Dear Red Passion...

Chris Pinlane responds to your letters

We greatly appreciate the quality and variety of letters we receive. Any correspondence received by RP will be considered for publication - unless there is a note to say otherwise.

It is now Red Passion's policy to forward copies of the most constructive letters published in the magazine to the club in the hope that it may feel able to respond to matters raised. Watch this space.

Please send your letters and any other articles to editor@red-passion.com

SOUTH WALES REDS

Dear Red Passion
Me and my dad live in Swansea. We come up as much as we can to watch the team; we went to the QPR game and was very impressed with the team's performance; also the fans were great too! Is there any news on making up a South Wales Reds? We are going to the Reading and Swindon games away and also the Stoke home game, and looking forward to them! Could you please print this in the Issue 34?
Thanks a lot

David Owen, Swansea (via email)

PS. We went to the Reading game and were disappointed with the result. We think we have had nothing but bad luck since we have been called the DRAGONS, and think we should have a poll in Red Passion to see if the fans feel we should go back to being the ROBINS!

CP SAYS: Agree about the Dragons - a poll to follow soon perhaps! The South Wales Reds can be contacted via Gareth Davies at: First Floor Flat, 55 Westville Road, Penylan, Cardiff. CF23 5DF OR VIA gareth_tudur@bigfoot.com.


WIMBLEDON PROTEST

Dear Red Passion
Wimbledon Independent Supporters Association (WISA) is organising a 'Fans United' day similar to the one held
at Brighton a few years ago on Sunday December 16th at Selhurst Park during the televised match v Nottingham Forest. Fans of all clubs are invited to
stand alongside us in the next chapter of the fans' fight against corporate greed. I am contacting fanzines to request your help in publicising the event. Other members of WISA are contacting supporters clubs etc, so I apologise if you have received this more than once. More details can be found at www.wisa.org.uk. It would be very much appreciated if you could find space in your fanzine to publicise the event. If you need further info, please email me. Please tell your fellow supporters what we are planning. Anyone interested in attending should either email me or fansunited@wisa.org.uk, so that we can keep you up to date with details about times, ticketing etc. Not only is this your chance to help the Dons fans get their club back to its natural home,
but it is an ideal excuse to skip that last minute Xmas shopping. United we stand!

Mike Brock - WISA Fans United Day Team (www.wisa.org.uk) (via email)

CP SAYS: Best wishes!

TRAVEL PROBLEMS

Dear Red Passion
Must tell you about the travel chaos we encountered after the Cardiff game. At Chester station what we thought was our bus to Crewe was full of ageing (30+) bunny girls waiting to go back to Merseyside. But a bus did turn up after a while which got us to Crewe in good time (so we thought) for our Nuneaton train (due to depart at 18.12 with at least four or five other trains scheduled to go to Nuneaton that evening). All southbound trains were running late and a few stopped to drop off/pick up passengers, but strangely none were stopping at Nuneaton.

We asked a driver - he said 'ask the platform staff'. We asked one of (the nearly impossible to find) platform staff - he said 'look at the computer boards' etc. Eventually a train pulled in and its guard told us: 'No trains to Nuneaton. Get a train to Birmingham and change'. Got on the next train due to go to Birmingham. Packed out with passengers. Sat on it for half an hour or so. Never moved - engine failure. Left the rest of the (now disgruntled) passengers on it and tried to find another train, but now too late to get to Birmingham New Street for the last Leicester train. Got on a train for Birmingham International with other Nuneaton-bound people. (In case you don't know it, Nuneaton's not a big town but is a big railway junction from West Midlands to the east.). We were told a 'special bus' would meet us at Birmingham International. Fair enough, the train eventually moved - standing room only - and we got to Birmingham International. No sign of any bus, special or otherwise, except mini-buses to the airport. People were talking about hiring a plane to fly to East Midlands airport but it was just desperation stuff.

