Over the last couple of weeks I have brought to you what I considered my Ultimate Wolves XI, writes Wolves blogger Nathan Lloyd.
And now with tongue firmly planted in cheek, here is my Worst Ever Wolves XI.
The eleven I have chosen haven’t all been picked simply because they were awful players.
Some are in the team because of how poorly they treated the club or what a waste of money they turned out to be.
My starting XI is illustrated below and I have picked out a few of the culprits who I think deserve a special mention.
Lets kick off with the Ukrainian International, Oleg Luzhny.
My abiding memory of the Luzhny signing was lying by a swimming pool in Kefalonia excitingly awaiting news of our first Premiership signings.
Rumours were rife of potential big names being lured to the club, with even Dennis Bergkamp being touted for one last hurrah.
And what do we get instead? Oleg Luzhny.
My heart sank to the floor and I was miserable for the remainder of the holiday.
For me it was an illustration of the club’s obvious lack of ambition in the top flight.
I know Dave Jones complained that he couldn’t attract the type of players he wanted to join our ill-fated Premiership journey, but this one really hurt.
In total, Oleg made just 4 Premiership appearances, with another 4 coming in the cup.
He was an used sub for the majority of the season and as much of a joke at Molineux as he was at Highbury.
The left-back position always seems to one of the most difficult positions to get right at the club, just ask Mick McCarthy.
Apart from the excellent Andy Thompson and Denis Irwin, left backs at Molineux haven’t exactly been in the Roberto Carlos mould over the years.
Lee Naylor had some obvious quality but he could also disappoint the Wolves fans in equal measure, especially when he insisted that teams like Bolton take their free kicks quickly.
But for me, the worst I have seen don the old gold ‘n’ black in this position has to be Jamie Clapham. Thank the Lord he is currently on loan at Leeds.
Playing at right back and once branded as the most hated player in football, Kevin Muscat contributed massively to Wolves missing out on promotion in the 2001 – 2002 season.
Playing in his 200th game for the club against Grimsby, and with his contract up at the end of the season, he elbowed Michael Boulding in the face.
He was subsequently sent off (his third dismissal whilst at Wolves), we lost the game and he never played for the club again and after dropping out of an automatic promotion slot, we lost to Norwich in the play offs.
He then failed to make an impact at Glasgow Rangers and is now playing back in his native Australia with Melbourne Victory, where unsurprisingly he became the first player in A-league history to be suspended for three games for violent conduct.
Undoubtedly a talented midfielder, injury prone Darren Anderton arrived at Molineux in the Hoddle era of 2005 -2006.
Sick note actually participated in 20 league matches covering approximately 30 yards a game.
He had a slow, languid style of play, was about 10 years past his best and was picking up a suspected whopping salary.
This combined with his obvious lack of effort didn’t exactly make him a fan’s favourite.
Racing down the wing, usually after the player who has just robbed him of possession, is Jorge Manuel Rebelo Fernandes, or Silas as we knew him.
The £1 million pound signing from Uniao Leiria was another misshaped piece of Dave Jones ill-fitting Premiership squad.
Making just nine Premiership appearances, the Portuguese international obviously wasn’t the player the hype surrounding him led us to believe.
His only two starts came at the start of the Premiership season, when we lost both games and conceded nine goals against Blackburn and Charlton.
He obviously missed his homeland and at the end of that season he joined first division Portuguese side Maritimo on loan.
The majority of Wolves fans were glad to see the back of him, although some still thought felt he deserved another chance.
In 2006, with his Wolves contract up, he joined another Portuguese side Belenenes, on a permanent deal and is reportedly playing good football.
When a club manager joins a new club they like to bring players with them who have helped them gain success at former clubs.
Graham Taylor in his infinite wisdom, decided to bring Tony Daley to Wolves, having managed the winger at Villa and as England boss.
Tony played just 21 league games in 4 injury-strewn seasons at Wolves, having cost the club £1.25 million from Villa.
On his return to Molineux whilst playing for Walsall, he received a torrid time from the majority of the crowd, but had the last laugh as the Saddlers left that day with all three points.
