Topic: Wolves away - 4th May 1976

[81a]

Andy - the things you learn in this place.

I didn't realise Willie Carlin had a Liverpool connection. What a great player he was for Derby. I wouldn't have hated him so much if I'd known that.

That's a great story from a great night.

[Andy G]

Willie Carlin certainly is a Derby legend, but was not quite good enough to play for our first team according to our management team.  Willie is a lovely man and still a massive Red.

My favourite story about him was after he stopped playing. He had a newsagent in Melbourne in Derbyshire, where he obviously earned a few bob and so decided to move to Cala Millor in Majorca (although he is back in Derby now).

He was in Majorca for the 1986 FA Cup Final and managed to get commentary of the game on the radio station (perhaps world service).  He sat in his garden listening to the match, getting all excited, and ran into the house upon final whistle to tell his wife that the double had been won only to see live pictures on Spanish TV.  The game had been shown live whilst he was in the garden.  Poor man.

[Cormack Snr]

Wolves away - a must win situation.

Wolverhampton Wanderers V The Tricky Reds 04 May 1976

How ironic that the first game of that season was QPR away, QPR were the darlings of the Southern based press and the BBC loved them. To be honest they had a cracking team and played some superb football at times.

Something like four soccer specials travelled from Lime Street that sunny Saturday morning, all hands and his dog wanted to watch the Reds. Once at Loftus Road we queued up along with the rest of the reds, only to be told “it’s a full house, you won’t get in”. We weren’t going to travel 200 odd miles to miss a game, so we queued up along South Africa Road and went in the QPR end.

QPR was an easy away game we always took thousands there, this time we took even more. We used to laugh to ourselves “How come very few of these ever went to West Ham or Chelsea etc” anyway once inside we were surprised how many reds had got in there as well. Loftus Road was jam packed to the rafters, the boy’s were back in town.

QPR beat us 2.0 that day and to be honest we were awful, I can’t even remember us having a single shot on target. The next day Bob Paisley had shrugged the defeat off saying “He would have some words with the lads” whilst the daily papers revealed in us getting beat and touted QPR as genuine Championship material. The season would indeed confirm QPR as genuine challengers for the title.

The run in went right to the wire, as the reds put together an impressive string of results to keep the pressure on QPR.

As the penultimate game of season 1975 – 76 approached, Queens Park Rangers topped Division One by one point, the Anfielders where second with all to play for.
QPR’s final game of that season ended in a 2.0 win for them. David Webb’s face was plastered all over the papers with a cigar in his mouth already celebrating QPR’s Championship victory. David Webb was never a favourite amongst the Liverpool hoards, his tenacity is stating QPR would be Champions grated on our minds.

Liverpool could only win the Championship, if we won or drew away at Wolves, because of the closeness of goal difference between us and QPR, we could only afford to draw 0.0 1.1 2.2 or 3.3 anything above that would hand QPR the Championship. On the other hand Wolves needed a win to stay in Division one, depending on how Sheffield United got on that night at Brammell Lane.

Our game was billed as the title decider, it was also the title / relegation clash to end all title / relegation clashes.

For some strange reason one of our Everton mates volunteered to drive us down, we sorted Dougie out with petrol money and off we went. His lime green Ford Anglia was jam packed with four reds, Doug and copious amounts of Ashe & Nephews finest beers.

Travelling down to Molineux bedecked in red and white rugby shirts, Wrangler jeans and Gola trainees the mood was full of anticipation as we soon polished of as many cans as possible. The M6 was chocka block full of reds on their way South to our destiny, coaches, vans, cars etc would pull up in the hard shoulder of the motorway as us greedy Scousers needed to empty our spleen’s, to make ready for another bellyful of ale.

We had been to Wolves a few times prior to this and we knew our way around, Wolves was one of my favourite away games, we always took thousands down with us and the “away” end “The South Bank” was superb, it was massive similar to our very own Kop.

Dougie had driven down with Everton before and he knew a quicker way to get to Molineux (A449 I think?). Anyway we got off the motorway and headed down this dual carriageway, we where not alone? Other reds aware of the potential traffic situation had also taken heed of the warnings and also choose to go the same way.

