Their Blood Is Red & White

& Sponsored By

I boo - but don't call me a boo-boy

Wrexham fans who wear their heart on their sleeve

No.6 Andy Truss

Red Passion says a big ‘Hello’ to notorious Kopite Andy Truss

Background: Andy Truss is 31. He’s a postman and he’s from Queens Park. But, on a Saturday afternoon between 3pm and 4.45pm, he evolves into the bloke who - to a lot of fans’ annoyance - boos a lot from the back of the Kop.

Setting: A secret Red Passion messenger heads to the back of the Kop and has a quick word with the man himself. “Hey mate, will you do an interview with us?” “No problem,” says Mr Truss.

* * * * *

Q. What are your early Wrexham memories?
A. ‘I first watched them in the old Second Division about 20 years ago. My first match was a home game against Sheffield United. I think we won 4-1. It was just after the club had got promoted. I was quite young then so I didn’t really know the names of all the players. I was there for the fun of it - I just enjoyed going. Then after a while I started going on my own, with my mates. We got relegated down to the old Third Division, and then down again.’

Q. How many games do you see each season?
A. ‘Since the late-‘70s I’ve been a regular. Over 20 years I’ve probably missed just a handful of home games. Before I got married I probably did about 15 away games a season, but now I’ve got to think about the money side of things and so I get to less. I’ve got two kids now - so I’ve got to be careful.’

Q. Have you always stood on the Kop?
A. ‘Yep, I always stand. I hate sitting. I sat in the new stand for the Wales-Switzerland game, but at every Wrexham game I’m at the back of the Kop.’

Q. A lot of people view you as the leader of the “boo-boys” on the Kop. Is that fair?
A. ‘The facts are these. I never sing the “BRIAN FLYNN’S RED AND WHITE ARMY” chant, and sometimes me and my mates will boo while this is being sung. I think Flynn has done as much as he can at the club. He got us promotion - and that’s fair enough. But I think he’s gone stale now and after every game he trots out the same old excuses.’

Q. A lot of fans think that’s it’s wrong to boo your own team. What do you say?
A. ‘I pay good money to watch Wrexham and every fan is entitled to his or her own opinion. I never sing the Flynn chant because I think he’s gone stale. My opinion is that the club needs some new faces and some new ideas.’

Q. Who would you like as manager instead of Flynn?
A. 'Joey - but I don’t think he’d want the job. He’s an icon and he’d certainly win the fans over - win, lose or draw. If Joey wasn’t interested I’d go for Kevin Ratcliffe. I think he’s a decent manager. I know he’s got a Chester connection but I think he could win the fans over if he got the right results.’

Q. Do you think that a lot of fans agree with your position?
A. ‘I think that if Red Passion did a survey on attitudes to Flynn you’d find that over 50 per cent of supporters want him to go. There was a game last year when there was a brilliant atmosphere on the Kop…and then the ‘BRIAN FLYNN’S RED AND WHITE ARMY’ chant got going. I think a lot of people do agree with my views.’

Q. How much do you boo in a typical home game?
A. ‘I admit I do boo but I do try also to sing something else - something other than ‘BRIAN FLYNN’S RED AND WHITE ARMY’ song. I know that the booing does annoy some fans.’

Q. Do you get much grief from other fans?
A. ‘Well, I wrote a letter recently to the Leader. It was about Racecourse attendances and I was basically slagging off the people who come to watch when the side is doing well but don’t when they’re not. It was like last year: we were getting crowds of 3-4,000 but if we’d have got to Wembley in the AWS there’d have been 15,000 people wanting tickets. That really annoyed me. To be honest, if we had have got to Wembley and we had only been allocated 2,000 tickets it wouldn’t have bothered me. I would much rather have had the real fans down at Wembley - even if that meant just 2,000. I got a lot of stick after that letter was published. People knew it was me - I got a lot of stick at the ground and on the Kop.’

Q. So, just summarise your views…
A. ‘Wrexham have too many fickle fans and Flynn has to go. I love Wrexham Football Club - I won’t hear a bad word said against it - but I believe what I believe very strongly.’

Q. What do you make of the current squad?
A. ‘My favourite player is Gareth Owen. He’s Wrexham through and through and he gives 110 per cent every game. Deryn is also a 110 per cent player and so is Neil Roberts. There seem to be a lot of players though who seem quite happy to play when they want to and pick up their wage packet at the end of the week. People like Chalk and Connolly. Even Faulconbridge has died off a bit and has gone out of favour. In general I just don’t think the first team is good enough - some players are only playing when they feel like it. My mates agree with this - and I think a few others do too.’

Q. What do you think about this season?
A. ‘We’ve been very inconsistent. I think a lot of people at the club would be quite happy if we finished mid-table and just had a decent cup run. I wouldn’t mind if we went out of the FA Cup quite early on this season - just so we can concentrate on the league.’

Q. Would you criticise Pryce Griffiths?
A. ‘Well, put it like this. I don’t think many clubs would have kept Flynn for 10 years with his record. I think the two of them are too close. In a decade Flynn has won us the Welsh Cup and got us out of the worst division - that’s all.’

Q. What do you think of Flynn’s tactics?
A. ‘One man upfront is definitely no good - we’re never going to score enough goals playing like that. I’d go for 4-4-2 definitely.’

andy truss: top trivia
Favourite food? Chips
Least favourite food? Roast potatoes
Favourite drink? Lager
Least favourite drink? Mild
Favourite all-time Wrexham player? Gareth Owen
Favourite newspaper? Daily Star
Favourite holiday resort? I never go on holiday
Favourite Wrexham memory? Seeing the 1-0 victory in Lyngby
Favourite music? Heavy metal - Whitesnake
Least favourite music? Slow sloppy stuff
Favourier current non-Wrexham player? Denis Bergkamp

Q. What do you think about the new signings?
A. ‘I think Dearden’s alright. I was upset when Marriott left, but no player is bigger than the club. The rumour I heard was that Marriott wasn’t happy when Cartwright got picked ahead of him for the Welsh Premier Cup final against Cardiff. Cartwright though had played all the previous games in that competition, so I think that Flynn was right to pick him.’

Q. What about the others?
A. ‘Faulconbridge started brilliantly, but he’s gone stale recently. Stevens hasn’t done badly, but I suppose that you can’t really judge anybody on the basis of just 15 games.’

Q. Russell?
A. ‘He can be good on his day, but I don’t think he can last 90 minutes anymore. I think he’s probably had his day. Maybe he should just forget it now - or be used just as a sub.’

Q. What do you respond to people who say that Wrexham are a well run club and have done well to achieve respectable Division Two solidity, even with poor gates?
A. ‘I’d say that Division Two solidity is not what most fans want. They want improvement and ambition and I’d say that Wrexham are guilty of a slight lack of ambition. I think you always want to better yourself, and I think the club should be more ambitious.’

Q. Are you happy you’ve got this boo-boy reputation?
A. ‘No, not really. But, after watching Wrexham for 20 years, I think I’ve got a right to say what I want. If the team is rubbish I reserve the right to say that. You’ve got to remember one thing though: I do get behind the team - and sometimes I’m the one getting the singing going on the Kop. There’s one lad who always has a serious dig at me; for the most part though - maybe 99 per cent of the time - the whole booing thing is just friendly banter.’

Q. Will you keep on booing?
A. ‘Yes. I might stop if Flynn gets us promotion - but that will never happen.’

Cheers Andy - thanks a lot  RP