Former Wolves striker Paul McLoughlin and his finest Molineux hour

The late 1980s, when the Molineux phoenix rose from the ashes, was an incredible time to be a Wolves fan.

Flying up through the divisions, packing out the two sides of the stadium which were open and travelling away in massive numbers, and feasting on a diet of new heroes whose down-to-earth and approachable natures were every bit as powerful as their impacts on the pitch.

But imagine for a moment, just for a moment, what it would have been like to be an understudy to the twin strike threat of Steve Bull and Andy Mutch?

There were times when it must have felt like being an aspiring James Bond, and watching Sean Connery and Roger Moore churning out masterpiece after masterpiece.

Great to watch, great to learn from, but, at some point, please can you just step aside and let someone else have a go?

You would anticipate those were the sort of feelings experienced by Paul McLoughlin, who knew full well what he was letting himself in for when joining Wolves from Hereford for £45,000 in the summer of 1989.

To be fair, such was the attraction of the club, the lure of Molineux, that nothing would ever have stopped him putting pen to paper.

He was 25, with plenty of experience already under his belt at home and abroad, and excited by the opportunity of making the step up to such a big club, then in the Championship.

“I had a few offers at the time, but there were several different reasons why I was so keen to come to Wolves,” McLoughlin recalls.

“I had just got married, and it was a good offer financially, which, while never the main motivation, is still important as you want to look after your future.

“But above all that, the chance for me to go to a club like Wolves – that was just huge.

“I hadn’t experienced anything like that before and it was definitely something I wanted to try.

“And even though they had Bully and Mutchy, who were both unbelievable players and goalscorers, I had belief in myself that I could make it work.

“Obviously I didn’t go on and play as much as I wanted, but to watch those two lads in training, and see the level they were at, it was always going to be difficult to dislodge them.

“Although Graham (Turner) was the manager who signed me and brought me in, Bully and Mutchy had delivered for him for years, so it was understandable they had his complete trust.

“They certainly did the business for him and for Wolves.”

Across two-and-half-years at Molineux McLoughlin was confined to 29 first team appearances, only 12 of them starts, although not only competition for places but also injuries and loan spells elsewhere were to limit his opportunities across the second half of that spell.

He did, however, leave his mark, notably with a couple of match-winning braces, including one after coming off the bench against Swindon, 35 years ago on Monday.

And yet at the start of his career, which was something of a globe-trotting one prior to checking in at Molineux, goals were not necessarily the priority for McLoughlin whose undoubted technical ability was utilised chiefly as a winger or wide midfielder, and on occasions even at wing back.

Born in Bristol, he had trials with Bristol City before enjoying his first taste of senior football in the National League with Yeovil, then taking advantage of an incredible opening to head Down Under and play for Gisborne in New Zealand.

“It was actually a difficult decision because I was 19, had broken into the first team at Yeovil and was playing regularly,” McLoughlin recalls.

“But the biggest thing which convinced me was that Gisborne had six of the team who had been to the 1982 World Cup with the All Whites of New Zealand, and had played against Brazil, Russia and Scotland.

“It felt like an opportunity that was too good to miss, and it worked out brilliantly as an experience, and we also managed to win the league while I was out there as well.”

On returning to British soil, McLoughlin wrote to all the Football League clubs to try and drum up interest, and received just three replies.

From Cardiff, Arsenal and Tottenham.

“I decided to go to Cardiff, and then if that didn’t work out, I could maybe join Arsenal,” he says with a hearty chuckle.

It certainly worked out at Cardiff, signing a two-year deal after a month’s trial and again playing regularly, until the club were relegated, dispensed with the services of manager Alan Durban and released a large number of their squad, including McLoughlin.

Interest emerged from his home city, and he went for a trial at Bristol Rovers, and later spent six months on a non-contract basis under boss Terry Cooper at Bristol City, but, sandwiched in between, came another life experience overseas, with Friska Viljor in Sweden.

“That was another really good opportunity which almost felt too good to be true,” McLoughlin explains.