Wolves fans wishing Howard Webb 'Good Luck' as he prepares to follow in the footsteps of former Wolverhampton referee Jack Taylor might feel they have to do so through gritted teeth following a couple of incidents from last season.

It was Webb in control of the whistle for the home game with Portsmouth last October when Marc Wilson's clear handball inside the penalty area went unnoticed, allowing Pompey to hang onto their 1-0 lead to pick up their first points of the season.

And it was Webb whose accidental presence on the edge of the penalty area which denied David Jones the chance to put pressure on Wigan's James McCarthy as he slotted home the Latics' opener in a 2-0 victory at Molineux in January.

Lest we forget however, there was another accidental Webb impact which proved to Wolves benefit not so long ago as his inadvertent interception on a Birmingham City pass gave the Molineux Men the chance to break and score their second goal in an FA Cup success at St Andrew's in January of last year.

Anyway.  We digress.

As Webb prepares to follow Taylor who refereed the World Cup Final of 1974, it is worth recalling that the Rotherham official's connections with Wolves extend well beyond those controversies of the last two seasons.

Because it was back in the 2003/04 season that Webb's first ever Barclays Premier League fixture involved Wolves, in an away game at Fulham.

The match, in October, 2003, finished 0-0.

His fifth Premier League fixture also involved Wolves on their travels, to Fratton Park and Portsmouth.

That match, in January, 2004, also finished 0-0.

And his second, third, and fourth Premier League matches?

You guessed it.  Bolton against Southampton.  Middlesbrough against Charlton.  Southampton against Leicester.  All 0-0!

Which brought Webb to his sixth Premier League posting, and Wolves again - this time at home to Fulham in February, 2004.

Speaking at the time, the then 32-year-old official admitted he was quite keen, from a neutral's point of view obviously, to see one hit the onion bag.

"It is just bizarre," he said at a time when referees' supremo Keith Hackett had dubbed him 'Howard 0-0 Webb'.

 "To have five goalless draws on the trot is bizarre enough but as the first five of your Premiership career is unbelievable.

"In my referees' instructions at the start of the game I used to talk to the assistants about dealing with goal celebrations - now I don't even bother!"

He was however looking forward to returning to Molineux where, the previous season, he had seen Wolves smash six without reply against Gillingham.

"The atmosphere is usually buzzing and it's a great place to play and referee," Webb added.

"And just maybe it'll be the game when I finally get a goal."

Sure enough, that hope was realised for the part-time Police Sergeant with South Yorkshire Police.

After 14 years working his way up the refereeing ranks and onto the Premier League's select panel, he finally viewed a top flight goal.

It was Wolves skipper Paul Ince who provided it with a fine left-foot finish beyond Edwin Van Der Sar after Alex Rae had got his head to Mark Clyde's through ball.

The goal came on 20 minutes, meaning Webb had finally presided over a top flight goal after a long old wait extending to ten minutes shy of eight hours.

Just like buses, a second goal arrived just after the interval - Carl Cort's first for Wolves and first in the Premier League for two years - and Steed Malbranque's late reply proved a mere consolation as the Molineux Men clung on for a 2-1 victory.

Webb meanwhile, who incidentally refereed the 2006 FA Trophy Final featuring Michael Kightly's man of the match appearance for Grays Athletic, appeared to have got the early goalless draws out of his system.

His next 80 Premier League assignments brought just three such stalemates.

Optimism then that Sunday evening's World Cup showdown between Holland and Spain - on the back of having refereed the Champions League final - will not go the way of those first five fixtures of Webb's top flight English career.

He heads into the biggest night of his life with backing from the most recent member of that exclusive club - English referees to have officiated a World Cup Final.

And that's Taylor, who of course made two penalty decisions in the game in which West Germany beat Holland 2-1 - the first after just 80 seconds!

"I'm delighted for Howard," said Taylor, who has previously worked as Wolves' Commercial Director and is still a regular visitor to Molineux.

"He is very fit, very authoritative without being too demanding, he has great communication with the players.

"He will be absolutely perfect and it will be the crowning moment of his career."