Unannounced (no station staff at all around by this time), a coach pulled up and its driver grudgingly agreed to take us all to Nuneaton. I think he must have been hard of hearing because he had Radio 2 on full volume. It was a religious programme from a 'kirk' in Scotland; in Greenock I think the kirk was. Towards the end of the service the minister offered a prayer - for 'travellers in these difficult times' - couldn't make it up, could you? Arrived in Nuneaton just in time to catch the last train to South Wigston, which was bang on time. Hurrah. So we eventually got back home, more than three hours late, having been due to arrive back at 7.19pm. But after a Chinese takeaway, a few cans of Fosters and seeing Man United lose at Liverpool on the Premiership highlights, it did not seem too bad. But if we go to Hereford it will be by car!

Sorry for the extended rant but, you will appreciate, I needed to get it off my chest.

Mark Thompson, Leicester (via email)

CP SAYS: Just glad we don't have too many Sunday games…

CHALK CAN LEAVE

Dear Red Passion

A NEW LEADER AT THE RACECOURSE. It is approaching one month since Brian Flynn and Kevin Reeves left the club, sufficient time to comment on how we are coping under our new manger. Furthermore, our efforts to escape the clutches of the relegation zone have been hindered by some very poor performances from match officials. I would therefore like to make some observations on these two inter-linked subjects and would appreciate some feedback on my thoughts.

Like many others, my first impression upon hearing of the new manager was: Denis Smith; who's he? The various Wrexham FC websites soon had up their versions of the man's CV and I read them avidly. Although he had been out of management for over a year he seemed to have done some good work at numerous clubs, but apparently had occasionally moved on under a bit of a cloud. Had we simply gone for the cheapest option who would continue in the same vain as the late, great Brian Flynn? Well, judging from his words and deeds so far, I would say far from it. Indeed, he has been a breath of fresh air after the disappointments we have endured for far too long. While it is still too early to say conclusively whether Denis will become our new saviour, I would certainly say the man is open, honest and hard but fair. In fact, I would sum him up as being a leader of men. And that, in my opinion, is something this club has been missing for far too long!

Denis has only been in post for little over three weeks and in that time we have seen some shape and resolve restored to a previously very ragged outfit. After three wins and a draw we were beginning to see some interest return to the club, reflected in the better gates at home, and a tremendous away following. Hopefully, the one heavy defeat at Huddersfield will not dent the new-found optimism too much. However, before going too overboard on our recent performances - and I am sure that Smith is realistic about what we have achieved so far, and the problems we still have to address and overcome - we can but say that some of the rot has been cured. Unfortunately, we fell through the floor badly at the MacAlpine where a well-drilled but rather uninspiring Huddersfield Town side helped themselves to three easy points, courtesy of our sloppy play and some very dubious decisions from the officials - more of which later.

Judging from Denis's post-match comments, he too was annoyed with the team in general, and hopefully about five players in particular. To the man's credit, he also accepted some blame for the poor outcome. However, if we are to regain the early momentum I believe that some further changes are called for, with a few players being read the Riot Act. There can be no excuse for anyone not giving 100 per cent but, alas, that was plainly the case at Huddersfield. Admittedly, Steve Roberts has some very classy touches at times, but he often looks too weak and unimposing in the centre of defence, when he really should be physically stamping his authority. Additionally, Blackwood has many of the attributes of a good winger: he is fit, fast and has good vision. Yet, despite all this, he rarely sets the crowd alight by beating his man to the byline and delivering quality crosses to the two forwards. Does he lack confidence in his own ability? If so, he is letting himself down badly. Michael - have the confidence to run at defenders because they hate someone with your speed and flair running at them. Furthermore, although Faulconbridge continues to work very hard and is good in the air, his first touch is awful and he seems to lack the lethality around the box and hunger to score which all good forwards must have. While Steve, Michael and Craig can hopefully improve with the right coaching - they are all young and relatively inexperienced - that, however, cannot be said for our two worst culprits: Martin Chalk and Darren Ferguson. 

