Talented Duo Waiting To Return

Saturday, October 3: Mick McCarthy’s presence on the gantry as a summariser during Derby’s win at Norwich today reminded us that he remains in between jobs – but surely not for much longer. Paul Cook, a man with Carrow Road connections, has been on our screens recently, too – in his case, commenting in the studio on Quest’s detailed EFL highlights programme on a Saturday night.

Tuesday, October 6: Interesting to read up on former Albion wing-half Chuck Drury, who died today at 83. He was a keen Wolves fan from Darlaston, whose mom used to give him a shilling every Molineux match-day – 5d for the bus to Wolverhampton and 7d to get in. “I used to train there regularly but never got a game, so I drifted away to play in junior football,” he once said in an interview. He then scored for Albion in a 5-1 First Division win at Molineux in March, 1962, having played in the Wolverhampton Amateur League and Wolverhampton Works League and had a job in a Black Country factory. It was as an amateur that he signed for Albion and also won an England youth cap.

Thursday, October 8: The reflections on Neil Warnock’s monumental feat in reaching 1,500 professional games in football management continue, including one from him to the cameras about how number one was with Scarborough at home to Wolves in August, 1987. That turned out to be a brilliant season at Molineux but the day on the Yorkshire coast that kicked it off is one the club would probably rather forget.

Monday, October 19: Wow, that was some win for Wolves at Leeds tonight! Memories of meetings in past decades came rushing back as we watched and, although it has been said many times before, what a pity no fans could be present – especially in the away section.

Tuesday, October 20: Debut day for Ryan Bennett after his permanent move from Wolves to Swansea. What a tidy job he did at Molineux for precious little outlay. Eyebrows were raised when he went to Leicester on loan last season and we now wish him well in South Wales. We certainly hope he has better luck than his former Wolves team-mate Morgan Gibbs-White, whose bright start to the season at the Liberty Stadium was interrupted by a fractured foot that is expected to keep him out for three months.

Friday, October 23: Interesting times for Kevin Thelwell in New York….the Red Bulls’ head of sport is awaiting the arrival of newly-appointed former Barnsley head coach Gerhard Struber as the Major League Soccer club seek an upturn in fortunes. Several months on from leaving Molineux, Thelwell found himself busy seeking a replacement at the helm after the sacking of Chris Armas. No doubt he is still taking satisfaction from what is happening here in the West Midlands.

Sunday, October 25: Great to say the TV cameras pick out Ron Flowers (with son Glen) during coverage of Wolves’ 1-1 home draw against Newcastle this afternoon. It’s sad that we see increasingly less of these stars during their dotage, even more so in this pandemic, but it’s some comfort to be reminded that their interest in the club remains high.

Thursday, October 29: Received a phone call from Richard Skirrow informing me that one of the many Wolves players from his time as secretary there, Matt Hill, had been appointed acting manager of Stafford Rangers. The left-sided player took over a few days after the club’s nightmare 4-1 home defeat by Skelmersdale, which Skirrow had attended as a way of addressing his need for live football.