2007, a Review.

With our first year of blogging in the bag I thought it would be a good time to review the best and worst of 2007. Now obviously I haven’t heard every song, watched every film and seen every football game this year so this is only a reflection of my own experiences and views of 2007. Feel free to add your own faves on the comments page. Here we go, my very own Oscars!

Best Film – This Is England:

Director Shane Meadows follows the modern British classic Dead Man’s Shoes with another winner. This Is England follows a gang of skinheads in 80s England and Meadows does a great job in capturing the feeling of the period. It switches from heartwarming and funny to vile and menacing a few times during the film making it quite an experience to watch. Top performances from young Thomas Turgoose and Joseph ‘Eli Dingle’ Gilgun as well as a great show from Stephen Graham for making the viewer feel sorry for such a disgusting character.

Honourable mentions: Hot Fuzz, Knocked Up, The Simpson Movie.

Worst Film – Magicians:

As a massive fan of Peep Show this film was painful to watch. All concerned look uncomfortable and the script is awful. The comedic talents of David Mitchell, Robert Webb, Jessica Hynes, Peter Capaldi and particularly Steve Edge are wasted. Some of his dialogue made me want to stop watching the film. Truly shit.

Honourable mentions – Pirates of the Caribbean 3.

Best Album – The White Stripes - Icky Thump:

It’s always been a pleasure to pick up one of their albums and Icky Thump was no different. I really didn’t know what to make of it after my first listen but it grew on me in a big way. It’s great to see a band use both bagpipes and mariachi trumpets of the same album!

Honourable mentions – The World Is Yours: Ian Brown, Hey Venus!: Super Furry Animals, Neon Bible: Arcade Fire.

Best Song – Sister Rose – Ian Brown:

Apparently this only got to number 87 in the UK charts which to my reckoning must have sold about twelve copies. Despite this poor chart placement it’s my favourite tune of 2007. Like the best solo stuff he’s produced it’s heavy on the strings giving it a film score like quality. I find it extremely exhilarating.

Best Television Programme – Heroes.

Yes I know it resembles a soap and at times the acting is as wooden as a mighty oak tree but I’ve found it really addictive viewing. I didn’t like it to begin with but I eventually went back to it and loved it second time round. I’ve even switched to watching American TV just so I can see the second series early.

Honourable Mentions – Gavin and Stacey, Lost, Charlie Brookers Screenwipe, Flight of the Conchords.

Worst Television Programme – X Factor:

My God I hate Sharon Osbourne. What a repulsive little troll she is.

Honourable Mentions – Tittytittybangbang, Kate Brand Show.

Best Comedian – Frankie Boyle:

This Glaswegian has been a regular on the numerous television panel shows this year and has for me raised the bar on what I expect from these sort of programmes. His stand up pulls no punches and he doesn’t shy away from any topic, something I like in my comedians. I’m sure he’ll be big in 2008. Here’s some quotes:

“So the Spice Girls are coming back? The only reason I’d want to see Geri Halliwell draped in a Union Jack again would be after she’d been killed in battle”

“What were Al Qaeda thinking when they attacked Glasgow Airport? Let’s bring a Holy War to Glasgow? We’re 400 years ahead of you lads, you haven’t even got yourselves a football team yet”

Honourable mentions: Stewart Lee, Andre Vincent, Ricky Gervais.

Best Wales Game – Wales 5 – Slovakia 2.

For a brief moment there was so much hope.

Worst Wales Game – Cyprus 3 – Wales 1.

And back down to Earth.

Best Everton Game – Everton 7 – Sunderland 1.

Scary thing was we could have scored more.

Worst Everton Game – Everton 1 – Liverpool 2.

It’s all water under the bridge now and I’m totally over it but I’ve got to say referee Mark Clattenburg should have committed Harakiri after this game.


Doubt I'll get another chance to blog before Christmas now so I take this opportunity to say Merry Christmas to all who have taken the time to read any of our rambles.

On the Up?

I had clearly not quite woken up and finished my fresh pot of coffee when i posted earlier this morning stating; Wrexham on the up... This is not me being fickle, just i've got home, thawed out and need to put thoughts to keyboard - that was the worst 2nd half performance i've ever seen at Wrexham. 1-0 up, and a penalty saved in the first half, we looked shaky, and were lucky, getting to half time without conceding, a vital half time team talk to consolidate / tighten up, and we'll bag the vital points. What unfolded was, as said, the worst Wrexham performance i've seen. Shaun Pejic was dreadful, "Take your dads bucket off your foot" a good summary (reference to his father Mel, the clubs medic/physio). Steve Evans was awesome in the air clearing everything dropping onto the defensive line, though their first goal they played right through us along the floor for a cross to be headed in unchallenged (a team who hadnt scored in 500+ minutes, and manager-less). Another mix-up in communications led to their 2nd resulting in somehow Steve Evans bungling in an own goal. The crowd by now vocally on the teams back watching this catastrophic 10 minute collapse. Their 3rd came some 5 minutes later, i'd even turned my head upfield to view players positions anticipating the "hoof it" punt, only to turn back when i heard the Brentford fans cheering / laughing as their 3rd trickled over the line from what must have been a Pejic howler. Cue a mass exodus from all 3 sides of the ground in protest, a barrage of 'viscious' booing and a rounds of "what a load of rubbish", players with heads in their hands, it was dire, it was the worst. Pejic was subbed, and boo'd all the way off. I stayed to the end just to see the reaction of fans and players, Steve Evans was the only player who walked the line applauding all sides and corners of the ground - despite people hanging over the advertising hoardings all around the ground hurling vocal abuse at him and the players slinking off behind him, hostile to say the least.

Having looked back earlier today at the past years posts on this blog, and comments about non-league football becoming a reality and "where is Forest Green" etc, after what i've seen again today, it is once again a "real" possibility, no joke. A transfer window is desperately required to off-load and re-load for the 2nd half of this season for surival. Watch this space...

1st Year Over

This blog started up a year ago this week, as i think a one year project/experiment, i think we'll keep it going (thanks for subscribing, and regular readers!)... However, a bigger brother blog may be created soon... or maybe not...

A year in the football close to me: Wrexham FC have had 3 different managers give their team talks, the worst player i've seen in a professional game; on loan Maheta Malango was laughed at by thousands of home fans for hitting the corrugated back of the kop for the last time. The club and my nerves survived a final day relegation battle in the May sunshine, and are currently worse off than this time last year, though are on the turn under Brian Little.

I've managed to see a match from just about every North Wales league system in the last year (though not a Welsh Premier game), and seen some dreadful / hilarious games and injuries / fights. I've been battered and bruised in a few 7-a-side games in Mold, and I think have persnally scored more than ever in the last 12 months of Wednesday night football (it's at least 5 goals - memorably, 2 in one game).

Wales national team continue to have ill-timed blips and continue to provide 'hope for the future' with emerging players, players gaining experience and potenial fruition, raised performances and youth system improvements; it really is hope for the future. Englands "Golden Generation" have flaked to reveal their true 3rd place non-qualifying "Bronze" colours. Their new national manager is set to address the nation next week, with aid of an interpreter...

To Christmas, I braved Chester last week, not good - Mr Holder screamed at me, three shops in a row (true); "ITS CHRISTMAS!", ye, thanks Noddy. All 'vote' TV programs will soon be having their "Finals", where one pop factor will predictably take #1 in the charts. I won't write a Chrsitmas bashing post, just a thought to ponder; do you find the twinkling lights in shop windows / high streets make you even more pissed, even when you know you clearly are pissed? Let the seaon of excess begin! For me starting Wednesday, as once again it's the last Wednesday night football of the year, followed by a 'long' evening from pitch to the pub with players past and present for the awards of "Player of the Year", "Most Improved Player" and of course (accompanied by a nasty top-shelfter) "Twat of the Year", looking forward!

Anyhow, Brentford at home today, i'm off to the Racecourse for an afternoon of frozen up's and downs. Bliss it is to have escaped a Saturday amid the Chester Christmas shoppers... may everybody get blocked in doorways. Come on the town!

PS: Did anyone else see last weeks Welsh Premier result: Carmarthen Town 8 v 0 Connahs Quay result? 6 goals in the first 24 minutes, this included 4 goals from one player inside 21 minutes (who ended up with 5)?! Ray Stubbs' vidi-printer in melt-down, and Garth Crooks & Co in total disbelief, proclaiming this must be something of a record in the professional game, no?

Road to South Africa - Group A

Hmm, Group Four. I've had a few days to take in the draw and the task Wales face. Let's take a look...

Germany - The best team in Europe at present? Possibly. So are there any positives to be taken out of being drawn against this nation again. Well for starters you'd probably have to accept the fact that any name pulled out of the top pot would have made most Welsh fans wince. People would argue and say 'better to get Greece or Croatia'. I think these people should take a look at the efficiency that these two nations showed in winning their Eur0 2008 qualifying groups. No I think the only plus we can take from it is, to quote John Toshack, "Better the devil you know". At least many of our players know what to expect to some extent and the draw in Frankfurt last month can only aid confidence. Yes I know the Germans started the game with their foot off the pedal but they really wanted it towards the end. Anyway with only group winners claiming automatic qualification the realists would say Germany are sure to claim top spot, leaving the other nations to fight it out for second place. This takes us on to...

