Sky Sports' Johnny Phillips: Old foes are always part of a real football family

Many favourites from both sides ensured a big attendance as fans flocked to see them don their club’s colours once more.

The Blues line-up boasted stars including Geoff Horsfield, Dele Adebola, Paul Devlin, Jeff Kenna, Nicky Eaden, Martin O’Connor, Marcus Bignot, Michael Johnson, Paul Robinson, Dave Barnett and Dave Buust.

The Wolves squad had a wide span of generations, with players who helped keep the club alive in the mid-80s such as Neil Edwards, Dean Edwards, Micky Holmes, Jon Purdie and Jackie Gallagher joining more recent recruits like Adam Proudlock, Simon Osborn, Seyi Olifinjana, Rob Edwards, Dennis Pearce and Tony Dinning.

Former Blues striker Devlin is raising money for his daughter Annie, who has a rare life-long and life-threatening condition called Addison’s disease. In December last year Annie, who was then 11 years old, nearly died when her body went into hypothermic shock and her organs began to fail. For sufferers of the condition, not enough certain hormones are produced by the body.

Her family are raising funds to help pay for Annie to have an adrenal pump fitted, which would increase her quality of life by delivering the medication she needs straight into her bloodstream.

The Wolves All Stars are growing in strength each year and this was just the latest in a long list of fundraisers they have been involved in. Under the long-time management of former League Cup winner Mel Eves and generous sponsorship of supporter Jason Guy they are building quite a following as they tour the Midlands playing in various charity games.

This season alone they have helped raise several thousand pounds with games in aid of Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Shropshire Air Ambulance and Donna Louise Trust amongst others.

David Kelly was one of Wolves’ big signings of the early ‘90s and while he may be a bit greyer on top nowadays, he still has the touch of old. Speaking to him in the dugout just after he was substituted an hour into the game, he clearly enjoyed his run-out.

“It’s my first game for a while, I’m a bit of a typical former footballer; I’ve had knee surgery and a few other bits and bobs,” he said. “It’s great, it’s a super cause for Dev and raising money for Annie his daughter is brilliant.

“The football community always comes together when there’s a difficulty so fair play to all the Wolves and Blues lads for turning out. Don Goodman turned up ten mins ago just to say hello to everybody and that’s what these games do.”

Neil Edwards was one of Kelly’s predecessors up front, making a great start to his time at Molineux in the mid-Eighties with seven goals in his first eleven games. But for two horrific injuries he would have enjoyed a much longer career at the club.

“We don’t get to get together very often but to turn up and see Jon Purdie, Micky Holmes, Dean Edwards and Jackie Gallagher is great,” he added.

“We all moved away. Purds is out now in Thailand now and I live in Kettering. So to get days like this and play for a great cause is fabulous when you can play with some of your old mates that you haven’t seen for years.”

His namesake Dean, now living in Torquay, was a local lad thrown to the Wolves in the days the club were falling through the divisions and going bankrupt.

“I was a supporter, I stood on the North Bank terrace and then when I played for them it was great because half my mates were there, it was just an honour to play. It was good memories.

“We didn’t have a bad side – Tim Flowers was in goal and Geoff Palmer was still playing. We weren’t losing 1-0, though, we were losing 5-3. We were three up at Wigan one game and came out second half and let in five! We were just letting in too many goals in those days.”

Purdie played on the way down too and was part of the early revival under Graham Turner. “I was aware that things were not great, you couldn’t not be, you read about it and you knew,” he explained.

“But it was about personal ambition and enjoying it as well, getting paid to play football, it’s every kid’s dream isn’t it? Football is a tough old profession, it’s not all glamour that it seems on the outside. In those days the money wasn’t great but we built up good friendships at the time because we all stuck together, we were a close team. Good mates during the week and when we could get a night out we’d enjoy a night out as well.”

Now Purdie is coaching on the island of Koh Samui in Thailand and, whilst he is enjoying the beach life when he is not on the football pitch, he misses the ties he formed in Wolverhampton.

Those friendships have lasted three decades and more are being formed with the Wolves All Stars bringing generations of former players together.

The match against Blues finished 3-3, with Adam Proudlock, Gordon Simms and Simon Osborn on target for the visiting team. You can follow their progress on Twitter @WolvesAllStars and they would love to have your support going forward.