Express & Star

Wolves fans on tour in Ireland: Day Two

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With Wolves mad parents, I have heard all sorts of stories about great players of the past, writes Express & Star reporter and die-hard fan Jon Pritchard.

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The old dear's favourite was Derek Dougan, but heroes such as Broadbent, Wright and Cullis are also ingrained into my brain, never to rubbed out.

I will never understand just how good these players were without seeing them for myself, but the impression they made on Wolves fans around the world surely counts for something.

On my way to the Shamrock Rovers game, a couple of stops after I got on the tram, an old Irish fellow got on. Seeing my 1979-80 Wolves shirt, his face lit up.

"Ahhh Wolves!" he said to me. "What are you doing over here? Is there a game on?" I explained the trip. He couldn't have been more pleased.

As it turned out Patrick Loftus, a 63-year-old Dublin-born man, was to become my single serving friend for the night, to quote Brad Pitt in Fight Club.

A football fanatic particularly obsessed with the history of the sport, he talked excitedly about the names he had been told about from the great Wolves team.

A Man Utd fan thanks to his elder brother, he always had a soft spot for Wolves after hearing tales of the great team of the 50s, but had never got the chance to see them play.

Growing up in Dublin, he was always a Shamrock fan, but he moved to England in 1968 and now lives in Essex.

He appeared to be more excited than me that Wolves were playing tonight, and we spent the entire 40-minute tram ride chatting about the Wolves, the Black Country and football in general.

"I love football, especially the history of it," he repeated.

"When I was a young lad my older brother was given a Man Utd shirt, but he gave it to me and since then, that was it.

"I used to watch Shamrock when I was a kid. I saw the great Man Utd team here. They came over and George Best was playing, Bobby Charlton, they were all here.

"George Best was the greatest player I ever saw live. In that game, he started off on the left wing, and he would jink past a couple of players and blast a shot off.

"In the second-half, he switched over to the right and could do the same. He was fantastic. Manchester United went 4-0 up, but Rovers scored three late goals and it ended up 4-3."

Despite being in his 60s, he spoke with the joy and excitement of a 13-year-old boy. Albeit an incredibly well read one.

We talked about Robbie Keane ("a lovely man"), Mick McCarthy, Kevin Doyle and every other connection we could think of.

He told us he might even pop along to the game, as he was stopping over at the hotel across the road. At the game, battered sausage and chips in hand, I see a familiar face and there he is.

Pat bounded over to me and shook my hand. As we sat down, he told me his wife had told him to go and watch the game. She clearly knew how much it meant to him.

We find a seat and his excitement doesn't abate. It's a truly wonderful thing to see. He constantly referred to the team in Old Gold as legends, but the current squad are some way away from that.

"I visited Dudley once. A beautiful place," he said, with me unsure if he is just being kind. "I went to visit Duncan Edwards grave, it was decked out with scarves and everything."

Throughout the game, his clear passion for the game shines through. His tip for the day is that we will sign Rovers goalkeeper Craig Hyland.

He loved watching Bakary Sako's jinking play. Almost every time the winger picked up the ball, he would say "there's going to be a goal here."

Midway through the second-half, I turned round to him as he again recalled the old glory days of the Wolves.

"I can't believe I'm watching the Wolves!" he said. "A dream come true eh mate?" was my reply. "It really is. Wait until I tell my brother I've seen Wolves play."

We went for a pint after the game, and barely spoke about football. He taught me about the history of the area and the politics of Ireland.

As we drank, I wasn't really listening much to what he was saying. I couldn't stop thinking that this is what going away is all about - meeting total strangers and having a great night.

Talking about common interests and having a drink. Reflecting on our conversations about the modern game, his passion again shows through.

And, while Pat may not agree with some aspects of the modern game, people like him is what makes is so special.