And now Tony is back at the club as the fitness coach. I’m sure there is some irony in that appointment, but I wish Tony all the best.
Henri Camara. If only he could have kicked straight from the beginning of the Premiership campaign, things could have turned out so different for Wolves.
In one of my all-time favourite games at Molineux, he scored his first Wolves goal netting the winner against Leicester, as we came back from a three-goal deficit at halftime to eventually win 4-3.
He then waited a further 20 games before hitting 6 in the last 9 games of the season.
So why is he in my all time Wolves Worst XI?
He somehow won the 2003 – 2004 Wolves player of the season; a title that everybody presumed would go to either Rae or Ince.
Some fans came to Molineux armed with Senegalese flags for our last game of the season against Spurs, to try and convince Camara to stay at Molineux and help us with the fight to regain our Premiership place the following season.
Unfortunately, Henri turned out to be a big name Charlie, who thought he was better than he actually was.
When it became obvious he wasn’t go to stay, Jez Moxey, in a very commercially astute move, gave Camara a one-way plane ticket to Glasgow.
Henri thought he was destined to replace the great Henrik Larsson in Celtic fan’s affections in a £1 million pound loan deal.
Having failed to convince the Bhoys that he was worthy of cleaning Larsson’s boots, let alone fill them, Camara eventually ended up at the big club he had always strived for, Wigan.
And having failed at Wigan, he is now on loan at West Ham and is being kept out of the side by Carlton Cole, a player who was previously sent on loan to Molineux as punishment.
Where as Camara makes the team because he is a talented Judas, Robert Taylor makes the team purely by being (in my opinion) the most inept player to have ever pulled on the old gold ‘n’ black.
I remember sitting in the John Ireland stand (as it was then) with my brother, Ryan, on a cold December Tuesday evening in 1999 as we destroyed a Man City team 4-1.
We both commented on how their striker, a certain Robert Taylor, ran like his coat hanger was still in his jersey.
And then we watched with abject horror, as Colin Lee proceeded to splash out nearly a million on Temuri Ketsbaia and then followed it up by wasting £1.55 million on a player he described as the ‘link player’, Robert Taylor.
Taylor was a phenomenal player at Gillingham, with a scoring ratio of 1 in every 2 games
But like so many players who have come to Molineux with big reputations in the past, he quickly became injured and a drain on the club’s resources.
Playing a total of nine games in two seasons and scoring no goals, Taylor was farmed out to QPR, Grimsby and back to Gillingham where he was reportedly a shadow of the player they knew and loved.
It was a tough choice between Taylor and Frankowski to form the powder-puff worst Wolves attack.
I always felt a little sympathetic towards “the missing piece of the Hoddle jigsaw”.
Tomas arrived at Wolves with an incredible strike rate at both club and international level.
Perhaps more used to the relaxed pace of Spanish football, he struggled to adapt to Stuart Gray’s long ball tactics.
Aged 31, it certainly wasn’t his fault that Hoddle had paid nearly £1.5m for his services to Spanish second division side Elche.
Despite an obvious commitment to the cause, his confidence ebbed away with every game he failed to hit the net, and the Pole without a goal had his contract terminated earlier this season.
Wolves have had their fair share of donkeys, over-payed has-beens and pre-Madonna’s over the years.
Other potential players in the Wolves Worst XI are Leon Clarke, Steve Claridge, Frankowski, Steve Corica, Darren Simkin, Cedric Roussel, Manuel Thetis, Paul Jones (Midfield), Mike Small, David Felgate, Brian Roberts, Kevin Ashley, Jesus Sanjuan, Colin Taylor, Harvard (Go Slow) Flo and Peter Zelem.
Who would make your worst Wolves XI?
Wolves fans have your say below
113 Comments
Good thoughts - Robert Taylor top of my list of all time terrible players to don the old gold and black up front.
One of my other favourites not even considered is Billy Rafferty, though to his credit he did actually stick the ball in the back of the net from time to time, its just the ball was never under control when it happened!!
And don’t forget Sammy Al Jabir!!
Mike Small, the guy on loan from west ham, lol i was only kid, but god he was so slow and round!!!, didnt he score just the one goal for us, in off his backside?