Personally, I have never rated Chalk and, if able, would put him up for a free transfer immediately. As for Darren Ferguson, the man confounds me daily. He is obviously lacking in pace but this talented and competitive chap has previously run the midfield like a general, distributing good early balls to the faster players. Yet now he allows himself to drift in and out of the game when, as our deputy captain, he should be setting a far better example to his teammates. We all appreciate the frustration he encounters with some of the crass decisions made by the referees - yes, many of them should not be put in charge of a bunch of Under-12s - but arguing and ranting at them after they have blown their whistle will only lead to one eventuality. How many times has Darren's name gone in the book, resulting in more unnecessary pressure on a team struggling to string together some good performances? My final comment on the Huddersfield game is about Jim Whitley. I appreciate that the lad is still not fully match fit but I thought he had an excellent game in midfield. Unfortunately, he had little support and the two wingers could not anticipate his excellent through-balls. Moreover, I fear that Denis may decide to put him back into the right-back slot instead of persevering with him in his best position. Pryce Griffiths and David Rhodes take note: get Whitley to sign a permanent contract asap. The lad is too good to lose a second time.

Let's hope that Denis can convey the necessary message to all the players: they must play every game as if it were the FA Cup Final, and not saunter around the park like a bunch of hung-over Sunday League pub players. For what it is worth, this would be my current selection, should they all be fit: ROGERS, MILLER, CAREY, HILL, HOLMES, SAM, WHITLEY, THOMAS, EDWARDS, MORRELL and TRUNDLE. In my opinion, although this team may not appear to have the best balance of youth and experience, it would be solid at the back, dynamic in midfield and fast on the wings, with the ability to deliver better passes on the ground to the two frontmen who, in turn, must start scoring more regularly. Furthermore, by dropping the 'five guilty men', it should emphasise to them they must buck up their ideas if they are to regain a first-team position. Competition certainly focuses the mind.

Finally, I am as frustrated about the generally poor standard of the match officials as I am about the team. The referee and linesmen at Huddersfield better resembled the clowns of Billy Smart's Circus than credible match officials. They gave a penalty for an awkward challenge which did not make contact - their man's dive would have gained a rousing 9.9 at the Olympics; a goal that certainly looked off-side; and the ball for their last goal should never have got outside their half as it was well out of play as their winger gathered it on the left-hand side. There have been numerous sensible suggestions made to improve their overall performances, all with the intention of eliminating as many of these silly errors as possible. Equally, there have also been many daft ideas too. My personal view is that we should not adopt the Rugby League and cricket mentality that play can be stopped so that the referee can consult a 'video referee'. I am firmly of the opinion that football should continue to be a fast and free-flowing game, and that the referee's decision - whether right or wrong - is final while the game is ongoing. Afterwards, there remains the scope to critically analyse the officials' performances to see whether they got it wrong, and equally, to praise them when getting difficult decisions right. They are, after all, human!

However, it cannot be best practice to expect one man to cover the entire pitch effectively for 90 minutes. Instead, my recommendation to the FA would be to better employ the 'fourth official'. Instead of him pretending to be a clapperboard man on a film set, why not have two referees on the pitch, each being responsible for only one half? This would allow them to keep up with play far better than at present, thus hopefully leading to better, instantaneous decisions. Admittedly, if adopted there could be some scope for confusion when the play is close to the centre-line, but it shouldn't be beyond the wit of man to resolve those problems. Some may ask, what if one official is hurt and could not continue - should the game be abandoned? No! Common sense dictates the one remaining referee should continue, accepting that there will be a reduction in his overall performance. Furthermore, the 'out-of-play' official would be able to monitor any unsportsmanlike behaviour that could be flagged up at an appropriate time if missed by the other three officials. The possible benefits from having two referees are, in my opinion, enormous, and could but help make the sport a better spectacle for all. Any actions which relegate the officials to the background and prevent angry fans from berating Richard Littlejohn on Radio 5's '606' programme certainly gets my vote. And, if adopted, our own Darren Ferguson might not collect so many yellow and red cards for telling the man in black he is myopic and of dubious parentage. Does anyone have any thoughts on this suggestion?

