So here it is, my ultimate Wolves XI, writes Wolves blogger Nathan Lloyd.
In the last couple of weeks I have given you what I considered the greatest Wolves XI who had won English caps and also my greatest Wolves XI of players who have won non-English international caps for their prospective countries.
My starting ultimate Wolves XI is an amalgamation of these 2 teams, plus some additional players who were just fantastic servants in the old gold ‘n’ black. Have a look at the team and then give me your views and perhaps your Wolves ultimate XI.
Between the sticks is the ‘Cat’, Bilston born, Bert Williams who had 11 successive seasons as the Wolves number 1 through the 40’s and 50’s, picking up a league winners medal on route in 1954.
At left back is Bobby Thomson who played in 300 games for Wolves. Wearing the old gold and black with over 700 games between them are Billy Wright CBE and our greatest ever manager Stan Cullis in the middle of defence, what a partnership that would have been!
Playing at right back and often seen bombing up the wing is Bill Slater OBE, CBE. Bill was the last amateur to play in an FA Cup when he was playing for Blackpool in 1951. Playing in 310 games for Wolves, Bill won the league 3 times, bagged 2 FA Cups and was also the last Wolves player to win FA footballer of the year in 1960.
The midfield is the most difficult area on the field, because I have to leave a lot of great Wolves players out of my selection.
No arguments for the left wing slot though, with the late great Geordie Jimmy Mullen terrifying defence’s wherever he played.
At 16 years old, he is the youngest player to have ever worn the old gold and black, and was also England’s first ever International substitution in 1950.
Part of the awesome 1950’s side, Jimmy played his whole career at Wolves, wearing the old gold and black 445 times.
Alongside Jimmy has to be the great Peter Broadbent.
I made a huge error when I opted to choose Paul Ince ahead of him in my English Wolves XI, so hopefully I can rectify that by including him the main 11.
George Best was a self-confessed Wolves fan and said that Peter Broadbent was the player he admired the most.
Peter wore the old gold and black in nearly 500 games, netting 145 goals along the way in a brilliant 13 career at Molineux.
With Peter in midfield, and also part of the 3 league title triumphs of the 1950’s is Ron Flowers.
With 467 games played for Wolves, Ron was part of 1966 World Cup winning squad and had Jack Charlton not recovered from a chill, he would have played in the final.
During his time as captain of Wolves, Barcelona offered the club a blank cheque for Flowers after a European Cup match.
Unsurprisingly, it was turned down flat by the Wolves board.
Johnny Hancocks on the right flank at just 10 stone and 5 foot 4 inches was the master of the dead ball and regularly topped the Wolves scoring charts.
He deserves his name in the team as one of the few Wanderers to have scored a hat-trick against the Baggies.
A fantastic scoring record of 158 goals scored from the flanks in 343 Wolves games.
He also topped the scoring charts with Dennis Wilshaw with 25 goals, in the league winning season of 1953/54.
Choosing 2 strikers from the wealth of fantastic players who have served Wolves well down the years was a tricky job.
The striking pedigree of Robbie Keane, John Richards, Derek Dougan and Andy Gray all missed out.
The 2 players who I felt deserved their place the most were Bully and Dennis Westcott.
Steve Bull MBE is Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Bully is a true legend and the club owes him, and the likes of Robbie Dennison and Andy Thompson, a huge gratitude for helping drag the club back from the brink.
The recovery of the club started in 1987 when they just missed out on promotion from the old division 4 and Bully started to score on a regular basis.
Promotion and the Sherpa Van Trophy in 1988 were followed by Bully scoring 50 goals in back to back seasons, the first player to do so since the 1930’s.
As we all know, Bully is the club’s leading scorer with 306 goals, a record that Frankowski was only 306 shy of!
The final player in my all time Wolves XI is the late great Dennis Westcott.
Dennis played for the club in the war blighted years of 1936 to 1948. His game-to-goal ratio was just staggering with 124 goals in 144 League and Cup games (a total of 215 goals in 220 if you include the war years).
In the modern era we are impressed if a striker can bag 20 goals in a season, but in 1938/39 Dennis scored a remarkable 43 goals in 43 appearances.
It’s that kind of firepower which I feel more that justifies his selection up front with Bully.
There are many fantastic players who didn’t make my Wolves XI. How much would this sub’s bench be worth in today’s market?
The long sub bench:- John Richards, Alan Sunderland, Robbie Keane, Andy Gray, the Doog, Kenny Hibbitt, Mike Bailey, Derek Parkin, David Wagstaffe, Steve Daley, Eddie Stuart, George Berry, Peter Knowles, Willie Carr, Frank Munro, Norman Deeley, Andy Thompson, Robbie Dennison, Paul Ince, Byrn Jones, John De Wolf, Kenny Miller and many, many more.
Would you have picked the same ultimate Wolves XI I have?
I look forward to reading your comments and next week I’ll bring you my all time worst Wolves XI.
Wolves fans, what do you think? Have your say below
27 Comments
Well - disagreed with most of your team Nathan - so I guess I should take time and create my best X1. Will post soon.
That defence would have been slaughtered by todays team yet alone premiership clubs. In midfield what about Bailey? I agree with Broadbent. Wolves used to sell kids black and gold badges with a picture of a player within and Peter’s was the first I ever owned. he was a good player, had great control and was the sort of player who would do well today.
I would see Bully and Doog up front. They were different types of players and would cause any defence problems.
Derek parkin would have to be in at fullback and Kenny Hibbitt for sure in midfield. He could probvably get a game today…..