Sorry, I forgot to mention Adam Proudlock, the scorer of the worst ever hat-trick (if there can be such a thing) when we beat Bradford away. No doubt as the day goes on, many more awful Wolves players will pop in my head!
A team to struggle in the conference ; Lange, Luzhny, Hindmarch, Madden, Roberts, Corica, Dowe, Osbourn, S.Ward, Frankowski, Taylor - managed by Hoddle!
Robert Taylor without a doubt
Maybe I’m a bit older, but the Campbell Chapman took some beating for one of the worst players to ever pull on the old gold shirt. Rob Hindmarch is up there as well, but he did have his one saving grace. I would have promoted Kevin Ashley to the first team instead of Muscat - at least Muscat was one of the few players who could take a penalty in recent years!
Starting XI, in case it isn’t very clear:-
1. Roger Hansbury
2. Kevin Muscat
3. Jamie Clapham
4. Cavan Chapman
5. Oleg Luzhny
6. Simon Coleman
7. Tony Daley
8. Darren Anderton
9. Robert Taylor
10. Henri Camara
11. SILAS
Ta.
Not forgetting Ray Hankin who was even more of a blobby than Taylor
What about Lawrie Madden? He was about 105 when he played for Wolves.
Robert Taylor what a disgrace of a signing he turned out to be
Yep I saw that hatrick.
He thought he was so good that day but it was a hatrick of deflections and tap ins!
Excellent choices Nathan.
We have had some rubbish play for Wolves over the years. What about Mark Kennedy? He could only be bothered to play about once every season or if we were on TV!
We have had many fine goalkeepers over the years , but there is one name that has always stuck in my mind that would make this starting line up.
It may be unfair of me, as the first time I saw him was at home to Liverpool and we lost 6 - 0 , with one of our ex- players ( Alun Evans) grabbing a couple - so not a good memory.
The name of the goalie, I believe was Alan Boswell who came to us from Shrewsbury Town in 1968.
Can anyone else remember him?
Luckily on that day, I was in the old ‘cow shed’ North Bank behind the goal and I had forgotten my glasses, being shortsighted I couldn’t witness the thrashing in much detail.
Michael Gilkes - he was dross
I think Muscat is a bit unfortunate to make it in. He even used to come back and watch Wolves after he left. I saw him in a pub at Arsenal after they beat us 5-1 in the league cup a few years back. Very mild mannered gentleman who only had praise for Wolves fans and wished us all the best. Certainly wasnt mild mannered or gentle on the pitch.
One of the worst has to be South Afican Striker Mark Williams.
When I think back to the glory days and the Peter Broadbent, Swinbourne, Slater Flowers and Wright era, I do believe that most of the the players since, with the exception of Bull Dougan Richards Keane, Lescott and Bailey then the resr could be placed in 2 boxes.
Reasonably good
and the other marked rubbish
frankowski was pants
Corica does not deserve a mention on this blog. Also as my least favourite Wolves player in over 50 years of Wolves watching not only do I applaude your inclusion of Camara in the team, I would ask you to make him captain.
Alan Boswell made a big thing about washing his own kit but was our scruffiest keeper ever.
your all forgetting Sami Al Jaber, what a load of rubbish!!
Who was the Saudi Arabian bloke we signed few years ago. I think it was Colin Lee who signed him, he was a prince or something.
Anybody remember Serge Romano!, Rafael Villazan (Who i think was our first “foreign” player in the early 80’s).
Don’t think Harvard Flo was that bad, scored a few good goals for us.
Taylor’s squad number should of been 109 because they should of sown the 10 and 9 shirt together so that it fit him. Don’t forget Mark Buckland he was really rubbish
Got another one Neil Eblem his debut against Reading was shocking he was never a centre half.
what about bully!…..Our reject should be in there for sure…Boing boing
hang on number 4 Fenwolf. Simon Osborn was a great player of ours for a few years, ok his time ended not the best and after a few injuries it didnt go fully great but for a few years he was one of the best players we had.
If im going to put a new one forward id have to say Dominic Foley, he was pretty dire, would of been ok if he had any upper body strength!!
