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Bobby Smith Wolves Wolves Chat by Always Wolves 5 minutes ago
Molineux Misfits: Wolves’ Forgotten Signings, Part II
BOBBY SMITH RELIVES WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS’ HIDDEN HISTORY AS WE LOOK BACK AT THE SIGNINGS MOST FANS FORGOT. FROM BRIEF CAMEOS TO LETDOWNS, THESE WOLVES PLAYERS WORE THE SHIRT BUT FAILED TO MAKE THEIR MARK.
Sami Al-Jaber.
The Saudi Arabian ‘Bully’, as he was known in the press, signed for Wolves in the year 2000. Sadly, unlike Bully, he failed to score in 5 appearances and was on his way within five months to the UAE, due to family illness. I seem to recall there was a short-lived craze of fans wearing mock ‘Arab’ headgear at the time, as it was something of a novelty to sign someone from that part of the world.
D ariusz Kubicki.
A right-back who graced our team for season 97/98. Distinctly average and only managed 13 games for the Wolves, no goals. Played mainly for Sunderland and ended his career at Darlington.
Mixu Paatelainen.
Combative, muscular but largely ineffective target man who appeared 33 times in season 97/98. Weirdly, he only scored in cup competitions (5 goals) whilst failing to score in 23 league games. My wife once confused him for Steve Bull which always puzzled me. Had a more than decent career elsewhere; 174 goals in 618 appearances and was also awarded 70 Finnish caps (18 goals). Had the rather unflattering terrace nickname of Mixu Panty-liner.
Darren Ferguson.
A player that was born ahead of his time, as he would have been a natural in a modern 4-2-3-1 formation. Never the hardest worker, Darren did, though, possess a pass of quality, as you may expect from someone who started at Man United (when they were actually good). I remember that fans were excited when we signed him as surely his dad, who was a manager, would send some more Man United youngsters our way, to ease the burden on young Darren. Sadly, that never happened and Darren’s career, hampered by injury, petered out, although he did make 122 appearances (10 goals) during the period 93-99. Had a good free kick on him, I seem to recall, and has made a reasonable career as manager, most notably at Peterborough.
Carlton Cole.
Oh dear. A striker who joined on loan from West Ham for season 2002/03 and only scored one goal in 7 games. In truth, Carlton Leach would have been a better option to have joined Wolves from the Hammers, as he had considerably more punch than Cole for sure.
Marlon Harewood.
Continuing the West Ham theme, Harwood was another who flattered to deceive, with his 5 appearances in 2008/09 being remembered for absolutely nothing and no goals at all.
Mohamed Camara.
I feel guilty at including him on this list as he was what is known as a cult hero, which doesn’t mean he once trod the boards alongside Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy. Nope, his main claim to fame was once hitting a ball so hard that it is rumoured it broke a window at the nearby Asda supermarket, despite it being at the other end of the stadium. I was at the game when this happened and we saw the goalkeeper flap, as our hero left back hit a shot that went past him. With bated breath we waited for the net to ripple, we waited some more as the ball went flying past the corner flag, before finally disappearing from view. Truly, it was one of those moments that you had to witness to appreciate. Apart from THAT shot, Mo had a decent enough career (2000-2003), as he was pacey and very athletic. However, injury curtailed his time at Molineux after 50 games and no goals. Often played matches whilst wearing a plaster-cast on his arm. He left Wolves to have further success at both Burnley and Celtic.
Bobby McDonald.
Managed six games for Wolves in the 87/88 season. Normally an attacking left back with a handy knack of scoring goals, especially via his free kicking prowess. Sadly, he failed to score during his loan spell at Wolves, and so he returned to Leeds United. Also played for Man City and Oxford, amongst others.
Shane Westley.
Those of you who think Kevin Muscat was our best hardman obviously never saw Westley in the flesh. This guy was super-hard and usually kicked Bully all over the pitch, when he marked him for Southend. Wolves, therefore, splashed £150,000 on him in 1989, thus saving Bully’s shins from further damage. He went on to play fifty games for Wolves (2 goals). Often injured but always hard. Never more so than when he smacked a Watford player whilst jogging back to the centre circle after we had scored a goal. Painful.
