To while away a few moments of lockdown Ben R proposed we all complete the Best & Worst feature you can normally read in FourFourTwo – in which a fan talks about the highs and lows of supporting their club. Read on and complete yours in the comments.
Best XI
Ben R: Murray, Doherty, Boly, Lescott, Jonny, Kightly, Neves, Moutinho, Jota, Jimenez, Ebanks-Blake
Paddy: Murray, Jonny, Lescott, Coady, Boly, Irwin, Neves, Moutinho, Sako, Jimenez, Jota
Thomas: Murray, Doherty, Boly, Coady, Lescott, Jonny, Neves, Moutinho, Traore, Jimenez, Jota
Ben S: Murray, Doherty, Jonny, Boly, Dean Richards, Kightly, Ince, Neves, Sako, Bull, Mutch.
Worst XI
Ben R: Lonergan, Luzhny, Johnson, Mouyokolo, Clapham, Anderton, Jonsson, O’Hara, Mujangi-Bia, Frankowski, Maerhoffer
Paddy: Lonergan, Saville, Vallejo, Gorkss, Luzhny, Rowe, Edwards, Saville (rubbish at left-back and in midfield), Evans, Sagbo, Frankowski
Thomas: Jones (second spell), Luzhny, Coleman, Peacock, Halle, Silas, Jonsson, van der Laan, Slater, Taylor, Claridge
Ben S: Lange, Rankine, Stancliffe, Bjorkland, Halford, Steele, Darren Ferguson, Eggert Jonsson, Stephen Elliott, Frankowski, Robert Taylor
Best Player
Ben R: Joao Moutinho. Five foot seven, football heaven.
Paddy: Neves. We’ve had to endure some dross in midfield over the years. We were ready for his artistry.
Thomas: Neves by a whisker from Moutinho – for the thundercrackers.
Ben S: Bully.
Worst Player
Ben R: Jamie O’Hara. Played out of his skin…until he signed his five-year contract.
Paddy: Tomasz Frankowski. The Pole without a goal who never even looked like scoring.
Thomas: Steve Claridge. Never wanted to play for Wolves and never should have done.
Ben S: Robert Taylor.
Best Moment
Ben R: Promotion out of League One. The beginning of our journey back to the top.
Paddy: The sheer drama of Cardiff away that all-but secured promotion can’t be topped.
Thomas: Don Goodman’s FA Cup QF goal against Leeds 1998.
Ben S: Bully vs Blues 3-2 in the last minute.
Worst Moment
Ben R: Losing 3-0 at home to lowly Peterborough in the dreaded 2012/13 season.
Paddy: The FA Cup semi-final last season.
Thomas: Seeing promotion slip away in 2002.
Ben S: McGinlay play-off misery 1995.
Best Goal
Ben R: Easy. Ruben Neves’ moment of magic against Derby.
Paddy: Will Neves’ goal v Derby County be beaten in my lifetime? I’m not so sure.
Thomas: What they said.
Ben S: What they said.
Worst Goal
Ben R: Probably Deulofeu’s winner at Wembley. Heartbreaking.
Paddy: Troy Deeney’s penalty at Wembley. There was no coming back from that.
Thomas: John McGinley’s second in the play-off semi-final 1995.
Ben S: Carlos Vela for Albion. Last gasp despair.
Best Celebrity Fan
Ben R: Another easy one. The immortal Robert Plant.
Paddy: Robert Plant. Forgoes the prawn sandwich, preferring to sit alongside the ‘commoners’ in the Steve Bull.
Thomas: What they said.
Ben S: What they said.
Worst Celebrity Fan
Ben R: I’ve always been confused by the Tito Jackson thing. Any relative of MJ shouldn’t be trusted.
Paddy: Apparently Luke Skywalker is a fan after mistakenly taking us for the four-legged animal. Load of cobblers.
Thomas: Mark Rhodes. Once pretended he supported Walsall to advance his pop career. Unforgivable.
Ben S: What Thomas said.
Best Manager
Ben R: Nuno Espirito Santo, our lord and saviour.
Paddy: Nuno. Of course.
Thomas: What they said.
Ben S: What they said.
