Red, white and X-rated

Not a happy Christmas

Wrexham v Man City, 26 December 1998 (HTV)

We ended Boxing Day 1998 in 17th position and it didn’t get much better in the New Year. This HTV highlights package confirms two key facts: that it was particularly wet last Christmas and that Wrexham had no luck at all in last season’s home encounter against Joe Royle’s men. I’d forgot in fact how horrible and wet it was last Boxing Day. The conditions were ridiculous and Wrexham’s luck in front of goal was even more so. The not-very-likeable Nicky Weaver had an outstanding game, but Chalk, Spink, Connolly and Ward were all guilty of very bad misses in front of goal. This video shows City’s winner in all its gory detail. Another corner, another free header and another example of X-rated defensive marking. City’s fans went wild; Wrexham fans just marked it down as yet another disastrous piece of set-piece football. The Boxing Day highlights also remind the viewer of other memorable aspects of last season: McGregor’s extremely fashionable head bandage, Mark Cartwright’s up-and-down year (he was a bit lucky in this game) and Wrexham’s constant inability to find the net from close-range. The post-match interviews are also fascinating: Kevin Reeves, who as an ex-Sky Blue obviously has a soft spot for City, talks as if Wrexham will never score another goal (ever) while Joe Royle just can’t contain his joy at City riding their luck and winning (he’s continually smirking in fact). The fact is that this Boxing Day victory was a key turning-point in City’s promotion season and they didn’t lose too many league games after 26 December 1998. We did though.

Peter Davies