Russia - I think many Welsh supporters thought of one thing when Russia were put in the same group as us. Revenge. For those who are unaware of the history, Russia beat Wales in one of the Euro 2004 play offs. After a decent first leg in Moscow we were mouth wateringly close to qualifying for the tournament but we blew it big style back at home with no excuses. I love the thought of playing them at the Millennium Stadium again and I'm sure several of the Welsh players will too. That said our squad is unrecognisable from the one that played four years ago. I imagine most of our team were still at school in 2003. Don't get me wrong, I fully appreciate how hard it'll be to get anything from either game. England recently found this at their expense. However I think there's a strong possibility highly influential coach Guus Hiddink will leave his post after Euro 2008. He left the Dutch after France 98, he left the South Koreans after the 2002 World Cup and he left the Australians after Germany 2006. He hasn't signed an extension yet, so I expect the trend to continue. I'm not suggesting that Russia will fall apart without him and all the technically gifted Russian players will suddenly lose their ability but they're surely going to miss him. Yeah okay I'm clutching at straws...

Finland - Another nation who had a good Euro 2008 qualifying campaign narrowly missing out to Portugal and Poland in a difficult group. This was exceptional, especially for a nation with a worst tournament qualifying record than us. Finland's improvement has been attributed to coach Roy Hodgson, who left the role last week. This will be a loss for them and I doubt they'll be able to attract an equally high profile replacement. I've read that defensively the Finns are great but they can be quite ineffective in front of goal so perhaps we can expect two nil-nils against them.

Azerbaijan - Ahh we meet again Azeris! We've been drawn with them in our Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006 campaigns making me think some of the Welsh supporters should have bought a time share in Baku. They've improved since we first faced them in 2oo2 and they will not be a push over but if we drop points against Azerbaijan we wont stand a chance of finishing anywhere near second place. The 1-1 draw against them in the opening game of the World Cup 2006 qualifiers really knocked the stuffing out of us. Obviously need to avoid a repeat of this. Interestingly they beat Finland this year. They look good to take points from one of the above teams, preferably Russia.

Liechtenstein - The Group A whipping boys? I'm not convinced there's such a thing in world football anymore. The so called European minnows such as Malta are beginning to produce one or two decent players and getting the odd respectable result. San Marino weren't far from claiming a draw against us and were a lot closer to getting one against Ireland back in February. We soundly beat Liechtenstein 4-0 a year ago but it should be noted they've got some brilliant results since then. In the space of a few months they've beaten Latvia and taken four points from Iceland. However if we approach the games properly we should claim six points.

Summary - I'd be happy with a respectable third place in the group. I think every nation will take points off each other and as long as we win the games against Liechtenstein and Azerbaijan we take the pressure of ourselves. You know with a young squad it'll be another roller coaster campaign as you will unlikely see the consistency that experience brings. We'll hopefully see some new faces pop up during the games. The likes of Sam Vokes, Ched Evans, Simon Church and, if his heart is definitely in it for Wales, Joe Collison. Some nice away trips too, a bit boring for the regular travellers but cool for novices like me. I quite fancy Helsinki or perhaps Moscow.

Anyway onwards to Norway at the Racecourse!!!

Brian Little Wrexham FC

OK, i'm signed in, it's late, am a little bit pissed from a trip round a few Conwy public houses (more stories attached, i'll divulge them shortly!), but... I had to log on and tap in about Wrexhams new boss, Brian Little.

I was fortunate enough to get into Wrexham FCs Centenary Club last night to hear the open-forum/discussion with the new manager. This is a regular, 2/3 times a season opportunity,the fans get to chat and question the manager of the club; this was Little's 1st. He spoke at great length about his background as a player and as a manager, this guy is seriously experienced in the football world - and seriously could talk all night long about it! It seems almost fate that he and Brian Carey are working together at Wrexham: Little bought and managed Carey at Leicester, the two seem to be a good match-up. He seemed to have genuine ambition with Wrexham FC, I hope he's not just putting himself in the shop window at Wrexham - but his talk persuaded me he isn't!

What I did find very interesting was his method of team selection prior to his first game, and this wasn't just any old 1st game, but notorious fierce derby, and current high-up-the-table: Chester City FC. His selection and management process was thus: "I will not look at previous team sheets (a stressed no no! and I believe he didnt!), I will watch the lads all week in training, watch the international call-ups "who clearly must have something about them" (Steve Evans, Neil Taylor and Marc Williams) on their return in training and select a team based on training efforts and abilities in the 10 days between taking charge and the 1st game".

This resulted in a fantastic team selection against Chester. As a fan of defensive systems and players myself; seeing Steve Evans, Richie Hope, Shaun Pejic, Neil Taylor and Wes Baynes run out I was delighted... except for my question of, who's he? (Wes Baynes). I'd seen a few pre-season reserve games, and hadn't noted Wes Baynes! But, he was a player who had obviously impressed Little. This was a player from the youth system and a reserve regular, he was given his debut in the 1st team under Littles 1st game in perhaps the biggest derby, he'd not even figured as a sub previous to last Sunday! Testament to Little's selection process.

A question from the floor of "What do you make of the drinking culture amongst players around the town?" - a question which definitely took Little by surprise (thankfully!), and one he said he would ask the question about and "get to the bottom of, if there is any truth in the allegation".

Can I just say too - Neil Taylor, who i do seem to go on about far too much, was fantastic last Sunday running the left-back position, and out-pacing any winger/striker and putting in his now (for me) trademark "hard sliding tackle".

Will I regret this post of bigging up Brian Little and the seemingly re-juvinated Wrexham FC, after an away defeat tomorrow afternoon to Rochdale, probably not! Little came across as, and I beleive is, a genuine bloke with a genuine ambition with Wrexham at heart. Please prove me right, and again, mid-table anonymity this season = great strives forward!

Singing off, bit pissed.

Long Weekend Part I - (A New) Hope

I woke up last Saturday, about 8am, knowing it would be around 36 hours before I get back into a bed. An action-packed weekend was planned. First, to Mold market to pickup a few 'classic' market buys, you know; cheap size D batteries, a Thermos, a torch which might last a night and a beanie hat and some cheap probably out of date crisps and snacks and what-not, all in preparation for the night ahead.

But it was still only early afternoon, so how would I wile away the hours before dark? Check the local football action in the Flintshire Chronicle in WHSmith of course. The nearest action to my location was at Hope Sports Centre, where Castell Alun Colts FC (Hope) were in a top of the table clash with Mold Alexandra. I'd not seen "The Alex" in my time in the locality, and as this league is a feeder league to the Cymru Alliance (Conwy's league), that was my game of choice. I park up at Hope Sports/Leisure Centre, also twinned with the high school in Hope, Ysgol Castell Alun, I amble over to the pitch with the activity of players and a few spectators. I presume the school and football club is in someway named after the looming ruins of Caergwrle castle overlooking the village.

Whilst making this amble over to pitchside, dodging puddles and trying not to slide on the mud, an old man with moustache, hearing aid, wearing a light brown trenchcoat and donning a trilby hat and carrying a stack of perhaps 100 paper cups, caught me up in the mud (I was wearing slippy shoes, he was in boots, ok). I asked "Is this where The Alex are playing today?" as he passed me, "Yes" he replied slightly excited, and immediately suspected 'I wasn't from around here' by asking "Where have you come from today?"... we quickly descended into a full-on football conversation.

Turns out he is the founder of Castell Alun Colts FC, "I set this club up in 1972" he exclaims as we approach the 'roped off' pitch. Imagine your old school football pitch with a lame rope around it propped up by iron pegs... "We have to be called Castell Alun, as the school demanded it - if we are to use their pitch and facilities, we were to use their name also". Fairly harsh. "We have to put this pathetic rope around the pitch too, we're not allowed to put fixed railings around the pitch, because of health and safety!".

Within 1 minute of chatting to him about the Clwyd / Flintshire / Wrexham lower league setup (of which his team was flying high in the areas Premier League), he told me how Castell Alun have won this league twice in the last 10 years, but on both occassions had to forfeit promotion because the schools refusal to line the pitch with railings (a basic requirement of Cymru Alliance clubs). If they win the league again this season, he said that he'll be moving the club away from the school. From a distance he proudly introduced me to the coaching staff and players, pointing out the manager used to be a member of the Wrexham FC coaching staff until recently, and a few of his teenage 'stars' he asked me to keep an eye on. He disappeared into the gaggle of coaches players and avid (perhaps 40) fans; he was something of a local character, that was obvious.

I was wanting Castell Alun FC to turn Mold over before the game had begun following the conversation with their founder. It took 2 minutes for Mold to get ahead. Full match report here (which confirms an attendance of "38", nice!). It was seriously windy, seriously cold pitchside, and no refreshments in miles... But half-time brought up a slightly embaressing situation, the raffle. The founder, who i'd spoke to at length was the one walking around selling the raffle tickets at half-time, i'm sure he banked on my contribution, i had 45p in my pocket, and knew it wouldn't be enough, so I slipped and slid back over to the car park and re-emerged for the second half - well, it was cold! The game finished 1-2 to Mold, good stuff, i'd be back somewhen (and will buy two raffle tickets next time).

Night was drawing in. I leave the village of Hope and head towards Wrexham...

Wales didn't qualify, but!

Positive about the future. Last night, Wales get a 0-0 draw, away, against "football superpower" Germany, in an international qualifier. Made all the more remarkable with the players fit and available to Wales: Hennessey, Ricketts, Gabbidon, Collins, Nyatanga, Gunter, Fletcher, Davies, Edwards, Ledley, Earnshaw (Easter 55). 6 eligible for the Wales U21team - who in the last week have beaten France (a country with a youth policy second to none) 4-2 in Cardiff, and Bosnia 4-0 in Wrexham and on course for qualifying for the U21 Euros - weldone Brian Flynn and the Welsh FA. This 'was' a match the Germans wanted to win, fielding a strong side to finish their group topping campaign with a win (Miroslav Klose, World Cup golden boot winner anybody?), the boo's from the stands testament to Wales' performance. So I thought i'd tune into BBC Five Lives 606 phone-in...

