John Richards remembers Wolves' 1979/80 double over Manchester United

Wolves had sold Steve Daley to Manchester City for a British record fee of £1.438million before breaking the record themselves days later with the signing of striker Andy Gray. 

They had forked out close to £1.5million to prise Gray away from local rivals Aston Villa and the Scotsman hit the ground running by scoring on his Wolves bow in a 3-2 win over Everton at Goodison Park. 

So, there was a great deal of anticipation heading into his home debut where Manchester United were the visitors to Molineux. 

"It was an exciting time to be in Wolverhampton because it was John Barnwell's first full season in charge," club legend John Richards recalls. 

"He'd made a bit of a coup the previous season by signing Emlyn Hughes from Liverpool. Then just before the Man United game, there was the big Steve Daley transfer followed by the arrival of Andy Gray. 

"Andy made his home debut in the Man United match. Everybody was excited with the signing but then we went 1-0 down. 

"However as soon as Kenny Hibbitt equalised, the supporters just picked everybody up and we ran out fairly comfortably 3-1 winners in the end." 

Hibbitt's 34th-minute leveller cancelled out an early opener from United midfielder Lou Macari before strikes from Gray and Richards put the seal of a famous win. 

Wolves would win the League Cup later that season with the same XI which conquered United, as Gray scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over reigning champions and European Cup holders Nottingham Forest at Wembley. 

The previous month, Wolves had gone to Old Trafford and completed the double, with Mel Eves scoring the only goal, en route to a sixth-place finish in the league. 

Vitor Pereira became the first manager since to guide Wolves to a league double over Manchester United after following their 2-0 success before Christmas with a 1-0 triumph at Old Trafford on Sunday. 

And Richards can see many similarities between Barnwell's style of management and the way in which Pereira has embraced life in the Premier League.

"The one away at Old Trafford was very similar to the win on Sunday. It was a very tight affair with Mel getting the decisive goal," he remembers.

"John was a very good man-manager. He'd speak to the players individually but he would also talk to us as a collective.

"He was very good at planning and I get the feeling that Vitor is exactly the same. He has got a lot more players which makes it a lot more difficult but he has got a connection. 

"Vitor has got a connection with the players, he has definitely got a connection with the fans and it shows. As a player, it makes a big difference when you've got the trust and confidence of your manager. 

"That's what we had with John Barnwell and that's what Wolves have got now with Vitor."