Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers is a football (soccer) club from England.

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Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is a association football representing the Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands (county) of England, and currently playing in the Premier League. Commonly referred to by their nickname Wolves, Wolverhampton Wanderers was founded in 1877 and since 1889 have played at Molineux Stadium. Historically, Wolves have been highly influential, most notably as Football League, as well as having played an instrumental role in the establishment of the European Cup and Champions League history later known as the UEFA Champions League.

Having won the FA Cup twice before the outbreak of the First World War, Wolves consolidated their reputation as a top side under the legendary management of ex-player Stan Cullis after the Second World War, going on to win the League three times and the FA Cup twice between 1949 and 1960. It was at this time that the European Cup and Champions League history competition was established, after the English press declared Wolves "Champions of the World" following their victories against such top European and World sides as South Africa, Racing Club de Avellaneda, FC Spartak Moscow, and Budapest Honvéd FC in some of football's first live televised games.

Wolves have yet to match the successes of the Stan Cullis era, although they did contest the first UEFA Cup final in 1972 against Tottenham Hotspur F.C., and won the Football League Cup in 1974 under Bill McGarry (footballer) and again in 1980 under John Barnwell. However, a decline set in and they found themselves in the Football League Fourth Division by 1986, before a revival and back-to-back promotions under manager Graham Turner and legendary striker Steve Bull saw them finish the decade in the Second Division, winning the Football League Trophy along the way. Their 19-year exile from the top flight ended when manager Dave Jones guided Wolverhampton Wanderers to promotion to the Premier League for a solitary FA Premier League 2003–04, whose departure following relegation lead to a brief spell under Glen Hoddle. However a new approach under former Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy saw a three year plan which duly delivered promotion to the Premier League in 2009, this time as The_Football_League_2008%E2%80%9309 Championship.

History

The team were founded as St. Luke's in 1877 by John Baynton and John Brodie, after a group of pupils at St Luke's school in Blakenhall had been presented with a football by their headmaster Harry Barcroft. Two years later, they merged with local cricket and football club The Wanderers, to form Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Wolverhampton Wanderers were initially given the use of two fields — John Harper's Field and Windmill Field — both off Lower Villiers Street in Blakenhall. From there, they moved to a site on the Dudley Road opposite the Fighting Cocks Inn in 1881. Wolverhampton Wanderers then became one of the twelve founders of the English English Football League teams in 1888 and finished the inaugural season in a creditable third place, as well as reaching their first ever FA Cup Final, losing 3-0 to the first "Double" winners, Preston North End F.C..

Early cup triumphs & inter-war adventures

Wolves remained as members of the Football League First Division from 1888 until relegation in 1906, winning the FA Cup for the first time on 26 March 1893. They beat Everton F.C. 1-0 at Fallowfield Stadium in Manchester. Two years after relegation Wolverhampton Wanderers enjoyed another FA Cup win, as a Football League Second Division club, surprisingly beating Newcastle United F.C. 3-1 in the final on 25 April 1908. After struggling for many years to regain their place in the top division, Wolves suffered relegation again in 1923, dropping into the Football League Third Division North. Wolves' first promotion was won just a year later, narrowly claiming the Third Division North title at the first attempt ahead of Rochdale A.F.C..

Following eight more years back in the Second Division, Wolves finally achieved a return to top division football in 1932, claiming the Second Division title and another promotion. In the years leading up to the Second World War, Wolverhampton Wanderers became established as one of the leading club sides in England. In 1938, Wolves needed only to win the last game of the season to be champions for the first time, but were beaten 1-0 at Sunderland A.F.C. and Arsenal F.C. claimed the title. They again finished as runners-up in 1939, this time behind Everton, and endured more frustration with defeat in the last pre-War FA Cup Final, losing 4-1 to underdogs Portsmouth F.C..

The Stan Cullis era & the birth of European football

When league football resumed in 1946, Wolves suffered yet another heartbreaking failure in the First Division. Just as in 1938, victory in their last match of the season against Liverpool F.C. would have won the title but a 2-1 win gave the 1947 championship to the Merseyside club instead. That game had been the last in a Wolves shirt for Stan Cullis, and a year later he became manager of the club. In Cullis' first season in charge he led Wolves to a first major honour in 41 years as they beat Leicester City F.C. 3-1 in the FA Cup Final, and a year later, only the goal average prevented the First Division title being won. The 1950s were by far the most successful period in the history of Wolverhampton Wanderers. Captained by Billy Wright (footballer), Wolves finally claimed the league championship for the first time in 1954, overhauling fierce rivals West Bromwich Albion F.C. late in the season. Two more titles were later won, as Wolves cemented their position as the premier team in English football.

