Shropshire Star

Wolves and England hero Ron Flowers set to get MBE

Wolves legend Ron Flowers is expected to be made an MBE as part of the New Year’s Honours.

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Ron Flowers at the Wolves Museum in 2014

The full list is set to be revealed tomorrow, but Flowers and fellow 1966 World Cup-winner Jimmy Greaves are thought to be among those included.

It would mean every surviving member of the triumphant squad has received awards from the Queen.

Flowers made 49 appearances and scored 10 times for the Three Lions while being part of Alf Ramsey’s famous group.

The 86-year-old also made more than 450 appearances for Wolves between 1952 and 1967, winning three First Division titles and an FA Cup.

After retiring, he opened a sports shop in Wolverhampton, on Queen Street, which is still trading.

Former midfielder Flowers and ex-striker Greaves will both be made an MBE, according to The Sun.

It comes after Flowers was presented with an FA award for his outstanding contribution to the national team last January.

When England hosted Montenegro in November, it was their 1,000th international men’s game and the ‘66 winners were invited to the game to be recognised.

Flowers could not attend, but he was later given his award by grandson Tom, and Wolves’ head of marketing Russell Jones.

Jones said on Flowers at the time: “He is an iconic figure for both Wolverhampton Wanderers and England, and continues to be an ambassadorial figure for sport in the city through his presidency of the Former Players’ Association and his vice presidency of our club.”

Meanwhile, Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo says tonight’s game at Manchester United will be ‘very tough’ – but they are going into it with confidence.

After drawing 1-1 with Tottenham on Sunday, Wolves are hoping to pick up their first win at Old Trafford for 40 years.

On facing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side so quickly after drawing with Jose Mourinho’s men, Nuno said: “It’s very hard. The schedule is very demanding on everybody. We don’t have much time to recover. It’s going to be very tough, but the signs are good.

“Now, let’s assess all the players and decide who we are going to start with.

“The Premier League, there is no result you can predict and anything can happen.

“One thing I know for sure is that every game in the Premier League is tough. Ole has done very good work and it’s a very good squad, so it’s a tough game ahead for us.

“We recover immediately after the game, and then you make a good meeting and compete.

“What we know is our foundation, our idea, how we want to do things.

“And we rely on the players to develop those tasks on the pitch, be organised.

“From thereon, it’s a game and anything can happen.”

On Pedro Neto, who shone in the stalemate with Spurs, Nuno added: “I believe that he has a lot of potential to develop. I truly believe he is a very talented player.

“But at the same time, I realise that as the season goes by, ups and downs of performances are normal. What we want is for all the players to have the same level of performance. Daniel (Podence) did an amazing game, Adama (Traore) did very good, Fabio (Silva) did too.

“They’re very young players that are playing together now because of circumstances, and we believe that as time goes by we can improve them.”