To celebrate 25 years of the Premier League each week in Football Fancast we’re going to be looking back at a memorable game that took place on the corresponding date. This time out we revisit a scenario that would confuse the hell out of David Attenborough as wolves savage foxes.

This is not the first time in this series that a quite remarkable Premier League game from the archives features a recently promoted side, nor will it be the last. It’s pretty easy to figure out why.

Like Burnley last week, Wolves in 2003/04 entered their inaugural campaign in the top flight still confident of their attacking prowess having put most opponents to the sword the previous year. The problem was their defence was now essentially a Championship level rear-guard facing the elite of the elite and until adventure was eventually curtailed in favour of five men stationed across the back this could often result in high-scoring thrillers.

This was certainly the case here though disrupting the rather neat narrative this seven-goal goal-fest took place around the time manager Dave Jones had called a halt to the attacking naivety and prioritised good old-fashioned clean sheets. The previous week had heralded their second consecutive shut-out and this after seeing fives and fours blasted past them in what was proving to be a baptism of fire for a side experiencing the top division for the first time since the early 80s.

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As for their opponents on Saturday October 25^th 2003, Leicester under the charge of Micky Adams were enduring a torrid opening few months that had them rooted in the bottom three. It was a miserable period that was only scheduled to get much worse but for now all eyes were on the pitch and a decent post-O’Neill squad that was simply not clicking.

This was Midlands derby, so it was no surprise that Molineux was packed out and jumping for a game that the hosts – even minus their injured captain Paul Ince – saw as winnable given the visitors’ woeful accumulation of just five points from nine games.

The majority of the ground was stunned then when Les Ferdinand powered home a header early on and, frustratingly, just moments after Wolves’ Henri Camara had squandered a one-on-one with Ian Walker. If that was unfortunate, what followed three minutes later was inexcusable as Ferdinand enacted almost a carbon-copy second, again from a corner and once again arrowed into the roof of the net from the striker’s forehead. It’s one thing to be bested by the elite of the elite, but to fail to learn lessons so fresh as to still sting was immensely self-destructive.

Before the referee offered the respite of blowing for half-time Wolves found themselves three down when Riccardo Scimeca drilled a twenty-yarder into the bottom corner.  This was becoming a rout.

Amazing comebacks tend to follow a particular pattern and here is no different. Firstly the manager reshuffles his pack at the break and in this instance Jones reverted to the tried and trusted 4-4-2 that had seen them come up through the play-offs that May. Soon after, a ‘consolation’ goal brings a muted response from the crowd and in the 52^nd minute the Black Country faithful dutifully offered up a semi-enthusiastic cheer for Colin Cameron’s driven effort. The next goal – in this instance a penalty following a bizarre handball from Leicester wideman Keith Gillespie – is always accompanied by empowering belief and sure enough all four corners of this famous ground were now shaking. Then comes the unbridled joy of the equaliser – Alex Rae’s stooped header with twenty minutes still on the clock – and that leads to the utter ecstasy of the miraculous winner.

That miracle occurred in this enthralling game’s dying moments as Denis Irwin fired a low ball across the six yard line and Camara – atoning for his earlier miss – redirected it past a flailing Walker. Cue bedlam in the stands and carnage on the touchline as the commentator’s vocal range explores new octaves. Cue utter deflation from the away side as they see defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.

Until they conform to necessary pragmatism to survive among the elite newly promoted teams are just the best.

What happened next?

Rather than being buoyed by this astonishing result Wolves promptly went on a winless streak that lasted until the end of the year. The finished the season bottom.

Joining them on a final total of just 33 points was Leicester whose woeful campaign disintegrated into scandal in March when three players were wrongly accused of rape after a team bonding trip to La Manga. Two months later DNA evidence cleared all three beyond doubt.

https://video.footballfancast.com/video-2015/PL25(03-04).mp4