Express & Star

Big Interview: Graham Turner on Wolves hero Billy Wright

It’s not the first time Graham Turner has been asked a very tough question in the last fortnight.

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Where do his loyalties lie for today’s Shrewsbury Town versus Wolverhampton Wanderers FA Cup clash?

Turner, 71, racks his brains, toying with the reasons in his mind before offering some thoughts.

“It’s a difficult one. Shrewsbury gave me my first opportunity as a manager. Wolves were the club I supported as a kid. Where’d you go from there?” he asked puzzlingly.

“It’s a very difficult one, but on this occasion I’ve got to be sided with Shrewsbury – and I enjoy the hospitality so we can’t get away from that...I’ve got to be careful what I say!”

He will be at today’s highly-anticipated Montgomery Waters Meadow third-round tie as he takes in a number of games each season as guest of Salop chairman Roland Wychlerley. The pair are good friends and value each other’s time.

Particularly for those in Shropshire, his loyalties lying with Shrewsbury is no real surprise. Turner is a bona-fide Town legend.

Five years a player, six years a player-manager (the most successful of the club’s history) before a romantic return a quarter of a century later in 2010.

He may not quite stretch to legendary status in Wolverhampton but his achievements can’t be overlooked. He guided Wolves back on the pathway to success when the giant was on its knees, or worse, barely struggling to exist.

While now living in picturesque and rural Herefordshire just on the River Wye, Turner was born and raised in Ellesmere Port – a popular hotbed for Midland folk. And that was where he decided Wolves were for him early on.

“It was the club I supported as a kid. Billy Wright was my hero, my favourite player,” said Turner of his old gold and black heritage. “I grew up in Ellesmere Port, it had strong Midlands connections, everyone was Wolves or West Brom – I happened to pick Wolves.

“You’ve got Billy Wright, he came on the board when I managed there.

“You’re managing the club you’ve supported as a boy, Billy Wright was on the board of directors, came to almost every match home and away, your boyhood hero – it doesn’t get much better than that.

“To start them back on the road to recovery, to win the old Fourth Division, Third Division, a Wembley final, was a terrific period in my professional life.

“The only thing I failed to do was take them over the final hurdle and into the top division. But you can’t take away those years at Wolves, fantastic years.”

Turner, whose two years previous at top-flight Villa did not work out, could hardly have taken his dream job on in much more catastrophic circumstances.

“The club had been relegated in successive seasons from the top flight to the bottom flight, that’s how desperate the club was,” he said.

“Two sides of the ground were closed, dressing rooms were a disgrace, water coming through the ceiling – it was a shocking place to go into. Had it not been the club I supported as a boy I’d have thought twice about going there because they were in receivership. I think it was a very difficult period for the club.

“You look now and they’ve come through it magnificently. I know it was a long time ago, but now it looks a Premier League club, it looks as though it’s there to stay.”

Prior to heading to Wolverhampton, Turner’s Shrewsbury had done battle with Wolves on four occasions. Twice in the Second Division, but previously and famously in an FA Cup quarter-final for the ages.

More than 40,000 fans rammed into Molineux to see the-then First Division side held by plucky Salop, enjoying the greatest season in their history 40 years ago in the 1978/79 campaign.

Billy Rafferty’s strike put Wolves ahead with 10 minutes to go at Molineux but Ian Atkins netted from the spot to force a replay. Wolves comfortably saw off Shrews at Gay Meadow in front of 16,000.

For Turner and Shrewsbury, the 78/79 Third Division title-winning season was the stuff of dreams and, now, Salopian folklore.

“We were going so well in the league, taking everything before us. The third round of the FA Cup had Man City here, Malcolm Allison with a good side,” Turner added.

“He described the playing surface as ‘Egypt on ice’ – the pitch was frozen and all we did was put tonnes of sand on it. We wanted the game on, we were getting highlights on Match of the Day which was worth a little bit of money.

“We were desperate to get the game played. When I talk about a great leveller, that pitch was. I don’t think too many of the Man City players fancied it.

“Then to be drawn against Wolves, we were probably used to playing in front of four or five thousand, suddenly there was 40,000 at Molineux. The atmosphere was one of the memorable things, it was terrific.

“The pitch was muddy, not a blade of grass on it and we played well.

“We did very well in the game itself, a draw was no shame. I’ve got to say in the replay here we were well beaten, Wolves were far better than us. We’ve got to accept that.”

Shrewsbury, under former Wolves defender Sam Ricketts as boss, are scrapping to get away from the drop zone in League One and some 54 places behind Wolves in the pyramid ahead of today’s tie.

But back in the 1980s the Shropshire club were second tier battlers, regularly upsetting the odds on their way to highly commendable league finishes. Turner fondly remembered huge victories in that time.

“When you go to places like Newcastle. I remember a second match of the season, going to St James’ Park and winning 1-0. As we were pulling away Newcastle supporters were crying on the steps to the stand because Newcastle had lost to Shrewsbury in a league match,” he said.

“Going to West Ham the week before they were in the FA Cup final and winning 3-1 there. Chelsea, we turned our fortunes around there, we had a poor start to life and found it difficult but we won 4-2 or something, a turning point.”

Turner was famous while in charge of Town for lambasting Match of the Day for their lack of coverage. He was none too pleased as the cameras quickly decided to head to Molineux on a whim, purely because all of the other FA Cup games had been called off due to poor weather.

Turner politely asked the broadcasters where they had been for previous rounds and why Shrewsbury had received no attention.

Ironically, all these years later in what is almost a different sport now, he can’t understand why a fixture that brings local sides who seldom do battle, a fixture with history and intriguing chapters as well as a potential upset, has been ignored by television bosses.

“I was a bit surprised, I thought it was one of those classic games that one of them would’ve taken live,” he added.

“They play them (Arsenal and Man Utd on BBC TV last night) every other week in the Premier League – but this is an unusual one. They did Newport v Leicester last time, a classic lower league side against a Premier League side and it was good entertainment.

“But I suppose in this day and age the paying public, TV pundits and watchers want Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham and so on – I’m more than a little surprised.”