John Richards.

[Big Saft Kid]

New Year's Day 1972 and we entertained the Toon, with their latest over-hyped No 9 Malcolm MacDonald. Derek Parkin scored a rare goal, an absolute bullet into the Cowshed end from 30 yards for 1-0 then, in the 2nd half, a typical JR goal. Receiving the ball on the edge of the box with his back to goal, he turned ('on a sixpence' as they used to say!) shot forward with a little swerve and a shimmy past two Newcastle defenders leaving them for dead on their arses and passed it into the corner. All happened in about 3 seconds. 2-0 and game over. He scored many goals of that type. Great upper body strength for an average size (5ft 9in) bloke, very quick over 10 yards, and a dead-eye dick when it came to putting it in the onion-bag. In his first full season in the top division (72-3) he scored 27 league goals and we finished 5th. What a player! The Doog and him-- what a front two!

 

[berwickwolf]

John Richards runs through defenders like Watneys Pale Ale

That was a badge I remember! Maybe one of those sown on patches.
Those were the days!

 

[Wednesbury Wolf]

The dynamic duo.

 

[cowshed]

Like I said in an earlier post, he was on the fringes of the first team for about 18 months, then when he took off in October 71, there was no stopping him. By Christmas 71 he was irreplaceable and had really gelled with the Doog. I remember going up to Old Trafford in January 72 when they were top of the league. We ripped them to pieces and won 3-1 with JR and the Doog scoring one each and Jimmy Mac got the other from a penalty. He and doog were unstoppable that day. It's on Youtube if you do a search.

I was at this match, and at the final whistle me and my mate adopted our finest Yorksire accents.
"Ey by gum that were rum result"

 

[Shergar]

I was at this match, and at the final whistle me and my mate adopted our finest Yorksire accents.
"Ey by gum that were rum result"

I need to ask... Why the Yorkshire accent in Manchester?

 

[Thank you Sir Jack]

And John was brave as well. He took some tremendous stick from defenders.

 

[Supadavewolf]

And John was brave as well. He took some tremendous stick from defenders.

It was proper stick in those days!

 

[Lawndog]

I remember a few seasons back when as per usual the Sky hype machine was going at the speed of the Starship Enterprise because Mo Salah had come as a sub and scored a second half hat-trick. Of course it was if it had never been done before. Those of us who were around before Sky invented football knew the truth ! There was the 1976 FA Cup 5th Round tie versus Charlton when King John scored 3 from off the bench !!!!

Remember it well Norman!.......as I recall he'd been in (relatively!) poor form all season, hence being dropped to the bench........after Charlton he went on a scoring run reminiscent of 1972/3 and ended with 25 goals.......alas, not enough to prevent relegation........

 

[GoldenHorseshoe]

One game, on the wing.....

Mike Bailey played for England twice when Charlton were in the old second division, but didn't get a cap playing for Wolves, eventhough he played for us in the top league, got to the EUFA Cup final and lifted the League Cup in 74.

The days of the Fleet Street mafia, you can add Parkin, Wagstaffe and Knocker to the list.

 

[SilverstoneWolf]

I saw his first few games for us and the crowd round me on the south bank all had the same opinion in that he wasn't good enough.
As a schoolboy you kept your mouth shut for fear of offending fans a lot of whom had seen the greats of the 50's so knew what they were talking about. Within a few weeks they'd all decided "he'd do" and within a few months they thought he was the second coming, what a fine player King John was. Once he'd lost a defender nobody could ever catch him he was lightning from a standing start, him and the Doog were a formidable twosome.

Spot on re speed. Lightning-quick reactions & in first few yards - when it matters to create space. Mate was young player at the time. In drills where pairs had to face each other and be first to touch one of two cones about 3m apart between them, no one EVER managed to beat him.

Fantastic temperament too. Lovely bloke. Am sure he’s kept himself fit enough for Saturday….

 

[SilverstoneWolf]

The dynamic duo.

Honest John stares straight at camera. Doog looks away…. Nuff said??

 

[Wednesbury Wolf]

Honest John stares straight at camera. Doog looks away…. Nuff said??

Sorted.

 

[Bradmore Wolf]

The days of the Fleet Street mafia, you can add Parkin, Wagstaffe and Knocker to the list.

Ah another of the old Mol Mix conspiracy theory's comes out. Out of 23 players who played for England in 1973, only 6 were from a London club and two of those were Moore and Ball who would have been picked regardless of club surely?

 

[GoldenHorseshoe]

Ah another of the old Mol Mix conspiracy theory's comes out. Out of 23 players who played for England in 1973, only 6 were from a London club and two of those were Moore and Ball who would have been picked regardless of club surely?

