Wolves v Millwall, 6th November 1976

Just over 17,000 were in attendance at Molineux for the Second Division fixture between Wolves and Millwall at Molineux on 6th November 1976. Wolves, to the surprise of many at the club, had been relegated the previous season and were aiming to return to the top flight under the guidance of manager Sammy Chung. Throughout the season, Chung relied heavily upon a number of experienced and familiar players at Wolves who'd served the club very well in previous seasons. The likes of Derek Parkin, Frank Munro, Kenny Hibbitt, John McAlle, Mike Bailey and John Richards had all been at Molineux since the 1960s and they would, with the exception of Bailey (who appeared just 10 times that season), form the core of the Wolves team for the 1976-77 campaign. In addition, Geoff Palmer, Steve Daley and Alan Sunderland had debuted for Wolves earlier in the decade, while Bobby Gould returned for a second spell at the club. Steve Kindon added further experience and midfielder Willie Carr had been signed by Chung's predecessor Bill McGarry in March 1975. Collectively, they helped ensure the promotion of Wolves as 1976-77 Second Division champions ahead of runners-up Chelsea. With Gary Pierce an ever-present in goal, Wolves ultimately ended the season as, statistically, the second best defence in the Second Division and leading scorers in the division with an impressive 84 goals for the season - largely shared out between top scorer Kenny Hibbitt, with 18 league goals, Alan Sunderland (16), John Richards (15), Steve Daley (13) and Bobby Gould (10 goals in just 11 games). Millwall, under manager Gordon Jago, had been promoted the previous season from the Third Division and subsequently finished the season in 10th position in Division Two. Of particular note in the Millwall team at Molineux was commanding centre-half, the late Barry Kitchener, who served Millwall with distinction during his lengthy career and holds the record number of appearances for the club at 602. Originally broadcast by ATV's Star Soccer with commentary provided by Hugh Johns.