MARK CROOKWOLVES' GOLDEN SCOUT

THE LITTLE KNOWN STORY OF A VISIONARY TALENT SPOTTER - AND FITTING TRIBUTES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE TO HIM...

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AT A time when data in football has become all the rage, it's worth remembering that a scout's eye for a player can still be worth its weight in gold.

And if Mark Crook, above, was around today, he would no doubt be among the very best in the business. After all, the pioneering scout provided his beloved Wolves with player after player for almost four decades!

Crook had played for Wolves under the legendary Major Buckley and had briefly been a teammate of Stan Cullis, who went on to manage the club from 1948 to 1964.

He maintained a strong relationship with Cullis right through his golden reign at Molineux and what Crook set up in his native South Yorkshire was described as a goldmine by Cullis himself.

He had the idea to form a 'nursery' club for Wolves, Wath Wanderers, in the footballing hotbed of the Dearne Valley between Rotherham, Doncaster and Barnsley.

From his base in Wath-upon-Dearne he could scout throughout South Yorkshire and give players normally destined for either of the Sheffield clubs, the Millers, Donny or Reds a route to Wolverhampton instead.

Crook would have the boys play for his Wolves Juniors side in the Northern Intermediate League against other professional clubs from the north of England.

When he felt they were ready he would send them to Wolves for trials.

It proved to be a very fruitful idea with club legends Ron Flowers and Roy Swinbourne, both in the hall of fame at Molineux, among his finest discoveries.