Everybody knew it, week in week out we chanted "Parkin for England", did the press pick it up? Did they ****.

 

[Frank Lincoln]

The biggest travesty, is that he wasn't a regular England player.

A few players in that era deserved international recognition. To play King John on the wing was ridiculous, England were hardly going to get the best out of him in that position.

 

[wwbug]

Sorted.

Do you work for the Royal Family ?

 

[Wednesbury Wolf]

Do you work for the Royal Family ?

Good one.

 

[Jamwolf]

And John was brave as well. He took some tremendous stick from defenders.

He eventually became an expert at backing into defenders and drawing soft free kicks. A noble art.

 

[Frank Lincoln]

Apart from his goal scoring , King John was an intelligent player. On occasions he would drift out wide, taking a defender with him, and as often as not Kenny Hibbitt would use the space created to great advantage. Some player was Kenny.

 

[Stourport wolf]

The days of the Fleet Street mafia, you can add Parkin, Wagstaffe and Knocker to the list.

And of course, not forgetting the great Kenny Hibbitt.

 

[Sammy Chungs Tracksuit]

I remember a few seasons back when as per usual the Sky hype machine was going at the speed of the Starship Enterprise because Mo Salah had come as a sub and scored a second half hat-trick. Of course it was if it had never been done before. Those of us who were around before Sky invented football knew the truth ! There was the 1976 FA Cup 5th Round tie versus Charlton when King John scored 3 from off the bench !!!!

St Valentines Day massacre IIRC.

 

[Norman Bell]

St Valentines Day massacre IIRC.

Well remembered Sammy !!!

Saturday February 14th 1976

 

[oldgoldheart]

Im likely to cause controversy . Richards unquestionably did well and deserves his hero status but he drove me mad as he seemed to lose his balance so often. I found him a frustrating watch after his barnstorming season. But undoubted great

 

[Lawndog]

Im likely to cause controversy . Richards unquestionably did well and deserves his hero status but he drove me mad as he seemed to lose his balance so often. I found him a frustrating watch after his barnstorming season. But undoubted great

The poor guy was plagued by cartlidge problems from '76 onwards......I bet he can hardly walk without pain these days...

 

[wwbug]

Im likely to cause controversy . Richards unquestionably did well and deserves his hero status but he drove me mad as he seemed to lose his balance so often. I found him a frustrating watch after his barnstorming season. But undoubted great

Are you calling him a diver ! ?

 

[Supadavewolf]

he seemed to lose his balance so often

More often than not because he was being assaulted by opposition defenders (who, IIRC, were less keen to clobber the Doog )!

 

[Incognito]

Always remember the cartilage injury that kept him out for weeks. Seemed to lose a bit of pace after coming back from that. When Doog retired, the search for a replacement to partner King John, was obviously a major challenge. In hindsight, we should never have let Peter Withe go. Alan Sunderland (who I was gutted to see leave us) ended up being more than decent at Arsenal. Rafferty and Bell weren't the answer. By the time Andy Gray arrived, King John only had a couple/3 seasons left in him at the top level. Of course, one of those seasons was a successful one, with the League Cup win in 1980, and we could have reached the FA Cup Final in 1981 had we not agreed to holding the replay with Spurs at Highbury! However, I do feel his career suffered, and the team, because of him not having an adequate replacement for the other legend that was Doog. Mind you there were others that we did not replace adequately - Waggy, Daley, Mike Bailey.

 

[Thank you Sir Jack]

More often than not because he was being assaulted by opposition defenders (who, IIRC, were less keen to clobber the Doog )!

Yes. The Doog knew where his elbows were and how to use them.

 

[cowshed]

I need to ask... Why the Yorkshire accent in Manchester?

We thought there were very few Manc supporters and alot had come over the Pennines as fake fans

 

[Saltyjim]

Always remember the cartilage injury that kept him out for weeks. Seemed to lose a bit of pace after coming back from that. When Doog retired, the search for a replacement to partner King John, was obviously a major challenge. In hindsight, we should never have let Peter Withe go. Alan Sunderland (who I was gutted to see leave us) ended up being more than decent at Arsenal. Rafferty and Bell weren't the answer. By the time Andy Gray arrived, King John only had a couple/3 seasons left in him at the top level. Of course, one of those seasons was a successful one, with the League Cup win in 1980, and we could have reached the FA Cup Final in 1981 had we not agreed to holding the replay with Spurs at Highbury! However, I do feel his career suffered, and the team, because of him not having an adequate replacement for the other legend that was Doog. Mind you there were others that we did not replace adequately - Waggy, Daley, Mike Bailey.