In this period, football played under Floodlights (sport) was still a novelty, and the summer of 1953 saw the first set of lights installed at Molineux, which were first tested in a friendly game against a South African XI. Over the next months, Wolves played a series of famous "floodlit friendlies" against foreign opposition, and the "sheer theatre" of the football enthused many, such as the young Wolves fan George Best. Beginning with Racing Club de Avellaneda, they also played FC Spartak Moscow of the USSR, before meeting Budapest Honvéd FC of Hungary in a landmark game for English football, televised live on the BBC. Faith in the English national team was at an all time low, and Wolves faced a Honved team that including many of the "Magical Magyars" team who had recently so humbled England twice, and had been 1954 World Cup finalists. In front of the watching nation, Wolves came from two goals down at half time to beat the Hungary national football team side 3-2, which coupled with their previous European exploits, lead the national media to proclaim Wolves "Champions of the World". This was the final spur for Gabriel Hanot, the editor of L'Équipe, who had long campaigned for a Europe wide club tournament to be played under floodlights.

The UEFA congress of March 1955 saw the proposal raised, with approval given in April of that year, and the kick-off of the first European Cup and Champions League history the following season. The 1959 title win saw Wolves play in the European Cup for the first time, being only the second English club after Manchester United to enter. Later, FC Spartak Moscow, FC Dynamo Moscow and Real Madrid all came to Molineux and were beaten, as Wolves saw mixed successes in the European Cup against teams such as Red Star Belgrade, Schalke 04 and Barcelona, during Real Madrid domination period. Wolves were also League Champions in 1958 and 1959, and in 1960 became the first team to pass the 100-goal mark for three seasons in succession. Coming agonisingly close to a hat-trick of titles and the The Double, Wolves finished just one point behind Burnley F.C. and had to make do with a 1960 FA Cup Final, beating Blackburn Rovers F.C. 3-0 in the final.

Cullis sacked, Wolves American champions

The early 1960s saw Wolves begin to decline, and Cullis was sacked in September 1964 at the start of a dreadful season during which Wolverhampton Wanderers was never out of the relegation zone. The club's first spell outside the top division in more than thirty years would last just two seasons, as an eight game winning run in the spring of 1967 led the way to promotion.

During the summer of 1967, Wolves played a season in North America as part of a fledgling league called the United Soccer Association. This league imported twelve entire clubs from Europe and South America to play in American and Canadian cities, with each club bearing a local name. Wolverhampton Wanderers, playing as the "Los Angeles Wolves", won the Western Division and then went on to earn the League Title by defeating the Eastern Division champions Washington Whips (Aberdeen F.C. of Scotland) in the championship match. (This FIFA-sanctioned league merged the following season with the non-sanctioned National Professional Soccer League, which had also begun in 1967, to form the North American Soccer League).

The Seventies resurgence

The club's return to the English top flight heralded another period of relative success, with a squad that included stars Derek Dougan, Kenny Hibbitt and Frank Munro finishing the 1970–71 season in fourth place, qualifying them for the newly created UEFA Cup. En route to the 1972 UEFA Cup Final, they beat Académica 7-1 on aggregate, ADO Den Haag 7-1 on aggregate, FC Carl Zeiss Jena 4-0 on aggregate, Juventus F.C. 3-2 on aggregate in the quarter-final and Ferencvarosi TC 4-3 in the semi-final. Reaching the UEFA Cup, Wolves lost the home leg against Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 2-1 (goal from Jim McCalliog) and drew at White Hart Lane 1-1 with a goal from David Wagstaffe).

Two years later in 1974 they went on to beat Manchester City F.C. in the 1974 Football League Cup Final, taking the trophy for the first time. Despite relegation again in 1976, Wolves were to bounce back as Second Division champions, and three years later in 1980, Andy Gray (footballer born 1955) scored to defeat the reigning European Champions and League Cup holders Nottingham Forest F.C. to again bring Football League Cup glory to Molineux.