Worst Manager
Ben R: Dean Saunders. Made Mike Bassett look competent.
Paddy: Paul Lambert for the delusional nonsense he spouted and the long ball crap.
Thomas: Terry Connor. Never won a game mate.
Ben S: Saunders.
Best Season
Ben R: Should be this one, but I’ll go with the equally glorious 2018/2019.
Paddy: The 2017/18 promotion season changed the club forever.
Thomas: I think the highs and one big low of 18/19 will live longest in the memory.
Ben S: Championship winning season 2018.
Worst Season
Ben R: 2012/13 again. Just a sorry mess from beginning to end.
Paddy: The double dip relegation in 2012/13. The appointment of Saunders sealed our fate.
Thomas: 2001/02. 75% outstanding but expunged for the misery of what followed.
Ben S: Championship relegation 2013.
Best Kit
Ben R: The 2018/19 strip. Set impossible standards for this season’s kit.
Paddy: Slightly before my time, but I love the 1996-1998 wolf head kit. Right up my street.
Thomas: I remember being excited about getting the 1999 kit with Puma logos down the shoulders so I’ll go for that.
Ben S: Manders Paint & Ink / Scoreline 1988/9.
Worst Kit
Ben R: Anything that was adorned by the Doritos logo. A gift to opposition fans.
Paddy: Last season’s home shirt. Sometimes looked yellow, sometimes looked gold.
Thomas: I took an immediate dislike to the 2010/11 home kit.
Ben S: Burrda shadow stripe collar / Sporting Bet 2013.
Best Signing
Ben R: Ruben Neves. Felt like our first genuine ‘statement signing’ under Fosun’s ownership.
Paddy: Moutinho. £5m for one of Portugal’s all-time greats. How much did United waste on Pogba?
Thomas: Ince on a free. Exactly what we needed at the time.
Ben S: Bully.
Worst Signing
Ben: R Roger Johnson. Made captain right away, split the dressing room and sent us down – twice.
Paddy: Leon Clarke’s second spell. Shouldn’t have penny pinched in the hunt for Callum Wilson.
Thomas: Roger Johnson – a symbol of that dark era.
Ben S: Johnson.
Best Opponent
Ben R: The current Liverpool team. We gave a good account of ourselves this season, but got nowhere near them in the previous season’s outings.
Paddy: Liverpool. The 2-0 defeat at home in 2018/19 springs to mind. We had a decent opening 15 minutes but van Dijk and Salah were a cut above.
Thomas: Man City 2018/19.
Ben S: Probably that Chelsea team that schooled us 5-0 in 2003.
Worst Opponent
Ben R: Brighton. Incomprehensibly dull to watch and we never beat them.
Paddy: West Brom. Just because it’s West Brom.
Thomas: What Ben said.
Ben S: Brighton last season when they stunk the place out.
Best Hard Man
Ben R: Karl Henry. The man from Ashmore Park who’ll mug you in the dark.
Paddy: Kevin Muscat. Need I say more?
Thomas: Paul Ince. Hard but fair.
Ben S: Keith Downing.
Worst Hard Man
Ben R: Paul Robinson. Will never forgive the ‘challenge’ that broke Ebanks-Blake’s leg.
Paddy: Lee Evans for ducking that Fulham free-kick in the FA Cup Third Round Replay at a snowy Molineux in 2015.
Thomas: Dave Beasant. Crap when he played for Wolves but made Michael Branch cry in one nasty little dust-up in the Colin Lee era.
Ben S: Andy Keogh – soft man.
