Legendary Old Gold full-back Lee Naylor reflects on his most elegant, skilful and stylish teammates, kits and moments which make up his beautiful game.
Most beautiful player | Shunsuke Nakamura
There were quite a few at Celtic. Aiden McGeady was one and Nakamura was another. I could watch Nakamura all day. I would literally be on the same pitch as him and just love what I was watching. He never, ever lost the ball ever and his level of football intelligence was incredible.
Most beautiful Wolves teammate | Mark Davies
The player with the most ability was Mark Davies. He would literally just skip past players with ease. Glenn Hoddle absolutely adored him, but he was just hampered by injuries. His ability was right up there with some of the best. If it wasn’t for his injuries he could have gone to the very top. I think everyone that’s played with him would have said the exact same thing, because his level and his ceiling was a top four player.
Most beautiful opposition | Barcelona
It’s got to be Barcelona. Easy. They were something else. Whatever you think the level of football is, what they could produce was above that. The way they played and the way they moved the ball around, they gave you a false impression and made you believe you could get at them, but the minute you think that, they’re suddenly in behind you and scoring. That’s what they did. They would suck you in and exploit it. They’re decent now, but especially at the time I played them, when they had greats like Iniesta, Xavi, Deco, Henry, Ronaldinho, Messi; it was an actual joke.
Most beautiful goal | Naylor vs Ipswich Town, 2003
I’m going to give it myself, as I only ever scored worldies. I really enjoyed my goal against Blackburn at Ewood Park. I picked the ball up in my own half, dribbled, passed it out wide and I think Michael Branch crossed it back in, then I followed up with a volley and finished it. I did enjoy that one, but also my volley against Ipswich I think tops that. It was half-cleared from a corner, but I was 20, 25 yards out and hit it top bins. I actually remember the half-time talk as we got absolutely battered by the manager and I come out angry, so it was an angry strike, and I was just going to hit it with everything I’ve got.
Most beautiful kit | Wolves 1996-98 home
It's got to be my first kit at Wolves. Not only was it my favourite Wolves kit anyway, being an iconic kit with the wolf head design and one of the last Goodyear kits, but everything surrounding it, knowing how much it had taken me to get to that point, and it was the one thing that I’d always wanted to do. To actually get the chance to put the kit on, a kit that had been worn by all these Wolves players I’d looked up to when I was younger, was amazing.
Most beautiful stadium | San Siro
I loved playing at the Nou Camp, but, for me, the San Siro was better. It’s a unique looking ground anyway and it makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck when you’re in there, but then the atmosphere in there was incredible. That atmosphere added to everything about it. I don’t think it’s changed a lot in so many years. I know they’ve got plans to update it and I’ll be sad to see it get demolished because they’ve had a lot of memories in that stadium, but I understand you’ve got to keep up with the time with all the health and safety and that.
Most beautiful moment in history | Play-off final celebrations
My most beautiful moment in football was full-time at the play-off final and finally getting into the Premier League with Wolverhampton Wanderers. It had been a long, long time coming. I’d been at the club for however long, I’d come through the ranks and saw all the hardship of nearly getting there, failing, nearly getting there again, failing again, so to actually be part of the team to finally get over the line was one of the most special days of my life. I think being a final made it even more special. When you finish first or second, you go through, you know what the schedule’s going to be, but with the play-offs, you’ve got that anticipation of having two more games, and then we’ve got one more game to go in the final, which made it just a really special day. It turned the league season into a cup final for us, so not only did we get promoted it felt like we’d won the cup final as well. It was just a special day and a special moment.
This article originally featured in Wolves' official 2025/26 matchday programme. Last season's programmes are still available to purchase online through retailers Curtis Sports.