Sharp decline & revival

Wolves went through a bad spell in the 1980s, triggered by serious financial difficulties that almost resulted in Wolverhampton Wanderers's extinction. The club's infamous owners, the Bhatti brothers, had sucked Wolves dry, and three consecutive relegations in 1984, 1985 and 1986 saw a bankrupt Wolves slide into the Football League Fourth Division for the first time in Wolverhampton Wanderers's history, Wolverhampton Wanderers hanging by a thread and with three sides of the decaying stadium condemned. The nadir finally came with the FA Cup 1st Round 2nd replay defeat by 3-0 to non-league Chorley F.C. in 1986.

By 1987, having been saved by the local council, Wolves began the climb away from rock bottom, with ownership of Wolverhampton Wanderers changed, and Graham Turner appointed manager in October 1986, shortly after the drop into Division Four. By 1989, Wolves were back in the Second Division following two successive promotions. This period included one further visit to Wembley, for the Football League Trophy final in May 1988. Wolves' 2-0 victory over Burnley drew a record attendance of 80,841, with more than 50,000 supporting Wolves.

The key player behind Wolverhampton Wanderers's resurgence was undoubtedly Steve Bull, who had been signed along with Andy Thompson (footballer) for a combined fee of £64,000 from neighbours West Bromwich Albion F.C.. His feat of scoring 50+ goals in all competitions during back-to-back promotion-winning seasons subsequently saw him capped by England national football team and take part in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. His record of 306 goals for Wolves (250 of them in league matches) before retiring at the end of the 1998–99 season still stands as Wolverhampton Wanderers's record goalscorer. He is the only player to have played for England while contracted to Wolves in the last quarter of a century.

The Hayward years

In May 1990 Wolves were bought by lifelong supporter Jack Hayward. His money saw Wolverhampton Wanderers's ageing and decrepid ground comprehensively rebuilt to meet new Ground improvements to football stadia in England in the early 1990s, with the Stan Cullis Stand erected on the site of the North Bank in 1992, and the Billy Wright Stand replacing the Waterloo Road Stand in August 1993. In December of that year the renovated stadium was officially opened, after the Jack Harris Stand replaced the South Bank and the John Ireland Stand (renamed as the Steve Bull Stand in the summer of 2003) underwent a complete refurbishment.

With the stadium completed, Hayward gave Wolverhampton Wanderers its first substantial investment into its playing side since the late 1970s. While stadium work was prioritised in the early 1990s, Wolverhampton Wanderers under manager Graham Turner had consolidated in midtable but failed to make any inroads toward promotion to the top flight (now the newly-formed Premier League). The summer of 1993 saw the first recruits in a heavily-funded bid for promotion that would characterise much of Hayward's reign.

By March 1994 though, their play-off chances were fading and Turner quit, making way for former England manager Graham Taylor (footballer). Taylor ultimately served only one full season, where he took Wolverhampton Wanderers to their best finish in the Football League structure in over a decade, but they were denied promotion after losing 2-3 to on aggregate in the play-off semi finals.

Taylor was soon ousted under fan pressure in November 1995 after Wolves, now bearing the burden of being promotion favourites, made a slow start to the 1995–96 season. His successor Mark McGhee inspired a brief turnaround in fortunes and as late as March they were just outside the play-off zone, but poor form returned and by the end of the season they had finished 20th — just two places above the drop zone and their lowest league finish since they slipped into Fourth Division a decade earlier. The 1996-97 season was far stronger, but they were pipped to the second automatic promotion place by Barnsley F.C. and lost to Crystal Palace F.C. in the play-off semi-finals.

Although reaching the FA Cup semi-finals a year later, McGhee was dismissed in November 1998 as Wolves were slipping out of contention for the play-off places. His assistant Colin Lee took over but Wolverhampton Wanderers just missed out on the play-offs. With a far more limited budget than his two predecessors enjoyed, Lee could only guide Wolverhampton Wanderers to a second successive 7th place finish in 1999–2000. He was dismissed in December 2000 after a poor run of form left Wolves just a few places above the drop zone.

