Scouting legend Les Green's Hall of Fame

But one of the best talent-spotters in the area won't be there to cast an eye over the hopefuls.

After 23 years trekking up and down touchlines around the Midlands, 77-year-old super scout Les Green has finally decided to hang up his boots.

Green was a familiar face around the school and park pitches across the region, charged with the task of unearthing a few gems for Wolves.

He spotted Joleon Lescott, Danny Batth, Mark Davies, Elliott Bennett, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Liam McAlinden and saw them all go on to play for the Molineux men's first team.

In Lescott's case, he went on on to England honours and Premier League glory with Manchester City – he quickly became one of the most respected scouts in the area.

Another nine of Green's 'spots' – Ashley Vincent, Matthew Barnes-Homer, Amari Morgan-Smith, Chris Cornes, Jordan Fitzpatrick, Lee Collins, Kyle Bennett, Myles Storey, Josh Craddock – all went on to play professional football after leaving Wolves.

But now he has decided to call time on his dream job. Green was born in Ilford, Essex and picked up the Wolves bug after first watching them at Charlton in 1949.

He said: "I have had the time of my life. I have had a bloody good life anyway but to work at Wolves and be on the inside alongside professionals and have their respect has been wonderful.

"When people that have been in the game all their lives respect a goalkeeper that played in Division Six of the Wolverhampton Sunday League for Claregate United on the race course at Dunstall, that's a hell of a step.

"When they respect your opinion because you have had success in the past, that's very rewarding.

"The kindest thing people have said to me recently after it became known that I was retiring is 'you're old school' and I embrace that. I think yes, I bloody well am."

Green's obsession with Wolves began as a youngster and eventually saw him move to the area in 1967.

He said: "I am from Ilford but I became a Wolves fan at 11 much to my father's disgust, he was a West Ham fan.

"My dad took me to see them play Charlton in 1949 and that was it, I was hooked.

"I used to have The Pink (Sporting Star) and I used to come up and watch when I could afford it.

"I moved up here in 67. I got a transfer through the company I worked for, the Post Office Telephones which is now BT.

"I was able to buy a house in Wolverhampton which I could never have done in Ilford.

"I was next to my football club. It was the football club that brought me up here.

"The people in London that I worked with thought I was stark raving mad. When I came up here it was during the time of Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood speech.

"Wolverhampton's image was just about rock bottom. They thought I was going to the depths of hell but in fact I was going to Bilbrook."

Green's opportunity to work with Wolves came via a chance meeting with legendary Midlands scout Ron Jukes who was working for the club.

He said: "When I worked at BT I got myself pretty well known, I became a manager within the structure. Alan Parsons, who worked on the sales side, was manager of Boldmere St Michaels.

"I used to go around the non-league games and Alan introduced me to Ron. We got talking and he said 'do you get around much?'.

"I said I like to get round non-league grounds and he gave me his card and said 'if you see anything let me know'.

"Things went from there and I joined as a schoolboy scout in the centre of excellence, that was 23 years ago.

"Tony Painter, who was Ron's assistant, would ring me on a Friday and say, 'can you go and watch Cannock schools play or Wolverhampton schools?'.

"I would go and then put a report in on any players that I saw."

So what's the key ingredient required for a player to catch the eye?

Green said: "Something I discovered at the start, is that the ones that get signed are the ones with the strong mentality, the desire, pushy if you like.

"They want to win and are competitive. That's first and then you find if they have got technique and pace, things like that.

"All the managers when asked what they look for first, they say attitude and mentality. I am no fool – so those were the ones I went for.

"You see some technically gifted players but they don't make it because they don't have that grit and determination.

"It's a very tough life, professional football. Dressing rooms are a nightmare. There is a bit of a bullying culture – they call it banter. The sensitive need not apply, let's put it that way."

While Green's second career is hardly rewarding from a financial point of view, the satisfaction from seeing one of his 'finds' progress is priceless.

He said: "If you love a football club you work for them for nothing, don't you. We get expenses and a bonus if a player you spot progresses through the ranks.

