Molineux - Wolverhampton Wanderers FC
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Leicester City
16/09/12 - Championship
Att: 20,030
As I was staying in the Midlands after Villa's victory over Swansea the previous day, this was a good chance to tick off another ground as Sky chose to move the Wolves v Leicester match to a Sunday for television coverage. Tickets for the newly built Stan Cullis Stand were obtained and we set off from Aldridge early on Sunday morning, catching the bus to Wolverhampton.
After a fairly straight forward journey we arrived at the newly built bus station and we headed into the city, paying a visit to the betting shop before walking to the ground. As we arrived at Molineux the first sight that greeted us was the statue of Billy Wright - One of the finest footballers in the history of Wolves and England. Wolves are a club steeped in history, as displayed on the rear of the Billy Wright with a series of pictures paying tribute to some of the club's finest moments.
Molineux is a pioneering venue in the history of the English game, the home of Wolves since 1889 was one of the first newly built football grounds in the country and was also one of the first to install floodlights in 1953, which paved the way for Molineux to host a series of prestigious friendlies against overseas opposition, including Valencia, Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and others, which attracted huge crowds in the days before the European Cup came into being. The success of these games played a huge part in UEFA creating a club European tournament in 1955. This all came at a time when Wolves were one of the most successful teams in the game, having won the FA Cup in 1893, 1908 and 1949, they went on to win three league titles in the 1950's and captured the FA Cup for a fourth time in 1960. Their league title success in 1959 meant that Wolves became the second team, after Manchester United, to represent England in the European Cup.
Wolves declined in the 1960's and in 1964 Stan Cullis was sacked as manager, but a managerial change couldn't save the club from dropping out of the top flight for the first time in thirty years. Two years later they were back and in 1972 they reached the final of the newly formed UEFA Cup, losing to fellow English side Tottenham over two legs. Wolves won the League Cup in 1974 and and 1980 but as financial difficulties, caused in the main by the cost of redeveloping the Molineux Street Stand, began to take a strangle hold on the club, they declined at an alarming rate. Having avoided liquidation in 1982 the team went on to suffer three successive relegations in 84, 85 and 86 and found themselves in the fourth tier for the first time in their history. After suffering a play off final defeat to Aldershot in 1987, they won the league title the following season and went on to win the third division in 1989, becoming the first team to be crowned champions of all four divisions.
After narrowly missing out on promotion in 1990 Wolves would have to wait until 2003 to return to the top flight, after a play off final victory over Sheffield United. Their stay in the top flight only lasted one season and it took another five seasons for the club to return after winning the Championship in 2009. Having survived two seasons in the Premier League, Wolves made a promising start to the 2011/12 season before a dip in form lead to the sacking of Mick McCarthy after a 5-1 home defeat to local rivals West Brom. After a farcical series of interviews and various managers being linked with the job, the board decided to promote long-serving assistant Terry Connor as first team manager but he could not change the team's fortunes and a disastrous run of results saw them finish bottom of the league.
Norwegian Stale Solbakken was appointed in the summer and tasked with getting Wolves back in the top flight at the first time of asking, but with the sales of several big name players and the bedding in process that follows any managerial appointment, Wolves have made an unspectacular start to the season with one win, one draw and two defeats from their first four games. However, they do have a trip to Stamford Bridge to look forward to in the third round of the League Cup.
Having looked around the ground and paid a visit to the club shop we went into the Stan Cullis Stand - The newest part of the ground, having been completed midway through last season. After making the long climb to the upper tier we found our seats and on first impressions Molineux is a very impressive venue. Having undergone major redevelopment in the early 90's the ground is very well balanced, with the three oldest stands fitting together nicely. At the far end the South Bank, renamed the Jack Harris Stand, is where the most vocal Wolves supporters gather, with the stand only having one tier it allows for a good atmosphere to be created. On the right hand side is the Billy Wright Stand, which is a two tiered stand and almost identical to it is the Steve Bull Stand, which housed the away supporters in the lower tier.