Kevin Wynn, Lincolnshire (via email)

PS. Went to Reading last night. Whilst they played better than of late, they were still not good enough overall. Lots of effort, but much of it was ineffective. Quite simply, our midfield isn't dominating the games, and we aren't scoring enough goals. Lots of time for Denis's openness, but I fear that the recently new found enthusiasm will wane quickly unless we start winning games soon. I agree that we have the basis of a good team but there remains too many poor players amongst a smallish squad. Time to be brave Denis; you should know what sort of team you want, so go for it. Persuade the Board to transfer-list the deadwood, and bring in others who are capable of doing the job well. If you leave it too long we will find it very difficult to escape the clutches of relegation and, consequently, our cash-flow problems will worsen as the gates revert to their usual appalling numbers. Good luck, because I don't want to watch The Reds back in Division 3 again.

CP SAYS: Any feedback to this letter - please contact Red Passion!

FLEXSYS (AGAIN)

Dear Red Passion

So Mike Hughes thinks I would be annoyed because he didn't respond to my last incoherent rant. Would that be the one that I concluded, 'let's hope this puts this to bed, as other readers must be bored with the same arguments going back and forth'? Umm! That was obviously a bit too incoherent for Mike to
take in. He says that I failed to address his points in a coherent manner.

Perhaps it was because he kept moving the goalposts eg. from, 'Flexsys should not sponsor Druids because of the nature of their business' to 'Druids should not have changed their name to include Flexsys'. It seems to me that Mike is determined to have the last say on the matter despite failing to address the majority of my points in response to his arguments. My lack of postings on the subject in recent editions has obviously annoyed him and smoked him out of his hiding place. Anyway, Mike, the rumour factory says that Flexsys may well be pulling out of Druids next season, but don't worry - apparently they have another sponsor lined up. UBL Associates, an Afghan-based, Saudi-funded chemical and drug company is apparently in the running to take over. Surely this company would not upset your ethical stance, would it?

Mike also thinks that the Cefner and I are one and the same; he bases his assumption on the fact that we are both incoherent, argumentative and ranting! He says that the points we make argue against each other? From what I recall, Mike's banter with the Cefner was about the nature of the Druids' sponsorship deal with a local company. My writings with Christian Smith, outline MY feelings about the change of nickname of OUR club. I honestly fail to see where the two are connected. From other articles in the fanzine, Mike seems to like to analyse people's feelings point by point. If he would like to dissect my rantings with Mr Smith, I would gladly try to make a coherent reply to anything I may have (in his opinion) got wrong.

Yours argumentatively, but hopefully not too incoherently

John Edwards, Penycae (via email)

CP SAYS: Mike next, I think.

DARREN'S CORNERS

Dear Red Passion

November 4th - Cardiff. Noon - Settle for a point, maybe even nick a late winner. 1.45pm (after a few beers) - we'll slaughter 'em. 4ish - Carlisle, Exeter et al await.

Where was the passion, the pride, the desire? If a Welsh derby or an ongoing relegation battle aren't enough, then surely pulling on that shirt should produce passion, pride and desire in ample abundance? The team needs to go back to basics and learn the simple stuff or else we don't have a snowball in hell's chance of avoiding the drop.

First off, how often did we see Trundle, for example, being given the ball deep in the Cardiff half, to be immediately swamped by two, three or even four Cardiff players, with the inevitable result of us losing the ball. Why? No support. Each time, Trundle would have no option but to try and get through by himself as there were no red shirts near.

Secondly, you don't have to be in the six-yard box before shooting. Shoot from 20 yards - it might go in. Just have a pop at goal sometimes, instead of continuously trying to get round that extra man. The ball goes in just as easily from 18 yards as it does from six.