Former Southampton manager Dave Jones was named as Lee's successor in January 2001, and Wolves improved during the second half of the 2000–01 season, but their dismal early season form counted against them and they were unable to achieve anything more than a mid table finish. The close season saw heavy investment into the team, which helped them spend much of the 2001-02 season in the top two places. However, an end of season slump saw them pipped to automatic promotion by deadly rivals West Bromwich Albion. Defeat at the hands of in the play-off semi-finals finally put paid to their promotion hopes.

Wolves experienced sporadic form during the early part of 2002–03, and thus were never in contention for the automatic promotion places. The team turned the corner with a thrilling 3-2 FA Cup win over Newcastle United F.C., going on to lose just two of their 20 league games after this, securing them 5th place and a play-off semi-final clash against newly-promoted Reading F.C.. Victory in both legs earned Wolves a place in the Football League Championship play-offs 2003 against Sheffield United, their first play-off final at their fourth attempt. In the Millennium Stadium-staged final, three first half goals from Mark Kennedy (footballer), Nathan Blake and Kenny Miller, respectively, were enough to earn Wolves a long awaited place in the Premiership, after 19 years in the lower echelons of English football.

Their debut season in the Premier League would be tough, with key players Matt Murray and Joleon Lescott out for the entire season, and several others injured from the start. Their spending power to strengthen Wolverhampton Wanderers was relatively low as Hayward instead put Wolverhampton Wanderers up for sale. Despite these setbacks, Wolves overcame their seven game win-less start, to eventually achieve some commendable results, in particular a 1-0 win over Manchester United F.C.. However, failing to win a single away game meant that their relegation battle was ultimately lost, and they finished bottom of the table on goal difference, bracketed together on 33 points with the two other relegated teams.

Despite hopes for an immediate return to the top flight, their 2004–05 Football League Championship campaign began dismally, and at one point the side sunk as low as 19th place. Following a 0-1 defeat at Gillingham, a side Wolves had beaten 6-0 just eighteen months previous, Jones was sacked at the beginning of November.

Another former England coach was hired the following month, as Glenn Hoddle was appointed on a rolling one-year contract. Under Hoddle, Wolves lost only one of their final 25 league games, but drew 15 to finished ninth in the final table — not enough to qualify for the play-offs. Wolves then finished a disappointing seventh in 2005–06 as fan discontent grew, disenchanted with the lack of passion and pride from the team, including from Hoddle himself who had not moved to the area. Though the board expressed no displeasure with Hoddle publicly, with Jez Moxey affirming his faith in the under fire manager, the season had been frowned on by both local media and the fan base. However, few had anticipated Hoddle's sudden resignation mere moments before England's FIFA World Cup quarter-final clash with Portugal.

A new regime, a new start

Following the exit of Hoddle in pre-season in 2006, Wolves staged a complete clearout, stripping the squad and wage bill down and appointing former Republic of Ireland and manager Mick McCarthy. Wolves therefore commenced the 2006–07 season with only the bare bones of a first team squad and with the lowest expectations around Wolverhampton Wanderers in years.

McCarthy acknowledged the challenge, stating to local media "The initials MM on my top stand for Mick McCarthy, not Merlin the Magician", and quickly scraped together a squad, largely from Wolverhampton Wanderers's youth ranks, out of contract players and loanees. After an inconsistent first half to the season, an impressive run of form followed and Wolverhampton Wanderers eventually made the play-offs, despite earlier expectations. They were paired with local rivals West Bromwich Albion F.C. in the semi-finals, where they lost out over two legs.

There was further change when businessman Steve Morgan (businessman) took control of Wolverhampton Wanderers for a nominal £10 fee in return for a £30million investment into the club, resulting in the departure of Jack Hayward (who remains as Life President) after 17 years as chairman. The protracted takeover was finally completed on 9 August 2007, upon which Wolverhampton Wanderers set out their future ethos:

Despite Morgan's arrival, the 2007–08 in English football ultimately brought more disappointment as Wolverhampton Wanderers failed to match the previous campaign's playoff finish. Poor form around Christmas saw them slump to midtable and only a late rally, aided by the goal power of new signing Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, put them back in the promotion hunt. They finished just outside the final play-off spot on goal difference, one goal short of Watford F.C..

2008–09 in English football saw Wolverhampton Wanderers's strongest start since 1949–50 in English football, as an opening day draw preceded a run of seven consecutive wins. Fired by the goals of Ebanks-Blake and new signing Chris Iwelumo, Wolverhampton Wanderers hit the top of the table for the first time in years by the end of August and never left the automatic promotion spots after. A second run of seven consecutive wins tightened their grip on the lead by Christmas.