Id Have to say Claridge was the one of the worst buys ive ever seen along with Taylor. Taylor simply was a bad footballer, but claridge as we all know could play a bit but he just didnt want to know at wolves.
i used to love muscat he was mint, especially that bellamy tackle
how about jens dove, robert nistroj, mo camara
The list just keeps on growing how about that aussie winger we sined from Blackburn something Slater he was a panic buy along with claridge for the cup game with arsenal.
Going far back to the fab 60s, we signed a winger called Mark Lazarus (think he was from QPR). He was a stinker! Didn’t stay long.
Also, all those players that were “brought in” to replace our star players who were sold off during the infamous B brothers era (now going to have to disinfect my keyboard!).
U can’t include Emblem - great servant to the club. OK he mostly poor - but remember the great spell he had as the utility man.
Can’t include Corica just becasue of the enjoyment the PA guy gave us when Corica’s name was announced!
Wasn’t there a spaniard - he was big bald and rubbish and his name was Fernando, or something like that!
The grammar in my last post makes me look like i’ve got the literacy skills of Terry_Walsall_baggie!!
Where r those albion guys - suprised they ain’t piped up yet with a comment along the lines of “every wolves playa eva woz rubbish”
How can Kevin Muscat be in there! He was quality. You can’t blame him for us not gaining promotion that year the league is won over 46 matches not one. Everyone else at Molineux could see the problems that year and it wasn’t just Muscat. In certain matches he was immense. Remember the semi final at villa park when we played Arsenal, he had Overmars in his pocket. Remember the dig in the ribs he gave Lee Hughes when we beat the baggies. Remember the awful tackle on Craig Bellamy, he should be in the Wolves best ever eleven just for that! He was a quality player!
You must be joking about Muscat surely? legend - how about Ryan Green international superstar instead?
Obviously not old enough to remember the Bhatti era.
Kim Wassell? Willy Raynes? Mike Coady? Ray Hankin? By definition I would have thought that most contenders should really come from the teams who played in relegtion seasons 1984/86.
Many of those listed in nathan’s team were either:
a. reasonable club servants who were average/poor championship players (e.g Emblen, Osborn)
b. legitimately rubbish (e.g Corica, CV Chapman)
c. became v unpopular because of ‘events’ (e.g, Muscat, Camara)
or
d. were panic buys who never played much anyway and generally speaking were at the club when we were in top half of championship or in prem so not really rubbish per se (e.g. Silas, Luzhny)
Not so much an all time rubbish XI. More of a mediocre since 1990 XI. By the way Paul jones (midfielder from walsall) wins my vote as the worst non-Bhatti era Wolves player.
Mo Camara has to mentioned what a donkey !!!
Carlton Cole, Darren Anderton & Stefan Postma were all dire too…
How about this players who are really special players until they sign for the wolves. Prime example Dougie Freedman class player when we get him never really got going and we moved him on.
didn’t mcgee sign some german midfielder call jens duve from a german club we’d played in pre season ? he turned out to be a spitting image of darren ferguson.
Agree with the Robert Taylor thing.
Remeber Stuart Hall once on 5 live (when he was at Man City)describing him as “posessing all the mobility of a large dining room sideboard”.
It wasnt Colin Lee that signed him tho … someone above him in the hierachy signed him over his head … someone with a similar physique to said Taylor
Can’t agree regarding Muscat. If Wolves bottled it that season, quite a few players need to take the blame. And Sami and Jesus never really got a chance to play.
The worst goalkeeper was Alan Boswell who used to train in army boots,and the worst outfield player was Robert Taylor
Not Muscat surely–one of my heroes
a modern day Trevor Hockey (for those who can remember the Welsh beast!)
you will be adding a few more names to the list after the 25th.
I know Muscat’s inclusion is probably a bit controversial. He was an above average player but he obviously wanted to get himself sent off against Grimsby having failed once.
As captain of the club it was disgraceful behaviour!
Rafferty, Rafferty ra ra ra.
McLaren-goal keeper 1960’s.
Boswell-goal keeper 1970’s.
