50 Years Later

Wombourne Allstars  1  Boldmere St Michaels Reserves  4

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History was made on the night of 8^th May 1972, a date etched into the minds of Derby County supporters. It was a date that saw it’s 50^th anniversary celebrated a little over two months ago, against the backdrop of a club in crisis, a club who might not even be around to see in the new season.

On that May night, the Derby County players, and the Manager Brian Clough were having an end of season break in Majorca, knowing that the destiny of the First Division Championship was out of their hands.

It hinged on two games, Liverpool had to go to Arsenal and win, and Leeds, the favourites, just needed at point at Wolverhampton Wanderers. It was to be a night of drama, celebration, and repercussions.

Liverpool were held to a 0-0 draw at Highbury, but all eyes were on Molineux. Wolves were tenth in the league and also UEFA Cup finalists. Leeds, who had won the FA Cup a couple of days earlier, were desperate to win the double.

My Dad, who I’m sure wasn’t alone that night in the crowd as a Rams season ticket holder, decided to head to Wolverhampton to watch the game. More in hope than expectation I guess, but with his mate George (who famously wore size 13 shoes!), off they went, with no idea just how the night would pan out.

We have spoken about it a couple of times in the past, and we did so again only last year when I acquired the programme from the game and sent him a picture to see if it stirred up any memories, and of course, it certainly did that.

“I’ve never been so packed into a terrace in my life, we stood on the Kop, we were crushed, it was that bad George had to leave part way through the game, he couldn’t take it. I think the official crowd was around 54,000, but there were more than that inside”

Anecdotal reports suggested the crowd could have been anything ranging from 65,000 to 70,000, I suspect no one really knows, many would no doubt have found a way in without paying. But what happened next was remarkable.

In front of an electric Molineux atmosphere, Leeds were denied a blatant first half penalty, only for Frank Munro to give the hosts the lead. Derek Dougan made it 2-0 in the 67^th minute only for Billy Bremner to pull a goal back. Leeds pushed but Wolves hung on, the championship was Derby County’s.

Controversy abounded after the game and for years to come with suggestions that Don Revie and the Leeds players had tried to bribe the Wolves players to throw the game, nothing was ever proven, but this was Revie’s Leeds, no smoke without fire in my humble opinion.

So why, when I’m writing a blog about a visit to Wombourne Allstars, do I devote such a large proportion to the part Wolves played in creating history that night?

The journey to the village on the Western outskirts of Wolverhampton took me towards the City Centre and right up alongside the now rebuilt Molineux stadium. It was while I was sat for an age at a set of traffic lights that I could see the roof of the South Stand (Kop) to my right, and it set me off thinking about what it must have been like that night, for my Dad, to be stood watching the drama unfold. But we’ll revisit that night a bit later.

Wombourne Allstars are a thriving junior club who have branched into senior adult football this season, by joining the West Midlands Regional League. I’ll be honest, I’d never heard of them but thanks to social media I was able to track them down and find out where they were going to be based. A new 4G facility at the Leisure Centre was to be home, and, earlier in the week I’d spotted that they were scheduled to play their first ever home game the following Saturday.

With Steve also suitably drawn to the fixture against Boldmere St Michaels Reserves (apparently!), off we trotted, me going via the City Centre, Steve going via the Black Country Route and having what sounded like a much more straightforward journey.

The Mount Pleasant pub over the road provided pre-match liquid refreshment, a nice boozer, in what has to be said is a very nice village. It has a rural feel to it, probably because it is separated from the edges Wolverhampton by a couple of miles, sitting outside of the City boundary.

Wombourne was the home to Nigel Pearson, a man who Steve and in particular his wife Julie knew very well through his media and promotional work for Speedway. Nigel tragically passed away very recently at a young age, he was also well known for his media work with Darts and indeed West Bromwich Albion. He had connections to Wombourne Allstars and indeed at the clubs end of season awards presentation, a number of accolades were named in his honour.

The facility is a tidy one, quite typical of modern 4G arenas, with the added benefit of a spectator viewing area the full length of one side of the pitch. The club have tried to make it their own by putting up banners and advertising, and by doing so it does give the place a sense of identity.

As for the game, the visitors came away with a 4-1 victory, but, this is the bit we couldn’t work out. On the day of the game, the opponents were still being advertised as Boldmere St Michaels Reserves, but the team on the pitch played in a Walsall Phoenix kit! So who it was exactly, I don’t know, social media is not proving overly helpful!

It was a decent afternoon’s entertainment though, and with a much better run home than the journey down, I was trundling along the A5 between Cannock and Lichfield when my mind returned to the conversation I’d had with my Dad.

“We managed to get away from Wolverhampton and decided to call for a pint at the pub on Muckley Corner, they had the television on and as we were sat having a drink, Brian Clough came on, he was being interviewed in Majorca, talking about becoming champions.”

The pub on Muckley Corner is no more, it’s now flats, just like the Kop at Molineux, which is now a shiny new all seater stand. Derby County just recently also came far too close to being no more, just as those people old enough to remember that night, were remembering that night, 50 years later.