Despite a dismal start to 2009, the equally faltering form of their rivals allowed Wolves to retain the top spot. March saw a return to form with 13 points from a possible 15, strengthening their position at the top of the table that they had led since October. Promotion to the Premier League was finally confirmed on 18 April 2009 with a 1-0 win over Queens Park Rangers F.C.. The following week, Wolves clinched their first divisional title since the 1988–89 season.

Premier League 2009–10

Following their promotion from the Football League Championship as Champions, Wolves immediately set about recruiting for the upcoming season. Interest was confirmed and bids lodged immediately following the end of the season for several key players, with such a move proving vital in securing the moves of the likes of veteran goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann, Sunderland A.F.C. utility man Greg Halford and Southampton F.C. midfielder Andrew Surman, most of whom had suffered disappointment with their previous clubs.

Wolves also completed the £6.5m record signing of Reading star Kevin Doyle, a marquee signing who had chosen Wolves over competition from several clubs offering European football (thought to be Aston Villa and Fulham). They also bolstered central midfield with Serbian playmaker and captain Nenad Milijas from Red Star Belgrade, along with out-of-favour regular Olympique Marseille centre-back Ronald Zubar.

Pre-season was conducted in Perth, Western Australia, Western Australia, with the players put through an intense schedule of training, bonding, and friendlies against Perth Glory and North Queensland Fury. Bobo Balde also joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on trial, and a 1-0 win over Perth Glory was however marred by a fifth metatarsal bone break for Chris Iwelumo, who looks set to return in October.

While the pursuit of long-term target and seven-game loan star Michael Mancienne continued, the close season was also boosted by the arrival of Walsall's highly respected head of youth Mick Halsall to nurture the well-renowned Wolves youth team whom he joined at the World Youth Cup in Gothia, Sweden, which Wolverhampton Wanderers went on to win on a penalty shoot-out against Brazilian side Cruzeiro Esporte Clube in the final.

Colours & badge

The first badge to be worn on Wolves shirts was the city crest of Wolverhampton, usually worn on special occasions such as cup finals. In the late 1960s, Wolves introduced their own club badge consisting of a single leaping wolf, which later became three leaping wolves in the 1970s. In 1979, Wolves changed to the now famous wolf-head badge. Its simple and stylised design made it one of the most recognisable club badges in British football and, despite a brief return to the Wolverhampton city crest in the mid 1990s, it is still in use to the present day.

The club's traditional colours allude to the city's motto "out of darkness cometh light" with the gold and black representing light and darkness respectively. In Wolverhampton Wanderers's early days Wolverhampton Wanderers sported various versions of these colours including old gold and black stripes and old gold and black diagonal halves. It remains one of the most famous and recognisable strips in British football today. The traditional away colour of Wolves is all white and will be so during the 2009-10 season.

Stadium

History

Wolverhampton Wanderers have played at Molineux stadium, Whitmore Reans, since 1889. Their previous home was in the Blakenhall area, and although no signs of the ground remain, a nearby road is called Wanderers Avenue. The Molineux name originates from Benjamin Molineux, a local merchant who built his home on the grounds. Northampton Brewery, who later owned the site, rented its use to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1889, who had previously lacked a permanent home. After renovating the site, the first ever league game was staged on 7 September 1889 in a 2-0 victory over Notts County before a crowd of 4,000.

In 1953, the stadium became one of the first to install floodlights, at an estimated cost of £10,000. The first ever floodlit game was held on 30 September 1953, as Wolves won 3-1 against South Africa national football team. The addition of the floodlights opened the door for Molineux to host a series of midweek friendlies against teams from across the globe. In the days prior to the formation of the European Cup and international club competitions, these games were highly prestigious and gained huge crowds and interest, the BBC often televising such events.

The old South Bank at Molineux is also historically the second largest of all Spion Kop (stadia) ends closely followed by Aston Villa's Holte End, both of which regularly held crowds in excess of 30,000.