I always have fond memories of Geoff Palmer, no where near as bad as some of the worthy candidates mentioned above (he was in the Wolves team in 1980 when they won the league cup), but, as a full back, he did have the uncanny ability to get quickly down the wing, only to dispatch the ball into the Gods at the back of either the South or North Bank. There was a bloke who sat by me, and all I can remember him saying at any game was “bl**dy hell Palmer!”
Don’t agree with Neil Emblem’s name being mentioned for the team or one of my Wolves Cult heroes Mo Camara. Mo went to Celtic to play in what is Lee Naylor’s position there now.
I remember Mo tearing down the wing away at Stockport when Kennedy scored one of the best goals I had ever seen away from Molineux.
Corica was so pathetic it was unreal unable to run, pass, shoot, tackle or head a ball. I also think Muscat is a little unlucky to be in there. David Connolly’s loan spell was especially unmemorable.
Also I think Muscat was immense. Full of the fighting spirit and never say die…. Could do with him now… As for Taylor CRAP
Nice choice Nath, except i was excited when we signed Luzhny.
If that worst XI actually existed they wouldn’t survive in the football league. Wolves former policy of buying players with quality and experience let them down too may times. The change to buy young and build a determined side is definately the way to go.
Other players I would consider for the worst XI are: Guy Whittingham, Carl Robinson, Aidy Williams and Havard Flo (just how these players are professional footballers I don’t know)
You can’t name Frankowski, he actually played well for us, he just couldn’t score.
It wasn’t his fault that we were trying to hoof the football to him, if we supplied him correctly he would have scored believe me. You’ve only gotta see him in action during his career.
And I also think it’s unfair on muscat to be included, surely he was a contraversial lad but he’s a legend! (or leg-end). I remember him giving Bergkamp a bloody nose and making Ian Wright have a hissy fit and muscat didn’t get a warning from the referee either time
where’s david kelly he must be there somewhere,open goal at the boggies and headers well wide he was still boggies through and through,little s***.
50 Posts in and not a mention of Joe Gallagher.The Birmingham City reject must be up there with the best of the worst?
As regards Paul Jones (midfielder)I saw him play some cracking games for the reserves at centre back!
you can not put muscat in a worst ever wolves 11. remember him throwing mud at hasselbank when he was taking a pen for leeds. there were so many players between 84-88 such as ray hankin, roger eli, the chapman bros, the list from those years is endless and is giving me nightmares thinking about them.
Good list, but don’t agree with Muscat’s inclusion.
Darren Fergurson for me. I watched him for 45 minutes of a game once and he spent most of it stood in the centre circle with his hands on his hips. I’ve never actually ‘hated’ a Wolves player until he came along.
ANYONE REMBER ROBERT NIESTROJ FROM FORTUNA DUSSELDORF???
ANOTHER COLIN LEE DEBARKLE!!!!
HE PLAYED IN THE 98/99 SEASON AND SQUARED THE PASS FOR MUSCAT TO HIT THAT LOVELY 30 YARDER PAST RICHARD WRIGHT IN THE IPSWICH GOAL!!
OH AND DARIUSZ KUBICKI FROM SUNDERLAND!!!
I think you will find that Butler was our captain that day not Muscat!!!!!!!!!!
Glad someone reminded me about Boswell. What a joke, Never stopped bouncing around and screaming non stop at the team. Giving them all kinds of advice his ploy was to make sure they kept the ball well away from him.
Heres one from around that era that might not be agreed but at the time he used to really get up my nose Central Defender John Holsgrove a good servant to the club I think and a tryer but I felt he was a crap defender, could never ever win the ball in the air without conceding a foul, usually in a dangerous position. Very over rated and in my humble opinion a total liability.
Nathan are you Dave Jones in disguise? How can you blame Muscat for us not getting promoted! When he didn’t play and we had Gunner Halle that’s when things went bad surely he should be in there instead of Muscat! We didnt get promoted because we had numpties like Mo and Andrews playing, you can’t put all the blame at Muscats door!
Can’t believe noones mentioned Iverson from Tottenham!
Paskin was never gonna have a stand next to him.
Muscat was quality.
How about Fleming last season??
Shocking.
