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Wolves legend Stan Cullis remembered: The management years

In the second part of our look at Stan Cullis' remarkable career, we look at his glorious success in management at Wolves.

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He was only 31 when he became manager in 1948, but over the next 16 years Stan Cullis cemented himself in Wolves folklore.

Three Division One titles and two FA Cups leaves him head and shoulders above all others as the greatest coach in the club's history.

The side he built in the late 50s is arguably one of most successful ever in English football.

In 1960, he was one point away from completing a domestic double and a consecutive hat-trick of league titles. The dominance was remarkable.

His style may not have been pretty, but it was certainly effective. Long balls were arrowed forward, wingers were told to bombard the box with crosses.

The focus was on pace, power, and overall, a direct route to the opposition's penalty area. Flying wingers scuttled up the flanks, elaborate build-up play was discouraged.

Although he was frighteningly young when he took charge of the team, he soon stamped his authority on it, behaving more like a strict headmaster than one of the chaps.

But he was no ranter and raver. The manager who famously never swore built his disciplinarian approach on traditional elements of respect. Cullis would have died for Wolves, and he demanded his players do so too.

In 1949 he lifted his first trophy as manager, beating Leicester City 3-1 in the FA Cup final.

"He was the greatest centre-half I have met. He had the resilience of a concrete wall, the speed of a whippet and the footwork of a ballet dancer. He was a footballer, so he spiced his stopper role with some daring raids into enemy territory."

– England striker Tommy Lawton

"Wolves in those days stood for everything that was good about British football. They played with great power, spirit and style."

– Legendary Manchester United manager Sir Matt Busby

"He was a strict disciplinarian and he ruled a little bit by fear. As you get to know him he's very honest and tells it like it is. I would rate him up there with the best. He was a tremendous manager."

– Wolves left-back Bobby Thomson

"His blood must have been old gold. He would have died for Wolverhampton. All round, as a player, as a manager, and for general intelligence, it would be difficult to name anyone since the game began who could qualify to be in the same class as Stan Cullis."

– Liverpool boss Bill Shankly

"He was the most classical centre-half of his time."

– Hungary and Honved player Ferenc Puskas

"He was absolutely dedicated to football and the Wolves in particular. There's no doubt about that, he gave most of his life to Wolverhampton Wanderers and was one of the top four successful managers since the war. He's on a par with Matt Busby, Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough."

– Bert Williams on the esteem Cullis was held in

"I think the team spirit in the Wolves side stemmed from the fact that we all hated his guts! Maybe that's a bit severe, but we were all united because we felt the same about the manager."

– Wolves striker Dennis Wilshaw on the 'iron manager'

"I had been playing only a few minutes before I realised I was watching a lad who was destined to go a long way."

– Cullis's former manager, Major Frank Buckley on his early potential as a player

"Stan commanded immense respect. He didn't suffer fools gladly. With Stan Cullis, if you went to speak to him about something it was a 'yes' or a 'no' and he treated everybody the same."

Victory was capped off by a superb solo goal from Sammy Smyth – one perhaps unrecognisable as a stereotypical Cullis goal.

It was Wolves' first major trophy since 1908 but in 1954 he delivered another – the first Division One title in the club's history.

It was made all the sweeter because the team overhauled Albion with five games to go. There was European success too, in an age before European football.

Cullis organised prestige matches against Spartak Moscow, who were hammered 4-0, and Dynamo Moscow, who were beaten 2-1.

After Hungary embarrassed England 6-3 at Wembley, Wolves beat a Honved side littered with their national team stars 3-2 at Molineux.

It led Cullis to laud his team as 'champions of the world' – words that sparked the formation of the European Cup. The great man's legacy reaches further than just the Black Country.

That victory over Honved would have meant a lot to Billy Wright, captain of Wolves and England, and Cullis's right-hand man for years.

Like his manager he was a one-club man, and together they built something special.

Cullis won two more Championships in 1957/58 and 1958/59, as well as another FA Cup in 1960.

After that, Wolves began to struggle to maintain their dominance in English football, overtaken by Manchester United's 'Busby Babes'.

But it was still a huge shock when Cullis was sacked in 1964.

Gold and black through and through, he declared he would not work in football again, although Birmingham City did manage to tempt him back into management a year later.

He retired from football for good in 1970 and died just over 15 years ago aged 84.

One of the most successful managers to grace the game in this country, he was lauded by his peers.

"It would be difficult to name anyone since the game began who could qualify to be in the same class as Stan Cullis," said Bill Shankly, in 1976, and he knew a thing or two about coaching.

"Above all, Stan is a very clever man who could have been successful at anything."

Fortunately for Wolves, he picked football management.

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