KARL WHITEHOUSE TAKES A LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF WOLVES V MANCHESTER UNITED
FIRST ENCOUNTERS
- Division 1 – The initial clash between the two clubs in Division 1 took place on 15th October 1892, with Newton Heath emerging victorious with a 10-1 scoreline before they changed their name to Manchester United.
- FA Cup – The first face-off in the FA Cup occurred in the Semi Final at Hillsborough on 26th March 1949. The match concluded with a 1-1 draw after extra time, leading to a replay at Goodison Park on 2nd April 1949, where Wolves secured a 1-0 win.
- Premier League – The inaugural meeting of the two clubs in the Premier League happened on 27th August 2003, resulting in a 1-0 victory for Manchester United.
- League Cup – The first encounter between the two clubs in the league cup took place in the 3rd round on 23rd September 2009, ending in a 1-0 win for Manchester United.
MATCH OF THE DAY
There was a game near the date of the upcoming meeting which played on the 21st April 1958 the game finished 4-0 to Wolves.
OTHER MEETINGS
Wolves played Manchester United in a preseason friendly at Molineux on the 3rd August 1994 the game finished 2-1 to Manchester United with Steve Bull getting the Wolves goal, the Manchester United scorers were Paul Ince and Paul Blades own goal.
MOST RECENT MEETINGS
Premier League – The most recent game was on the 26th December 2024 the game finished 2-0 to Wolves goal scorers for Wolves were Matheus Cunha & Hwang Hee Chan in front of 31,407 fans.
FA Cup – The most recent game was in the 3rd Round on the 15th January 2020 this was a replay after the original game played on the 4th January 2020 ended 0-0, this final score was 1-0 to Manchester United.
League Cup – The most recent game was in the 4th Round of the league cup on the 26th October 2010 the game finished 3-2 to Manchester United.
LAST 6 MATCHES
3rd January 2022 Manchester United 0 Wolves 1 Played at Old Trafford.
31st December 2022 Wolves 0 Manchester United 1 Played at Molineux.
13th May 2023 Manchester United 2 Wolves 0 Played at Old Trafford.
14th August 2023 Manchester United 1 Wolves 0 Played at Old Trafford.
1st February 2024 Wolves 3 Manchester United 4 Played at Molineux
26th December 2024 Wolves 2 Manchester United 0 Played at Molineux
WOLVES BIGGEST WIN
- Division 2, the largest win between the two teams occurred on 26th December 1931, with Wolves finishing 7-0.
- Division 1, the biggest win between the two teams was on 4th October 1952, with Wolves finishing 6-2.
- Premier League, the biggest wins between the two teams were on 5th February 2011 and 2nd April 2019, with Wolves finishing 2-1 in both games.
- FA Cup, the largest win between the two teams was on 16th March 2019 in the quarterfinal, with Wolves finishing 2-1.
Do you remember the last away win at Old Trafford?
Manchester United 0 Wolves 1 3rd January 2022
There were several chances that fell Manchester United’s way, while Wolves threatened early as Daniel Podence forced De Gea into two smart saves at his near post. Wolves created a number of opportunities in the opening stages as they pressed United.
Ruben Neves almost produced his trademark Goal of the Season, lofting a cleared corner and meeting it with a sweet half-volley from distance. De Gea, at full stretch, tipped it over with the Stretford End holding its breath.
Manchester United created openings too. Mason Greenwood led a swift counterattack but, instead of playing in Cristiano Ronaldo, saw his effort blocked by Conor Coady. Soon after, Greenwood was frustrated further when Edinson Cavani shot over from the edge instead of passing.
Raul Jimenez was involved for Wolves, firing over with his left foot from the edge of the area and heading just wide at the near post—although the flag was already up for offside.
As half time approached, Francisco Trincao’s low shot almost found its way in at the near post, but the sides remained level at the break.
Half Time: Manchester United 0-0 Wolves
The second half started evenly. Nelson Semedo had a shot blocked behind for a corner. Manchester United thought they’d broken the deadlock when substitute Bruno Fernandes struck the crossbar from a Nemanja Matic cut-back. Earlier, Ronaldo had headed in from a free kick, only to be denied by another offside call.
Wolves replied as Romain Saiss’s free kick cleared the wall but crashed against the crossbar, as the visitors edged closer to an opening goal.
That goal finally arrived in the 82nd minute. Adama Traore’s cross was cleared only as far as Joao Moutinho, who finished clinically into the bottom corner. Wolves led 1-0, sparking wild celebrations in the away end as they looked to claim their first win at Old Trafford since 1980.
Jose Sa had had a quiet evening in the Wolves goal, but in the dying moments he was called into action. Fernandez’s free kick looked destined for the top corner, but Sa produced a crucial save to secure the victory and send the travelling fans home delighted.
Manchester United Team: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Jones, Shaw, Matic, McTominay, Sancho, Greenwood, Cavani, Ronaldo.
Substitutes: Henderson, Dalot, Telles, Van de Beek, Fred, Lingard, Elanga, Fernandes, Rashford.
Manager: Ralf Rangnick
Wolves Team: Sa, Semedo, Marcal, Kilman, Coady, Saiss, Neves, Moutinho, Trincao, Podence, Jimenez.
Substitutes: Ruddy, Hoever, Ait-Nouri, Bueno, Cundle, Jordao, Traore, Dendoncker, Silva.
Goal: Moutinho (82′)
Manager: Bruno Lage
Attendance: 73,045
WOLVES BIGGEST DEFEAT
Division 1 – The biggest defeat was on the 1st November 1947 the game finished 6-2 to Manchester United.
Premier League – The biggest defeat was on the 18th March 2012 the game finished 5-0 to Manchester United.
