How Wolves helped Elliott Bennett forge a long and fine career

Ask Elliott Bennett the reason for the success and longevity of a football career that came to a fitting conclusion on 600 appearances earlier this year, and the reply is unequivocal.

“For me, the biggest thing which stood out throughout my career, was to be the best version of me, every single day.

“To have a decent career you need a bit of talent, a lot of luck, the right timing but most importantly a lot of hard work.

“I have never been everyone’s cup of tea as a footballer, and my highlights reel would never be one which people would click on and think it was amazing.

“From a young age, I grasped what I was good at, what my best attributes were, and what I wasn’t so good at.

“Often now, whether you’re a footballer, or in another sport, or at school or a job, people always tell you to work on your weaknesses.

“I would do that a little bit, but I also think it’s so important not to get too caught up in what you are not good at.

“Not everyone can be super skilful, not everyone can be super-fast, the game requires 11 different players with different attributes to make it work as a team.

“I would recognise that I needed to be the best at what I was good at – whatever your special attribute is, try to be the best at it, and that should be enough to get you into a team.

“My Dad would always tell me that the only person staring at me when I got home at the end of the day was myself.

“Everyone has good games and bad games, but the one thing you can always control is how much effort you put into it, whether that’s a match or training.

“It was all about whether I had done enough, whether I could have done more, and being able to look back without any regrets.”

Such wise words. And there, in a nutshell, lie the foundations of the Elliott Bennett journey through football.

Granted there was much more involved, a greater amount of talent and technical ability that he would modestly attest to, a calmness under pressure, capacity to make more good decisions than bad ones, an excellence from set pieces.

But ultimately, a relentless attitude and ceaseless determination meant that even though he would have been happy with just making the two senior appearances enjoyed with Wolves after nearly a decade at the club’s Academy, he would go on and make 598 more.

Go on and win promotions, be named in a PFA Team of the Year, play – and score – in the Premier League, captain former Premier League winners, and finish it all off, in truly fitting fashion, at Shrewsbury Town, in the town of his birth.

In amongst that, not only is Bennett hugely appreciative of the footballing grounding he received during his many years coming through the ranks at Wolves, but also the two years spent at Saturday’s opponents Brighton which, having taken the initially difficult decision to move to the South Coast, ended up catapulting his career to greater heights.

So, where did it all start?

In his hometown of Telford, with Hadley Juniors, where he was spotted by former Wolves Academy scout Les Green playing in a five-a-side tournament at the ‘Telford Ski Slope’.

“He was everywhere,” Green recalls. “Collecting the ball when it went out, taking corners, always wanting to be in possession.”

Green, his scouting colleague Bob Bennett, and former Head of Academy recruitment Tony Lacey formed a legendary triumvirate who made a powerful impact on the young Bennett during his formative years. And not just Elliott, but also his younger brother Kyle, who also emerged at Wolves before going off to enjoy a successful career, particularly at Doncaster and Portsmouth.

“I massively respect those guys, and it is only because of people like them that I was able to enjoy the career that I did,” the elder Bennett brother reflects.

“They saw something in me as a boy but have continued to guide and support me all the way through, even long after I had moved on from Wolves.”

The players too, Academy scholars together, have stayed in touch, and those from Bennett’s time have always been particularly close.

He is still in regular contact with Matty Bailey, amongst others, and recently linked up again with Liam Hughes, who, as outlined recently in this feature in the Express & Star, turned to Bennett for support after coming through some hugely challenging times.

And all of them together had to cope with the tragic loss of popular team-mate Lee Collins, who committed suicide in March of 2021.

“Life took us all in different directions, some went on to play professionally and others didn’t, but we shared so many incredible experiences,” Bennett explains.

“We probably don’t see each other as much as we would like to, but everyone has different responsibilities especially with families, and adult life in general.