I interviewed Bobby in 2021 for my podcast,” the lifelong fan told us from the scene of yet another of his charity events.

“He was hugely entertaining and struck me immediately as someone with a brilliant story to tell. Because he lives the other side of Bristol, we haven’t seen anything like as much of him as we have of his contemporaries over subsequent decades.

“But I am always looking for money-raising ideas and set about organising a night at which supporters can come to meet him and hear his numerous stories.”

By coincidence, the October 5 function that was hatched as a definite plan falls two days after the anniversary of that memorable hat-trick against United.

Later in that same month the small matter of 53 years ago, Gould netted twice in a 3-0 win over Manchester City, having also scored in a narrow victory over Newcastle in between. They were fertile, happy times….Bill McGarry’s men would finish fourth in the First Division that season and lift the Texaco Cup by way of a bonus.

Gould’s most obvious contribution to the success was a best-in-the-club total of 23 League and cup goals; further evidence that he delivered handsomely almost everywhere the transfer market merry-go-round took him.

Now deep in retirement and inclined at 77 to sign off his messages ‘Gould Snr’ because of the successes on or off the field of his sons, Richard and Jonathan, he is guaranteed to provide the same top value when he appears at The Mount Hotel at Tettenhall Wood in a month and a half. 

“He’s an absolute gentleman and was more than keen on the idea of coming up here,” Guy added. “The podcast piece I did with him is forming one of the chapters for my second Tales Of The Tape book and I am calling his section, 24 Carat Gould, after the title of his autobiography.

“There are a limited number of tickets left at £35…..that includes a two-course dinner as well as Bobby answering questions from me in the first half of the evening and addressing those from the audience when we open it out in the second half.”

Tickets for Thursday, October 5 are available by emailing corporate@ineedstafftoday.co.uk or ringing 07956-625890, with proceeds going to the Breast Cancer Now registered charity. 

Signed copies of Bobby’s autobiography will be on sale at considerably discounted prices at The Mount.