Another Good Reason To Reach For Quality Magazine

If you love Wolves Heroes, you will find much to pore over as well in a football magazine with which we have retained close links.

We make no apologies for again beating the drum on behalf of our friends at Backpass, who have been mapping out a survival course in their attempts to steer a way out of these troubled times.

Issue 70 of this outstanding publication is now out and contains a three-page feature by Wolves Heroes co-owner David Instone on former Molineux youngster Ken Knighton, as well as mentions elsewhere of Derek Dougan, Robbie Keane, Bobby Woodruff, Alan Hinton, Ronnie Allen and Glenn Hoddle.

So strong has the West Midlands content always been that we have happily given Backpass numerous plugs in the past.

But editor Mike Berry’s decision now to use part of the second of the 64 pages to send a special message to readers has reminded us of the uphill battle magazines are currently having.

The increasing difficulty in finding retail outlets willing and able to stock such products is placing an ever-bigger emphasis on having solid subscription lists – and this is where we hope some of our readers will come in.

Anyone wondering what to do with a small portion of the money they are saving by not attending games, with all the extra cost that brings, could do much worse than sign up for a few copies of this 12-year-old magazine, if only on a trial basis.

Or why not consider it as a present for a football-loving friend or family member at a time when being in shops is still not the most attractive prospect?

For further information on how to order and subscribe, please click on the icon to the right that shows a gold-shirted John Richards. And, if you have any difficulty doing so, please contact us, so we can assist.

As for the latest issue, which has Norman Hunter on the front following his sad death after contracting the coronavirus, the interview with Knighton appears near the front.

It may surprise those who only knew the Yorkshireman as a quiet graduate from the famous Wath Wanderers nursery almost 60 years ago that he went on to achieve so much in the game.

Although limited to only 16 first-team Wolves games, plus some character-building overseas tours, he made a sizeable mark at all five of the clubs he subsequent served as a player.

So much so that he was named, in turn, as captain at Oldham, Preston, Blackburn, Hull and Sheffield Wednesday after emerging as true leadership material.

And that trait no doubt smoothed his path into management, where he achieved big things at Sunderland. “I didn’t win a bean as a player and, without question, that game was the highlight of my football career,” he said of the night promotion back to the top flight was secured at Roker Park.

One other item of considerable Molineux flavour caught our eye in the same issue…concerning former Lower Gornal winger Gary Bell. He had previously been an Albion youngster and made his League debut (for Cardiff) in a Second Division game at Wolves in the mid-1960s. He played at left-back, had a nightmare against Terry Wharton and Dave Wagstaffe and conceded two penalties in a 7-1 defeat.