Fluctuating attendances

When Wolves were at their height of success during the 1950s (three League Championships and two FA Cups) Molineux regularly held over 50,000 mostly standing spectators. By the time of their sharp decline during the 1980s, only the newly built 9,500-seat John Ireland Stand (now the Steve Bull Stand) and the much reduced South Bank (15,500) were in use. This reduction in capacity was due to the fact that the other two stands were wood-built and declared unsafe following the Bradford City disaster, in which a wood-built stand caught fire and killed 56 people in 1985. In the days before the Taylor Report, which required British football stadia to provide seating for all those attending, the ground had a capacity of over 60,000; the record attendance for a match at the ground is 61,315 for a game against Liverpool F.C. in the First Division on 11 February 1939.

Redevelopment

Between 1991 and 1993, Molineux was comprehensively redeveloped. The Waterloo Road stand was replaced by the all-seat Billy Wright Stand, the North Bank terrace was replaced by the Stan Cullis Stand, and the South Bank terrace was replaced by the Jack Harris Stand. By the 1993–94 season the Molineux had a 28,525 all-seated capacity making Molineux the List of English football stadia by capacity. But by the time of the 2003 promotion, Molineux was the fifteenth largest Premiership stadium. In the previous decade, many of the smaller stadiums had either been expanded or replaced to hold a capacity of between 30,000 and 67,000 seated spectators. For the 2003–04 to 2005–06 seasons, the corner between the Billy Wright and Jack Harris Stands was filled in with temporary seating to create a further 900 seats named the Graham Hughes stand (the Clubs Official Historian), bringing the ground's capacity to 29,400. These temporary seats were removed during the 2006 close season.

Millionaire owner Steve Morgan is keen to "transform the city centre ground into a venue fit for Premiership football", although the scale and speed of the expansion plans will depend on Wolves stabilising themselves in the Premier League. As a result of Wolves' promotion to the Premier League, the temporary seating will return for the 2009-2010 campaign. Morgan has stated that they want to increase the capacity to over 40,000, but work depends on the Club staying in the Premier League.

Training ground

The Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground, opened in 2005, is a £4.6m, state-of-the-art development located in Compton, Wolverhampton. The two-storey building stands approximately one mile to the west of the stadium, and contains five high-quality training pitches, eleven changing rooms, medical and physiotherapy facilities, gymnasium, and a hydrotherapy pool, one of only a handful of English clubs to own such equipment.

Players

First-team squad

Under-18s squad

N.B. Numbers are from training kits, and are not actual shirt numbers.

Former players and managers

Notable players

For details on notable former players, see List of Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players

Wolverhampton Wanderers has been represented by numerous high profile players over the years, most notably Billy Wright (footballer), who captained England a record 90 times and was the first player to win a century of international caps, as well as earning the FWA Footballer of the Year. In total, 34 players have won full England caps during their time with Wolves, the last being Wolverhampton Wanderers's record goalscorer Steve Bull.

Andy Gray (footballer born 1955), Emlyn Hughes, Paul Ince and Denis Irwin are all previous League Championship medal winners who have also represented Wolves. Current Premier League players who began their career with Wolves include Robbie Keane and Joleon Lescott.

The Wolverhampton Wanderers Hall of Fame has inducted the following former players:

- Steve Bull
- Stan Cullis
- Ron Flowers
- Jackery Jones
- Derek Parkin
- Billy Wright (footballer)

Managerial history

Their most successful manager is Stan Cullis (who also served Wolverhampton Wanderers as a player), who was at the helm during Wolverhampton Wanderers's peak in the 1950s. Other notable managers include Bill McGarry, John Barnwell, Graham Turner, Graham Taylor, Dave Jones and Glenn Hoddle. Taylor and Hoddle had both managed the England national football team before their arrival at Wolves.

Supporters

Wolverhampton Wanderers have an international support base, with supporters' clubs in Australia, United States, Sweden, Spain, Germany, Republic of Ireland, Malta, Iceland and Norway amongst others. They have an especially large Scandinavian fanbase, due to Scandinavian television coverage of Midlands football during Wolves' dominant period in the seventies. They also have supporters' clubs across the United Kingdom.