If you want to play, copy and paste the below for your thoughts…
Best XI
Worst XI
Best Player
Worst Player
Best Moment
Worst Moment
Best Goal
Worst Goal
Best Celebrity Fan
Worst Celebrity Fan
Best Manager
Worst Manager
Best Season
Worst Season
Best Kit
Worst Kit
Best Signing
Worst Signing
Best Opponent
Worst Opponent
Best Hard Man
Worst Hard Man
Wow what a task! I’m bored keeping on winning every Bedford Wolves Zoom quiz though so here goes;
Best XI (442)
Murray; Foley, Flowers, Boly, Parkin; Hibbitt, Bailey, Neves, Wagstaffe; Bull, Dougan
Worst XI
Boswell; Luzny, Hindmarch, Johnson, Ward; Byrne, Edwards, Saville, Halford; Frankowski, Claridge
Best player
Steve Bull
Worst player
Frankowski and Claridge (dead heat)
Best Moment
2003 Play Off final in Cardiff with my lad Daryl
Worst moment
2019 FA Cup semi-final v Watford
Best goal
Neves v Derby at Molineux
Worst goal
Every single one we’ve ever conceded in my lifetime (dead heat)
Best Celeb Fan
Robert Plant
Worst Celeb Fan
Who cares?
Best manager
Nuno
Worst manager
Glen Hoddle – vile man!
Best season
2017/18 Championship winning season – what I’d dreamed of all my life.
Worst season
1983/84, 1984/85, 1985/86 (dead heat)
Best kit
2000-2002 when we returned to ‘proper’ old gold
Worst kit
That abomination with the tyre tracks all over it. Yuk!
Best signing
Ruben Neves – a real statement of intent and a portent for what was to come
Worst signing
Frankowski (thanks Hoddle!)
Best opponent
Everyone that we beat
Worst opponent
Collectively the detestable Spurs, individually it’s a toss up between Lee Hughes and Troy Deeney
Best Hard Man
Muscat by a country mile
Worst Hard Man
Antony Kay of MK Franchise for that cowardly assault on Michal Zyro
OODCL
You’ve know what bedders can’t fault your selections
Despite the fact i n having to to go to work every night while everyone else is drinking wine
… I’m still alive and looking forward to having a pint with you again as talking all things wolves and bollocks
I liked Saville – he had spirit and could pass the ball. Even scored occasionally. We’ve had far far worse over the years.
Like Iceni, I’m not sure about another of paddy’s worst player selections. Is Edwards the Rob or Dave variety? Either way I’d say it’s very harsh. Ok neither were the most talented of players, in fact they both had obvious limitations but they both gave their all and were great club men. In Dave’s case, and I suspect that is the one he has selected, he played over 300 times and scored over 40 goals for wolves. He was also capped for wales nearly 50 times. If that constitutes shit you must have spent your life watching Real Madrid and not our boys ?
I’m with you there SC wolf. And one season not so long ago, his goals were the main reason we weren’t relegated.
He may have been of limited ability, but what does that say about the rest of the team?
Were they really the main reason? Wasn’t it Helder Costa somehow putting in sublime performances in spite of Lambert’s negative, long ball tactics?
We already had quality players like Doc, Coady, Saiss and Cav in our ranks but they were either played out of position, not played at all or their talent was just wasted under Lambert, who would prefer to pick players of limited ability who could ‘do a job’.
Even if we recruited Boly, Neves, Jota etc under Lambert, I guarantee you we would be floundering in midtable in the Championship at best with players of limited ability like Batth, Edwards, Saville, Evans etc still getting picked instead.
There’s a reason why the likes of middling players such as Edwards were banished when Nuno arrived.
Thanks for the comment SC Wolf.
I’ve been following Wolves since the early noughties but only been going week in week out since 2013 hence why the midfield only features players from recent years.
The football was appalling in Jackett’s last season and the Zenga/Lambert year. Plan A, B, C, D was sit back and lump it long. We were so far off being a decent team and it was thoroughly depressing to watch.
The midfield was a major catalyst. The likes of Saville, Rowe, Edwards, Evans etc couldn’t string a pass together, they couldn’t control the ball, their positioning was all over the place. There was zero creativity.
Edwards was the prime example. He ultimately ran around like a headless chicken for 90 minutes and chipped in with the odd goal. Is that really what you want from your no.10, a position associated with technically gifted playmakers? But because he put a ‘shift’ in and was a lovely and loyal lad then he could no wrong. That cosy mentality was thankfully ripped out of the Club once Fosun got their man in Nuno.
You can point towards Dangerous’ goals all you like but only once did he hit double digits (10 in 2016/17). If we played a more progressive brand of football under Lambert and played to Cav/Costa’s strengths then we would have been in a much better position come the end of that campaign.