We soon parked up in a housing estate behind the North Bank (the Wolves end) we were all dying for a slash so we knocked on this bloke’s house and asked could we use his loo. We were meet by one of the most obnoxious people I have ever had the misfortune to meet “Fcuk off to Liverpool you Scouse Baskets” came the reply. Fair enough I could understand his reluctance to let us in his house, but there was no need for that. A few choice words were exchanged as we let him know what we thought of him.
“C’mon I have an idea” one of the lads say’s, so we leg it around the back of the houses and empty our swollen spleen’s all over the blokes car! Revenge is sweet?

Relieved and refreshed we walk towards the ground, reds and old gold everywhere without a hint of trouble. We get to the road on the side of the ground and look up towards our end, Jesus it was mayhem! Thousands and thousands of reds queuing up to get in and the gates hadn’t even opened yet. Police on horses compounded the issue further by trying to control the crowd that was generally under control, and well behaved.

It was only around 6.00 at night then this copper says “Take it easy and we’ll try and get as many of you in the ground as possible, but your all not gonna get in” what a stupid thing to say? As you can understand some people panicked and the crush to try and get in was very worrying. After some time, the main gates into the South Bank were broken down carefully we entered the ground and picked a spot to watch the game.

As you can imagine our end was teaming with Liverpool supporters, in time the rest of the stadium filled up. This was some show of strength, Liverpool supporters in every section of the ground, on the roofs, on the floodlight pylons – everywhere you looked. The official “estimated” attendance for this game was just under 50,000, in reality it was probably nearer 60,000 or more as thousands of us got in without paying.

Close to kick off time a few Wolves supporters ran onto the pitch up to our end and made some provocative gestures towards the thousands, unbeknown to them some of the lads in the paddock had jumped out and where behind them. It was no contest as the Wolves supporters experienced a little bit of Liverpool hospitality.

“You’ll Never Walk Alone” boomed out across the ground as both teams entered the pitch. The noise was incredible it was that loud you couldn’t hear what you were singing, god knows what the players made of this? It was that special.

Anyhow, the game kicked off this was it do or die. Liverpool started off a bit sluggish as Wolves dictated the early play, the pattern of the game was not what we wanted and at half time we were 1.0 down. Much had been said about Liverpool’s powers of recovery. This had been an exhaustingly long season for us, would Bob Paisley and the backroom staff be able to muster one last second half challenge?

Whatever Bob and the lads said at halftime or whatever they put in the orange juice we will never know but it worked a treat. The second half was a different kettle of fish, the redmen attacked the South Bank as we screamed ourselves horse willing an equalising goal. Time after time Wolves managed to defend their goal, bodies thrown in front of any goal bound effort, lucky deflections you name it! Could the reds make the breakthrough?

With around 15 minutes to go the Gods smiled upon us, as Kevin Keegan at last found the net, it was sheer pandemonium as we celebrated like only we could. The ground was in uproar, as the Wolves fans stood in silence contemplating their doom.
At that moment in time we knew and the Wolves supporters knew that it was going to be our night. The pretenders from West London (QPR players and directors) were also at Molineux that night to lay claim to the Championship if we couldn’t overcome Wolves, they left on mass once John Toshack had made it 2.1. The travelling Koppites mocked goodbye to the QPR contingent, as they waved goodbye to any Championship aspirations.

The crowd went ballistic, grown men cried and hugged total strangers like a long lost son’s, we were as one, we were Liverpool football Club. After a few minutes the Liverpool supporters left the field so that play could commence, the air was electric with so much excitement in the ground. Big Ray Kennedy sealed Wolves fate and ensured that our immortality was written with a third goal for the tricky reds minutes from the end. Another pitch invasion another reason to celebrate – what a night – probably one of the most enjoyable times to be a Liverpool supporter.

The journey home was one long celebration as the motorway’s ground to a standstill while fellow reds jigged and danced with glee. I’ll never forget the memory of Phil Thompson, Tommy Smith, Dave Fairclough, Ian Callaghan and co passing out bottles of Champaign from the team coach and joining in singing our anthems of appreciation.

Liverpool FC “You’ll Never Walk Alone”

The game was midweek and would of kicked off at 7-30, along time ago but I remember like it was last week..

[Redsnappa]

Found a couple of photos from that incredible night - never seen the Keegan one before ...













Look at the stand at the back ... the fucking things still packed with thousands of us on the pitch 

[only6times]

Me arl fella said he saw a fella on a horse with a Liverpool scarf on ( the fella, not the horse) bombing down the hard shoulder because the traffic was that bad.

[Lad]

Found a couple of photos from that incredible night - never seen the Keegan one before ...













