“I COULD HAVE LEFT WOLVES FOR TORINO, BUT KNEW I WANTED TO STAY HERE WITH ENGLISH BEER”
The Molineux icon was capped by England as a third- tier player and didn’t exactly lack suitors, but there was no place like home
You didn’t play professional football until West Brom recruited you, aged 20, in 1985. What did you do before that?
I had three different jobs: I worked in a bed factory, a builders’ yard and a warehouse. As well as doing those jobs, I played for Tipton. A scout there knew Johnny Giles and Nobby Stiles, who were in charge at West Brom. He told them, “I’ve got this young lad down the road who will score you goals”, so they gave me a trial, signed me for 18 months and that was it – my career was up and running.
You’re a Wolves legend now. As a Midlands lad, did you support either team as a kid?
No. I’m an armchair Liverpool fan, would you believe? During the late 1970s and ’ 80s, they were the best team on television and I love the colour red, so I went for them. Wolves or West Brom never really entered the equation. I didn’t think I’d be a footballer and play for either of them.
How did the move to Wolves come about?
When Johnny and Nobby left West Brom, Ron Saunders came in from Aston Villa. I’d scored three goals in five appearances and thought I’d made it, and all he [ Saunders] said to me was, “Steve, you haven’t got a first touch for this division.” I was deflated. He said Wolves wanted to sign me; I asked where they were, looked down the leagues and saw they were 21st in the Fourth Division. But from the day I arrived, I never looked back.
Wolves were in turmoil when you walked in after three relegations in as many seasons, but your goals helped to fire them back up the leagues. What was that like?
I could see that they were scrapping for their lives and a hard- working club in the doldrums – all they needed was picking up. Myself and Andy Thompson [ who moved to Wolves from West Brom with Bull] started that off. When I first went, they were getting maybe 2,000 fans every week. Within two years, we were getting 12- 13,000 and I’m thinking, ‘ Hold on, we’re building something here’. It was a very long journey, but the club knew it was going places and they had Sir Jack Hayward, who invested in the ground. From there, we went further and further.
As part of that journey, you plundered 200 Wolves goals in just over five years. What was your secret?
Being greedy. [ Laughs] Scoring goals was all I wanted to do, and it was my job. From day one, Nobby Stiles told me, “That 18- yard box is yours – don’t go pitty- patting around, get your head down, put your laces through the ball and score goals.” That’s what I enjoyed. When I scored and saw the fans’ reactions, I wanted more of that. Some players thought I was selfish, but they knew if they gave me the ball, I’d score goals and we’d win games.
Your performances earned you a surprise call- up to Bobby Robson’s England squad while Wolves were still in the third tier – what went through your mind?
In my terms, I couldn’t get my hat on. Four years before, I’d been told I hadn’t got a first touch, and then I was playing for my country. I didn’t know who’d got it wrong. Bobby was a diamond of a bloke. I thank him from the bottom of my heart for giving me a chance, because not many players now are going to come from the third tier and play for England. He had the likes of Lineker, Barnes, Beardsley, Gascoigne, Waddle... and then Bull from the Third Division. Bobby didn’t want me to do or try anything different from what I was doing at my club – it was about scoring goals.
Despite playing in the lower leagues, you scored on your debut against Scotland at Hampden Park in 1989. Could you fathom what was happening?
It was unbelievable. It was similar to a typical West Brom- Wolves derby; England- Scotland is intimidating, so unruly, and it was a really horrible atmosphere there. There were about 65,000 fans – 60,000 of them and 5,000 England. The day before, Saint and Greavsie were on telly chanting, “Let the Bull loose, we’re going to get you”. About 2,000
Wolves fans went up, but I was sat on the bench. I just wanted a chance, and when I got one I grabbed hold with both hands. When that goal went in, I thought, ‘ Jeez, I’ve scored against Scotland – what more can I do now?’
But there was more. You scored four goals in your first seven caps and were named in England’s Italia 90 squad…
Before the World Cup, Bobby said the reason he picked me was because no one knew who I was. In the semi- final with West Germany, I was begging him to bring me on. I was just thinking, ‘ Give me a chance’ and I was about to go on... but then Lineker scored to make it 1- 1 and he told me to sit down for a bit. That was it. I was very fortunate to go to a World Cup, though, and Bobby was a top man. The spirit we had in the squad was unbelievable. You reel the names off – Gascoigne, Waddle, Shilton – and think, ‘ Oh my word’. If you put them in the England side now, they’d win the World Cup tomorrow. We were really united as a team: we played golf, went swimming, had horse- racing nights. We trained so hard, and with a little more luck would have won it.
If you’d been on the pitch, would you have taken a penalty against West Germany?
No, I liked to score goals properly. [ Laughs] If I’d come on, I think I’d have had one, but I’d have needed to check my pants first because it would have been pretty scary.
Your goalscoring record attracted interest from other clubs. Why didn’t you ever leave Wolves to play at a higher level?
I wasn’t money- oriented. I simply wanted to play football. In this day and age, players go for money, but it was different in my age. The people of Wolverhampton and the city itself are great. It’s a bit like Newcastle or Burnley – old- fashioned clubs with people from working backgrounds. I’ve been here for 33 years and there’s been no change from the day I signed to today. There were only four teams I knew that I could have joined. There was Torino in Italy, but after being there at the World Cup, I knew I wanted to stay with English people and English beer, so I stayed put. The second club was Newcastle before Andy Cole moved there – I spoke to the agent but didn’t want all the upheaval. The third was Coventry with Big Ron Atkinson, but I turned them down as I felt Wolves would surpass them. The fourth one was Celtic, but it was too wet up there...
To cap off a fine career, you were awarded an MBE in 1999…
For services to football and charitable work – it was unbelievable. Meeting the Queen was scary. You can put me in front of a 6ft 6in centre- back and it’ll scare the living daylights out of me, but the Queen was worse. There’s this small lady and I’m thinking, ‘ Oh my god, I’m speaking to the Queen’. Being a one- club man helped me to get the MBE, I’m sure. I couldn’t believe people had put me forward for it, as I was just doing my job.