It seemed another game was melting the 606 phonelines... I saw the last 25 minutes of this England game, i saw Crouch's goal to bring them level, and my first thought was "Fuck! The summer brigade of quasi-England fans with St George flags wedged in their car windows will be in a North Wales town near me" - you know, the ones which look like an ambassador is visiting, except when on a mid-range family saloon. So when sub Petric wrapped his left peg round the Croatian 3rd, the relief was immense... I then began to look closer at everything, McClaren continued to be silent, supping mainly on a bottle of water wedged into the dug-out with "Big Tel", it then cuts to Bilic stomping every inch of the Wembley technical area screaming orders, hand gesturing orders to every player, he was still on the attack - in a 'doesnt matter' game for them, they could have rolled over and lit up an Havana cigar. Where was England's "we'll shed blood for a point, what ever it takes" attitude from the players? It had all but gone, and only Motson was on hand to gee up the England fans watching on TV with a 91st minute corner "PLEASE let Beckham take it, please!", sounding as pathetic as his comment less than 60 seconds later informing us "Andorra still only trail by a goal to nil against Russia"... final whistle, cut to Ian Wright, who definitely wasn't feelin' like chicken tonight. Simply brilliant TV!

The 606 phone-in consisted mainly of: McClaren out, ban all foreigners ever from the Premier League, where was the passion?, re-vamp football in school PE lessons, and of course McClaren out some more. Download the podcast and frankly, have a bloody good gut-laugh! Wales barely got a mention, but it just didn't matter, with the future of talent I saw at the U21 match at the Racecourse last Saturday night, Tuesdays U21 win over France, and last nights full international v Germany - our time will come. Cadwch y fydd!

Stereophonics - Cardiff International Arena 20.11.07

I've somehow managed to see Stereophonics play live four times. Not bad for a band I'm not that bothered about. It's quite sad really when you consider there are probably fanatical Stereophonic fans out there who haven't seen them as many times as me. I'm not sure where my indifference stems from. It's not that I dislike them, I've just never felt like buying one of their albums. When they first arrived on the scene I was pretty interested in them. I saw them at V97 in Leeds, bottom of the bill but newly signed to the V2 record label. Off the back of the performance I bought 'More Life in a Tramps Vest' and then 'Traffic' on CD single. I didn't go on to buy anything else, I think the reason purely being because there was so much else going on in music at the time. Heavyweight releases like 'Urban Hymns', 'The Fat of the Land' and 'OK Computer' all came out within a couple of months of their debut album 'Word Gets Around'. You also need to remember they released it the week after the monstrously over hyped but lovably flawed Oasis album 'Be Here Now'. Anyone who can remember the coverage of that album release will understand how the Stereophonics could have been overlooked by myself during the summer of 97. It was crazy, everyone bought a copy of 'Be Here Now'. Had Princess Di died a week earlier it would have been the second story on the news after the release of 'Be Here Now'. It was HUGE!!!

Anyway I'm wandering off the subject. I think they're a far better band since getting rid of drummer Stuart Cable. It was a cruel thing to do to the guy but a shrewd move nonetheless. I'm sure Cable is a good guy, I'm positive he is, but when he started doing the presenting on BBC 2W the band undeniably lost credibility. You could imagine lead singer Kelly Jones sat at home watching Stuart Cable interviewing Max Boyce and thinking "He's got to go". Replacement Javier Weyler has done a good job since coming in. He seems a better drummer and he gives the band a different sexed up image. During the gig last night he whipped off his top much to the approval of the female members of the audience. Compare that to the curly mop hair do and googly eyes combo of Cable.

The gig was really enjoyable. The didn't shy away from playing their singles like some more pretentious act do. There isn't really anything pretentious about them at all and this accessibility attracts a wide audience. There were people of all ages, shapes and sizes in the crowd last night. Noticeably a lot of children which is great for them. This is one of the perks of living in a city. Growing up in North Wales meant we'd have to go off to Manchester or Liverpool if we wanted to see a gig and then we'd have to sleep in Manchester Piccadilly or Lime Street after missing the last train home. It was the third night in a row at the CIA so I was impressed to see the amount of effort the band put into the gig. Highlight of the night for me was 'Roll Up and Shine', my favourite track from 'Performance and Cocktails'. In fact I was quite surprised at how many albums tracks I recognised. With CDs being so cheap at the moment maybe it's time I bought their albums.

The only downside of last night was the £3.70 fee for a can of Carlsberg and the fact I missed the Under 21s game between Wales and France at Ninian Park. A magnificent 4-2 victory puts Wales on course for qualifying for the tournament in Sweden in 2009. Fair play lads, keep it up and I might be heading to Scandinavia in the summer of 2009!

Luck of the Irish - Wales v Republic of Ireland 17.11.07

As the final Euro 2008 qualifier in Cardiff came to an end on Saturday evening the sense of relief provided by Jason Koumas and his dramatic late penalty obscured the usual feeling of disappointment that comes at the end of a campaign. The Irish fans, who were fantastic throughout, were finally silenced and for around five minutes the Millennium Stadium held the sort of atmosphere I would love to see at all of our home games. I sat in the North Stand for a change and it was miles better than where I usually buy tickets for. It was mostly made up of adults who were up for a sing song but all very good natured. And best of all it's the cheapest seating area! Had a great night in Cardiff afterwards. Got talking to some top Irish fans about the match in Hard Rock Cafe, I went round each one asking who they wanted as their next manager and why like I was interviewing them for Football Focus!!!

Under circumstances I don't think Wales could have done much better on Saturday. The loss of Bellamy and Bale were hard enough to cover but to lose Earnshaw and Nyatanga so close to kick off would have given Toshack a headache. Starting with both Earley and Gunter could have blown up in his face but they pulled it off. I thought tactically things went well enough and we took the forced substitution of Carl Robinson in our stride. In fact one of the main plus points for me was the introduction of Dave Edwards. He made a few mistakes, which is to be expect on his first cap, but he looked hungry. I know I'm getting well ahead of myself here but after ten minutes I was thinking we have to start with him against Germany! We're amazingly short on midfielders and with the promising batch in the Under 21s far off maturity you have to at least consider giving Edwards a chance in the friendly against Norway in February. Chris Gunter also looked confident in both the left and right back positions and wasn't scared of going forward when needed. You could perhaps criticise Toshack for bringing on Easter before Cotterill. I couldn't really understand that one, Easter obviously had a great season last year but he's hardly kicked a ball this one. Problem is as well he's never really looked like scoring in the games he's played for Wales. Hopefully he can prove himself at a higher level while on loan at Plymouth and keep his place as the fourth choice striker.

Jason Koumas showed why he will always be in the starting eleven for Wales. He can at times seem so disinterested during a game but then pop up just when you need him. His header of Saturday was a peach and it showed his versatility when it comes to goal scoring. He was a constant threat against Ireland forcing a couple of good saves from long distance. As many Welsh fans predicted he picked up another yellow card which stops him from playing in Germany. Koumas has a poor attendance record for Wales away games and this has led to rumours beginning to circulate about him having a Dennis Bergkamp style fear of flying. This would explain a lot about his international career but I believe if he came out and admitted to having a phobia most Welsh fans would be sympathetic and get off his back. Best working something out with him than losing him completely. That said it could be a load of rubbish and Koumas just might prefer spending the odd international break at home with his missus.

Anyway onto to Germany for the last one minus most of our first choice team. You would have to say a thrashing is on the cards but don't worry Welsh fans check out this conspiracy about Wednesdays match put forward on the Sporting Life website-

Germany, it has been suggested, might not want to win the group now because it would make them one of the four top seeds. That would see them alongside hosts Austria, Switzerland and holders Greece.
If Germany contrive to finish second on Wednesday, they would then give themselves the chance of meeting one of those three decidedly weak sides in next summer's finals, rather than being forced to avoid them by the seeding.

First the JFK assassination and now this! I just don't know who to trust anymore!

A Little Mid-Table Anonymity Please

So, it's official, Brian Little is appointed Wrexham FC's new manager. Back to yesterdays post, i just hope we get something of an act together and begin to climb steadily up towards mid-table anonymity, and not be the laughing stock propping up League 2 again.

I drove past the Racecourse just over an hour ago, the floodlights we're on, and flags along the kop were at half-mast - is this a traditional symbol of a change in manager in residence? Or perhaps the marking of a passing of an ex-Wrexham FC player or long standing fan? Great gesture either way.

Anyhow, new manager, brighter times ahead, surely!

At last nights "Wednesday night football", I learnt one of the lads who plays with us, lives next door to Neil Taylor (the young left-back i've been raving about for the past 6 months). Apparently "he's a cock", on enquiring further he is said to also be "a fuckin' chav". What I think is... Neil is becoming Wrexhams 1st choice left-back, he represents Wales U19's as captain, has Wales U21 experience and may even one day break through to gain his first international cap... whereas his neighbour... might be jealous of just playing on Wednesday nights with us lot kickin' lumps out of each other for an hour and a half! Gilly, if you're reading this, fair play you're a nippy little bastard on the pitch, and sorry for any shin damage you may be experiencing today.

The Joke Continues

Wrexham FC. Ive got to write about it. OK, "quick capsule review" of recent 2007 events:

June - Carey offered a "2 year managerial contract", following keeping Wrexham in the Football League on the final Saturday, he accepts.

July/August: Pre-Season doesnt go well. Results begin "OK", good home win v Morecambe, beat Port Vale in the League Cup, and get to face Aston Villa...

Last 3 months: "Everything" deteriorates, rapidly, worse than i've ever seen on the pitch.