And finally, a bright point to end on - Ferguson's inch-perfect deliveries. Every single corner and free-kick was placed perfectly (just in case you're blind to Ferguson's form thus far, that was sarcasm) onto the head of a blue shirt. Talk about wasted opportunities! We play in red, Darren mate.

Graham Corner, Wrexham

CP SAYS: Sorry, Graham we found your surname very hard to read on your letter. Apologies if it isn't Corner. Big coincidence anyway, given your last point…

HUDDS POLICING

Dear Red Passion

Hot on the heels of the Notts County stewards, the Huddersfield police register their bid to become GOBA WFUL (Group Of Beings Annoying Wrexham Fans Upset at Losing) - other contenders include the players and the board. I haven't seen aggressive policing like that at a football match for a long, long time. 
Leaving the ground after the fifth home goal, hoping to beat the rush (in fact it was the rush anyway, as most visiting fans had seen enough) I was appalled to see a mounted policeman harassing a lad who had simply stopped to wait for a friend. He rode his horse straight at the bloke, forcing him to move, and continued to bully him the entire length of the road down from the (admittedly very impressive) stadium. Towards the bottom of the road the same officer suddenly backtracked, ordering a number of supporters, including my little group to cross the road, thus taking us away from where my car was parked. No sooner had we crossed the road than we were ordered to cross back again, seemingly for no other reason than to show how powerful the police can be. The temptation was to protest, but with my 13-year-old daughter and my father (74) in tow, it would not, perhaps, have been the wisest move. 
In his letter to Notts chairman Derek Pavis (see RP33), Kevin Jones of the Anglian Reds voices his concerns over the possible problems of treating potentially violent supporters in the same way as those who are enjoying a day out (even if they are seen as invaders from another planet). I notice from Huddersfield's fixture list that Stoke City are the visitors on Saturday, December 29th ie. in the middle of the Christmas/New Year festivities. Makes you wonder if, well, you know what I mean. 

At least the Old Bill took our minds off the game. We looked fairly sharp in the first half against a leaden home side, with Hill and Roberts particularly impressive. While at the time I thought their penalty was justified, I've since seen the incident on television and it was clearly a dive. Hard luck Willie Miller. The second half was a different story, though, as lightning struck four times while pockets of thunder glowered in the Wrexham end, and will have given Denis Smith a truer picture of the task facing him than his previous four games. If we are looking to sell any players to raise funds, it is difficult to see who on that performance. What price Ferguson (who crucially lost possession for Huddersfield's second goal and still only looks half-fit) at the moment? Or the Falcon? Or even Lee?

All that and the banana-skin of Hereford to come in the cup! 

Yours from a pit of gloom.

Alun Thomas, Lincolnshire

CP SAYS: It's a worrying trend.

CARDIFF TROUBLE

Dear Red Passion

Maybe someone could explain to me why a Cardiff 'fan' would travel the length of Wales just to stand in the home end and cause trouble? I was on the Kop for the Cardiff game and wasn't expecting a completely trouble-free day, but to see people from Cardiff in the same end as me was taking the p***. What annoyed me more was the fact that this guy was effing and blinding not more than five yards from a pair of young girls at the front. He was behaving aggressively and was there a police officer in sight? No. I'm just glad the stewards were there or those girls could have been pretty shaken up by what may have followed. That wasn't the end of it, though. A minute or two later and this 'fan' was still copper-free and chose to walk along the front of the Family Stand. He made it halfway along (at a steady pace) before two policemen arrived to escort him away. I don't know if he was arrested My best guess is that standard procedure was followed and he was escorted to the away end to enjoy the rest of the match. Even if he was arrested, he wouldn't have been charged with anything. Why should these people stop acting this way when they know nothing's going to be done about it? 