Look at the stand at the back ... the fucking things still packed with thousands of us on the pitch 

It’s the fashions that get you. I was on the pitch and my kecks must have been flapping like sails. What a night that was. I posted my memories a few years back.

[commando]

I bunked off school at dinner time to go to this in a Hillman Imp. Straight down the A41 into Wolves. A horrible crush to get in, but ended up not paying when the gate gave way at the bottom hinge and we went under shitting  ourselves in case the top hinge gave way and it came down on top of us.
The game seemed to pass in a flash and before I knew it I was on the pitch with thousands of others. I dug up a piece of the turf and added it to our lawn in Hoylake Rd when I got home.
It was funny going into school the next day and about twenty of us handing the teacher notes from our mums explaining our absence from school the previous afternoon. Mine said that I had a migraine. Who knows what other maladies struck the others.

[free_at_last]

The South Bank at Molineux was in the 1970s the second-largest terrace in the country after the Holte End at Villa Park. It could hold 30,000 and it surely did on the evening we won the title there in 1976.

  I remember looking round me in that stand and wondering why the Wolves fans weren't in it. They were in a little cowshed at the
other end but they probably wouldn't fill that big end so they preferred the smaller enclosed end. It certainly rivalled the Kop
for size and that night for noise.
 My greatest ever away game and I was so lucky to get in. I hitched down and got there quite late - I saw a mate walking back
and he said "You've got no chance of getting in - it's chocker" . I could see the crowd for hundreds of yards. I was walking past
some derelict building and for some reason I'll never know I decided to clamber through it and see where it went - I actually
came out the other side about 20 yards from the turnstiles! A few muttered apologies to fellow Reds and i mingled in and was in

[Statto Red]

Was this around the time when there was no segregation that you could go anywhere in the home end, may have been that summer when segregation was brought in?

Would have been a 7.30pm kickoff in those days[& 10 minute halftime break, fuck this 15 minute halftime break so TV can have a couple of ad breaks in] & no live TV for league matches then, only highlights & Midweek highlights were on either Sportsnight on BBC or Midweek Sport Special on ITV.

I know couple of auld arses who went, couple are Reds the other a Wolves fan, i was far too young, most likeli be in bed being only a baby then, sometimes i feel like i was born 10 years too late.

[free_at_last]

Was this around the time when there was no segregation that you could go anywhere in the home end, may have been that summer when segregation was brought in?

Would have been a 7.30pm kickoff in those days[& 10 minute halftime break, fuck this 15 minute halftime break so TV can have a couple of ad breaks in] & no live TV for league matches then, only highlights & Midweek highlights were on either Sportsnight on BBC or Midweek Sport Special on ITV.

I know couple of auld arses who went, couple are Reds the other a Wolves fan, i was far too young, most likeli be in bed being only a baby then, sometimes i feel like i was born 10 years too late.

  There was no official segregation but there was self-segregation in that you knew if you went in the home end you would be in for a scrap and most likely outnumbered.
 I remember Wolves in particular a few years earlier. We were all milling round where the coaches all parked up and, when the
numbers seemed about right, set off for the ground. "Right , we're going in the Wolves end" shouts someone at the front and
we all follow like sheep. It was all uneventful walking to the ground and even getting through the turnstiles so we're walking
along the concourse towards the steps up to the Wolves end and some soft shite sings out "Liv-er-pool". I cringed because
I knew what was coming next. Everybody joins in "Liv-er-pool" as we start up these stairs and the Wolves fans appear at the
top and sides and pelt us with bottles and all kinds(it's fair enough - imagine if an away team invaded the KOP ).
 To cut a long story short we managed to get to the top of the stairs, bloody and battered and got chased on to pitch where
we had to retreat to the other end with our tails between our legs.
...actually, looking back that, soft shite probably saved us a bigger hiding if we had got into their end and the battle commenced
as we would have been totally outnumbered

[Brezzo]

Not an easy game to forget!

I think that was the only time the South Bank at Molyneux was ever full

[oojason]

A couple minutes of match footage from the night...


'Liverpool FC 1975-76' - and forward the video to 54 minutes and 26 seconds for the away match vs Wolves (or just watch the whole thing ):-

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/vik5dSMoVxk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/vik5dSMoVxk</a>

^ some match info from LFCHistory.net: www.lfchistory.net/SeasonArchive/Game/916



A RAWK 'History Board' thread with more videos and info from Liverpool's 1975/76 season : www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=352805.0