Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.

General

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Kit history

Wolverhampton Wanderers
Full name	Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club
Nickname(s)	Wolves The Wanderers
Founded	1877 as St. Luke's
Ground	Molineux (Capacity: 31,700)
Owner	Fosun International Ltd.
Chairman	Jeff Shi
Head Coach	Gary O'Neil
Current League	Premier League
2023–24	Premier League, 14th
Website	Club home page
Current season

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club, commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. Formed as St Luke's F.C. in 1877, they have played at Molineux Stadium since 1889 and compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, after winning the 2017–18 EFL Championship.

Wolves were one of the founding members of the Football League in 1888. The club spent 33 years in the top flight from 1932 to 1965, their longest continuous period at that level. In the 1950s, they were League champions three times (1953–54, 1957–58 and 1958–59), under the management of Stan Cullis. Wolves also finished League runners-up on five occasions, most recently in 1959–60.

Wolves have won the FA Cup four times, most recently in 1960, and finished runners-up on a further four occasions. The club has also won the Football League Cup twice, in 1974 and 1980.

In 1953, Wolves was one of the first British clubs to install floodlights, taking part in televised "floodlit friendlies" against leading overseas club sides between 1953 and 1956 before the creation of the European Cup in 1955. Wolves reached the quarter-finals of the 1959–60 European Cup and the semi-finals of the 1960–61 European Cup Winners' Cup, and were runners-up to Tottenham Hotspur in the inaugural 1972 UEFA Cup Final.

Wolves' traditional kit consists of gold shirts and black shorts and the club badge one or more wolves. Wolves have long-standing rivalries with other West Midlands clubs, the main one being with West Bromwich Albion, against whom they contest the Black Country derby, although the two clubs have not met in a League fixture since 2011–12, the last season they competed in the same division.

Players

First team squad

As of 1 February 2024

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK José Sá 2 DF Matt Doherty 3 DF Rayan Aït-Nouri 4 DF Santiago Bueno 5 MF Mario Lemina 6 MF Boubacar Traoré 7 FW Pedro Neto 8 MF João Gomes 11 FW Hwang Hee-chan 12 FW Matheus Cunha 14 FW Noha Lemina (on loan from Paris Saint-Germain) 15 DF Craig Dawson

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 DF Hugo Bueno 20 MF Tommy Doyle (on loan from Manchester City) 21 MF Pablo Sarabia 22 DF Nélson Semedo 23 DF Max Kilman (captain) 24 DF Toti Gomes 25 GK Dan Bentley 27 MF Jeanricner Bellegarde 30 FW Enso González 40 GK Tom King 63 FW Nathan Fraser

Out on loan

No. Pos. Nation Player 9 FW Fábio Silva (at Rangers until 30 June 2024) 10 MF Daniel Podence (at Olympiacos until 30 June 2024) 18 FW Saša Kalajdžić (at Eintracht Frankfurt until 30 June 2024) 32 MF Joe Hodge (at Queens Park Rangers until 30 June 2024) 39 MF Luke Cundle (at Stoke City until 30 June 2024) 77 FW Chem Campbell (at Wycombe Wanderers until 30 June 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player 81 DF Dexter Lembikisa (at Heart of Midlothian until 30 June 2024) DF Bendegúz Bolla (at Servette until 30 June 2024) DF Ki-Jana Hoever (at Stoke City until 30 June 2024) DF Yerson Mosquera (at Villarreal until 30 June 2024) FW Chiquinho (at Famalicão until 30 June 2024) FW Gonçalo Guedes (at Villarreal until 30 June 2024)

Development squad and Academy

Main article: Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Development Squad and Academy

Wolverhampton Wanderers Under-23s are competing in Division 2 of the Premier League 2 during the current season, following relegation from the highest level after the previous season was curtailed and decided on a point-per-game basis. The team qualifies as an entrant in Premier League 2 by virtue of Wolves's academy holding Category 1 status. Although the league is designed for players aged 23 and below, three overage players may also feature. Home games are primarily staged at Kidderminster Harriers' Aggborough home.

Wolves Women

Main article: Wolverhampton Wanderers W.F.C.

Originally founded in 1975, Wolves Women became the club's official women's team in 2008. They currently play at the third level of English women's football in the FA Women's National League North. Their home games are played at the CKW Stadium in the Castlecroft area of the city.

Club alumni

Former players

Main article: Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players

Managers

Main article: Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. managers

Rivalries

See also: Black Country derby, Staffordshire derby, West Midlands derby

Wolves' longest-established and strongest rivalry is with Black Country rivals West Bromwich Albion, against whom they compete the Black Country derby. The two are separated by just 11 miles and have faced each other 162 times; their first competitive clash being an FA Cup tie back in 1886. A national survey by the football pools found the rivalry to be the strongest in English football. The two clubs are founder members of the Football League and the two once contested the league title in 1953–54, with Wolves finishing as champions.

Other West Midlands rivalries exist with Birmingham clubs Aston Villa and Birmingham City. Wolverhampton historically lies within the county of Staffordshire and therefore Staffordshire derbies with Stoke City are recognised.

Other less significant rivals include Coventry City, Walsall and Shrewsbury Town.

Honours

League

Football League First Division, superseded by the Premier League (Tier 1)

• Champions (3): 1953–54, 1957–58, 1958–59
• Runners-up (5): 1937–38, 1938–39, 1949–50, 1954–55, 1959–60
• 3rd place finishes (6): 1888–89, 1897–98, 1946–47, 1952–53, 1955–56, 1960–61

[n.b. In 1946–47 and 1955–56, Wolves finished third on goal average having accumulated the same number of points as the team finishing second. Had goal difference been used instead (as it has in the English leagues since 1975), Wolves would have been runners-up on these two occasions.]

EFL Championship/Football League Second Division (1892–1992) (Tier 2)

• Champions (4): 1931–32, 1976–77, 2008–09, 2017–18
• Runners-up (2): 1966–67, 1982–83
• Play-off winners (1): 2002–03

EFL League One/Football League Third Division (Tier 3)

• Champions (3): 1923–24 (North), 1988–89, 2013–14

Football League Fourth Division (Tier 4)

• Champions (1): 1987–88

Cup

UEFA Cup

• Runners-up (1): 1972

FA Cup

• Winners (4): 1893, 1908, 1949, 1960
• Runners-up (4): 1889, 1896, 1921, 1939

Football League Cup

• Winners (2): 1974, 1980

FA Charity Shield

• Winners (4): 1949*, 1954*, 1959, 1960* (* joint holders)
• Runners-up (1): 1958

Football League Trophy

• Winners (1): 1988

Texaco Cup

• Winners (1): 1971

External links

• Official website
• Wolves at Soccerbase
• Wolves Stats
• Wolves Community Trust