And so here we are, mid November; Wrexham have scored "3" goals at the Racecourse all season. Chesterfield scored 3 at the Racecourse in just 15 minutes... it's bad.. The chairmen announced almost 2 weeks ago now on the "official" website that Carey will be asked to step down (sacked?) and perhaps "assist" a more experienced manager - "an announcement will be made on Thursday" . On BBC Sport we had headlines such as "Brians Exit Speech". Rumours abound to Careys successor... though when no announcement was made. Confusion and speculation and conspiracy theories abound... the next day the board then comment to the press about potential names taking over and who they have "been in conversation with": "Aldridge, Mark Wright, Stan Ternant" etc etc.

Yet, Carey is manager for the FA Cup game at Peterborough. Wrexham lose 4-1... our defensive gaffs are later laughed at by Lawrenson, Hanson and Lineker on Match of the Day, the Hope & Williams howler being the last scene of the closing credits, great...

The chairmen announce 'this week' in the press "We have not spoken to anybody about the vacancy, and have not received an application"... Carey is in the press as "manager" and saying things like "There's no point sulking, we must carry on". What a mess... and YESTERDAY, an announcment of Wrexham maybe closing a deal with Brian Little... Just how shambolic does the club sound?

Whatever happens, whoever they announce in the next 24 hours, all I ask for is mid-table anonymity - anything above 20th to be honest! I couldn't stand a survival Saturday again. And you know, it wouldn't surprise me if they deny 'again' any talks with anybody, and nobody is appointed.

On a finishing note to this whole debacle, I really hope Steve Evans sorts his act out, or the club help him overcome his demons. For the past 12 months he's been an alleged drunk, seen most nights round Wrexham, turning up for training drunk, dropped from the team on various occassions for alleged heavy Friday nights round Wrexham (spotted last Friday night in Wrexham, and surprise surprise isnt even on the team bus for the FA Cup tie last weekend). I've refused to believe a lot of the rumours surrounding Steve, but i'm reading far too often "Steve spotted pissed again in "... Come on Steve, you're a role model, national representative, and on his day the best no-nonsense DFA centre-back i've seen in a Wrexham shirt as a supporter.

Everton March On

Just a quick post following Everton's second win in Group A of the UEFA Cup. It was generally a comfortable game for them with another strong finish to put them at the top of the table. It should be enough to progress to the knock out stage which is a mouth watering prospect when you consider all the Champions League drop outs plop into the mix. A lot of Everton's success so far in the competition has come from Moyes bringing on Victor Anichebe as a one match wrecking machine late on in the game. The way he took his goal tonight was a brilliant display of power, speed and deadly finishing. I felt a bit for FC Nurnburg midfielder Jawhar Mnari who was made to look like a weakling when Anichebe bumped him aside before calmly slotted the ball past the keeper. And best of all he's only 19!

I didn't know much about FC Nurnberg going into the match tonight. I was amused to hear the name of their stadium is The Easy Credit Stadion and the fact their shirt sponsor read Mister*Lady only complimented my ridicule. I wasn't expecting to recognised any of their players but then I was alarmed to see one name on the team-sheet I knew... Marek "Scourge of the Welsh" Mintal. This swine has scored four goals in two games for Slovakia against Wales and part of me was anticipating him to be a goal scorer tonight. Luckily he was kept under control tonight but I reckon I haven't seen the last of him. All in all plenty to be pleased about if you're an Everton fan.

RANDOM MOAN - Ian Wright is currently appearing in adverts for Wii, Asda, Kelloggs and Ladbrokes. Every time it went to an ad break tonight his face popped up trying to convince me to buy something. Throw in those bad memories of him flapping his arms in those Chicken Tonite adverts in the 90s and you can safely say this man has no integrity. Maybe he can sense his punditry work is coming to an end so he's making as much money as possible. He is after all the worst football pundit ever. To say he is impartial would be an understatement. When England lose he just sits there slumped in his chair mumbling one word answers like a moody child. And the way he says "we" instead of "England" really annoys me, he's meant to be a journalist. I don't know why the BBC just doesn't let him dress up as a Beefeater and have done with it.

Porter Wagoner 1927-2007

While scanning through Ceefax on Monday morning I came across the news that country music legend Porter Wagoner had passed away.

If you’re not a fan of country music you can be excused for not knowing anything about Porter Wagoner. Until recently I hardly knew anything about him either. He’s briefly mentioned in Johnny Cash’s autobiography ‘Cash’ as being one of the first artists he toured with. Cash goes on to say he’s a fan of Wagoner and reveals how well liked he is in the industry. It wasn’t until earlier this year that I properly began to learn more about Porter Wagoner and it came purely from the fact I‘d bought tickets to see ‘The White Stripes’ at Madison Square Garden.

I was thinking a band the size of ‘The White Stripes’ playing an arena the size of Madison Square Garden would demand some formidable support acts. When I found out the two supporting artists were Nick Cave’s new band Grinderman and some country act called Porter Wagoner I’ve got to admit I was initially disappointed. Despite this I thought I might as well find out a bit about him and maybe download some of his music as a taster. The more I read the more I could see how highly regarded he was in country music and why he was suitable choice for a support act. He had enjoyed a long solo career but was perhaps better known for his duets with Dolly Parton which spanned three decades. Parton has said in past interviews that her universally recognised song ‘I Will Always Love You’ was written for Wagoner. Away from music he hosted his own TV show in the sixties and seventies, the imaginatively titled ‘The Porter Wagoner Show. He had recently undergone a Johnny Cash/Rick Rubin style makeover with his acclaimed album ‘Wagonmaster’ introducing him to a new market and younger audience. This renaissance combined with the ‘The White Stripes’ support slot created a genuine excitement around him at such a late stage in his career.

His appearance at Madison Square Garden was great fun with the alcohol fuelled New Yorkers whooping “Yee Haw” at every opportunity. It perhaps wasn’t the sort of music your average East Coast American would listen to but the entire audience went with it. The set included his version of ‘The Green Green Grass of Home’ and his emotive last single ‘Committed to Parkview’ (Check out the video on Youtube if you get the chance). The one thing that struck me about his performance was how good his voice still sounded at 79 years of age. He had to be assisted on to and then off the stage but in front of the microphone his age wasn’t an issue. The following night he appeared on 'The David Letterman Show’. We queued up to apply for tickets at the Ed Sullivan Theatre the next morning but sadly we were unsuccessful. Despite his age you really got the sense that there was more to come from Porter Wagoner.

Ironically on Monday, the day I heard of Porter Wagoner’s passing, I was meant to see ‘The White Stripes’ in Cardiff, a date cancelled due to Meg White’s health problems. I imagine had the concert gone ahead we’d have witnessed some sort of tribute from the band, something I’d have loved to have seen.

Pea Green Boat

Just wanting to post that the both of us are going to see a bonefide comedy genius (and anti-hero) tomorrow night in Cardiffs Millennium Centre, which sounds grand, but he's playing something of a side-bar at the venue as i understand it. He is of course, many times mentioned here, stand-up comedian, stage and screen writer, satirist, sage, free-thinker; Stewart Lee.

Looking forward to this, he's recently had to re-adjust his stand-up routine; Something to do with his routine revolving around the BBC who had not granted him his pilot TV show this year, but mid-way through his current tour, have changed their mind, and filming begins mid-November, intreaguing - the pilot/series is described by him as "Hopefully, it’ll be a stand-up show with some sketches in it. I want to do something like the old Dave Allen shows. I’d love to get the series because I’d love to see if you could make proper stand-up work on telly, and also because I’ve just had a baby and it’d be really nice to get paid and then we could get an bigger flat with an extra room for him to sleep in". Lee is also said to be writing a sit-com about the Norse God Thor!

For those unfamiliar with Lee, take time-out to view the following YouTube clips and envy me and my mates going to see the man himself tomorrow night:



This next clip is a great coming together as Stewart Lee appeared on Charlie Brookers "Screenwipe" earlier this year, speaking his mind about "Skins":



A recent 2 minute audio clip here of Lee's outburst at the studio audience on a Radio 4 programme, putting politial correctness into context:



He has promised to continue this tour after filming is complete for his TV show, and will tour extensively again in 2008! If you've watched the above and still reading, book to see the man. In the meantime go find more Stewart Lee clips on YouTube here.

Pea Green Boat is also a great listen written by Stewart Lee, i've got the limited edition 10" vinyl, but it has recently been released as a CD by those wonderful Cardiffians at Go Faster Stripe, of whom i'm sure will be in attendance tomorrow night.

You Don't Go Away?!

My first 'proper' Wrexham away game (ive been to a few pre-season friendly games away, and a couple of reserve games), Notts County on Saturday, a long time coming!

250 away supporters, in what must have been Notts County's best stand, apparently their fans have argued to have the away end as their kop end, its huge with great acoustics. Sounds familiar...

Familiar faces sat all-around, the strange overly-passionate (with smelly breath) guy with the tash and cap who always sits near/next to me in the Mold Road Stand was spotted, as were many others from my usual Mold Road position... good to see friendly faces!

Notts County fans were SILENT, and I mean silent! When they scored there was barely a decibel raised, okay Steve Evans gifted their goal early on, but still, silence. In this silence I got to hear the 'real' Wrexham songs (not just "wrexham, wrexham" or "we love you Wrexham we do" etc), and also see just how fickle football fans can be.

