Former Wolves stars prove a big hit with care home visit
Residents at a Codsall care home were surprised by a goal-den visit from former Wolves players, who dropped in to talk to them about their careers and experiences.
Many of the people at The Willows are long-standing Wolves fans and they enjoyed John Richards, Phil Parkes, Steve Daley, and Geoff Palmer, dropping in to say hello.
The four players between them made nearly 1,500 appearances in the old gold and black in the 1970s and 80s.
They brought old teams photographs and posters of other team-mates from years gone by and everyone joined in the unofficial Wolves anthem Hi Ho Silver Lining.
Daley became the subject of the biggest transfer fee in English football at the time of his transfer to Manchester City in 1979 and Richards was once the club's all time leading goal scorer before being taken over by Steve Bull. Cannock-born Palmer had two spells at Molineux making over 400 appearances.
Phylis Griffiths, aged 87, started watching Wolves in 1950 when she was just 14.
She said: "I have great memories of visiting the Molineux, the atmosphere and the excitement used to be fantastic. My favourite player was Peter Broadbent but I have great memories of Billy Wright as well."
Resident Christine Sullivan, aged 84, has a brother, Graham Hughes, who used to be groundsman at Molineux and she regularly used to attend games.
She said she still visits occasionally, as people from the Wolverhampton Road home are sometimes taken out on visits to the ground.
Activities co-ordinator Earl Edwards, a Wolves fan himself, said many of the residents were keen on football and watched games on television.
He said days out and visits from guests were a welcome part of the programme, and added: "We are very grateful to John, who is chairman of the Wolves former player association, and the others for coming to visit.
"As well as the residents, their family came to see the players as there is obviously a big Wolves connection here. It was great for people to talk about the past glories with those who were on the pitch at the time and they would all be welcome back anytime."
