When Wolfie the Wolves mascot took on the three little pigs in a memorable altercation

Maybe the team might score six goals?

The striker who hasn’t found the net in 15 appearances for the club could grab four of them.

And just maybe, a furry life-sized mascot could end up fighting with three little pigs who were promoting the wares of a double glazing company?

Who knows? There could even be all four of the above.

Bristol City 1, Wolverhampton Wanderers 6. Twenty-five years ago, on Tuesday of next week. And certainly, among one of the most dramatic away trips enjoyed by the Molineux faithful over the last quarter of a century. A delightful cocktail of football, pugilism and pantomime.

The backdrop to the entire proceedings began in the Wolves dugout, where Colin Lee, previously assistant manager, had been put in interim charge following the dismissal, 48 hours previously, of Mark McGhee.

The two knew each other well having initially been apprentices together at Bristol City and, as a manager and assistant, joined in a coaching trio by Mike Hickman, had dovetailed perfectly to achieve success at Reading and Leicester.

But, despite several moments of promise, with McGhee ultimately unable to deliver the Holy Grail of promotion, he was sacked in November 1998, with Lee asked to take the helm, initially temporarily.

Their relationship, and indeed friendship, was strong, but was sadly ultimately unable to survive Lee eventually being handed the reins on a full-time basis.

“When it was announced that Mark was leaving, it was difficult because we had worked together for so long,” Lee explains.

“The club wanted me to stay and take the team – they weren’t asking me to leave – and I wasn’t in a financial position to be able to just up and go and be out of work.

“I clearly remember helping Mark to pack his things and then spending a few hours at his house, talking it through, where he said he had no problem with me taking over and understood my position.

“Following that, however, our relationship became more difficult because Mark wouldn’t speak, and I think he had listened to stuff from a few members of staff who had got to him.

“For me it was a hard time but not a hard decision because there was no decision; I had a young family and a mortgage to pay and couldn’t just walk away.

“Honestly, I had a great time working with Mark McGhee, we had a fantastic period in football with nothing I would change, but I can’t have any guilt about what happened at the end.”

McGhee was dismissed on November 5, but the real fireworks arrived less than 48 hours later, after a quick transition for Lee from being assistant to the man calling the shots.

Adding further significance to the fixture is that the 100-club at Ashton Gate had hosted the wedding reception for Lee and wife Lynda, some 23 years and one day previously. Was his graduation to the role of manager going to prove an equally successful marriage?

Not immediately. Bristol City actually scored first through Chris Hutchings on 12 minutes before Guy Whittingham – the first goal of his second loan spell – and young striker David Connolly, with his first goal for Wolves, struck twice in quick succession midway through the half to put the visitors ahead at the break.

Connolly had arrived on loan from Feyenoord thanks in part to a strong recommendation from future Wolves boss Mick McCarthy, who had picked him for the Republic of Ireland.

“I was coming on as a substitute and trying to get up to speed but at the time Wolves had a really good squad with a lot of ability,” Connolly recalls.

“But we were finding it difficult to get wins and it didn’t go as well as I would have liked, or as well as Mark McGhee would have liked, and he ended up losing his job.

“Colin then took over, but I always felt that if I got chances, I would take them.

“I don’t recall getting lots of opportunities but against Bristol City they all came along at once.”

That took Wolves to a 2-1 lead at half time. Which was when, as mentioned earlier, the surreal reality emerged of life-size furry mascots going toe-to-toe on the Ashton Gate pitch.

Steve Bird, now 58, spent three years as Wolfie during which, aided and abetted by a dad working in entertainment, he aimed to bring fun and frolics to the pre-match and half-time amusement.

On this particular occasion, Wolfie found himself piggy in the middle, or in the middle of pigs, as he couldn’t get the ball off three 7ft furry porkers who were at the game to promote double glazing firm Coldseal.

Fearing he was being made to look slightly silly by being unable to make a tackle, Wolfie produced one of his trademark showpieces, a knee-high challenge.

