Chelsea v Wolves, 11th December 1976

Highlights of the Second Division match between Chelsea and Wolves on 11th December 1976.

At the time of their encounter at Stamford Bridge, both teams were vying for the championship (with Chelsea league leaders and Wolves in 4th position) and they would continue to do so up until the return fixture in the penultimate match of the season. It was at Molineux that Wolves finally secured the title and Chelsea promotion following a closely contested draw. On a poor Stamford Bridge pitch though 36,137 were present to see a thrilling six-goal encounter between the two teams with the match ending in apparent semi-darkness.

Throughout that season, Wolves manager Sammy Chung relied greatly on a number of experienced and familiar players. The likes of Derek Parkin, Frank Munro, Kenny Hibbitt, John McAlle, Mike Bailey and John Richards had all been with the club 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. In addition, Geoff Palmer, Steve Daley, Alan Sunderland were familiar faces from a few years or so previously, whilst 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 Division Two champions.

Wolves, with Gary Pierce an ever-present in goal, were statistically the second best defence in Division Two 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).

For much of the season it seemed as if Eddie McCreadie's Chelsea would win the title ahead of their nearest rivals. They led the league from 25th September 1976 until 8th April 1977 but an inconsistent April proved costly for their title ambitions. Captained by a youthful Ray Wilkins and with Steve Finnieston forming a useful strike partnership with Kenny Swain, Chelsea reamined undefeated at Stamford Bridge throughout the 1976-77 season.

Original broadcast by LWT's The Big Match with Brian Moore commentating.