Everyone has their opinion and I acknowledged in my post that Edwards was of limited ability. He certainly wouldn’t get near my best team but equally he wouldn’t get near my worst either, but that’s probably a consequence of me being a season ticket holder for 46 years whereas your sample size is in reality 7 or so years of which nearly 3 have been under Nuno. I never said he could do no wrong, he certainly made plenty of mistakes. I just think someone who is in the top 35 appearance makers and in the top 45 leading goal scorers in our entire history ( bit more than chipping in with the odd goal as a midfielder) deserves more respect but you are entitled to your opinion.
Exactly. Only right I go on the years I’ve been following Wolves, which is the last 16, 17 years.
We’ve had our fair share of bad football and midfielders during that time, especially those 2 seasons prior to Nuno. They were hard to watch and stick out. I’m not being disrespectful but Edwards’ anonymous showings rather summed up the lack of creativity in our play at that time.
Top 45 goalscorers? Really? 40 odd goals in 300 games for a midfielder is ok. Scoring on average 4 or 5 a season is ok. Nothing more. It doesn’t blow me away.
Paddy, it might be helpful to put your critique of Edwards contribution into a little perspective. In the era you have been watching wolves i.e. 2003 onwards do you know how many players have scored more goals than Dave Edwards for Wolves? Don’ t worry you want be typing for very long and actually if you want to name midfielders who have scored more, you won’t have to type at all ?
However, I can’t argue with the choice of Big Roger Johnson in worst 11. It was extraordinary the decline in the club over that season.
I had also forgotten the gold that was Mujangi-Bia. Think I only saw him play once and it gave me heart that might also have a future in the Championship. Was he part of some dodgy POGOF deal ?
My brain can’t cope with all those choices. Can you compare players or managers of a long gone generation with those of 20 years ago, or today? Difficult – but I’ve got a few that I can put up there without too much strain on the old grey matter.
Best manager:- On results alone, and that’s what really counts, it’s surely got to be Stan Cullis. A bit before my time but if you are managing the best football club in the World, then you’ve done a pretty good job.
I’d like to think that Nuno could emulate the great man’s feats… but he’s a way to go yet.
Worst manager:- Dean Saunders, no doubt.
Best player:- Again, before my time but, a man with 105 caps for England, 90 of those as captain, must have a chance of winning that accolade. So, even though I never saw him play in the flesh, I’d vote for Billy Wright.
Best goal:- I think I’ll go with the majority here. Ruben’s one against Derby will live in my memory for ever.
Worst player:- Roger Johnston. His attitude poisoned the club.
Best moment:- The Cardiff one takes some beating, but I reckon Bennett’s last minute goal and Nuno’s celebrations at Bristol City just shades it for me.
Worst moment:- Well, worse ten minutes really. Wembley against Watford when we just capitulated. So unlike a Nuno team. And me still suffering from food poisoning didn’t help.
Best signing:- Has to be Bully, closely followed by Moutinho. Two absolute bargains.
Best celebrity fan:- Planty
Worst celebrity fan:- Clive from Houston. He only attends one match a season. But I believe he HAS met John Richards.
That’s it for now. My brain’s starting to hurt.
Stay safe everyone!
Hardest player for Wolves has to be Kevin Muscat BUT he wouldn’t survive 10 minutes with Norman Hunter RIP.
I hope everyone’s is keeping safe and well in these strange times.
I’ll happily let everyone else write their opinions and read with interest but the two I wanted to share myself was worst manager-
No doubt, Dean Saunders.
Awful manager and a complete disgrace of a bloke.
Best signing? Got to be Steve Bull surely?
Signed for a pittance and scored 300+ goals. Unbelievable.
Not going to pick the best team or anything like it.
Just want to nominate hardest player and with all due respect to Muscat, who was an animal my vote has to go to Eddie Clamp an absolute animal who also had a brain.
I received my telephone call from WFC today, asking me if I was doing OK during these parlous times.
The club is contacting season ticket holders of ‘a certain age’, which is a bit depressing when it seems like only last week I was celebrating my 21st, but a lovely touch.