58 - USAWolf - yeah I remember John Holsgrove, but to be honest I thought he was OK, not as good as Dave Woodfield or a bit later, Frank Munro, but in the main reliable.
Can you remember the winger John Farrington ? - seem to re-call he was very lightweight and fell over a lot.
Comment 53:-
I mentioned Joe Gallagher & forgot Jackie Gallagher.
Don’t think they were related but equally as bad on a bad day!
“He’s fat, he’s round,He’s worth a million Pound Gallagher Gallagher…lol
Muscat was a talented player, but a disgrace to the club when he decided the best way to take the rest of the season off was to elbow someone in the mush.
I would probably play Darren Simkin at right back.
This one was a shocker he was past it slow poor in the air could never find any team mate with a pass. Worst centre half ever. But he is still a legend to all wolves fans for what he did to the albion. God bless you Rob Hindmarsh
Has no-one mentioned Darren Ferguson yet?
Will have to agree 99% with Fenwolf’s Team , but you can never include Rob Hindmarch . Terrible defender , no pace and powder puff in the tackle…. but wot a wonder strike against Sandwell Town from 2 yards out at the Poorthorns , happydays… !! His memory will alwayz live on
Michael Gilkes, he has to win the right back berth surely.
53. Yes Joe Gallagher with his ‘less than 100% effort’ Hey…You’ll ne-ver beat Loz Madden…he shouldn’t be on the list…he was great. How about Ricky Herbert, the whole Chapman family, Steve Mardenborough(although his backside scored the winner at Anfield). Definately the highly anticipated Kevin Ashley.
Simon
Agree with previous mails, two ahead of the rest Alan Boswell (goalie from Shrewsbury, cost Ronnie Allen his job) and Robert Taylor (Colin Lee should have lost his job for that one, £1.55M!!!!!).
Crickey, doesn’t make good reading does it! What a waste of money!
Robert Taylor made Frankowsi look brilliant!
I,m with you Stack. Mark Williams.
Came to Europe with his family and got a holiday job playing for Wolves! Definately up there (or down) with Taylor and Darren Simkin who always played with the glazed look of a fox being chased by a pack of howling dogs.
What about a baggies team? Could start with tomorrows team sheet
I have to agree with the Muscat is a legend comments. I was at Birmingham away watching him pinch one of their players in the back every time a corner came in - I think he got the guy sent off. And the Ian Wright incident (when he played for Burnley) - Muzzy got him sent off cos he called for him to leave the ball. Brilliant! So many memories of Muscat!
MM WANTS REP OF IRELAND JOB AGAIN
CAN I INCLUDE HIM ???
Thought of some more. The outstanding John DeWolf. He could turn desperate defensive situations into attack with some incredible headers & tackles. err, that is until he played wearing a leg brace & couldn’t jump.
Which defender was it that scored an own goal by tripping over the ball whilst walking it out away from the goal line. It was in front of the South Bank late 80’s/ early 90’s? Seen to remember he was pretty poor.
Another couple of stinkers were Mark Buckland & John Paskin.
Simon
Forgot one Tom Bennett… slowest man on one leg!
74. That stroke of genius was Lawrie Madden
I remember Muscat getting Ian Wright sent off very funny. I thought Wright was playing for Notts Forest. Ian Wright was then seen leaving the pitch pointing to the name on his back ie “do you know who i am”.Brilliant.
Taxi for Ian Wright!
Temuri Ketsbaia anyone? Scored a screamer in his first match then proceeded to sulk until he was offloaded
Muscat was an animal, but he was OUR animal!
Fantastic comments…had a real chuckle at some of the stuff written…..I would lik to bring you up to date with a few “where are the nows’
Robbie Slater ( signed from S’ton) is the face of Fox sports in Aussie
Kevin Muscatt is Playing and capt of Victoria in the aussie A league
Steve Corica is playing with Sydney FC in the A league
Willy Raines is probably still drunk some where in Melbourne Aust
Muscatt is still a complete tool on the park, Slater has a very good media career to go along with his championship winners medal (Blackburn)…and there is a gutter for us all…. keep up the good work guys
Muscat was a dirty so and so! Then let us down big style in THAT promotion debacle. Wouldn’t put him in this catergory, but how can anyone admire his efforts?
