GP Books

Lifting the lid on his five decades in the game, Kenny tells of the highs of Europe and winning cups to the despair of bankruptcy at Wolves, while also revealing previously untold family heartache, and how he battled nerves throughout a playing career which was almost ended by a serious condition he coped with for 30 years before finally beating. He also talks of the brutal way his 20-year playing career ended and of his spells in coaching and management with Bristol Rovers, Walsall and Cardiff City.

“I was first asked to do a book in 1990 when I began my management career at Walsall but it didn’t feel as though it was the right time back then,” said Kenny. “However, now I have grandchildren, I found I wanted to give them an insight into my life and a legacy to pass on, and over the last three or four years, I have begun the process of writing my autobiography. Hopefully, fans will enjoy my story.”

The book, which also features over 60 photographs – many of which have not been published before, is co-written by Tim Nash, the former long-term Wolves correspondent of the Express & Star, and contains a heartfelt tribute from lifelong Wolves fan and world-renowned rock star Robert Plant, along with a foreword by John Richards.

Snapped up by Ronnie Allen for just £5,000 from Bradford Park Avenue in November 1968, Kenny is second in Wolves’ all-time appearance list with 574 games and is one of the club’s best value for money signings. He also scored 114 goals for the club – including the opening goal in the 1974 final against Manchester City – won two League Cups, and was a UEFA Cup finalist, as well as helping the club to two promotions to the top flight and the Texaco Cup. Inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame in 2011, he was known for his tenacity, a deadly shot in both feet and his sublime passing. He was considered one of the best players never to win a full England cap. He was the first recognised Wolves midfielder to score four goals in a game, in a 4-2 win against Newcastle in 1974-75, the season when he top scored with 17, including a club record nine penalties.

After leaving Wolves in 1984 as one of the club’s longest serving post-War players, he continued his top-flight career for two more years with Coventry City before joining Bristol Rovers, where he starred as player-coach and assistant manager and helped them to promotion and a Wembley final, then progressed into management with Walsall and Cardiff City, leading both clubs into the play-offs. Now 67 (in 2018), he is currently one of the longest serving Premier League referees’ assessors, having been appointed in 2003. He has lived with his family in the Cotswolds for over three decades.

‘Seasons of My Life’ tells Kenny’s life story, with a major focus on the highs and lows of his 16 years at Wolves, during which he played a prominent role in one of the most fondly remembered and successful teams in the club’s history. Kenny shines a light on a host of former team-mates and managers in his own forthright and passionate way, as well as reliving the triumphs and turmoil of daily life inside the dressing room, while he also tells how close he was to rejoining his beloved Wolves as part of the management team.