Fans' Parliament

Wolverhampton Wanderers supporters are able to put themselves forward for selection to the Fans' Parliament which sits for two year periods at a time. The initiative was implemented in 2006 and 35 candidates are selected by independent journalist David Instone, who also minutes the meetings, to attend meetings at Molineux every two months. Supporters are chosen to represent different factions of the supporter base such as STHs, female supporters, disabled supporters and TPS members. Fans' Parliament representatives' e-mail addresses are published on Wolverhampton Wanderers's official website so as supporters can e-mail them with appropriate questions they'd like raising at future meetings. The meetings are chaired by Matthew Grayson - Wolverhampton Wanderers's director of communications and usually attended by Jez Moxey - club chief executive as well as a variety of guest panellists such as Sir Jack Hayward and Steve Morgan.

Fanzine

The Wolves fanzine is called A Load Of Bull (ALOB), in part reference to Wolves legend Steve Bull. The publication was founded in 1989 and is written voluntarily by ordinary Wolves supporters. ALOB is currently edited by long serving editor Charles Ross.

Anthems

In the 1950s and '60s, Wolverhampton Wanderers's signature tune was "The Happy Wanderer". Later "The Liquidator" by the Harry J. Allstars became very popular, although use of the song ceased following a request from the West Midlands Police who claimed that obscene lyrics used by some fans during the chorus could lead to hooliganism. The tune has made occasional re-appearances at important promotion and play-off matches over the years, and a groundswell of support still exists among many supporters for its reinstatement as club anthem. The song had also been adopted by Chelsea as their anthem, and continues to be played at their home matches. However, Wolverhampton Wanderers have since used "Hi Ho Silver Lining", a rock song released in 1967 by Jeff Beck, modifying the lyrics of the chorus to "Hi Ho Wolverhampton!".

More recently, Wolverhampton Wanderers adopted a new anthem by way of a fan's voting on a selection of songs suggested by Wolverhampton Wanderers on a website , whereby "The Impossible Dream (The Quest)", a popular song composed by Mitch Leighwith with slightly modified lyrics from Joe Darion's original won. It was originally written for the 1965 musical Man of La Mancha and was the main song from the musical. It became the clear winner to help push them to promotion to the Premier League on 18 April 2009. Wolverhampton Wanderers printed over 26,000 gold and black cards corresponding to each seat colour with the new lyrics for each of the fans in the stadium to hold up and sing as the players ran onto the pitch.

Hooliganism

As with all large city teams Wolverhampton Wanderers attracted a number of hooligans in the 1960s. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, a group of teenagers calling themselves "The Subway Army" would ambush fans in the Subway (underpass) adjacent to the ground. They attended only selected games and many of the members claimed that they were not actually Wolves fans. Indeed, on visits to several away fixtures, including Leeds, they stood apart from the travelling Wolves supporters, and the vast majority of Wolves supporters have never had any involvement with hooliganism.

The Subway Army were eventually dissolved due to the large number of arrests and were replaced by other groups. Many of this faction were arrested in one of the nationally organised police dawn raids, under code name Operation Growth or "Get Rid of Wolverhampton's Troublesome Hooligans".

Sponsorship

Wolverhampton Wanderers are sponsored by internet gambling company Sportingbet. In addition to becoming the official gambling partner of Wolverhampton Wanderers, the deal sees Sportingbet.com branding on the home and away kits, as well as Wolverhampton Wanderers website and in prominent positions around Molineux. This two-year deal began in June 2009.

Previous shirt sponsors include Tatung Company (1982–86), Benjamin Perry (1986), Staw Distribution (1986–88), Manders Paint & Ink (1988–90), Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (1990–2002), Doritos (2002–04) and Chaucer Consulting (2004–09)., supporting both the local community in Wolverhampton and abroad with specific focus on the disadvantaged and disabled..

The Wolves in the Community scheme, which began in 1991, seeks to encourage more people to support, be involved in and play football in the community. Its initiative formed, and has sustained, the Twilight and Midnight Leagues in 1998, a social inclusion football project in areas of the city that aims to reduce levels of anti-social behaviour. The project has its own Development Centre to which it invites youngsters at Under 7/8s, 10s, 12s and 13/14s levels. The teams take part in friendly matches against other development groups and teams.

Honours

Popular website Football 365 consistently ranks Wolves in the all-time top four English teams since the league's inception in 1888, behind only Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal in terms of all time league position.

Cumulatively, they are the eighth most successful club, behind Chelsea, with 13 major trophy wins (see Football_records_in_England Most_successful_clubs_overall_.281888_-_present.29).