John Holsgrove, was a gangly guy who couldn’t stop giving awat free kicks, but again shouldn’t be named here.
How about Dereck Jefferson from Ipswich, surely Bill McGarry’s worst signing (unless Mike O’Grady counts as a injury ridden buy!).
Mr Magoo got in Claridge and Slater, he even played Claridge ahead of Bully and Keano in the cup semi v Arsenal! Bizarre, McGoo and Lee worst manager with Twoddle!
This is depressing!
Would disagree about Iversen, he had a stormer v L’pool at home, 1-1 .
Disagree with 17. Dennis, how about Waggy, Knocka, Hughie Curran, Derek Parkin, Kenny Hibbitt, Jim McCalliog, Frank Munro etc etc….and more very good at least. Don’t let the rose tinted glasses get in the way regards your own favourites!
just remembered derek jefferson, lost a cotact lens once and couldn’t see but was just as bad with both of them in.
DINGLE DAZ 67 GET YOUR OWN NAME, THIS ONES ALREADY TAKEN
the jackie gallagher song was he’s fat he’s round he’s worth at least a pound.
not a million!!!!!!!
and he was still better than anything we had in those dark years 84-88
And what about Simon ‘I can’t pass forward’ Osborne?
simon osborn was great in the early part of his molinues career, injuries and poor form meant this went wrong!
I think your wrong manzikert to put him there, if you saw him during his first 2-3 years at the club he was great and an attacking midfielder!
Cpt Wolves - Michael Gilkes was left footed and a left winger, not a right back, but he was played at left back! more management fault id think you find with him!!
Finally, thank you BigBadWolf (81) for understanding why I included Muscat in the team. He wasn’t that bad a player, I just couldn’t believe how he let the team down at the end of the season.
Again, thank you to everyone who has commented on the blog, glad to see it stirred up some emotion!
Mmm, just been thinking of “Bad Wolves players” & no one has mentioned Wayne Clark.
He was a right lazy so & so, a bit like Freddy! Wouldn’t chase back if he lost the ball & not that many goals!
Best blog in ages - blimey I’d forgotten Derek Jefferson, thanks for the memory BigBadWolf (81)- ouch, it was a painful memory.
But,as you all know, the Wolverhampton motto states, “out of darkness cometh light”
If darkness and light come in equal measures, and you consider all the excellent candidates above, we must be due a rebate of sunshine for the next 1,000,000,000,000 years!!
How about ‘pass sideways’ Carl Robinson?
Really enjoyed reading the views today.
There have been some awful players down the years, and the team chosen seems to be a nice mix of the dodgy and the evil.
I think a few of the present players could make it into the team, but I don’t want to cripple current moral!
I think we could put 3 or 4 past Barnsley on Saturday and I think Freddie will do the damage!
Birchland Wolf - I remember Alan Boswell and that game that probably cost Ronnie Allen his job.I remember a programme article where Boswell said he trained in army boots and I think he wore them against Liverpool.
a few that have slipped the net
- carl ’sideways’ robinson, good when he was younger but irritated the hell out of me when we needed to get forward and he could only go sideways
- idrizo diaz., had him onloan, sam coleman too - when we lost away 3-0 at oxford in the mcGhee, Lee era
- flymo who couldn’t turn corners and repeatedly ran the ball out of play, laughed my ass off when he went to celtic
- darren peacock, bloody gave away that penalty at the albion and is now sueing us.. thanks darren
- can’t beat robert taylor though.. good call.
- keith andrews i remember was always played coz bully said he was gonna be the next big thing.. can pick out a pastie from 50 yrds more like.. appalling
- clapham offends me
how can kevin muscat be in there?
very harsh to have mentioned Emblen or Tom Bennett who gave great service to the club and muscat, albeit an animal, always gave 100%. Altho a hero of mine, Jon Paskin was truely woeful and i will also throw steve sedgley and mark rankine (shld never have been a pro footballer!) into the ring as well.