Today's opponents Leicester City had spent big money over the last couple of years, but had failed to mount a promotion push - Finishing last season in mid-table. Going into this game they had enjoyed solid home form, but were poor on the road, having lost their opening two away games 2-1. As the teams came out of the tunnel there were quite a few empty seats dotted around Molineux, with the early Sunday kick off and television coverage clearly putting a few off attending. In the lower tier of the Steve Bull Stand there were around 1,500 Leicester supporters who had made the trip across the Midlands.
Wolves began the brighter of the two teams and it took just 13 minutes for the deadlock to be broken when Sylvan Ebanks-Blake's header crashed past Kasper Schmeichel to give the home side the lead. A few minutes later former Leicester player Richard Stearman doubled Wolves' lead and put them in sight of just their second win at Molineux in 2012, with Leicester offering very little throughout the first half. Wolves deservedly lead at the break and continued to press at the start of the second half, with Kevin Doyle seeing a lot of the ball but always seeming to end up on the ground before he was able to make a real impact. With twenty minutes remaining the ball rolled to Paul Konchesky who pinged it straight into the top corner from 30 yards to pull a goal back for the visitors, who then laid siege to the Wolves goal. David Nugent went close to equalising with a header before Martyn Waghorn's effort rattled the woodwork. Anxiety levels amongst the Wolves support were at an all time high, especially when the fourth official indicated that there would be five minutes of stoppage time.
Despite Leicester's late surge Wolves hung on to claim all three points, moving them up to 10th in the table before they embark on three consecutive away fixtures. Leicester's poor away form continues to be a concern and manager Nigel Pearson could find himself under pressure if things don't pick up soon.
After leaving the ground we made the short walk back into Wolverhampton where we had a bite to eat in KFC before walking back to the station, where I caught a train back to Birmingham. In a bizarre twist I bumped into a friend who I used to work with at Wolverhampton station who's a Leicester fan and had travelled up for the game, meaning I had some unexpected company for the journey back to the south.
It was an enjoyable afternoon and it was good to finally tick off a ground that has so much history and has done so much to influence the English game. For a club with Wolves' history and fanbase it amazes me how few and far between their stints in the top flight have been in recent times, but with a new manager rebuilding the team I think they'll have enough about them to mount a promotion challenge and I don't think it'll be long before they're back in the top flight.
Molineux is a pioneering venue in the history of the English game, the home of Wolves since 1889 was one of the first newly built football grounds in the country and was also one of the first to install floodlights in 1953, which paved the way for Molineux to host a series of prestigious friendlies against overseas opposition, including Valencia, Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and others, which attracted huge crowds in the days before the European Cup came into being. The success of these games played a huge part in UEFA creating a club European tournament in 1955. This all came at a time when Wolves were one of the most successful teams in the game, having won the FA Cup in 1893, 1908 and 1949, they went on to win three league titles in the 1950's and captured the FA Cup for a fourth time in 1960. Their league title success in 1959 meant that Wolves became the second team, after Manchester United, to represent England in the European Cup.
Wolves declined in the 1960's and in 1964 Stan Cullis was sacked as manager, but a managerial change couldn't save the club from dropping out of the top flight for the first time in thirty years. Two years later they were back and in 1972 they reached the final of the newly formed UEFA Cup, losing to fellow English side Tottenham over two legs. Wolves won the League Cup in 1974 and and 1980 but as financial difficulties, caused in the main by the cost of redeveloping the Molineux Street Stand, began to take a strangle hold on the club, they declined at an alarming rate. Having avoided liquidation in 1982 the team went on to suffer three successive relegations in 84, 85 and 86 and found themselves in the fourth tier for the first time in their history. After suffering a play off final defeat to Aldershot in 1987, they won the league title the following season and went on to win the third division in 1989, becoming the first team to be crowned champions of all four divisions.