On the other hand, according to the website Blurtit, Wolverhampton Wanderers are the tenth most successful club in English football history, having won the FA Cup on four occasions and been League Champions three times, Charity Shield winners four times and winning the League Cup twice.

Uniquely, they are the only club to have won titles in five different Football League divisions, and in 1988, their Fourth Division title glory made them the first team to have been champions of all four professional leagues in English football, although this feat has since been matched by Burnley F.C. in 1992 and Preston North End F.C. in 1996. They remain the only club to have won all top national cups (FA Cup, Football League Cup and Football League Trophy).

They are also the first team to score 7,000 league goals.

League

List of English football champions
- Champions: 1953–54 in English football First Division, 1957–58 in English football First Division, 1958–59 in English football First Division
- Runners-up: 1937–38 in English football First Division, 1938–39 in English football First Division, 1949–50 in English football First Division, 1954–55 in English football First Division, 1959–60 in English football First Division

List of winners of English Football League Championship and predecessors
- Champions: 1931–32 in English football Second Division, 1976–77 in English football Second Division, Football League Championship 2008–09
- Runners-up: 1966–67 in English football Second Division, 1982–83 in English football Second_Division
- Play-off winners: 2003 Football League First Division play-off Final

List of winners of English Football League One and predecessors
- Champions: 1923–24 in English football Third Division North, 1988–89 in English football Third Division

List of winners of English Football League Two and predecessors
- Champions: 1987–88 in English football Fourth Division

Cup

UEFA Cup
- Runners-up: 1972 UEFA Cup Final

FA Cup
- Winners: 1893 FA Cup Final, 1908 FA Cup Final, 1949 FA Cup Final, 1960 FA Cup Final
- Runners-up: 1889 FA Cup Final, 1896 FA Cup Final, 1921 FA Cup Final, 1939 FA Cup Final

Football League Cup
- Winners: 1974 Football League Cup Final, 1980 Football League Cup Final

FA Community Shield
- Winners: 1949 FA Charity Shield- , 1954 FA Charity Shield- , 1959 FA Charity Shield, 1960 FA Charity Shield- (- joint holders)
- Runners-up: 1958 FA Charity Shield

Football League Trophy
- Winners: Football League Trophy 1987–88

Minor honours

Texaco Cup
- Winners: 1971

Football League War Cup
- Winners: 1942 Football League War Cup Final

FA Youth Cup
- Winners: FA_Youth_Cup_Finals_of_the_1950s 1957.2F58:_Wolverhampton_Wanderers_v._Chelsea_.281-5.2C_6-1.29
- Runners-up: FA_Youth_Cup_Finals_of_the_1950s 1952.2F53:_Manchester_United_v._Wolverhampton_Wanderers_.287-1_and_2-2.2C_9-3_Aggregate.29, FA_Youth_Cup_Finals_of_the_1950s 1953.2F54:_Manchester_United_v._Wolverhampton_Wanderers_.284-4_and_1-0.2C__5-4_Aggregate.29, FA_Youth_Cup_Finals_of_the_1960s 1961.2F62:_Newcastle_United_v._Wolverhampton_Wanderers_.282-1_Aggregate.29, FA_Youth_Cup_Finals_of_the_1970s 1975.2F76:_West_Bromwich_Albion_v._Wolverhampton_Wanderers_.285-0_Aggregate.29

United Soccer Association
- Champions 1967 — playing as Los Angeles Wolves

North American Soccer League International Cup
- Winners 1969 — playing as Kansas City Spurs

Club records

- Attendance: 61,315 — Liverpool F.C. (FA Cup Fifth Round, 11 February 1939)
- Gate receipts: £525,000 — West Bromwich Albion (Championship play-off semi-final, 13 May 2007)
- Best league win: 10-1 — Leicester City F.C. (Division 2, 15 April 1938)
- Worst league loss: 1-10 — Manchester United F.C. (Division 1, 15 October 1892)
- Best cup win: 14-0 — Cresswell's Brewery (FA Cup Second Round, 13 November 1886)
- International appearances: 105 caps — Billy Wright (footballer) (England, 1946–59)
- League appearances: 501 — Derek Parkin (1967–82)
- League goals: 250 — Steve Bull (1986–99)
- League goals in a season: 38 — Dennis Westcott (Division 1, 1946–47)

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