BOB TAYLOR OR SIMONE OSBOURNE FOR ME
Can I mix and match your team. Take Paul Jones from International XI and put him in this team. Worst and most costliest keeper I ever saw. Yes worse than Boswell.
First time round his nightmare at home to Middlesbro (0-2) second time round please take your choice. Southampton 1-4 Villa 0-4. Oakes was playing superbly when Jones signed his namesake. I still believe we could have survived in the Premier if Oakes had remained in goal so how many millions were Jones’ blunders worth ???
We’ve probably done this one to death but as an afterthought what about fringe players for the worst XI Mark Lazarus,Bob McNab,Phil Chard,Michael Branch,Vinny Samways & Roger Eli Ah Happy Days
74 - Hiya Simon It was Stancliffe Wolves 0 Barnsley 5 - good omen for tomorrow !
Thanks ‘dingle’ (2). Mike Small has to be the worst ever footballer never mind about Wolves player, remember seeing him away at Grimsby, God he was absolutely awful, missed an open goal from 1 yard out!
Darren Simkin is also a definite and what about Kevin Ashley? Can you really leave Keith Andrews out he was awful and has only now begun to find his level in division 2!
God we’ve had some tosh over the years!
Wasn’t Boswell’s home debut a 6-0 thrashing by Liverpool, who had just poached Alun Evans from us?
Geoff Palmer! How often was it we had a player in the team who doubled as a music hall farce character. Could wack a penalty though.
hows about sami al jaber (the blue wolf) and 80s everton atar dave thomas absolute pants..and worst of all cavan & campbell chapman and billy livigstone and mick hollifield…i wont sleep 2nite
what about keith andrews , kept losing the ball .
i like kevin muscat he is playing decent ball over here..he is a tool tho
Agree with the Wayne Clarke comment - I still haven’t forgiven Graham Hawkins for the way he treated King John and repeatedly selecting Clarke instead of him was as big an insult as anything in my book (as a twelve year old!). Would have to add Norman Bell (as well as Billy Rafferty). Tim Steele would make it into my worst XI along with Rob Hindmarch (even though he scored that last gasp equaliser at the crem which I celebrated as much as anyone) and Paul Stancliffe. Remember THAT own goal against Barnsley anyone? A joke.
Yes, I guess I was a bit hard on Holsgrove but his habit of draping his arms all over people in the air did cost us points from ensuing free kicks. There is no doubt we have many more deserving candidates for this XI. Glad you reminded me of Woodfield he was rock solid in the cemter and to be honest I would seriously consider him for our best XI, anything high down the center was his it was a given.
Yes I remember Farrington about the same as you do. was going to be the next Waggie had the moves but was always being knocked of the ball and picking himself up.
During lates 60s we had a reserve striker Buckley only saw him a couple of times not good, overweight, slow and definite candidate, but did score quick goal against Man U once. I lost track of him.
Keitht said that Mark Lazarus was a stinker. He was a Jewish player who played during a very politically uncorrect era and had to take a lot of bad racist stuff from other players trying to wind him up. He usually ended up hitting them and being sent off. But he was never one of our worst.
lets change the topic-
how many ex Wolves players have you seen under the affluence if incahol ?
i’ve seen loads….
104, Monsieur, Alan Buckley-scored in a 3-2 loss to Man Utd Xmas ‘67 I think. He had earlier tried to slip in under the turnstyle ahead of me, and got wedged due to his effervescent midriff. Goal he scored went in, courtesy of the brill cream on his quiff!
Ah, Dougie Woodfield, he could teach current defenders much. Rock solid, straight as a dye, and never given a fair chance by McGarry.
Norman Bell, like a white precursor to Leon Clarke?
Just wanted to say thanks to E&S for this excellent piece. You have some good journalists there!
the reason that we did like muscat was that he was aggressive!! muscat was a great player and he played a lot of games for us. he still likes the club as well. what else would wright, dugarry, holmes and bellamy have in common without muscat??
aussiewolver (110) Muscat let the club down, thats why he deserves to make the team.
Just thought, what about Gazza making the worst 11? Or doesn’t he count because he never actually made the first team?
Paul Jones in goal and Paul Jones in midfield should make the 11.