Wolves legend Bull giddy with excitement
LONDON: When opportunity allows, Steve Bull likes nothing more than slipping in among thousands of Wolves fans at an away ground and joining them in song.
“I did five or six last season,” he says. “I love going in with them all.”
Bull became the club’s record scorer in a different era, a man who can recall the days in the Fourth Division when Molineux had cracked tiles and cold showers. So there is a certain romance about him stood in the stands with the masses, witnessing Wolves’ vibrant revival. There was just one drawback.
“I only see one half,” he tells Sportsmail. “I watch the first and I’m dying for a p***, so I go down and they won’t let me back up! They are singing to me on the concourse, shoving pies and beers in my hand.
“I reply, ‘No, I want to go watch the match’. So I try to hold it as much as I can. I sometimes wear hats but once somebody spots you, that’s it.”
Bull has only been in with the travelling crowd once this campaign, for the 3-1 Premier League win against Tottenham at Wembley. He would like to do so again, this time for tomorrow’s FA Cup semi-final against Watford.
“My mate has already organised the bus,” he says.
Aged 54, Bull has given in to giddiness. He is sitting in the dugout that belongs to Nuno Espirito Santo, talking at a hundred miles an hour and revelling in his club’s new status.
“We ain’t moving, we’re stopping up there,” he says.
Born and raised down the road in Tipton, Bull’s Black Country vernacular only enhances the legend he forged by scoring 306 goals for the club and representing England at the 1990 World Cup. He is one of Wolves’ own and speaks as they do. The current mood is “bostin” (great), and “Wolves ay we” is a phrase which requires no translation for him.
More than anyone he can place his finger on the city’s pulse right now. “You’ve only got to go to a pub and they are in there singing,” he says. “Nuno had a dream. Bully’s a tatter. They’re enjoying it and it’s about time. I know we’ve come up a few years ago, had some promotions and title wins, but this season tops the whole lot.”
Bull will get to the tales from his time. How he fired Wolves up two divisions by scoring 50 goals in back-to-back seasons, including the occasion he got four at St James’ Park on New Year’s Day after sinking a “skinful of beer” the night before.
Bull does matchday hospitality and media, providing that connection to a rich heritage. A heritage that made Wolves an attractive proposition for owners Fosun, the Chinese conglomerate that took over in the summer of 2016 and have since changed horizons.
“I was worried about the tradition,” Bull admits. “We’ve had homegrown players, homegrown managers, homegrown chairmen, and now it’s mostly foreign.
“But what do you want? Do you want to play in the Championship? Or do you want a Premier League side that will compete with the best in the world? If you want to go forwards you’ve got to buy into the new.”
Nuno, and the board, have ensured a balance. The imports are respectful of the club’s history and Molineux still feels part of the local fabric, with the Billy Wright statue a lighthouse for those walking in from the city.
Bull also has a nostalgic take on the kit, which has morphed this season from old gold to mellow yellow.
“It’s a no in my eyes, but I’m a bit biased,” he says. “I prefer the old days, the Goodyear kit, proper old gold and black. But it doesn’t matter. You can tell by the people in the stands they still want a piece of the action.”