1986/87 FA Cup: Chorley humble Wolves

The 1980s had started in exciting fashion for supporters of Wolves. Winning the League Cup at Wembley, with £1.49 million record signing Andy Gray scoring the winner against Nottingham Forest, the club finished sixth in Division One, and the future looked bright under manager John Barnwell. Yet the foundations for a decade of decay had already been established.

Opening in August 1979, the cost of constructing the John Ireland Stand at Molineux escalated, with estimates ranging between £2.5-3 million. When the team were relegated in 1982, the debts started to mount, and a consortium fronted by club legend Derek Dougan stepped in to save the day. Enter the Bhatti brothers.

The mere mention of the siblings probably brings the more mature Wolves supporters reading this into a cold sweat. The "financial muscle" behind the deal to take over the club, the Saudi Arabian brothers did little in their reign of terror to assist the ailing giant. By 1986, the club was struggling to stay in business.

Promotion in 1983 was a rare bright spot, a false dawn before the darkness descended. Relegated in 1984 with just six wins in 42 matches, the hits just kept on coming. Eight league wins in the 1984/85 campaign saw the famous old club drop into Division Three, and unable to slow the momentum, Wolves fell into the basement at the end of the 1985/86 season.

By this point, the very existence of the club was in danger. Dougan had departed in January 1985, but the Bhatti brothers remained. Attendances dropped, as Wolves were forced to close two stands due to safety orders. With the receivers called in during the summer of 1986, the future of the club was in question.

Fortunately, the tide started to turn. Wolverhampton Council purchased Molineux, and Gallagher Estates/Asda cleared the club debts on the basis that they could build a superstore by the ground. The club was saved; yet it would take a great deal of work to change fortunes on the pitch.

Graham Turner had stepped into this mess in October 1986. Sacked by Aston Villa in the previous month, the new Wolves manager would be made aware of the task ahead of him during the FA Cup first round shortly after his arrival. Drawn against Multipart Northern Premier League club Chorley, rock bottom was just around the corner.

Managed by Ken Wright - the current chairman of the club - part-timers Chorley had never been beyond the first round in their 103-year history. According to the Daily Mail, their biggest claim to fame was discovering Paul Mariner. But after their efforts in November 1986, the name of Chorley was firmly in the headlines.

Chorley's date with destiny with Wolves almost didn't happen. Originally paired with Halifax, there was great embarrassment amongst the FA bigwigs when it was discovered that Darlington had accidentally been placed in the southern section of the draw. Cue red faces and a hasty retreat. Eventually, Chorley were drawn at home to Wolves, but this caused further headaches.

With their Victory Park ground under redevelopment, and concerns with policing, the tie was eventually moved to Bolton's Burnden Park. On Saturday November 15, 4,887 watched on as the teams played out a 1-1 draw. Andy Mutch had given Wolves the lead in the 47th minute, but just 90 seconds later Paul Moss headed an equaliser to give Chorley a second bite of the cherry.

It was assumed that the non-league outfit had blown their best chance, with Wolves expected to win the replay two days later. Wright had other ideas. "We have nothing to fear about going to Molineux," he stated, exuding positivity. "We can win it." Speaking recently to goalkeeper Ian Senior, he backs up the words of his manager.

"I didn't have a great deal to do," he said, in relation to the first match. "It actually opened our eyes to the chances of getting a result." Travelling down to Molineux, Senior recalls that the stand that the players got changed into was not open to supporters. "There were only two sides to the ground. Molineux was in a state of disrepair."

The match would be a personal triumph for the fireman in Chorley's goal. "It was a howling night," Senior told me. "I ended up wearing two different jerseys, as I had to change at half-time because the first one was drenched." Constant Wolves attacks made sure Senior was a lot warmer than the 4,790 shivering in the two open stands.

 

 

Matt Forman headed Wolves into the lead just before the half hour, but painter and decorator Moss would once again level matters, beating the offside trap before chipping over Vince Bartram in the 38th minute. From then on in, Senior described it as "a backs against the wall" night.

Saving from Mutch, Steve Stoutt and Keith Lockhart, Senior ensured that after two hours at Molineux, the teams would have to meet again a week later. "We managed to scrape the draw," Senior readily admits. "Although Mark Edwards missed a chance late on to steal it. We had a toss to decide the venue for the second replay."

Chorley won the toss, so it was back to Burnden Park on Monday November 25. A crowd of 5,421 would witness the giant being felled on an unforgettable night for anyone associated with Chorley. The 3-0 win ended the 300 minute marathon. But it also hit another nail in the coffin of Wolverhampton Wanderers.

"It was a remarkably comfortable win," Senior notes. Salesman Charlie Cooper scored twice, either side of a strike from Edwards. "My players had more heart and determination," Wright commented. "We've never been frightened of them over the three matches and there was no question we played the better football tonight."

 

 

For Wolves the obituaries were being penned. "The club dying of shame" declared the Mirror. "Starvation led Wolves to the slaughter" the Guardian highlighted, Stephen Bierley writing that the club "nowadays are no more than sheep in Wolves' clothing." Former skipper Billy Wright was distraught: "Graham Turner has a hell of a job on his hands and this has to be the lowest point in the club's history."

Turner had no excuses. "It was like men against boys. Chorley were fitter, stronger and had more ability." Already under pressure - chairman Dick Homden giving him a vote of confidence - Turner took it in his stride. "I'm getting the brunt of criticism but this is just the culmination of four or five years during which the club has been badly organised."

The besieged manager even found time to joke about the club he had stepped into. "The highlight of my year was three weeks out of work and cutting the grass at home. I hadn't a worry then." In all honesty, gallows humour was probably needed at the time. The only way was up from this point. 

A few days before the first Chorley match, Turner had signed Andy Thompson and an unknown striker called Steve Bull from local rivals West Brom. Ineligible for the cup ties, both looked on in horror as Chorley dumped their new club out of the cup. Little did Wolves fans know that there was already hope for the future.

In the next round, Chorley would go on to earn a creditable draw at Ewood Park against Preston in front of 15,133 (5,000 more than the highest gate at a Blackburn match up to that point of the season). The replay was lost 5-0 on Preston's plastic pitch three days later.

"Our sponsors were SSS Sports Group," Senior informs me. "They provided us with footwear for the match at Preston, and on the Monday we were able to train for an hour on the pitch, as Preston rented it out. It was a really difficult surface to play on, though."

Despite the heavy loss, Senior remembers the time fondly, especially the Wolves trilogy. "It's without doubt the highlight of my football career. Such fabulous memories. My scrapbook is something to be seen. There must be 12-15 pages on that one game."

For the Wolves fans who left Burnden Park early with their team 3-0 down, the memories are not so golden. "This was alchemy in reverse, old gold reduced to base metal," Bierley wrote in the Guardian. "Perhaps it was the nadir, and perhaps Turner can begin the long climb back."

Turner did manage to turn the ship around, with Bull and Mutch starting a beautiful relationship, and Molineux developing into a fine stadium; the financially draining John Ireland Stand renamed after Steve Bull in 2003. Chorley would be an unpleasant chapter in the history of the club. But it truly was the darkness before the dawn.