There's a few things that could be done to change the events (although relatively minor) that occurred during the Cardiff game. The first criticism, aimed at the police response time, could be solved by giving the stewards radios that are directly linked to the police radios. Bouncers in clubs do it, so why not stewards at football matches? The point of discouraging such behaviour could be tackled by actually creating and enforcing adequate punishments. I understand that the police are powerless to act until a crime has been committed, but what's to stop the football club from making official complaints to the away fan's home club? The police could take the details and a polaroid of the troublemakers and the details could then be forwarded to the home club for disciplinary action. Such action could include match bans or even fines for bringing the game into disrepute. That is, unless teams like Cardiff condone such behaviour - in which case, their lack of action would serve to highlight their subdued interest in what should already be a major concern for them.

These suggestions may not work, but what is certain is that something needs to be done. If things continue as they are, I may have to think twice before introducing my child to a football scene that I have enjoyed for many years. If fans were made to feel safer, a lot more children would be attending home matches each week.

A concerned fan.

Shay Brightman

CP SAYS: Agree entirely.

CHEAP NEW BOSS

Dear Red Passion
Wrexham again go for the cheapest option. A man with style and loads of chrisma - not. Where the hell did they dig him up from? His record in the last decade can only be described as second rate, which would be in tune with what we have at Wrexham at the moment: a second rate board. This appointment will have the crowds coming back in their thousands and sponsors knocking down the door to give Wrexham their money - not. Well, once again Wrexham miss the boat. Pryce should stick to what he was good at - delivering newspapers.

Yours disappointed

Tony Roberts (via email)

CP SAYS: Cheap and cheerful, I'd say. He could be the man.

NEW PREMIERSHIP

Dear Red Passion

Wouldn't it be a good idea to increase the size of the Premiership? Double the number of English clubs, plus ten Welsh clubs and ten Scottish, except split them up into conferences. Possibly have a Northern Conference, comprising of the Scottish division The North West division, The North East division, and a Southern Conference of The Welsh division, The South West division, and The South East division. At the moment the Welsh clubs are overrun by English clubs, and the likelihood of success is remote. The Welsh league should include the top Welsh clubs, so the strongest team represents Wales in Europe etc. In Scotland there are a couple of strong clubs and the rest don't stretch the top clubs, causing weakness on the larger stage. What if the league was a British league like the American NFL system. Each team would play the rest of their own division home and away, but like the NFL, would also play each of the other teams in their Conference once each season. So using the above example Cardiff City would play Arsenal, Spurs, Charlton, West ham, Southampton, etc at least once every season. Celtic would play Man. Utd, Newcastle Utd, Liverpool, Leeds United, Everton, Man.City, Sunderland, Middlesbro etc. at least once every season. From this, each team would play 38 games every season. 

The winners of each four English divisions would play off over two legs to find a national champion who would then go on to the British league final against the winners of the other semi-final. The final would rotate between the Millenium Stadium, Wembley and Hampden Park. Wales would have their champions and they would play a two- leg semi-final against the Scottish Champions for a place in the British final. This increased competition and the chance of being British champions, and more high-profile teams playing the Welsh clubs, would increase interest in the Welsh game, increasing the revenue and I think investment would increase because initially the Scots Champions and top English clubs might be too much for the Welsh clubs, and Welsh investors would not want to see teams humiliated every other game. As a result of increased competition and investment, Welsh clubs would do better in Europe and the national team might reach the World Cup final and do well there. At the moment there is nothing to encourage teams like Arsenal to play Welsh teams or teams like Bristol City because the competition wouldn't be enough to keep them sharp for Europe or the British final, but as the interest in Wales grew, the likes of Arsenal would be tested.

Just a thought

Dale Lewis (via email)

CP SAYS: We'll put it to the FA, FAW and SFA.

NORWAY CALLING

Dear Red Passion

Please send me a six-issue subscription of Red Passion. I have to admit that I am not a die-hard Wrexham fan, although I appreciate true, uncommercialised love of football, something that does not happen often nowadays. Your internet site has given me a lot of passion and inspiration over the last four weeks.
I hope you keep up the good work.

Yours

Askild Gjerstad, Tysnes, Norway (via email)

CP SAYS: Thanks for writing to us - your comments are much appreciated.