Brian Law.
Average defender but terrible bus-driver!
Robert Niestroj.
Robert makes the list as he seemed to be at our club for years, despite only playing six games for the period 1998-2001. Spotted playing with no little flair for Fortuna Dusseldorf, he was picked up for £500,000, in 1998, having the dubious distinction of being the first signing of manager Colin Lee, who had taken over from Mark McGhee in November 1998. Slight of build, Robert was ill-suited to the rough and tumble of the Championship and was often out injured. He had a couple of loan spells before re-joining Fortuna, where he again had success.
Wayne Clarke.
You could argue that he does not deserve to be on this list, but I will leave the reason until the end of this paragraph. Clarke was a decent enough midfielder/striker for Wolves and managed 33 goals in total, in 170 appearances for the period 1978-84. He then joined Birmingham (80k) who then transferred him to Everton, three years later. However, his transfer was a major bone of contention at the time, as Wolves were due half of any profit on his future Blues sale. Needless to say, the transfer included an unknown player, Stuart Storer, which led to Clarke and Storer being equally valued at 150k each, a figure well under Clarke’s market value. So why is he on this list? Well, I bet not many remember that Clarke came back to Wolves, on-loan from Manchester City, for the season 1991/92, when Wolves were short on strikers due to injury. He played one game, away at Southend when he played up front with Bully. Ironically, he was substituted after 23 minutes due to a fractured rib, thus ending his second Wolves career.
Mike Small.
A truly terrible player, who played three games for us during season 93/94 (1 goal). He was what used to be known as a target man – big, strong, good in the air and a physical presence. Well, that was what the transfer brochure said. Sadly, Small was a long way removed from the stereotype. He was big, to be fair, but also slow, lacking in skill and basically just a big lump to play the ball up to. His one goal was when he chased the goalkeeper down from a back pass, with the resultant clearance spooning into the net off his shin (Sunderland away). I note that this was the same game that saw the sad injury to Geoff Thomas, as yet another Wolves season slipped away into mediocrity.
Vinny Samways.
Wolves, at one point, seemed to want to sign any player who once appeared for Tottenham, with Samways (signed in 1995) just one of them. Wolves were desperate for a player who could pass the ball square and hit the jackpot with old Vinny – as he perfected the twenty-yard wall pass that led to abject boredom in the stands. Thankfully he was binned off after only three games.
Darren Anderton.
In addition to Vinny, we also had the original ‘sick-note’ – the much-maligned Anderton. In fact, for us at least, he was reasonably fit and turned out 26 times (2 goals) for Wolves during his one and only season; 2005/06. Other ex-Spurs players included Andy Sinton, Gordon Smith, Allan Nielsen, Jamie Clapham, Steffen Iversen, Steve SedgleyandPaul Stewart , none of whom impressed me enough to write about them.
Fabio Silva.
I know everyone knows about him but how can I leave the super-flop off the list? Lovely flowing locks on his head but his feet were just the opposite. He hugged the ground rather than the touchline and waved his hands around like a windmill, sadly without the Mick Channon goals – a reference I include for older readers. Jeff Shi’s protege, which tells you a lot about his knowledge of football. Funnily enough, Silva’s hair reminds me of the main character from 1960s kids show The Flashing Blade (The Chevalier Francois de Recci). Mind you, at least actor Robert Etcheverry was good with a sword. No doubt he now has a lot of German fans at his new home in Dortmund.
Michel Platini, Zbigniew Boniek and Peter Reid.
I have lumped these players in as one, as they were all rumoured to be coming to Wolves around 1980-82, as the euphoria flowing from our League Cup final win (1980) was spread far and wide. John Barnwell, apparently, was an inch away from signing all of these players but, sadly, none came off. However, by way of consolation, we did sign apprentice Billy Livingstone, and the experienced Tony Towner…
Molineux Misfits: Wolves’ Forgotten Signings, Part II
Pukka