Stopper and wizard of wing

If the current crop of Molineux men wanted inspiration before Sunday's high noon clash they should look no further than Wolves legend Norman Deeley.

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Cup winner Deeley had many high-profile run-ins with Albion - but the twinkle-toed winger never ended up on the losing side.

"I never lost to West Brom - which is no mean feat because they were a good side then. We used to play each other regularly in the league and they were always in the top half of the table.

"In 1954 we won the league and they won the cup and we played the charity shield at Molineux which ended in a 4-4 draw. To be honest I don't know what the secret is - I just used to like playing in that atmosphere. They were all good games when we played Albion."

Deeley was reunited with former teammate - and fellow Molineux great - Ron Flowers at Wednesday's fundraising event.

Molineux legend Flowers admits didn't have such a good record against Albion. The stopper was in the team when Albion beat Wolves 2-1 in the fourth round the last time the two sides met 45 years ago.

"I don't remember too much about that game in 1962," admits the legendary former Wolves man.

"We used to play Albion that many times that its difficult to pick the games out - especially when we lost! Its not like now when the teams seem to miss each other whenever they go up and down.

"We were both in the first division and a lot of the players knew each other at the time. I knew Johnny Nicholls and a lot of the other players so there was no real dirty stuff in those games. We used to go out and share a pint after the game - as long as the Albion lads were paying! There was always an excellent atmosphere at those games."

Legend Flowers does have happy memories of the Hawthorns from the famous Cup winning run in 1960.

"I think the Cup was a completely different competition back then," he said.

"Part of the motivation was getting to play at Wembley - that was a privilege. We were used to playing on pitches like cabbage patches throughout the country so when you got to play at Wembley on that grass surface you barely needed to touch the ball for it to go flying. In the cup-winning run we played Villa at West Brom's ground in the semi-final and won.

"I also remember going to Newcastle in the fourth round and playing in three or four inches of snow - they wouldn't even look at it now, no matter play in it! We managed to get a draw there but even when we came back to Molineux there was still thick snow on the ground. And what's more - we still won!

Twinkle toes Deeley was instrumental in the magical cup run -Êbut it could have been so different if manager Stan Cullis had taken notice of his injury worries before the match.

"I played the game against Aston Villa at inside left even though I was injured," recalls the flying winger.

"The manager told me not to worry about and sent me out. I suppose that worked in the end because we made it through to the final!"

Deeley bewitched the Blackburn defence and plundered two goals in a memorable Wembley final for the black and gold. But despite proving a matchwinner, Deeley reckons he should have done even better.

"I could have had five or six goals to be honest - I missed a couple of really good chances. The first one was an own goal when McGrath put the ball in the net.

"Then there was the goal when Dave Whelan broke his leg against mine. It was a complete accident of course - although 45 years later he did write in the Express & Star that he thought I caused it! I thought that was a bit out of order but never mind."