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Wolves Ground Guide
Capacity:
28,500 (42 executive boxes in John Ireland, 18 in Billy Wright)
Record Attendances:
61,315 11th February 1939 vs. Liverpool FC (FA Cup)
56,661 15th October 1949 vs. West Brom (Div 1)
Address:
Molineux Stadium, Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton, WV1 4QR
Previous Grounds:
Goldthorn Hill 1877 - 79, John Harper's Field 1879 - 81, Dudley Road 1881 - 1889, Molineux 1889 -
Tel:
MAIN RECEPTION – (01902) 655000
ClubCall – 09068121103*
Molineux Club Shop – (01902) 687032
Club Shop Mail Order Dept – (01902) 658800
Community Development Office – (01902) 687061
Consumer Sales – (01902) 658666
Corporate/Executive Sales – (01902) 687052
Conference & Banqueting – (01902) 658877
Study Centre – (01902) 651147
Lottery Office – (01902) 658666
Members & Travel Club – (01902) 656100
Fan’s Phone-In – (01902) 834040
Sir Jack’s Restaurant – (01902) 426272
Terrace Bar – (01902) 687033
Ticket Office – (01902) 653653
ClubCall Ticket Info Line – 09068 121823*
*call charged at 60p per minute
Official Website: www.wolves.co.uk
Brief Guide to Ground:
The term “Sleeping Giant” has always been associated with Wolves, even more so since we redeveloped the stadium in 1994. The new Molineux is a sight to behold – fantastically bright and colourful. It consists of four stands – the Bill Wright stand, the John Ireland stand, the Stan Cullis stand and the Jack Harris stand. We have space in the corners for expansion and we will when we finally get into the Premiership.
Getting Tickets:
Tickets are now available online for the first time via the official site. You can also phone up or if you fancy it you can queue up. Away travel is very good, you can either go on your own or you can go with the travel club. I recommend the travel club though, the atmosphere’s brilliant and you’re usually not too far from the ground.
The Away Experience:
The away fans sit in either the Jack Harris stand or the lower half of the John Ireland depending on the size of your club. The away fans come in for a bit of a bad time in the John Ireland stand as they are below the Wolves fans. It has been known for an angry Wanderers fan to throw a pie or a coin at the opposition if their team are losing or not performing.
The Best View:
Since the redevelopment the stands are closer to the pitch and there are no obstructions of your view. My personal favourite is from behind the goal in the Stan Cullis stand.
We love: Michael Branch, Joleon Lescott and former player and legend Steve Bull
We love to hate: Dave Beasant (vendetta against Branch), Lee Hughes (Useless!), and of course West Brom
Is it Safe?
Yes. I’ve been going for 13 years and I’ve only ever seen one major bit of trouble, with Stoke City in 1996. If not sure if it’s safe for the Wolves board though if were not performing. The fans take it out on the board if we don’t succeed, but that’s only been the case when the board haven’t spent. This season they have and it’ll be Dave Jones incurring the wraith of the fans if we don’t perform.
Origin of the Name:
We began life as schoolboy team when the headmaster of St. Luke’s school in Blakenhall presented co-founders of the team John Baynton and Jack Brodie with a football. St. Luke’s FC were formed in 1877, two years later St. Luke’s merged with the local cricket and football club The Wanderers to form – Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Local Rivals:
West Brom – our biggest rivals and the team we love to hate. Recently the derbies have gone the way of the underdogs. Last season it was our turn, the first season for a long time that the old enemy have finished above us. To some of the fans beating the old enemy is more important than the league position
Blues – not as big rivals as Albion but games against Blues are always tense affairs. Derbies recently have been pretty even. We’re usually rivals for playoff spots (with last season an exception)
Walsall – the general consensus amongst the Wolves fans I know is that we like Walsall and we like to see them do well in the league. But for some reason the Walsall fans hate us. Whenever I listen to the local radio it seems like the Saddlers fans have a vendetta against the Wolves and always make a point of putting us down.
Watering Holes:
The Goalposts – on the junction of Staveley Road and Waterloo Road, it’s about a 10 second walk from the Stan Cullis stand and is always packed on a match day with Wolves fans.
The Feathers – on Molineux Street at the back of the John Ireland stand, again in close quarters to the ground but again another gold and black haunt.
The Wanderer – just up the way from the Feathers at the entrance to the subway, again packed on match days, good atmosphere in there but avoid it if you’re an away fan.
The Terrace Bar – in the Stan Cullis stand, entrance is by consumer sales. On matchdays it’s for season ticket holders and members only, but on non-matchdays everybody’s welcome. If you are a season ticket holder and you frequent the terrace bar especially after the games you may see the odd player or two (drinking orange juice of course!)
For you away fans – the town centre is close and there are plenty of pubs to drown your sorrows at after we’ve beat ya!
Food (inside & outside):
Outside
Burger vans galore! They’re everywhere and they’re all reasonably priced. There is one unusual van though just outside the Wanderer which sells Indian cuisine – kebabs, chicken tikka etc. Give it a bash!
Inside
They sell hot and cold food and most importantly beer! The only problem is you can’t take it into the stands with you. The usual array of Pies, Pasties etc and chocolate bars etc are available.