From "Brian Careys Red Army" and "We don't care if he's got red hair, Brian Brian Carey". Notts score, cue "Brians lost his job, Brian Brians lost his job", and "Joey Jones' Red Army",chants clearly audible by the bench! Silvio Spann smacks a 25 yard screamer into the top corner and we're back to "Brian Careys Red Army". I then heard the Notts County fans, ah, they were applauding a substitution... All was going well, the Wrexham fans in good voice until the 90th minute... Spann gets sent off for flooring ex-Wrexham Hector Sam just outside the area, Sam was surely poised to score, so no real complaints... As the wall was lining up I said out loud, "look at the right hand side of the wall, looks dodgy, he's gonna hit it right"... he did, straight in! Cue "We want Carey out!" repeated, oh and lots of fans storming out of the ground, the Notts fans waving us all goodbye, as is customary of either set of fans in such a circumstance as a late winner goes in. Gutted! Losing like that, with just us 250 fans in a fuck-off huge stand in shocked silence, with the other 3 sides of the stadium hurling abuse and jumping for joy with their late winner, is a very lonely place.

I'm a Carey fan, I desperately want him to string two or three wins together and get a settled team out (currently making Benitez' rotation look stable!), and creep up the league, with maybe a cup shock at Peterborough (not essential), and all will be turned round... though I fear, defeat at home on Sunday against rivals Shrewsbury could spell a complete turn on the manager/players/owners from aforementioned 'hardcore'.

Highlight: Stadium announcement just before half time; "If there is a grade 1-4 referee in the stands, please report to reception", I turned my attention to the referee who was limping badly, holding his hamstring and signalling to the sidelines! The announcement came over several times "this is a serious call, any qualified referees in the ground please report to reception immediately". This is surely not allowed? Calling a fan from either set of fans, to referee a league match blatantly involving their team isnt allowed, is it?

Divided We Fall

San Marino 1 Wales 2

I can’t remember winning ever being this embarrassing.

I enjoyed most of what I saw during the first half and I didn’t want to hear the referees whistle signalling half time. Okay our goals were sloppy but we looked extremely comfortable and there seemed a hunger for more. I don’t know what was said during the interval but we looked a different team second half. It’s fair to say we didn’t at any point settle and for whatever reason we slipped into the exact mentality we had shown in Cyprus. To be blunt, San Marino dominated us for most of the second half. They worked hard, pressed us at every opportunity and were deservedly rewarded for their efforts when Andy Selva scored the sort of free kick we’d expect from Gareth Bale. The embarrassment peaked after San Marino had a man sent off but they still looked the more like scoring. I’m sorry to admit that I was willing the final whistle, showing the contrast between each half of the match. When it came I noticed only Earnshaw went over to clap the Welsh supporters. The reason for this was about to become clear. Just as we thought it couldn’t get any worse the post match interviews took place and Bellamy tells the world of the ‘vicious’ criticism from the travelling Welsh fans. Minutes later John Toshack doesn’t fair much better, “I told you not to ask me about that” he warns the intrepid BBC journalist when he asks whether his recent ‘pampered players’ rant had an effect on the squad. With this the interview breaks down and Toshack exits stage left. Read into this what you like but it’s clear that something is not right.

So in a matter of days we’ve gone from third place hopefuls to sixth place candidates. Looking at the group as things stand you realise the opportunity we’ve thrown away. It seems every time we got a foothold in this group we’ve been knocked back down to earth with a bump. The results against Cyprus and San Marino made us fully aware of the continuing shortcomings of both manager and team. Although I wish the problems ended there. The fans hate Toshack, Toshack hates the players and the players hates the fans, forming a Welsh football hate triangle. Alright, I’m exaggerating a bit here but it kind of sums up the sudden and frankly worrying break down in relations coming so soon after our best away result in years against Slovakia. Bellamy’s poorly timed televised criticism of the fans has needlessly opened a conflict on another front. I appreciate his frustration, especially if there was booing during the first half, but why choose to blame the fans for the poor performance? The best possible reaction from Bellamy would have been to thank those fans for parting with their hard earned cash and apologising on behalf on the team for not turning in a better display. The travelling away fans are the one thing Wales can count on and their opinions need to be respected. I know some of these supporters were going abroad with Wales years before half our squad were born. Apparently there were people who went out to Cyprus, came back to Wales to work a shift or two then travelled out to San Marino spending towards a thousand pounds in total. I’m not going to start on a big ‘pampered players’ rant but I doubt any of our current squad could comprehend the financial sacrifices these fans make. Despite all this I doubt our fans will turn on Bellamy, his spirit and commitment to Wales is second to none. You may hear the odd jeer when his name is announced at the Millennium Stadium next month but I think it’ll be forgotten overall. Mark Hughes observed this week that the fans wouldn’t have reacted this way had Toshack held back with the ‘pampered players’ comments. I think he had a fair point, the Welsh fans rarely ever boo the team. It takes a lot to make us react in such a way, the 5-1 loss to Slovakia for example. We’ve endured a lot disappointment over the years and taken a lot without turning nasty. And let’s put it into perspective, a light hearted “We’re shit and we know we are” is not in the same league as the vitriolic abuse displayed by the English travelling fans in Andorra last year. Ask Steve McClaren and he’ll tell you what “vicious” is. Also you need bare in mind such chants were coming in between the supporters singing ‘Y Brawd Houdini’ and at one point a stirring rendition of our national anthem.

Despite all this we're still on for Frankfurt next month. Been looking up the city of the internet. I read somewhere that it's "The Manhattan of Europe". Very promising indeed!

Cyprus Kill

I've left writing this blog for a few days to allow time for me to calm down. Had I of written it on Saturday night it would have been a drunken rant held together with profanities. Truth is even though I left it a couple of days I still am unable to understand what the hell happen in Cyprus on the weekend. Well I do understand to some extent, Wales were embarrassed. Never at any point of the game did we look in control. Never have I seen Wales gifting the ball to their opponents so frequently. I spent the entire game willing us to keep the ball for any significant length of time. Our defense was a shambles to boot and Cyprus exposed it ruthlessly.

Limping in at half time with a 1-0 advantage I imagined Toshack was going to rally the troops for the second half . I had great confidence in this happening but it was more of the same. There was a sense of inevitability about the equaliser. Some times you can ride your luck with a great goalkeeping performance but poor Danny Coyne wasn't up to the job. Much like the Germany and Ireland games we rolled over. Heads dropped, then came the second closely followed by the third. And the horrible truth is the scoreline could have been worse. Dreams of third place shattered, another campaign dead in the water riddled with more humiliating memories.

The last few days I've been reading everything I can in the media on the situation. Post match, Toshack seemed to blame himself. Statements such as "I must be doing something wrong" and "I need to take a long hard look at myself" suggested he was going to walk away from the post. The FAW came out in his defense, "Give him more time" they requested. This was followed by what is becoming a fixture of Toshack's reign, a Robbie Savage rant calling for him to quit. I use to think Savage was great but his continuous attacks are becoming extremely boring. When he originally fell out with Toshack I think he had everyone on his side but I don't know what he's trying to achieve with these outbursts, all he's achieving at the moment is the loss of the respect of most Welsh fans. Then yesterday Toshack comes out and lays into the players, which wasn't the best display of man management. I worry another squad member will make himself 'unavailable' soon.

Anyway San Marino tonight and only a big win for Wales would do. I was reading earlier that Eastwood and Vaughan are doubts for tonights game which is a shame. I'd have loved to see Bellamy and him both on the attack tonight. On the plus side it's available to none Sky Sports subscribers again. Although tonight it's on BBCi rather than S4C. There was a weird 80s retro thing going on with the S4C coverage on Saturday. The studio set up was bizarre, they had a full on buffet laid out on the coffee table in front of the pundits. Various random people were sat behind them such as the Llanelli FC chairman who would offer observations when asked. The match coverage was equally strange. The way Malcolm Allen's head kept on popping up on the pitch during the game was like something from 'The Day Today' or 'BrassEye'. I kept expecting him to shout "Back of the net!!!" in Welsh. On one occasion the on screen phone in graphics were so big they covered the goal mouth action. Don't get me wrong though, I loved it. The more games on S4C and BBC the better.

Escape to Victory

The just-above-pointless Victory Shield football competition is taking place (or even taken place and finished?), as the home nations U-17s / schoolboys, battle it out for the Victory Shield, covered on Sky Sports. Not a competition I follow at all, however, an outstanding (Welsh) goal from the competition was brought to my attention by David, is it better than Roberto Carlos' effort?



Anyhow, before that, i'd read the back page of the Flintshire Chronicle this week, headlined "Leap To Victory", with huge picture and complete back page spread dedicated to a Hawarden High School pupil. He was of course "hoping to follow in Michael Owens footsteps to English glory". The lads father runs a business in Ewloe, and from the article, he couldnt be prouder of his son representing England... it just riles me, maybe because the lad from Connahs Quay High had a small sentence at the end of the aricle, a throw away "and ye this kid will be playing for Wales by the way"... I know in the grand scheme of things it means nothing, even the great goal above is, as Dave said, just some lucky strike caught on Skys cameras from a school kid we'll probably never hear from again...

Anyhow, the best piece of YouTube football footage ive seen lately has to go to... no, not Lee McArdles goal above, but to this inspired GENIUS piece of work, from the North Wales Coast FA's Cookson Cup 1st Round, Denbigh Town v Glan Conwy:



Incidentally i went ot watch Halkyn Utd v Conwy Utd the other weekend in the very same competition, for the record Conwy won 2-3 AET.

Euro 2008: Wales - Looking ahead to Cyprus and San Marino.

I don’t if you’ve read the articles about possible scenarios that may unfold in the Euro 2008 qualifying Group D. Since we gave Slovakia a deserved beating last month Welsh mathematicians have been working out what it would take for Wales to take the race to second place right to the last game. I know how highly unlikely it all is but it’s been nice to be able to still talk about qualification at such a late stage no matter how unrealistic it is. Qualification may be out of reach but third place is tantalisingly lined up for us. On form Wales can beat Cyprus and San Marino over the next few days and that would leave us to face Ireland at home next month with a lot to play for.