By the time Andy Gray arrived at Molineux John was a very different type of player to the one who scored goals for fun in the early 70’s. Injuries had taken away his pace but instead we got a player who was fantastic with his back to goal. He was great at shielding the ball and either laying it off or turning his defender. Two performances I remember were against Grimsby in quarter final replay at Derby and the following season in a Cup replay v Stoke. Both games in the second half he was brilliant.
Steve Kindon deserves a mention to those you recall above. He did a decent job up front for 2 or 3 seasons in the mid 70’s.

 

[RutlandWolf]

By the time Andy Gray arrived at Molineux John was a very different type of player to the one who scored goals for fun in the early 70’s. Injuries had taken away his pace but instead we got a player who was fantastic with his back to goal. He was great at shielding the ball and either laying it off or turning his defender. Two performances I remember were against Grimsby in quarter final replay at Derby and the following season in a Cup replay v Stoke. Both games in the second half he was brilliant.
Steve Kindon deserves a mention to those you recall above. He did a decent job up front for 2 or 3 seasons in the mid 70’s.

Loved Steve Kindon! I remember a night game v Bristol Rovers when their full back, Frankie Prince, took out The Tank in their half, which resulted in Kindon sprinting the length of the pitch to catch him up with a flying scissor tackle somewhere around neck height. Never forgot that!

 

[Andywolf74]

Quite simply a fantastic footballer and human being.

 

[Ian]

The dynamic duo.

Who didn't get on off the pitch.

Loved John Richards and Kenny Hibbitt..... who also happen to be brother in-laws.

 

[Dr Wolfenstein]

Sad news about one of John's predecessors.

Footballer famous for headers now battles Alzheimer’s ‘caused by scoring goals’

Hugh McIlmoyle was so famous for scoring headers there is a statue of him scoring one outside Carlisle stadium

www.independent.co.uk

 

[WickedWolfie]

Who didn't get on off the pitch.

Loved John Richards and Kenny Hibbitt..... who also happen to be brother in-laws.

That l didn't know.

 

[Incognito]

By the time Andy Gray arrived at Molineux John was a very different type of player to the one who scored goals for fun in the early 70’s. Injuries had taken away his pace but instead we got a player who was fantastic with his back to goal. He was great at shielding the ball and either laying it off or turning his defender. Two performances I remember were against Grimsby in quarter final replay at Derby and the following season in a Cup replay v Stoke. Both games in the second half he was brilliant.
Steve Kindon deserves a mention to those you recall above. He did a decent job up front for 2 or 3 seasons in the mid 70’s.

"The Tank" was quick too. Remember the 2 goals he got against United in the FA Cup QF replay at Molineux 1976. Raced to a 2-0 lead then lost 2-3! Heartbreak in the cup then as well. Only Wolves...

 

[Big Saft Kid]

Sad news about one of John's predecessors.

Footballer famous for headers now battles Alzheimer’s ‘caused by scoring goals’

Hugh McIlmoyle was so famous for scoring headers there is a statue of him scoring one outside Carlisle stadium

www.independent.co.uk

What a shame. He was on a par with Jeff Astle as a header of the ball and has suffered the same fate. My best memory of Hughie was the hat-trick he scored against Villa in the 2nd replay of the 5th Round FA Cup tie at the Hawthorns in the winter of 1965. Night game played in deep snow. I was 17 and had the flu. Got out of bed and went to the Hawthorns on the bus though. My mother went mad!

That was some cup-tie. First game at Villa was watched by 52,000 (1-1), replay at the Mol, 47,000 (0-0 AET), 2nd replay at the Hawthorns, 37,000 ( 3-1). I saw all three. Man U knocked us out in Round 6 at Molineux 3-5, after we led 2-0 after 10 minutes, both goals again scored by Hughie.

 

[Pompey Wolf]

What a shame. He was on a par with Jeff Astle as a header of the ball and has suffered the same fate. My best memory of Hughie was the hat-trick he scored against Villa in the 2nd replay of the 5th Round FA Cup tie at the Hawthorns in the winter of 1965. Night game played in deep snow. I was 17 and had the flu. Got out of bed and went to the Hawthorns on the bus though. My mother went mad!

That was some cup-tie. First game at Villa was watched by 52,000 (1-1), replay at the Mol, 47,000 (0-0 AET), 2nd replay at the Hawthorns, 37,000 ( 3-1). I saw all three. Man U knocked us out in Round 6 at Molineux 3-5, after we led 2-0 after 10 minutes, both goals again scored by Hughie.

I was 11 at the time and as it was a school day I wasn’t allowed to go.
I remember being in bed listening for the result on the radio. I can still hear it in my head now as they announced the result.
Aston Villa 1…………………………………Wolves 3
The delay was so long that I was convinced it said Aston Villa won!!!!