Nice idea though. we need a Wolves team of players who have left and done well for themselves elsewhere.
I agree with you apart from the front two.IMO it would have to be Richards and Dougan.At their peak they were brilliant together.
As a Supporter for over 60years (73age)your choice was excelellent
the only suggestions I would differ would be the inclusion of Eddie Clamp and Bill Shorthouse and
Sammy Smythe
Lots of great players there, shame noone is in the astle greatness!….
Boing Boing
STOWELL,PALMER,DE WOLF,DEAN RICHARDS, PARKIN, HIBBITT, BAILEY, INCE,WAGSTAFF, BULL, DOOGAN.
BIT OF EVERY THING IN THERE
ASTLE WAS NOT IN THE BULL RICHARDS OR DOOGAN MOULD END OF .. YOU SILLY MAN
6, U2 Wolf
U having a laugh????
De Wolf???
lol
Tesco bag man is that the same astle that cost us the world cup in 1970?
(5) Is that the Astle of whom one independent website writes, “But his singing was as awful as his miss against Brazil”?!!!
King John would have to be in any Wolves XI that I picked.
Just to outline the starting XI:-
1. Bert Williams
3. Bobby Thomson 5. Billy Wright 6. Stan Cullis 2. Bill Slater
11. Jimmy Mullen 8. Peter Broadbent 4. Ron Flowers 7. Johnny Hancocks
10. Dennis Westcott 9. Steve Bull
Thanks for all your comments so far.
I would like to know how many wolves players have played against brazil!…Yes he missed but still had plenty of other great ENGLAND moments! And cup final moments!……U2 wolf lol….
U2 Wolf.
Dean Richards? DEAN RICHARDS!!!!???What planet are you on?????
How many of this team did you see play ?
Bill Slater steaming up the wing ?
A great wing half and for a season a fine centre half but a full back ? No way !
What is the point of all this???????
Most people under 50 will not have seen most of these players. While we are at it why don’t we have a:
Greatest Victorian Wolves 11
or
Who remembers traveling to games by tram, debate!
What is it with all this retro rubbish?
I can think of lots of topics, so can I write a blog?
abdonwolf, this was a Wolves greatest XI of all time. It is supposed to create debate and is obviously very subjective. I have only been going to games since the early Eighties, so if I was to state the best team I have seen play, obviously Bully would be the only one of the 11 who would make the team from the current selection.
However, I did a great deal of research before choosing the Ultimate Wolves XI, visiting many fan sites and visiting forums etc.
So, the point of this is to create a debate and for people to propose their own starting XI’s. I look forward to reading your article on travelling to games by tram, it should be a good read!
Ok,
As well as trams why don’t we try:
The price of a bag of chips when you first started going to matches.
or
The worst Wolves 11 ever!
thanks for the answer but I’m sorry, just don’t see the point!
On a more serious note perhaps because we love to look backwards as a nation is the reason why we seem to go backwards in practice!
As with all these ‘debates’ it’s meant to be a bit of fun. Until a time machine is invented no one can say, as a fact, who would be better than who. I enjoyed reading the blog Nathan and relish reading the ‘worst’ line up! (I for one will never forgive Muscatt for elbowing a Grimsby player in the mush right in front of the ref. - getting sent off - losing 0-1 and turning the rest of what was a glorious season into heartbreak that was March 2002)
Fantastic team pity none of current team. Maybe 10 years time one or two may be in the final eleven.
Best set of young players for years and with Mick in charge lets hope!
Better than any texco bag team!!
18.
You fail to mention, he did it once earlier in that game and got away with it, so though he’d try again. It was ridiculous.
I remember watching Astles score three hat-tricks in a week and one of them was against Manchester United at baggie - land.
He didn’t lose us the world cup, he simply stopped us from drawing against Brazil. He had only been on the pitch a few minutes but that all it took Astle. He was a great player.
The person who lost us the world cup was Ramsey with his stupid substitutions and his failure to play players like Astle in favour of his world - cup winners (Hurst etc) Pele would not have got in Ramseys’ side at that time. Our own John Richards suffered the same fate. The only game he got was due to pressure from the press and so Ramsey played him - ON THE WING. Honest. One of the best strikers in the country had to play as a winger.
Anyway, many suggested that the 1970 team was the best England team ever and even though they lost to Brazil in the early rounds, they played well enough and had sufficient chances to win. they could well have won it had it not been for Ramsey substituting Charlton and us losing goalkeeper Banks due to highly suspicious food poisoning.
Astle should have been a regular. had he started the game I think we would have won it.
Great team Nathan.I am fortunate in having seen 8 of your team play.
Possible other candidates - Roy Swinbourne,Jimmy Murray,Ted Farmer Kenny Hibbitt.
John Richards has to be in a best ever Wolves team. He is the best natural goalscorer I’ve seen play for them. He has a brilliant scoring record at the highest level in the league.
Mmmm.. lots of modern day players..
Most of them kicked a pigs bladder about!!!! lol.
Well it is true you’ve only ever had a good team in the 50’s!!!
Some idiot put in de-wolf.. ha ha
another stowell!!!! ha ha ha ha…
17. IN A NUTSHELL.. It easy to pick best 11 because you ain’t had too many good players!!
Now your worst 11.. well you could be here all day…
I think you’ve researched well Nathan - can’t argue with your selection. You could make an excellent second XI from the subs bench as well.
No 5. Astle should get a mention because he achieved something no Wolves player has ever done. He was Brazilian footballer of the year in 1970 having helped them to win the World Cup. Peter the Great is King.