Cyprus away will be difficult. Their mauling of the Republic of Ireland back in October 2006 surprised pretty much everybody in football but they’ve followed it up with a win against San Marino and an impressive 1-1 draw with Germany. To date it’s the only points the Germans have dropped in the group. Combine this home form with their convincing friendly victory over us two years ago and you realise you cannot take anything for granted. In an interview this week Toshack mentioned that when teams go to play Cyprus there is almost a holiday, training game feel to it and this has been the undoing of certain national teams. He attributed our 2005 loss over there to this strange complacently, a game he recognised could have cost him his job. Hopefully he’s pinpointed what went wrong for us last time and we can have a similar performance to the one during our 3-1 victory at home last year, where we pretty much walked all over them. The fact of the matter is if we are to show progression and development under John Toshack only a win will do. Our task isn’t helped by the loss of Hennessey, Koumas and more importantly Bellamy. That said providing we don’t lose anyone else we should have enough about us to complete the job. It’s a similar squad to the one we sent over to beat Bulgaria in August. Obviously the lack of first team football on offer for many of our squad is a worry, our strikers in particular. But you hope the likes of Bale, Ledley and Davies (all playing well at present) will get us through. Score prediction? The way results are going in world football at present I wouldn’t even want to try and guess.

As for our mid week game, no disrespect to San Marino but anything but a win for us against them would be a disaster. Again they gave Ireland a tough game at home but we really shouldn’t be too worried. A win and a good one at that is what’s expected. If we do stutter against Cyprus the possibility of a returning Bellamy should liven things up.

I won’t be going to either game. I was planning to go to San Marino but it fell through because of various reasons. I’m hoping to be going to Frankfurt in November though. Luckily for a none Sky subscriber as myself the Cyprus game is being shown on S4C and the San Marino game is apparently being shown on BBCi so red buttons at the ready.

Trade-in Standards

I was lucky enough to receive a Nintendo Wii for my birthday last week. The gift, from my girlfriend Laura, came as a complete surprise. I’d been eying them while on holiday in New York back in July so she obviously had taken note. At 28 I’m perhaps a bit too old to be getting this excited about a new video console but it’s sort of justified with the Wii.

The console comes with the Wii Sports game which is great fun. With it you have the choice of playing Boxing, Baseball, Tennis, Bowling or Golf, each game utilising the unique Wii controls. Basically they all get you swinging around like a nutter. My personal favourite at the moment is the Tennis. If it’s a good workout you want you’re best going with the Boxing. The way the game demands you to move is not far off actual sparring. In fact I reckon Wii Sports Boxing is harder than real Boxing. At least when Amir Khan gets a bit tired when he’s pummelling his latest opponent he can lean on him for a few seconds. What am I meant to do when I’m knackered half way through round three? Lean on my 32 inch flatscreen? That’s not happening. I find myself getting quite involved during these bouts, baiting my digital foes with offensive tauting. Mind you, I shouldn’t really take such a cutesy, child friendly game so seriously, many of the characters you fight are wearing sunglasses or beanie hats. I can’t see the British Boxing Board of Control sanctioning that one. I also got a copy of Resident Evil 4. I’ve never really been into the ‘Survival Horror’ genre but the reviews I’d been reading on the internet suggested this was the best game available on the Wii. I haven’t been let down. I would definitely recommend it although you might want to buy a few spare pairs of underpants for the journey.

Anyway I felt this would be a good time to trade in most of my Playstation 2 games and get a new one for the Wii. Most of my PS2 games I haven’t touched since getting stuck on a level or a boss so I thought I might as well get rid of a bit of dead weight and free up some money. Firstly I took the ten games to Game where a staff member offered me £9.00 for them. He then kindly suggested I should try Gamestation as they have a good reputation for Trade-ins. There a staff member offered me a slightly higher offer of £10.03 but said two of the discs (Grand Theft Auto 3 and Pro Evolution 4) were slightly damaged so therefore needed to be repaired before resale. I thought ‘whatever’ and accepted the trade. It wasn’t until I got home that I studied the breakdown of the receipt. They’d paid me a total of £1.50 for both Pro Evo 4 and GTA 3 but then CHARGED ME £3.98 to repair the two discs so they’re ready for sale. THEREFORE I PAID GAMESTATION £2.48 TO TAKE TWO COMPUTER GAMES OFF ME!!! What the hell is that about?! What a rubbish system and what a bloody useless member of staff for not working out the best offer for me. I don't know why he just didn't kick me up the arse on the way out and have done with it. Needless to say I’ll think twice before using them in the future. I’d be interested to hear from anyone who have had a similar thing happen to them.

Town Walls for Goalposts

To keep us with a post in each month, i'm just posting this piece i rattled off from a group on Facebook the other week, a group setup by David... a bit of a reminisence of primary school football on my behalf.

I think the "year 4 pitch" we used jumpers for goalposts (could include Campri Ski Jackets too - guilty as charged) for one goal, and the medieval town walls of a world heritage site as the other goal - ye, we were just that cool! The "town wall end" goal, as i remember, was roughly marked out by steps up to the archway leading to 'y canolfan' and some old signpost or something... crossbar, as always in such jumpers for goalposts situations was decided by the height of the keeper (sometimes by a certain stone in the medieval world heritage site town walls). Common sense amongst us to agree or disagree to calls of "POST!" or "BAR!" were always fun, and often ending in an agreeable 5 yard penalty, of which was probably going to be 'pelted' at the goalie full in the face. This situation could however end up in a call of "its my ball!" where a new rule is inserted: Agree with the ball owner. That, or simply kick the blue plastic fly-away ball into..whatever...that was... was it a garden? an orchard? overgrown wasteland with steps going down to 'the sports field' - deadly steps or what?! Many a ball met it's end in there, and so too the school roof. The demolition company must have had enough footballs to diversify their business entirely. Other situations saw you running out of the "bottom gate" (barging a dinner lady out of the way first) and running down Rosemary Lane chasing this thing, the punishment for leaving the premises forgotten about, retrieving that ball was all that mattered!

The wall of 2 goals side-by-side still stands, i think. 2 goals side by side and a 45 degree slope of a pitch (I say pitch, I mean tarmac with chippings to really graze your knees up) fantastic! A ball lost on this pitch was pretty much irretrivable... St Agnes Road, or over the wall/fence into "that guys" garden / plantation.

Not many people can describe their 'playtime' primary school football the way we could!

A Spann in the works

Wrexham have been something of a base / launching pad / home for Trinidad & Tobago footballers in the last few years, nurchering talents such as Carlos Edwards (a good mention on Match of the Day last Saturday "cutting his teeth with Wrexham"), Dennis Lawrence and Hector Sam.

Following the summer-long rumours and constant readings of Sunderland and Sheffield United messageboards to a particular Trinidad & Tobago player on trial with both clubs throughout June and July - not to mention the fantastic YouTube clip appearing amongst it all, and heavily rumoured to join Wrexham (Brian Carey had him on a shortlist since February at Trinidad v Iceland apparently)... He was finally spotted on the Wrexham team bus for the trip to Darlington on Saturday, and was sat amongst the bench for the defeat... It seems he had his first full training session with the club yesterday judging by all the photos in the local papers this morning and splashed about on various websites, and mention of a 3 year contract. So just a work permit to come through, and Silvio Spann with (hopefully) strikes like the one leaving his foot last month in the Gold Cup below, are coming to the Racecourse very soon!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChSTu7wuCiM

Mind the Gap

I've had Radio 5 on in the office today, listening to all the latest football news, revelations, specualtions and transfer debates. Listening to the amounts of money being splashed about quite off the cuff blase from the presenters and reporters... John Terry "earning" £135,000 "a week". Wasnt Terry on the bench for half last season too, oh, and now out for a possible month - what's that, just over half a million pounds, for 'light' training for a month? Last week it seems Alan (broken leg last season) Smith has gone to Newcastle for "£6 million", with all these exchanges flying about and the money exchanged for Tevez over the past year or so, and so on and so on... I just had to listen harder to what really is happening just those 3 divisions higher than the club I follow...

The below is stuff I know you all know, but to put into context read on: The owners of these "big" clubs are a mix of American Football club owners, Russian Oil Tycoons, and new to the "big" club bracket are wannabes Manchester City with an ex-Thai Prime Minister with the vault. Their managers splashing that bottomless pit of off-shore Swiss bank account cash on said wages excessing £100,000 a week, players owning penthouses and property across the world, racehorses, owning any cars they want, the clubs they play for have megastores the size of an average Tesco and selling as many products as Tesco with the club Trademark stamped on everything. Fair enough...

Come down just 3 divisions, and the club I follow, the owner is the guy who owns the Ford dealership on the corner next to the ground, the club shop (the size of an average house lounge) sells home and away shirts (shorts if in stock), a couple of scarves, 3 styles of pin-badge, a bumper sticker and the official calendar... and thats about it. Some players house-share (in a case well documented, a player houseshares with the chairman), the players are often spotted in the local pubs and doing the food shopping in ASDA with the Mrs - i've spied a couple since working in Wrexham and wandering around at lunch. The top player is on maybe £1250k a week, which may stretch to a semi-fancy car and a semi-detatched house in a Midsomer style village just outside the town...

I know it's early (super early!), but I "so" want a cup-run and a lucky draw to take on some Premier League club and give it a go again (we could do with the money). The enjoyment of watching Neil Taylor kick Blackburns Bentley all over the pitch in pre-season isnt enough.