It wasn’t Bully or Kenny H or King John, or anybody famous, but a lovely bloke called Alan. We had a bit of a chinwag and I asked him if everyone at Molineux was well and if he could find out where Raul Jimenez got his ‘bookcase’ wallpaper from… because I want some the same.
He said he’d have a word, and get back to me.
I also asked if he could keep our seats in The Steve Bull warm for us.
I hope we might be needing them again soon.
Had my call a couple of weeks ago. Nice touch but a bit depressing as I feel about 35 on a bad day. Very nice bloke whose name I didn’t quite catch but he normally works in the ticket office. Pleasant and chatty; practically offered to do my shopping! Must have missed I live 90 minutes drive from the Mol.
Best XI : Williams, Parkin, Munro, Wright, Bailey, Neves, Knowles, Bull, Wagstaffe,
Moutinho, Richards, Dougan.
Worst XI : Boswell, Ward, Johnson, O’Hara, Henry, Woodfield, Kenning, Keogh,
Jefferson, Berra, McNab, Anderton.
Best Player : Peter Knowles
Worst Player : Stephen Ward!!!
Best Moment : 1974 league Cup Final
Worst Moment : Every loss.
Best Goal : Kenny Hibbitt, v Arsenal, then Double Champions, beat them 5-1 in the
snow, after being 1-0 down at half time.
Worst Goal : Ugly diving deaney, last season in semi final.
Best Celebrity Fan : Senor Plant
Worst Celebrity Fan : There cannot be a bad Wolves fan!
Best Manager : Stan Cullis……………..so far!
Worst Manager : Clipbored and Saunders, dead beat, I mean heat.
Best Season : 1974 and 1980, the last times we won anything.
Worst Season : This season, coz it aint finished.
Best Kit : This year’s.
Worst Kit : 1883 – 1886, it was the “shit” strip, look it up!
Best Signing : Bully
Worst Signing : Ward
Best Opponent : Citeh. Are we the only team to beat them three times in one season
since they’ve had all their money/sucess?
Worst Opponent : As if you have to ask. The shit of course.
Best Hard Man : Skipper Mike Bailey took no prisoners, legally.
Worst Hard Man : Dave Edwards/Doogooder equally!!
Worst hard man Eh?
Do you want yer other knee crocked?
Were they really the main reason? Wasn’t it Helder Costa somehow putting in sublime performances in spite of Lambert’s negative, long ball tactics?
We already had quality players like Doc, Coady, Saiss and Cav in our ranks but they were either played out of position, not played at all or their talent was just wasted under Lambert, who would prefer to pick players of limited ability who could ‘do a job’.
Even if we recruited Boly, Neves, Jota etc under Lambert, I guarantee you we would be floundering in midtable in the Championship at best with players of limited ability like Batth, Edwards, Saville, Evans etc still getting picked instead.
There’s a reason why the likes of middling players such as Edwards were banished when Nuno arrived.
Billy Wright and Steve Bull would have to be in our best team. I’m showing my age here!!
Best game Cardiff play off final with my wife and son. Season ticket holders could have extra tickets so my wife said she would come with us rather than stay at home that was the best move we ever made as she fell in love with the Wolves from that day forward, became a season ticket holder the following season and has rarely missed a game since.. it has made my life so much easier.
Worst game toss up between Watford at Wembly last year and 2001/2 when we lost a series of games and an 11 point lead opening the way for Sandwell to get promotion. After we lost to Norwich in the play offs I was driving down to London for a meeting and I had piss taking texts every couple of minutes from an Albion “friend”…nightmare!
Best celebrity fan Suzy Perry, preferably with her leathers on.
Worst celebrity fan, any of the glory hunting hangers on.
Best manager by far Dr Nuno, he had a dream, and it’s all coming true!
Worst manager, in my book Mark McGee, disloyal, conceited and wasteful of Sir Jack’s money, and those are some of his better points!
Still managing to get the pineapple rings, Ken?
Plenty of pineapple rings but may have to break the curfew to get some cherries for the top??
Lost mine years ago!!
What an interesting thread, I ‘ve very much enjoyed all the contributions. I do think they underline a couple of points very nicely. First of all you can only really speak of the players and managers you’ve experienced and that leads to …. secondly, the difficulty of comparing players from different eras.