"But you can't put a price on seeing players get on. They become like sons. I was there 23 years and I would say I used to watch about 150 games a season.

"There would also be bits of games, because if I went to a site where there were six pitches I would stroll around.

"They would have 10 minutes to show me what they could do. To be honest, if they haven't shown in 10 minutes I would be off. The good ones you spot straight away."

His love affair with all things gold and black will continue. Green along with his second wife Jill and the youngest of his 14 grandchildren, Sam, are season ticket holders.

He said: "The three of us will go and watch Wolves and I am keen to watch their 18s and 21s and have an opinion on every player. It will be interesting in testing my judgement."

As history proves, Wolves have benefitted greatly from Green's previous judgement calls.

Joleon Lescott, Mark Davies and current Wolves skipper Danny Batth top the list of Les Green's 'finds.'

Lescott is the most successful player Green has unearthed with his stellar displays for Wolves earning him a switch to Premier League outfit Everton.

His career then boomed with top-flight title success with Manchester City and 26 England caps.

Spells with Albion and Villa followed, but if it wasn't for Green's dedication to duty, Lescott may never have found his way to Molineux.

"What used to happen on a Sunday is that most scouts would go out on the morning, go back and have some lunch and then they wouldn't go out in the afternoon," said Green.

"I would do the morning, go back to have a bite to eat and go out again in the afternoon.

"One Sunday I was thinking I will go out locally, I won't go far. So I went to the Old Wulfrunians ground and they were playing Greenborne Harriers in an under-13 game.

And there was this midfielder, box to box, good attitude, worked hard.

"His parents came over because they had seen me in watching their elder son Aaron. All the scouts liked Aaron and he was at Villa. Joleon sort of went under the radar.

"I said he is a good player, he is busy, would he like to come to Wolves?

"I passed their details on to Rob Kelly and he called him up. They signed him and made him a centre-half. It's as lucky as that."

Green had high hopes for Davies and was disappointed when he left Molineux for Bolton.

"I used watch some of them more than once, but not with the good ones, not with Mark Davies, you only needed to see him once," said Green.

"You could only play 11-a-side down to under-10 at that time, there was no mini-soccer then. But what people did was set up ad-hoc leagues, 11 v 11 at under-9 and I got into that.

"Mark stood out like a sore thumb. He was outstanding but we couldn't sign him then because he was too young. I got him in for training and the rest is history.

"It was disappointing when he left. The former academy boss Chris Evans knew all about the players at Wolves and he took Mark to Bolton, I think they paid £2m for him."

But while Green was thrilled to see Lescott and Davies progress, be bristles with pride when Batth's name is mentioned.

"I watched Danny in one of those ad-hoc leagues as well," he recalls. "Geoff Coleman, the Villa scout, liked him and took him to Villa but they bombed him out when he was about 10 or 11.

"Tony Lacey at Wolves then mentioned to me one day that the under-11s had some good players but nothing at the back. And I thought shall I?

"I phoned up Danny's manager and his mum, Stella, and said I was going to give him a go. He came in and Tony said 'OK we will go with him'.

"It was his attitude. His mentality is so strong and it is to this day. If you could bottle what he has got every player would be great.

"At every level Danny has had to overcome barriers and he has got where he is because of his attitude.

"He is a leader too. He likes to lead and he is a strong lad in the dressing room.

"He is someone the players look up to because he works his socks off all the time.

"There is no side to him and no big head on him.

"Everybody had doubts including me, I just admire the guy. I am a great fan of Danny Batth."

Green still keeps in touch with Batth and offers a reassuring voice when things aren't going well.

"Danny contacted me while I was in Portugal for a race recently, he was in the Algarve at the same time," said Green.

"I messaged him after the West Ham game in the FA Cup last season, I thought he was superb that day. And I will get in touch if things are going bad.

"But I am not one of those people who hang onto the coat-tails of famous people.

"When Joleon got into the first team I sent him the report I had put in on him.

"He knows, he remembers and that's all that matters. I was proud of him when he got in the England team."