Docherty was a well travelled player and manager, having taken charge of six different teams during the previous seven years before his appointment at the Molineux and had already spent time in the Midlands at Wolves local rivals Aston Villa where he had been sacked in 1970 with the club bottom of Division Two.
[5] Doherty's nomadic path saw him manage several British based clubs following this for short periods and he would also spend time working in Australia at Sydney Olympic on two occasions.
An example of this was on 8 September 1979, prior to Wolverhampton Wanderers kick off at home to Crystal Palace, the Molineux crowd were treated to a pre match celebration with new player Andy Gray being presented to them.
The stadium where Wolves had won three league titles and famously hosted Hungarian champions Honved under the floodlights in front of 55,00 fans in 1954, pioneering modern European Club Football.
[13] Fronting the bid on behalf of the Bhatti Brothers "Allied Properties" banner was Wolves 1970's legend Derek Dougan who had played for the club during the 1972 European Cup Final.
Northern Irishman Dougan would be placed in charge of the football side of operations in the role of chairman adding more gravitas and credibility to the brothers proposal.
[14] The Bhatti Brothers "Allied Properties" project had pinned its hopes on the redevelopment of the Molineux site and immediate surrounding area, but with more interest in the land than on the pitch, their tenure would show a genuine lack of interest and involvement in the football from the brothers and sentiment towards the club soured when they failed to secure a deal and planning permissions with the local council for an area immediately behind the Molineux stadium which they had planned to develop.
With little finance and a lack of enthusiasm to secure the day-to-day funding required to run the club, the rest of the stadium fell further into disrepair and with attendances dwindling.
The Midfielder, the club's second highest appearances holder (574) and tenth top scorer (114) also calling time on his Molineux career, opting for a move to Coventry City for an undisclosed fee.
Academy players Tim Flowers and Derek Ryan would make their league debuts for the club alongside new signings Alan Ainscow, Tony Evans and Tommy Langley.
The players who started in opening day fixture had continued to feature across this early period of the season and would be joined by goalscorers Mark Buckland and Paul Dougherty (who had both been signed in the back end of 1984).
[33] With the early progress looking respectable, Wolves approved the sale of goalkeeper John Burridge to Sheffield United (who had been out on loan to Derby County since the start of the season)[34] and added additions to their ranks with defender David Barnes signing from Ipswich Town for £44,000 and Kiwi midfielder Ricki Herbert joining from Docherty's old club Sydney Olympic for free.
[35] Docherty had also wanted to make the loan signing of Jim Melrose permanent who had been impressing since his move from Celtic but was unable to secure the £40,000 being asked and he subsequently returned to Scotland ahead of the trip to play Grimsby away.
As December approached, Wolves sat 14th in the table, with top scorers Tony Evans (5), Tommy Langley (4) and Mark Buckland (4) having a modest total of 13 goals between them.
[42] Before the season ended, top scorers and first team wingers Tony Evans (5), Tommy Langley (4), Paul Dougherty (2) and Danny Crainie would also be sent out on temporary loan spells, to be replaced by two new signings (Ray Hankin and Andy King) and two incoming loanee's (Peter Eastoe and Steve Biggins).
The incoming quartet would score just one goal between them that season in what seems like a bizarre decision with the only good bit of business coming with the signing of defender Peter Zelem from Chester City and the promotion of young academy player Campbell Chapman, son of head coach Sammy Chapman[43] On 4th May 1985, Wolves travelled to Brighton & Hove Albion and received their third 5-1 thumping of the season, this time, unfortunately for West Bromwich Albion fans was not to be televised live.
Scott Barrett was selected in goal for the match, replacing the injured Flowers and on the scoresheet were Alan Ainscow and Derek Ryan, two players who had made their debuts for Wolves on the opening day.
[45][46] The final day of the season, 11 May 1985, is a date etched in the memory of many football fans as whilst Wolves were losing 3–0 to promotion hopefuls Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park (they would miss out on promotion by 1 point), 41.6 miles East, Bradford City were drawing 0–0 with Lincoln Town when a small fire started in Block G of Valley Parade, killing 56 spectators in what was a dark and tragic day for football.
[48] But the darker side of Docherty will also be remembered, removing Assistant Manager Jim Barron and Coach Frank Upton from their roles to make way for his family members.