And so, the new season draws ever closer. The gap between leagues pulls further apart. "Fuck the Gap"

To post in July

To keep us with a succession of at least a post a month...

Stewart Lee. He's been getting about the media the last couple of weeks! Spotted on Channle 4's "8 out of 10 Cats" last Friday night. Randomly scanning the radio frequencies the next morning, I hear his voice talking about Joe Pasquale being a "thief of material" on Jonathan Ross' Radio 2 showwith David Baddiel and James Dean Bradfield also in the studio - a superb interview! All promoting his month long Edinburgh Festival run. I recently got his new "un-official/official" DVD (Distributed by Go Faster Stripe, Cardiff)... all totally new material, and he just keeps getting better. Stewart Lee a comic sage of the times. Those familiar with his "official" DVD release in 2004/5, will be familiar with the 9/11 opening... this time it opens with 7/7, and off into territory of why 'hopefully' Lee will always remain a relatively underground comedy circuit / BBC 3 / BBC 4 / Radio 4 / the occassional Channel 4 appearances, and controverial writer of plays, director, producer and novelist (i need to get his novel!)... figure.

Football: Just got the new Wrexham 07/08 home shirt! It'll make its debut tomorrow night, and maybe another sweaty run-out in Thursday nights 7-a-side training. I've joined the village 7-a-side team - who play in a 7-a-side league setup across Flintshire and Wrexham district (a squad of about 20 or so, so theyve got options, and are not just stuck with me as left-back!), season starts end of August! My 4th week on Thursday, it's brutal, i mean, seriously hard going... a Connahs Quay Nomad playing between the sticks though! I won't go on about Wrexhams Pre-Season stuff, or the Kaid Mohammed debate, only i can't wait for the 07/08 season to get underway!

I'm sure Dave will be on shortly/hopefully with his New York exploits. From the snippets ive heard mailed to me from some internet cafe on Times Square, i need to hear more!

Start Spreading the News...

In April my girlfriend Laura and I booked a week long holiday in New York for late July. As someone who spent their childhood reading Spider-man comics and watching Ghostbusters at least once a fortnight I can’t overstate how bedwettingly exciting it is to be able to visit this city. I don’t intend to be all pretentious about my stay. I’m not particularly bothered if I miss the ‘real’ New York. I want the full unashamed NYC experience, the Empire State Building, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty etc. I want to see a baseball game, a show on Broadway, I want the works!!! And with the pound being so strong at present there’s a good chance I can afford to do it all.

Over the past couple of months I’ve been looking into what’s on during our visit. My ideal choice of Broadway show would be Spamalot. I wouldn’t mind seeing The Producers again but it’s coming to Cardiff in the autumn so it’s kind of a waste. That said the roles of Roger De Bris and Leo Bloom are to be played by Russ Abbott and Joe Pasquale for the end of the British tour so I might not attend the Cardiff leg. Sportswise I’m not fussy, preferably baseball or basketball. Although I understand getting hold of tickets is notoriously difficult. I could settle for some soccer action with New York Red Bulls (cringe) with their new signing ex Villa player Juan Pablo Angel. I went on their official website earlier, in their last game they drew 3-3 against Kansas City Wizards (double cringe) It says that both teams played in the 6-2-2 formation…It’s a wonder anybody scored. I might give that a miss to be honest. I also wanted to catch a music act while over there but for weeks I was having no luck finding something that took our fancy. Rage Against The Machine are headlining a hip hop festival called Rock the Bells. Other acts on the bill include Cypress Hill and the Wu-Tan Clan. Sounds pretty cool but I feel it’s a little too hardcore for us and we could quickly find ourselves out of depth. That left a choice between Meatloaf, The Police, Michael Buble or Minnie Driver. The term ‘middle of the road’ doesn’t cover that pile of crap.

Then out from the darkness came a huge surprise. I switched from the usual websites I’d been scanning to a different one and about a minute later found exactly the kind of thing I’d been searching for. One of my favourite bands, The White Stripes, playing the world famous Madison Square Gardens…bingo, we have a winner!!! We purchased the tickets pretty quickly for a tidy $124.00 which worked out £64.00 for the pair of us. I was shocked at the amount of add on fees the Americans have when you by a ticket. I thought Ticketline UK were bastards for demanding a one pound booking fee, it’s nothing compared to them. But hey it’s worth it, I’ve wanted to see the White Stripes live for a while now and it’s going to take me leaving the continent to do so. If you take away Jacks ill advised Coca Cola advert from the equation they really are what a great band should be. I bought their new album Icky Thump yesterday and I’m really getting into it. Took me a couple of listens but I found that with the last one. Stand out tracks for me so far are Rag & Bone and I’m Slowly Turning Into You. Great to be able to warm up for July by watching them on the BBC interactive at the moment, if you haven’t caught it yet please press the red button!

Lust for Senior Knock-Out Twittering

Despite a valiant effort, Italian Costantino Rocca at Conwy Golf Club, couldn't find what was needed to win the European Tour Senior Welsh Open on Sunday. Great to see the course packed out with spectators for such a big event, and Sam Torrance play the course. Was also good to see nobody completely ripped the course up! Save Mr Quiros, scoring a new course record "64" off the back tees! My turn to play the course with the exact same setup as the weekends event tonight, as I go into the 3rd round of the Club Championship Knock-Out - it's a hard and long enough road getting to Round 3, now the course is setup at pretty much it's hardest setting...

So what else? Wrexham sign Eifion Williams, formiddable striker, who i hear can also play left midfield, so maybe the talk of Wrexham being top heavy with strikers isn't entirely true. I hope Juan Ugarte makes a full recovery from his injury / surgery complications though, if not, with regret, he'd have to go. What a striker when 'on it' though...

Twittering on... Ive added my Twitter badge/widget to this site, a kind of mini-blog I have open on my desk at work which only allows 140 characters, sort of SMS style, to just blog quick thoughts and stuff... i'll twitter away in that from time to time, it's down the right hand side.

That's about it for now... oh, I heard Travis' new track last night on the drive home, it's shit (like it was gonna be amazing or something). It's Iggy Pops "Lust For Life" drum beat slowed down with just terrible guitar and lyrics over it. The track started with no introduction or indication as to who or what it was, and I honestly thought, cool, a slowed down "Lust for Life", how's this going to work, could be interesting. No, it's just some middle of the road guitar band, with some bastard moaning on about his 'genes'. No apologies, it's shite.

"Where were you when I was edging?"

And you'd forgotten. OK, long time no post. A lot can happen in a month. I've upped-sticks / up-rooted from my 27 years or so of Conwy living and headed out towards Chester (just still in North Wales). A commute back 'home' to Conwy sees me driving into the postcard scene every other day, yet still I know it's "just Conwy". The other week days the commute takes me along Mold Road, Wrexham and every other day a twitch for a season ticket as I can't but help looking at the stadium, and peek through the gates to get a flash view of the green pitch and the concrete steps (soon to be demolished) of the Kop...

Reason for the move, is mainly down to my girlfriends new job out near Chester, working in a large .com company (9 years into this internet malarkey as a job/career, and i'm still keepin' it real in the N.Wales agencies! He tells himself...).

So i've moved. Into the groove of the A55 commute, and Wrexham traffic systems. I now have a "Welsh Water Account Reference Number", pay "Council Tax", have a "BT Account Number", have several shopping hours in IKEA under my belt (as well as the meatballs) this must make me a veteran? Had to laugh when emptying my jeans pockets (for the first spin in the washing machine) to find a Homebase Spend & Save Card 'application form' - that'll be from the time I had to nip there and buy my very own 'claw hammer'! We're also contracted to keep the garden tidy: a lawn mower, edging knife and a pair of garden shears are in the shed. What more could I want... mmm that Black & Decker Workmate? Never!...?

So there we are, i've been shopping in places I never thought my card would be swiped, and sorting everything an unfurnished house might need... As a break in the middle of this lot I was at a mates party one weekend in Shrewsbury, don't remember too much about it save the "hungover, ive got to pull over in this lay-by to lie down for an hour" drive home.

So anyway, just briefly, football. Morecambe the first home game of the season... roll on August. Our house backs onto the local football clubs ground/field, already i've looked them up and where they stand in the Welsh League system... think Conference North. More posts soon.

Wales v Czech Republic - Millennium Stadium - 02.06.07

Giggs is gone. To be fair I think most Welsh fans had been expecting this decision for a while. I know I had, it's crossed my mind before every game I've been to in the past two years. He could have gone after the play off loss against Russia or joined the exodus of players after Mark Hughes last game against Poland. He didn’t, he stayed around became captain and put in some of his best displays for Wales. Notably the double header against Northern Ireland and Azerbaijan where he pretty much single handedly dragged us to our first competitive wins under John Toshack. He clearly embraced his role as captain of his country, I’m sure it meant more when Gary Neville got the nod ahead of him for his club when Roy Keane left in 2005. It’s hard for me to imagine Wales without Giggs, I was eleven when he made his debut against West Germany in 1991. His commitment has been questioned over the years and his displays criticised at times. Let’s be honest, he really should have clocked up more than 64 caps in that amount of time but I think it’s crazy to suggest he somehow saved his best performances for Manchester United. I’m not sure what some people expected from the guy given the players around him and the level of opposition.