The rest, is mascot history. Two of the pigs rounded on Wolfie, one throwing a flurry of punches with the Wolves man responding by pushing him away.

Eventually it needed the Bristol City Cat to come in and break things up, and then? Well, the football restarted, and in some style from a Wolves point of view.

Connolly completed his four-goal salvo with goals, nicely symmetrically, on 57, 67 and 77 minutes before Carl Robinson added the sixth on 79.

It had been a sensational Wolves performance, but Lee was at pains to point out that very little had changed and, even in his post-match interview, said that McGhee would have masterminded the same performance.

“It was all just a week too late,” he reflects 25 years on. “I can’t say I changed much from what Mark and myself did and I am certainly not one of those who would ever blow my own trumpet and say I did this or that because it wasn’t true.

“I was in charge on the day and had to manage a situation which I didn’t find easy but all I would say is I think I managed it correctly.

“I certainly can’t take credit for David Connolly scoring four goals – we would have looked at how a player like David got goals and looked to play to his strengths but nothing more than that.”

“To get four was certainly something special, particularly at that time of my career,” adds Connolly.

“I then scored in the next game against Sheffield United but after that found goals hard to come by.

“I wasn’t quite there in terms of fitness and reliable enough in being able to produce seven or eight out of ten performances – that maybe came two or three years later when I was the player Wolves would have wanted me to be.

“So, for me Wolves was only a small part of my career but it was an honour nonetheless.”

On the opposite side to Wolves that day, proudly making his debut for his home city club, was a 17-year-old by the name of Matt Hill.

Just over a decade before he would make his Wolves debut and become part of the 2008/09 squad which secured the Championship title, Hill came off the bench in the 71st minute with the Robins already 4-1 down.

Mixed emotions ensued!

“Coming on 4-1 down you could say there was no pressure but for me it was a huge moment coming on the pitch and getting my first touch,” Hill recalls.

“The result was awful, but personally I was buzzing, and so were my family – I was probably the only one in the Bristol City team that day having to hide the smile on my face coming off the pitch.”

Things did get better for Hill with the Robins, going on to make almost 250 appearances including captaining the club before later being part of that successful Wolves team, including playing all 90 minutes of the 2-2 draw at Ashton Gate in the promotion-winning season.

“It was obviously a really proud moment to play so many games for Bristol City, and then an honour to share that experience of promotion with Wolves and being part of such a talented and athletic group of people.

“Going back to my debut though, I can’t believe I didn’t see any of the mascot fisticuffs at half-time – I must have already come in after warming up on the pitch!”

The media certainly hadn’t missed it.

The fracas between Wolfie and the three little pigs was hogging – excuse the pun – the headlines almost as much as the result.

For Lee meanwhile, he watched the team follow up with another three points against Saturday’s opponents Sheffield United, and an overall run of three wins in four which saw him land the job on a permanent basis.

Helping the team reach seventh place that season, only missing out on the play-offs on the final day, his only full season at the helm produced the same result, defeat at Bolton in the penultimate fixture amid some controversial refereeing decisions effectively ending promotion hopes that time around.

With finances still not overly forthcoming – Robbie Keane was sold and his replacement Ade Akinbiyi later went the same way – knocking on the door of the play-offs was by no means a disgrace, but a poor run in the following campaign saw Lee depart, ahead of a change in direction under Dave Jones.

“But overall, I really enjoyed my time at Wolves,” Lee concludes.

“It’s a great fanbase who support the club through thick and thin and I think that is what makes it a special club as well.”

“I do wish it could have gone on for longer, but I feel I did the best job I could under the circumstances, and very much enjoyed being there and being part of the football club.”

As for Wolfie, well, his legacy is that his battle with the Three Little Pigs is one which went down in folklore - even now, as a season ticket holder with son Sonny and lifelong mate Giles, the memories are never far away.

Memories from the day Wolves, and indeed Big Bad Wolfie, with echoes of the iconic nursery rhyme, huffed and puffed, and well and truly blew Bristol City’s house down.