FA Cup – The biggest defeat between the two clubs was on the 10th March 1965 in the quarter final the game finished 5-3 to Manchester United.
HEAD TO HEAD
Does anyone remember this game back in the day? Manchester United 1 Wolves 3 8th January 1972
Wolves entered this game unbeaten in their last 10 matches, with eight wins and two draws—the best run of any team in the division.
In the early stages, Wolves caused Manchester United plenty of problems. Wolves took the lead in the 20th minute when Jim McCalliog’s cross was played across goal and eventually reached Kenny Hibbitt. Hibbitt then delivered another cross, finding Derek Dougan, whose header gave Wolves a 1-0 lead and marked his 21st goal of the season.
The second goal followed after Frank Munro took a free-kick from his own half. His delivery found Dougan, whose glancing header set up John Richards to fire his shot into the net, making it 2-0 to Wolves.
Fifteen minutes from time, Wolves added a third goal after poor defending from Manchester United. John Richards sent a cross towards Hugh Curran, who was fouled by Tony Dunne in the box. The referee awarded a penalty, and Jim McCalliog stepped up to make it 3-0, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way as Wolves fans chanted “Easy!” from the stands.
Manchester United pulled one back late on. Bobby Charlton passed to Sammy McIlroy, who turned on the edge of the Wolves’ box and slotted past Phil Parkes for his fourth goal in 10 games, making it 3-1.
Wolves held on for a deserved victory at Old Trafford, extending their unbeaten run to 11 games.
Manchester United Team:
Stepney, Dunne, Burns, Gowling, Edwards, Sadler, Morgan, Kidd, Charlton, Law, McIlroy.
Substitute: Sartori
Goal: McIlroy (86′)
Manager: Frank O’Farrell
Wolves Team:
Parkes, Shaw, Parkin, Bailey, Munro, McAlle, McCalliog, Hibbitt, Richards, Dougan, Wagstaffe.
Substitute: Curran
Goals: Dougan (20′), Richards (29′), McCalliog (pen 75′)
Manager: Bill McGarry
Attendance: 46,781
PLAYING FOR BOTH TEAMS
Cameron Borthwick Jackson Played for Manchester United 2015-2016 made 10 appearances and played for Wolves in a loan spell from Manchester United 2016-2017 made 6 appearances.
Sylvan Ebanks Blake Played for Manchester United 2004-2006 made 2 league cup appearances and 1 goal and played for Wolves 2007-2013 made 177 appearances and scored 61 goals.
Darren Ferguson Played for Manchester United 1990-1994 made 28 appearances and played for Wolves 1994-1999 made 117 appearances and scored 4 goals.
Michael Gray Played for Manchester United in his youth career 1988-1990 but failed to make a single appearance for the club and played for Wolves 2007-2009 made 41 appearances and scored 4 goals.
Paul Ince Played for Manchester United 1989-1995 made 206 appearances and scored 25 goals and played for Wolves 2002-2006 made 115 appearances and scored 10 goals and was part of the Wolves team that got wolves promoted to the premier league in 2003.
Denis Irwin Played for Manchester United 1990-2002 made 368 appearances and scored 22 goals and played for Wolves 2002-2004 made 75 appearances and scored 2 goals and was part of the Wolves team that got promoted to the premier league in 2003.
Jemal Johnson Played for Manchester United in his youth career didn’t make a single appearance in the first team and played for Wolves 2006-2007 made 20 appearances and scored 3 goals.
David Jones Played for Manchester United in his youth career 1995-2003 and first team where he made no appearances for the team only made 4 appearances in the FA Cup and League Cup 2003-2007 and played for Wolves 2008-2011 made 66 appearances and scored 6 goals.
Tomasz Kuszczak Played for Manchester United 2006-2007 in a loan spell from West Bromwich Albion and a permanent spell from 2007-2012 made 32 appearances and played for Wolves 2014-2015 made 13 appearances.
Jim McCalliog Played for Wolves 1969-1974 made 163 appearances and scored 34 goals and played for Manchester United 1974-1975 made 31 appearances and scored 7 goals.
Scott McGarvey Played for Manchester United 1980-1984 made 35 appearances and scored 5 goals and played for Wolves 1984 in a loan spell from Manchester United made 13 appearances and scored 2 goals.
Mark Todd Played for Manchester United 1986-1987 made no appearances for the first team and played for Wolves in a loan spell from Sheffield United 1990-1991 made 7 appearances.
Other Players who played for both clubs.
Arthur Allman, Glen Andrews, Brian Birch, Billy Bryant, George Bissett, Joe Davies, Reece Devine, John Ferguson, Richard Flash, Johnny Gorman, John Griffiths, Billy Harrison, Tom Huddlestone, Ben Morton, Daniel Nardiello, Bill Pendergast, Arthur Potts, Tommy Rowe, Jack Rowley, Kris Taylor, George Travers, Syd Tyler, Jeff Wealands, Billy Wrigglesworth.
Played, Coached and Managed both teams.
Major Frank Buckley Played for Manchester United 1905-1906 made 3 appearances and managed Wolves 1927-1944.
Brian Carey Played for Manchester United 1989-1993 made no first team appearances and was a assistant manager of Wolves 2013 working with Dean Saunders who was the manager at the time.
Chris Turner Played for Manchester United made 64 appearances and was youth team manager at Wolves 1995-1998 where he worked under Mark McGhee.
ARTICLE BY KARL WHITEHOUSE
I’ve been a Wolves fan for over 30 years, supporting them at both home and away games in the 80s, 90s, and 00s. Now, I enjoy delving into the stats behind the games they play in the Premier League and also looking at other stats if someone asks on the podcast. I’ve also visited all 92 football league grounds and will soon be creating an ebook about people’s favourite matches they’ve attended, complete with a match report and, if possible, stats from the game.