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?
29 October, 2007
24 October, 2007
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!
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!
17 October, 2007
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.
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.
10 October, 2007
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.
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.
09 October, 2007
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.
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.
01 October, 2007
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.
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.
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