"A black country special"

Been based in Wolverhampton for university has meant that I have made numerous visits to Molineux, but the magic of the stadium has meant that I never get tired of visiting the place. The stadium in my eyes ranks alongside Deepdale and Bramall Lane as the best domestic ground in the English leagues. The ground has been almost completely rebuilt since the mid 1990s. The North Bank (Stan Cullis stand) behind on goal is where the most vocal home supporters are located. Opposite is the South Bank (Jack Harris stand). If a small away following is expected then this stand is shared with home fans. Both these stands are single tiered and have a couple of wolf faces etched onto the seats. The two side stands are similar in size and structure, with the Billy Wright stand been the newer stand. The Steve Bull stand opposite is the oldest stand at the ground - opened in 1979, and is beggining to show its age. Larger away followings are located in the lower tier of the Steve Bull stand. The side stands bend on the wings so each seat faces the centre of the pitch. The are also 2 big screens in the corners of the ground.

Location

The stadium is located right in the centre of Wolverhampton, 5 minutes walk from the bus and train stations - leave the station and proceed straight on towards the town centre and as you reach the inner ring road turn right. Just follow the ring road as it continues in a circular pattern around to the left. Eventually you will see the Molineux on the right.

View

I have watched matches from 3 sides of Molineux (Billy Wright upper, Jack Harris away section, Steve Bull lower) and the view of the action from all 3 vantage points was superb, and so was the leg room in the Billy Wright and Jack Harris stands. But the leg room in the Steve Bull lower is knee crunchingly tight, meaning that standing is the only avaliable option if you want to avoid having your legs amputated by the seat in front.

Facilities

As you would expect at a higher league ground, with the usual bars, koisks, and betting stalls. However, the concourses are so tight and narrow that you struggle to breathe, let alone move during the busy periods pre match and at half time.

Food & Drink

Your run of the mill food and drink, with standard football prices.

Police & Stewards

When visiting Molineux as an away fan I have always had problems with the stewards and, in particular, the police. One stand out incident in the 02/03 season was when the local police decided that Wolves vs Sheffield United didn't warrent any sort of presence whatsoever, which was surprising to say the least considering that the two teams have a history of trouble with each other. After the match, in which the Blades came from behind to win 3-1, it kicked off big time in the underpass just outside the away end and at the away end exits. This led to Blades fans been held inside the ground for over 90 minutes. The police then have the audacity to then wade into the away fans mob handed and seemingly arrest people at random for chanting 'Let us out' and 'we'll never see home again' after about an hour of been held back. And when another chant went up soon after of 'Where were you at 5 o clock?' the police told us over the tannoy that anyone joining in with the chants would be arrested! Naturally the entire Blades following joined in, so the police waded in once more, arrested a few more random fans, and then seemed to give up and let us out of the ground at about 6.40pm. The game by the way finished at 4.55pm.

I have also found the stewards at Molineux to behave completely differently to away fans than to home fans. 1 example - home fans on the South Bank are allowed to stand up, but fans in the away end (Jack Harris or Steve Bull lower) have been routinely ejected for standing.

Atmosphere

The Wolves fans are very similar to Blades fans, in that they are an incredibly fickle lot. When they can be bothered, the fans can get Molineux rocking and make a very intimidating and hostile atmosphere. But can just as easily make the stadium feel like a mourge. I have been to Molineux on 3 or 4 occasions when the atmosphere has gone from one extreme to the other and back again in the same match!

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