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A new book by Clive Corbett which starts with the sixties..
UNMISSABLE NEW WOLVES BOOK! Those were the days
by Clive Corbett
 Geoffrey Publications is delighted to announce the imminent availability of a must have Wolves book. Retailing at £15.99 (plus £2.00 postage), the 240-page book is available from the 7th December. Although it is hoped that the book will in due course be stocked in the club shop, as well as in other local outlets, it is first available on line by emailing gpbooks@hotmail.co.uk
‘Those were the days’ is Clive Corbett’s first book, a work that spans the period of his own upbringing in the Black Country from a seven year old in Amblecote, through his adolescent years in Pensnett to the start of university life in Liverpool. Raised by parents whose own experiences in the fifties would ensure that there would be no choice over his footballing allegiance, he has singularly failed since to tear himself away from the lure of the Golden Palace.
The book covers in fascinating detail the history of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club from 1964 to 1977. It details Wolves’ progress at this time, complemented by in-depth, face-to-face interviews with a host of players from the period, including Phil Parkes, Geoff Palmer, Derek Parkin, Mike Bailey, Frank Munro, John McAlle, John Holsgrove, Terry Wharton, Kenny Hibbitt, Willie Carr, Steve Daley, Barry Powell, John Richards, Derek Dougan, Dave Wagstaffe and Steve Kindon.
The insight provided by these evocative discussions takes the reader back to a long forgotten footballing era that was teeming with characters who played without the financial rewards of those who play the modern game and enjoyed incredibly close relations with their adoring fans. This was a time when players like Gary Pierce took the bus from Codsall to home games, when the Doog arrived at Molineux like a latter day Pied Piper making his way along Waterloo Road, and when Waggy could be seen haring down Molineux Alley to beat the pre- match deadline.
The story begins where most previous Wolves books have finished, with the end of the glorious fifties, the sacking of Stan Cullis and the shock of a return to Division Two for the first time in three decades. At this low point along came Ronnie Allen, a West Bromwich Albion favourite who assembled a group of talented and committed players that swiftly returned the Wanderers to the top. By late 1968 Allen had formed the nucleus of a squad that Bill McGarry was to go on to manage during the second most successful period in the club’s history. For most of the seventies Wolves were at last again challenging at the right end of the top-flight table. After a spectacularly successful tour of the continent they reached a European final, and also enjoyed great adventures in F.A. and League Cup competitions before finally winning the latter. Sadly, Wembley 1974 proved to be the height of the team’s glories but true achievement is not always best weighed in gold. The never say die approach, attacking flair and flamboyant personalities will hopefully be revived in the pages of this book. Although over thirty years have passed since their halcyon days the players have retained a great affection for the area and a huge respect for their colleagues that will never fade. For those who experienced it first time around those really were the days.
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