I agree that Stan Cullis is our top manager, there for the beating – two FA cups and 3 top-league titles speak for themselves. Players are much more difficult. I can understand those who saw Peter Knowles standing up for him. I saw his whole first team career, but I also saw Peter Broadbent and, for me, PK finished before getting anywhere near the master. Having said that, the game has changed so much since his time that if he was playing today he’d be doing it rather differently, he’d no longer be able to pick his way through defences like a gazelle as he once did. On the other hand you have to look at the way individual skills have developed, PB was outstanding in his day, but would probably be one of several in a team today. It’s nice though to have the memories of him leaving both George Graham and Tommy Docherty on their respective backsides as he body-swerved his majestic way towards goal.
I entirely support Eddie Clamp for Hard Man. My favourite memory of him though was crossing behind Bobby Charlton as they trotted back to position after an attack. He tapped BC’s ankles together as he passe d leaving him face down in the centre circle.
I won’t name my worst player, he was a winger who was only a with us for a brief time. He was very fast, but also had the knack of looking as though he was moving faster than he really was. This meant that if there was any danger of physical contact he could look as though he was straining every sinew to get there, but always managed to arrive too late and so avoid the tackle.
I think I’m with the majority for favourite goal – RN v Derby.
Keep Safe everyone.
COYW
The thread is called ‘best and worst’. Wow. How do you start. In what context? I can go back to Sherpa Van Trophy final 1988. Wolves beat Burnley 2-0. Back in my youth that team meant a lot to me. Piling in to the back of a transit van. Travelling to far flung outposts. Back in the day we were the top dogs in those days. Oldham. Aldershot. Exeter.. Torquay. Darlington. Regularly taking over the ground. Wind forward 35 years and we have what in my opinion is the greatest Wolves team I have ever seen. Sixth in the premier league. Last 16 Europa league. Sure. Some of you lot will go back further to the 70’s and rejoice of the likes of Johnny Richard’s Kenny Hibbitt . Some of you might go back further! I reckon mid June might be a time when we see the golden shirts back in action. One thing we all agree with on here is BRING IT ON !
well I’ve read all the comments and i know and have seen almost all of the players mentioned
apparently my old dad long gone took me to the molineux to see Billy Wrights last game sitting me on his shoulders for a while before i was so much of a pain he took me home .
i sat next to the great man at a walsall wood boxing club night at mckechnies club in aldridge many years ago and was shaking with nerves as to if i should ask him for his autograph we even went for a drink at the break and i still couldnt pluck up the courage then the night ended and that was it my chance had gone a few months later he died and i was beside myself .
there is no way anyone could be classed as a better player than billy wright.
different criteria can be applied but that mans record is second to none and cannot be argued with so he is my greatest wolves player of all time,
Peter Knowles could have been a great but his thinking took him elsewhere and he blew it in my book and has also caused me many an argument on my doorstep because of it.
never witnessed Peter Broadbent but he has to be ther because everyone else says so.
in my era there are loads.
Doog forever in my heart
king john the best finisher along with bully i have ever seen at the moll
Kenny hibbitt total class
Mike bailey the man i would want next to me in the trenches
Dave wagstaffe for turning george best inside out and then doing it again to take the piss
Kevin muscatt was a thug and i am glad he played for us and not against us
Frank munro what a man
they go on about magrath munro was streets infront of him
then there was Dean richards who ran the show against the villa in the cup at their place and then had that tragic accident what a fantastic centre half he was
Andy mutch bullys foil and briiliant at it
Derick mr reliable parkin never put a foot wrong and still wolves record games player.
Its a huge gap to the present players and i struggle to think of any in that period that could be classed along with the already mentioned that would fulfill the criteria
the obvious players at the moment are there to see and this is a great wolves side but if any of these players ever become wolves greats will depend on loyalty and commitment all of which the others had
lets wait and see if they commit as much of thier lives to wolves as the others did before we call them greats
Excellent post and brilliant last sentence.
thanks clive i guess your and my era was pretty much the same.
i hope huston will be ok with all the lay offs from the oil collapse.