Mickey Thomas writes EXCLUSIVELY for Red Passion

It was great to be on Sky for the Kettering-Wrexham game. They rang me as soon as they knew they’d be covering the game - and obviously I was delighted to help out. It was a big opportunity for me and I loved it. They wanted someone who knew Wrexham inside out. That’s me! Fair play to Sky - they really look after you. They flew me down from Manchester to Heathrow and they had a car waiting for me at the airport which took me on to the studio. As you know I was working with Nigel Spackman. I played with him at Chelsea and he’s now got a regular contract with Sky. Nigel is a nice guy and he’s obviously an experienced Sky ‘expert’. But don’t forget I’m experienced as well: BBC, MUTV, Century 105, Marcher Sound, Red Passion! The list is just so long! That Marcus guy who was hosting the show is also a top bloke - even though he supports Spurs! The three of us weren’t actually at Kettering; the studio was in London. No Mickey Mouse non-league grounds for us! We met up about 5.30 in the studio. We had a look at a few stats and generally just got ourselves prepared. While the game was on we even had a slap-up meal - salmon and everything! I hope I was looking smart in my jacket and tie. Someone said that I looked as if I was on the way to a wedding! I can actually reveal that the jacket wasn’t mine. I left mine in the hotel - and the producer had to lend me his. I knew someone would want it back. I’ve not seen the tape of the game yet so I don’t really know how I sounded. I felt it went OK and I hope I came over OK. I always feel I’ve got to be serious on TV but I did crack one gag. Someone was talking about one of the Kettering players. They said, “The postman’s delivered”, and I said, “But it was only a second-class effort.” I was chuffed with that and the producer told me he really liked it.

As to the game, I thought Wrexham did well and deserved to win. The goals were excellent. There did seem to be an offside problem with both - but I think Wrexham were due a bit of luck. Flynn’s men worked hard and showed a bit of passion. I was pleased for the goalscorers, Danny Williams and Steve Roberts. I’ve trained with Danny and he’s got a lot of skill. He’s a hardworking Waynne Phillips-type player. Steve took his goal well - not bad for a centre-back. All I know about Steve is that he’s got a brother called Neil who’s a centre-forward and a Welsh international. Dearden was under pressure but he spread himself around several times and let’s face it: there’s a lot of him to spread around. I think he is probably a little bit overweight. He almost makes Rockin’ Robin look slim.

The radio show is going well. As I said last time, I’m working with James H.Reeve. We talked a lot about the England-Scotland games - I really wanted Scotland to win! We’ve also talked about Mark Hughes - I’m glad he’s got the Wales job. I’ve had a couple of Wrexham fans contact me: one didn’t leave an address; the other hasn’t called back.

All this media work is tiring me out. I interviewed Ryan Giggs for the BBC the other day. He’s a great guy and he was very generous to me with his time. We had a good chat. I obviously had to ask him about all these friendly internationals he’s missed…but to be honest, I understand any player who doesn’t turn up to games. I was just the same! I also interviewed Robbie Savage for MUTV. He’s mad - just like I was. He’s got more hair than me, but I don’t care really. I know he gets a lot of stick in Wrexham, but he still likes the place and the team. To be honest, I think that if you start getting stick you know you’ve made it. Robbie told me he was standing on the Kop when I scored my goal against Arsenal. Brilliant. People are still showing that goal, you know - Sky dug it out for the Kettering game.

Wrexham are having a rough time at the moment. The Kettering result was a big one, but I know that fans are still wondering whether the club needs a change in manager. My position is clear: Brian has done a tremendous job over a decade and, to be honest, it’s not very easy to get decent managers these days. Wrexham had to win against Kettering. The financial reward was very big and if they can get past Rochdale they could have a lucrative 3rd Round game on the cards. And I know one thing too: Brian is a survivor. He knows the score - he knows he’s got to accept criticism. My mate Joey is feeling it hard as well. He lives in the town and he takes a lot of the criticism to heart. But he’s pretty strong - he does a lot of weights! Seriously though, Brian, Kev and Joey have been getting a lot of stick. They’ll take it though. They can handle it. You’ve also got to remember that Wrexham are still a lot better off than many clubs. Somebody actually asked me if I’d be interested in the Wrexham job. I said: “Look mate, I’m too busy with all my media work!” The crowds at the Racecourse aren’t looking too good these days. You’ve got to remember that it costs a lot of money to watch football in 1999 - times are hard. You can’t just expect that fans will keep on turning up.

I got my ‘official’ Wrexham FC Millenium videos the other day. I pop up quite a few times - a few goals, a few interviews. A lot of the action stuff turns up on both videos - there’s a bit of duplication. That said, the videos brought back a lot of memories. For example, there was footage of Wrexham-Blackburn in the early-‘70s. I saw this guy playing in red and thought he looked pretty good. And then I realised: it was me!

I’ve got a big charity dinner coming up at Old Trafford. I’ve got a feeling it’s a big suit-and-tie job. The last time I was wearing a suit and tie I got 18 months! I’ll also be playing soon as well: the Soccer Sixes in the summer and I’ve got a few games lined up with the Soccer AM team, the Badgers. Tim Lovejoy, John Fenners, Helen Chamberlain…top people! I like Tim - he’s a Chelsea fan and a good footballer as well. He told me he’s got three Chelsea heroes: Gianfranco Zola, Joey Jones and me. I actually think Zola’s lucky to be mentioned in the same breath as me and Joey! I love playing - and if Helen’s the physio, even better! Helen said she’d like to sign me up for Torquay - she says that, even though I’m in my 40s, I’m still fitter than most of their current players. Me and Big Nev in the same team - what a thought! I scored twice the last time I played for the Badgers - so I can’t wait. In December I’m off to see Stereophonics in Manchester. Fantastic.

   
Cheers