All opinions aside Saturday was a great occasion for all Welsh fans. It would have been nice to have had more than 30,000 in the Millennium Stadium for his send off. Had there been more than three days notice of his retirement I’m sure more could have made it here. I’ve read on a couple of message boards that the atmosphere in the stadium was once again dire. I have to disagree with that, ok it wasn’t amazing but it was miles better than the San Marino game. The Czech supporters were great, the “Thank you Ryan too” banner they unfurled at the start of the match was much appreciated by us Wales fans. Call me soppy but I like this mutual respect between fans. There’s a nice trend of Welsh crowd not booing the National Anthem of the opposition. You can understand some of the lads getting carried away against England and Northern Ireland but what’s the logic of jeering an anthem just to be offensive. I’ve always felt that if you boo the anthem the team will often react and play with more fire in their bellies. It’s the first step on a rocky road and before long we’ll be throwing patio chairs at foreign police officers. Anyway kudos to us for not doing it.

The game itself was great, it proved that there is such a thing as an exciting goalless draw. I’d say it was the best I’ve seen us play in ages. Beaumaris born goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was excellent on his first start for Wales. (Re: My Blog 06.03.07 for more info) Naturally his shot stopping on the day caught the eye but what I liked was the confidence he had when collecting some of the Czech crosses. The defence looked strong. Jan Koller wasn’t given a sniff. Gabbidon thankfully had blown away the cob webs the week before against New Zealand and along with James Collins and Nyatanga they looked untroubled for most of the match. Ledley was brilliant down the left, it was a benchmark performance for him and he couldn’t have timed it better with Giggs going. Simon Davies looks like he’s growing in confidence since moving to Fulham, he had a great opportunity to score in the first half but didn’t hit it immediately as was required. His head dropped for a bit but he did alright in the second half. Apart from rattling the cross bar Koumas was quiet by his standards but did everything efficiently. It looked like he was clipped by one of the Czechs early on and struggled after that. Bellamy ran and ran like he always does for us, with Giggs gone he’s now our ‘main man’ and I’m sure he’s up to it. Ricketts and Robinson did their best and arguably put in their best performances for Wales but I can’t help but feel they were the weak links. If you swapped them for Bale and ideally David Jones of Derby we would look alright.

And Giggs? Well Giggs was Giggs. Giggs took the ‘Man of the Match’ award. Giggs gave a performance that pointed out how much we’d miss him. Giggs split the Czech defence and for a brief moment looked like he was going to score his greatest goal for Wales. Oh I can’t tell you how much we willed him to put that past Petr Cech, the noise would have been immense! I’ve got to admit I found it quite emotional when he passed the armband onto Craig Bellamy. I thought it was a great touch and a very symbolic gesture. I hadn’t realised until seeing the interviews on telly that he’d cried. I think that was final proof of how much playing for Wales meant to him. On a lighter note I found it quite funny when he was being subbed because he took his time walking off the field as he was enjoying his standing ovation. Any other situation he’d have been booked for time wasting. The Czech Republic who needed all three points clearly wanted him to hurry the hell up and get off the pitch.

He described the game as a ‘benchmark performance’ for Wales. It could have been a case of the team raising their game for the occasion, them wanting to give Ryan Giggs a decent send off. Although I’d like to think we’ve turned a corner, I’d like to think it was an indication that something clicked together. Perhaps now we know we’re not going through we may find ourselves playing without pressure and pick up a few unexpected points. I as a realist understand we’re not going through to Euro 2008 but I’d just like to say Wales have still got 18 points to play for and......oh come on let me dream!!!

Ever in doubt?

Saturday, 3.45pm, 0-1 down, not one Wrexham player "at the races", worse case scenario for the club a reality... Even after Valentines successful pen, things barely got better after a few goal-mouth scrambles at the wrong end... it took Llewellyns mazy run through 3 of them and slot into the bottom right corner to really get the party atmosphere alight, and we were "all" still celebrating in the stands before Llewellyn turned provider for Proctors looping header for the 3rd just 2 minutes later!

Few sporting occassions have had me come out in goosebumps, and get those shivers, this one did; this was without a player on the pitch, a ball being kicked; just watching an old stadium fill to bursting Saturday, a swaying kop, scarves, flags, the sun beating down and inflatable sheep bouncing atop the crowd all contributed to an atmosphere and a noise i've never heard before at the Racecourse, let's all get back there for the first game next season! The goosebumps returned on on the drive home on hearing highlights of Ian Gwyn Hughes' commentary on BBC Radio Wales. Sport eh?...

Justice. Any set of supporters who chant that mono-tone "Eng-er-lund, Eng-er-lund, Eng-erluuuuund" as loudly as possible over 'any' national anthem deserve what they get... this lot did just that, and got their deserves. What will happen to the "Boston Goals" feature on Soccer AM now?... Like i give a shit!

Speaking of Socer AM: Llewellyns cross to Proctor for the 3rd will be on the programmes "Showboat" feature Saturday morning - the classic cross legged flick/cross (ala Joe Cole / Ronaldo), you know the one! I was sat behind the guy filming this, and he's put it on YouTube! You can't see the cross-legged flick on this vid very well, but you get the jist :-)

3-1 and finished 19th, high and dry above relegation. Survival means I may get to hear the chant at Mansfield Towns 'John Nutter' again next season; "Oi John! Your Missus is a Nutter!" - the best chant of the season, by a long way! Until August then... re-group, re-assess, and push on, and to quote hero Brian Carey: "Make sure this never happens again". What a memory!

Fans United

Now the side-show of the Ryman League Cup semi-finals are over, let's get to far more important issues...

A call to support the only North Wales football team in the football league, and a constant feeder to the WelshYouth, U-21's and "A" Squad: Wrexham FC, in the relegation battle of all relegation battles, to avoid the “big” drop out of the league into the Conference this Saturday. Wrexham (21st) V Boston Utd (23rd).

Wrexham need a win or a draw to guarantee survival, keeping their "years" of league football history alive, versus relegation rivals Boston Utd, who need to beat Wrexham to survive! A true "Them or Us" scenario will unfold...

If you think Wrexham are battling relegation because they deserve to be, and just not good enough, think again and read this summary: Wrexham were forced into administration in 2005 by a property-developer chairman and equally crooked board around him, who purposely bankrupt the club, whilst illegally signing over the stadium and land to his property developing business to bulldoze in order to sell the land and build a shopping retail park on the site of one of the oldest football grounds in the world (Racecourse est.1872) – officially the oldest ground still in use today and staging international football matches - including this beauty in the mid-80’s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HTSLLHKT38. Due to marches, protests, petitions, local government support and candle-lit vigils outside the ground; the bulldozers never got near, but the club went into administration.

Matters off the field in Wrexham have a lot to answer for, for their current position. For those unfamiliar with football administration it equates to 10 league point deduction, squad size restrictions & unable to buy players. Wrexham couldn’t pay wages for 3 months, and couldn’t afford electricity for floodlights – it took Robbie Savage to pay that bill! Craig Bellamy donated money to afford loan players last month. Wrexham were in administration for a record length of time (17months - if you are in administration for 18months the club is disolved!). In administration squad players are transfer listed (by the administrators to try and re-coup monies to the creditors by selling players), or leave on Bosmans due to unable to renew contracts and wage agreements. An example; Carlos Edwards went to Luton Town under the Bosman ruling, Luton sold him on to Sunderland for £1.5million; Edwards scored Sunderlands screaming winner last weekend, gaining Roy Keanes team automatic promotion to the Premiership – if Keane holds him in the highest of regard, you’d best believe how good he was for Wrexham in footballs basement! Wrexham FC saw £0 for these transactions.

The above is just a part of it, never-the-less, some players haven't cut it, coaching and managerial staff up-heavals, suspensions, injury situations, and many loan players haven't bothered playing is all part of it... it has "all" culminated to one last Saturday - tomorrow!

If you're not able to be amongst the expected 12,000+ at the Racecourse tomorrow (i will be, Mold Road Stand with a bunch from Conwy - Mal your a legend giving up your Manchester derby ticket mate!), listen to the radio, watch Sky Sports News who have a pitchside reporter at the game, keep watching that teletext flickering refresh pages, keep hitting the refresh button on the internet, or see the vidi-printers scroll...

In the words of so many on Red Passion (and how good have some of the threads been on that forum this week!) "Come on the town!". Fans United!

Strange But True

If you know me well enough you'll remember I used to play golf... and got to a decent level aged 17, representing Conwy County and got selected twice for the North Wales Boys (versus Northern Ireland and Staffordshire). Anyhow, I recently re-took up the game last summer and am frustratingly worse than I was, but that was always going to be the case. But can still have a good knock... yesterday evening I thought i'd go down the club whilst it was quiet... loosened a few shots off on the practice ground, and noticed another left-handed golfer out there (I too am left-handed - there aren't many!). Didn't think too much of it it until he paced over towards me... "he looks a bit like... yes it is, Mickey Thomas".

We then proceeded to catch-up since we met a few weeks back at Old Trafford, and chat about the still frustrating times at Wrexham FC. Five minutes of freindly chat he then asked if I fancied a knock on the course itself. A minute later we were walking towards the 1st tee, fairly surreal! This was Mickey's first time on Conwy golf course, having joined a few weeks ago...

His running commentary on my round was great "This young lad has got a swing better than Graeme Sharpes, and Sharpe is no slouch on the golf course" great laugh, and enjoyable as I played the best golf since returning to the game (+1 gross for 10 holes if you're interested!). I had to phone my mate Matt on the course whilst in this surreal situation, on explaining to Mickey that Matt is an avid Wrexham and Wales supporter he took the phone off me and chatted about Wrexham and continued his comedy commentary on my game over my mobile phone with Matt for a couple of minutes, legend!

He wants to get as much practice in for the Man Utd post-season charity golf event, so at the end of it we exchanged mobile numbers and arranged a game next week on his return from Italy, and after the Manchester derby (he's gutted he's not at the Racecourse on Saturday!)...