Waggy's Tales by Dave Wagstaffe

Author:Dave Wagstaffe [Wagstaffe, Dave]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Non-Fiction, Soccer, Football
ISBN: 9781908234070
Amazon: B004LQ1OUY
Publisher: JMD Media
Published: 2011-02-02T05:00:00+00:00

The complete playing and coaching staff of Wolves in 1971. I know all the faces so well, but of the 51 people in the picture Icannot put a name to one or two of the youngsters

As we wandered down for our evening meal, Mike and I joked about how Bill McGarry’s pre-order of soup, steak or chicken and fresh fruit salad might have been interpreted. We were soon to find out. When the soup arrived it was clear that we were not going to like it. It was hot water with a bit of flavouring in it. There were chunks of bread in a basket in the middle of the table but, alas, not a bit of butter in sight. I had to make do with dipping my bread in the soup. When the main course came the steak was the size of a normal steak but only about an eighth of an inch thick and the fresh fruit salad turned out to be a basket of apples, oranges and the like. We did not bother about our tea and biscuits routine that night, instead opting for an early night. At about 7 o’clock next morning we were woken by what sounded like a marching army with the crunch, crunch, crunch of boots on the frozen snow lying in the square outside. I looked through the window and saw hundreds of people tramping along on the packed snow, apparently, I was to find out later, off to work. Most manual workers, I discovered, worked until lunch, then after lunch it was compulsory studies until late afternoon.

The Carl Zeiss company were the makers of optical lenses for all kinds of requirements, including microscopes and, if you should visit the trophy and memorabilia display in the foyer of the main entrance to Molineux you will find a microscope that was presented to chairman John Ireland to commemorate the game in Jena. All the players in the Carl Zeiss team were employed at the factory and, in effect, were semi-professional. The game itself was played on a snow-covered pitch surrounded by more than 9,000 standing spectators, 90 per cent of whom were wearing fur hats. It was a strange sight, with no chanting or singing from them as they stood there more or less to attention. I felt sorry for the smattering of Wolves supporters, who must have had an horrendous journey to get to the game. It was freezing cold for them and I can guarantee that there was no chance of a piping-hot Bovril at half-time. The game was won by a John Richards goal, so at least the fans had an away goal to take back to Molineux with them. They must have had an equally horrific trip to get back over the border to normality, and the other players and I take our hats off to them for even attempting such a trip into the unknown.

It was cold, it was dark and it was miserable by the time we arrived at the airport for our journey home.

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