After narrowly missing out on promotion in 1990 Wolves would have to wait until 2003 to return to the top flight, after a play off final victory over Sheffield United. Their stay in the top flight only lasted one season and it took another five seasons for the club to return after winning the Championship in 2009. Having survived two seasons in the Premier League, Wolves made a promising start to the 2011/12 season before a dip in form lead to the sacking of Mick McCarthy after a 5-1 home defeat to local rivals West Brom. After a farcical series of interviews and various managers being linked with the job, the board decided to promote long-serving assistant Terry Connor as first team manager but he could not change the team's fortunes and a disastrous run of results saw them finish bottom of the league.
Norwegian Stale Solbakken was appointed in the summer and tasked with getting Wolves back in the top flight at the first time of asking, but with the sales of several big name players and the bedding in process that follows any managerial appointment, Wolves have made an unspectacular start to the season with one win, one draw and two defeats from their first four games. However, they do have a trip to Stamford Bridge to look forward to in the third round of the League Cup.
Having looked around the ground and paid a visit to the club shop we went into the Stan Cullis Stand - The newest part of the ground, having been completed midway through last season. After making the long climb to the upper tier we found our seats and on first impressions Molineux is a very impressive venue. Having undergone major redevelopment in the early 90's the ground is very well balanced, with the three oldest stands fitting together nicely. At the far end the South Bank, renamed the Jack Harris Stand, is where the most vocal Wolves supporters gather, with the stand only having one tier it allows for a good atmosphere to be created. On the right hand side is the Billy Wright Stand, which is a two tiered stand and almost identical to it is the Steve Bull Stand, which housed the away supporters in the lower tier.
Today's opponents Leicester City had spent big money over the last couple of years, but had failed to mount a promotion push - Finishing last season in mid-table. Going into this game they had enjoyed solid home form, but were poor on the road, having lost their opening two away games 2-1. As the teams came out of the tunnel there were quite a few empty seats dotted around Molineux, with the early Sunday kick off and television coverage clearly putting a few off attending. In the lower tier of the Steve Bull Stand there were around 1,500 Leicester supporters who had made the trip across the Midlands.
Wolves began the brighter of the two teams and it took just 13 minutes for the deadlock to be broken when Sylvan Ebanks-Blake's header crashed past Kasper Schmeichel to give the home side the lead. A few minutes later former Leicester player Richard Stearman doubled Wolves' lead and put them in sight of just their second win at Molineux in 2012, with Leicester offering very little throughout the first half. Wolves deservedly lead at the break and continued to press at the start of the second half, with Kevin Doyle seeing a lot of the ball but always seeming to end up on the ground before he was able to make a real impact. With twenty minutes remaining the ball rolled to Paul Konchesky who pinged it straight into the top corner from 30 yards to pull a goal back for the visitors, who then laid siege to the Wolves goal. David Nugent went close to equalising with a header before Martyn Waghorn's effort rattled the woodwork. Anxiety levels amongst the Wolves support were at an all time high, especially when the fourth official indicated that there would be five minutes of stoppage time.
Despite Leicester's late surge Wolves hung on to claim all three points, moving them up to 10th in the table before they embark on three consecutive away fixtures. Leicester's poor away form continues to be a concern and manager Nigel Pearson could find himself under pressure if things don't pick up soon.
After leaving the ground we made the short walk back into Wolverhampton where we had a bite to eat in KFC before walking back to the station, where I caught a train back to Birmingham. In a bizarre twist I bumped into a friend who I used to work with at Wolverhampton station who's a Leicester fan and had travelled up for the game, meaning I had some unexpected company for the journey back to the south.
It was an enjoyable afternoon and it was good to finally tick off a ground that has so much history and has done so much to influence the English game. For a club with Wolves' history and fanbase it amazes me how few and far between their stints in the top flight have been in recent times, but with a new manager rebuilding the team I think they'll have enough about them to mount a promotion challenge and I don't think it'll be long before they're back in the top flight.
Wolverhampton Wanderers FC
Billy Wright statue
Rear of the Billy Wright Stand
Jack Harris Stand
Billy Wright Stand and Stan Cullis Stand
Stan Cullis statue
Club shop
Wolves flags pre-match
Teams line up
Jack Harris Stand
Steve Bull Stand
Billy Wright Stand
Leicester fans
Panoramic view of Molineux