Parking:
Parking is pretty limited, but if you’re early enough you’ll be able to get a place within about five minutes walking distance. There is a car park outside the ground but you will have to be really early to get on there and it costs. Asda don’t allow cars on their car park on Matchdays. There’s a biggish car park on Darlington Street, just off the ring road and there are a couple of smaller ones dotted around the ring road. Avoid driving through the town centre unless you know your way, there are a lot of one-way systems and it can get confusing. The Civic Centre has a multi storey car park but its hell to get out as a lot of the fans walk up that way to the town centre.
Traffic out of Wolves:
Depends on where you park, if you’re far enough out you’ll be Ok but if you’ve parked in the Centre or near the ring road you’ll probably get stuck in traffic and have a long wait.
Train Station:
The Train Station is about five minutes from the ground and is right next to the Bus Station in the town centre.
Programmes:
The programmes are of a very good standard but they are only available outside the ground. They are priced at £2.00.
Fanzine:
A Load of Bull – the fanzine is sold outside the ground and was priced £1 last time I bought one. Good standard, giving the views of true fans and obviously the funnier side of football as with all Fanzines.
The Shop:
The Club shop is on the corner of the Stan Cullis stand and the Billy Wright stand just off Waterloo Road. It’s quite large and the range of products is very varied, you can even order a Wolves number plate from the Club Shop now. There is also a Club Shop in the town centre on Dudley Street. They sell pretty much the same things as at the main club shop.
The Strip:
Old Gold and Black – we don’t play in orange shirts, as many people get confused, they’re old gold! We’ve had some disastrous versions of the strip (does anyone remember the one with the skid marks!?). The current shirt is darker than it has been for a while and is not that popular with the fans. The shirt should be changing this season as it has been with us for two seasons now.
The away strip at the moment is Silver but is traditionally white. We’ve had a various array of away strips – white, silver and even green!
After the Game:
The town centre is about five minutes walk from the ground and the nightlife is not too bad. If you’re staying in Wolverhampton after the game you should have a good time. If you’re hungry and don’t fancy a burger there are plenty of more classy places to eat in the town centre.
A Myth?:
There’s always been a rumour that we removed some gypsies from the ground on which the stadium was build and they cursed the team from then on, but to be honest this is just an excuse for the poor performances of the Molineux club in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
Claim to Fame:
The first ever penalty was awarded at the Molineux in 1891 against Accrington Stanley. John Heath converted in a 5-0 win. Penalties had only been in force for two weeks.
Well I Never!
The first ever Wolves goal in the Football League was actually scored by a Villa player, Graham Cox put through his own net in the inaugural game of the Football League and was also the first ever football league own goal.
Wolves’ player Jack Jones was unable to play on the 6th April 1907 after being shot by his friend who was a gamekeeper.
Wolves were forced to play at the Hawthorns (WBA’s ground) in Nov and Dec 1919 after the FA banned them from Molineux for crowd trouble.
On September 23rd 1920 Wolves played Bristol City. The match officially ended 0-0 but during the match Wolves star George Edmunds scored a goal that was disallowed. It was later found that the ball had gone through the net!
Club Honours:
Football League Division One Champions – 1953-54, 1957-58, and 1958-59
Div “ Champions – 1931-32 and 1976-77
Div 3 (N) Champions – 1923-24
Div 3 Champions – 1988-89
Div 4 Champions – 1987-88
FA Cup Winners – 1893, 1908, 1949, 1960
Football League Cup Winners – 1974, 1980
Texaco Cup Winners – 1971
Sherpa Van Trophy Winners – 1988
European Cup participation – 1958-59, 1959-60
European Cup Winners’ Cup participation – 1960-61
UEFA Cup participation – 1971-72 (Runner Up), 1973-74, 1974-75, 1980-81
Managers:
Name
George Worrall (secretary-manager): August 1877 - August 1885
Jack Addenbroke: August 1885 - June 1922
George Jobey: June 1922 - May 1924
Albert Hoskins: June 1924 - March 1926
Fred Scotchbrook: March 1926 - June 1927
Major Frank Buckley: June 1927 - March 1944
Ted Vizard: April 1944 - May 1948
Stan Cullis: June 1948 - September 1964
Andy Beattie: September 1964 - September 1965
Ronnie Allen: September 1965 - November 1968
Bill McGarry: November 1968 - May 1976
Sammy Chung: June 1976 - November 1978
John Barnwell: November 1978 - November 1981
Ian Greaves: February 1982 - August 1982
Graham Hawkins: August 1982 - April 1984
Tommy Docherty: June 1984 - July 1985
Sammy Chapman: August 1985 - September 1985
Bill McGarry: September 1985 - November 1985
Sammy Chapman: November 1985 - August 1986
Brian Little: August 1986 - October 1986
Graham Turner: October 1986 - March 1994
Graham Taylor: March 1994 - December 1995
Mark McGhee: December 1995 - November 1998
Colin Lee: November 1998 - December 2000
Dave Jones: January 2001
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10 May 08 
Liverpool Football Club