Putting the focus on those players who have had long and well-travelled careers in the game, but only made a brief stop off at Molineux.
This week, we feature a player who helped Wolves to Premier League promotion as part of Mick McCarthy's 2008/09 Championship winning side - Marlon Harewood.
Before Wolves
Born in London, Harewood was a product of Nottingham Forest’s youth system and went on to represent the club in a competitive league match for the first time in 1998. In that year, he also spent a successful spell on loan at Finnish top-flight club Haka, where his three goals in 18 appearances helped the team to the championship title, as well as the Finnish Cup.
Following a further loan stint with Ipswich Town in the First Division, Harewood returned to a Forst side who were fighting against Premier League relegation, but he was unable to contribute to their survival, and the club dropped into the second tier. Harewood’s goals, including four in one game against Stoke City, helped fire Forest into the First Division play-offs in 2002/03, which ultimately ended in defeat in the semi-finals to Sheffield United, who themselves went on to lose in the final to Dave Jones’ Wolves side.
But the striker’s form in the second tier alerted the attention of West Ham United, having scored against the Hammers in the FA Cup in early 2003, and he moved to Upton Park just 10 months later. West Ham and Harewood were rewarded at the end of the 2004/05 season when his 17 goals in 45 appearances guided the team into the play-offs, before securing promotion to the Premier League following victories over Ipswich and Prestin North End.
Harewood spent two seasons in the Premier League with West Ham as he spearheaded Alan Pardew’s attack, notably scoring the first hat-trick of the 2005/06 season against Aston Villa. He also scored the wining goal in West Ham’s semi-final victory over Middlesbrough, booking their place in the final against Liverpool – which became one of the most memorable FA Cup finals of the last two decades, and saw the Reds overcome the Hammers on penalties following a dramatic 3-3 draw.
After falling out of favour during a poor run of results the following season, Harewood joined Aston Villa, where he would score his 100th career league goal in a 4-0 win over Blackburn Rovers in November 2007. Despite the move to Villa Park, Harewood continued to be a fringe player, and although spirited substitute appearances often helped turn results in Villa’s favour, the striker found his chances limited. During the 2008/09 season, he didn’t start a single Premier League match, and following the arrival of Emile Heskey in January, speculation linking him with a move away from Villa Park began to gain traction.
Wolves career
That move eventually came in March 2009, with Harewood making the short move across the West Midlands to join Championship Wolves on loan until for the remainder of the season. At this time, Wolves were having one of their greatest seasons in decades.
From the fourth game of the campaign – a 5-1 win over Forest at Molineux – Mick McCarthy’s men had taken top spot in the second tier, and they ended up never giving it away. Wolves already had a thriving attack of Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Chris Iwelumo, Andy Keogh and Sam Vokes, but with Ebanks-Blake having sustained a calf injury, Harewood came straight into the team following his move in an away trip to Birmingham City.
The game was to be one of Wolves’ worst results of the season, as the team fell to a 2-0 loss to their local rivals, while also losing Iwelumo to injury. Keogh and Vokes were favoured to Harewood in the next game at home to Southampton, with the latter putting the Old Gold ahead in the opening minute of their 3-0 win. Harewood would feature off the bench, as he did in the next two matches, which included the 3-2 thriller away at Derby County and the 1-0 home win against QPR, in which Wolves secured promotion to the Premier League.
A start in the 1-1 draw away at Barnsley would follow, but in Harewood’s five appearances for Wolves’ Championship title winners, he was unable to find the net.
After Wolves
After returning to Villa Park at the end of the season, Harewood was back on loan in the Championship in September 2009, spending three months on loan at Newcastle United, as he helped the team begin a campaign which saw the Magpies return to the top flight at the first time of asking, thanks to his five goals in 15 appearances.
Having missed the rest of the 2009/10 season through injury, Harewood’s contract was not renewed by Villa, and he eventually joined up with newly-promoted Premier League side Blackpool. Two days after signing, he scored twice as the Seasiders marked the top flight debut with a 4-0 win away at Wigan Athletic.
But the season ended with Harewood spending time on loan in the Championship with Barnsley, and following Blackpool’s relegation, Harewood was released. That was to be his last outing in the Premier League, as he moved to China in 2011 with Guangzhou R&F, before returning to former clubs Forest and Barnsley.
Harewood dropped down the divisions late in his career, as he turned out for Bristol City in League One, before spending two seasons in League Two with Hartlepool United. His final season in football came with Nuneaton Town during the 2015/16 term, where he scored 14 goals in 45 appearances for the National League North outfit.
This article originally featured in Wolves' official 2023/24 matchday programme. Last season's programmes are still available to purchase online through retailers Curtis Sports.
