Skinner Excusive

There are few ex-Wrexham players who provoke such heated reactions as Craig Skinner, the Bury-born right-winger who had spells at Blackburn and Plymouth before signing on at the Racecourse in 1995 for a particularly undistinguished four-year spell at the club (88 full appearances, 25 more as sub and 11 goals). He left for York City in March 1999 - and drifted into even greater obscurity. However, two RP writers have encountered the Great Man in recent times - and this is their story:

Peter Davies goes to the Drill Field…

One Saturday recently, I found myself staying with family in mid-Cheshire.

I consulted Teletext and discovered that my nearest game was Northwich Victoria v Farnborough Town. So I got a lift into Northwich, located the Drill Field - the oldest footballing venue in Britain! - and took my seat in the stand.

The first few minutes of the game were uneventful. My mind and eyes started to wander. To my left, sitting in a brown tracksuit and trainers, was a bloke I recognised. He had lovely hair and was studying the game intently. Yes! It was Racecourse anti-hero Craig Skinner.

I lost track of Northwich-Farnborough goings-on and dwelt on the possibility of sidling up to Craig and starting up a Wrexham-related conversation. I thought to myself that I would never, ever, have a better opportunity to quiz the Great Man. He looked lonely and a bit lost - so I convinced myself that I HAD to make a move. 

The ref blew for half-time. This was my opportunity. I said hello and explained that I followed Wrexham. CS was courteous and polite. I had 45 minutes to find out what I could…

Life at the bottom
Craig explained that he had left York after falling out with the manager. He got a decent pay-off, he said, but he had had such a torrid time with injuries that he was finding life after Bootham Crescent very difficult. He had written round to every non-league club in the north - with very little response. He had had a month at Leigh RMI, "done quite well", but couldn't secure a permanent move. (Incidentally, he told me that a group of female Leigh fans tried to chat him up, and cadge a lift with him, after one particular home match). He'd bumped into Jimmy Quinn - manager at Northwich - and the ex-Northern Ireland striker had invited him down for training at the Drill Field. Craig had enjoyed the training - and was now in the stands eyeing up his next prospective employers. He wasn't 100% sure he'd get offered a contract - but he was hopeful. His "insurance policy" was his part-time degree. He revealed that he was studying Sports Science at Crewe & Alsager College - and wanted to be a PE teacher.

Non-league soccer
As he watched the Farnborough game, he said he wasn't exactly impressed by the standard of non-league football. He deduced that, quality-wise, Division 3 and the Conference were on a par - but that Division 2 was a totally different world. As we watched the match, he winced on occasions at the poor tackling and dubious passing that was going on in front of us. "Not the best," he muttered more than once.

Life at the Racecourse
He said he had enjoyed his time at Wrexham. He got on with Flynn, liked the general set-up, and was not enthusiastic about departing. However, Flynn said in March 1999 that he could not guarantee him a new contract for the 1999-2000 season; so, when York came in for him, and offered him a three-year deal, he had to go because he might have been without any deal at all if Flynn had released him.

The new stand
Craig was not familiar with the PGS. He said he had actually enjoyed playing at the three-sided Racecourse because, as a right-winger, he never had anybody to abuse him when the Reds were shooting towards the Kop. He implied that this was a welcome relief! He also confided that the odd, lone, nasty heckler could be as hurtful as a whole stand-full of hecklers. Without saying it explicitly, I think he knew that he wasn't the most popular footballer ever to wear a Wrexham shirt. However, we both agreed that his Maradona-like goal at Turf Moor c.1996 was probably the high-point of his Reds career. He seemed to have an encyclopedic memory of all his great moments - but as I mused to myself at the time, there weren't that many to remember. 

His mates
I left the ground thinking that "Skins" was Mr Popular. He still keeps in touch with ex-Blackburn teammate Jason Wilcox at Leeds ("he's not enjoying it at present") and also revealed that Brian Carey, Kevin Russell and Keith Hill (who he played with at Ewood Park and Home Park) were among his best mates in the game. He said he still saw a lot of Carey - who lives very close to Skinner, who currently lives in Worsley, Manchester.

His favourite players
Bryan Hughes ("amazing skill"), Gareth Owen ("I cannot believe he's ended up at Doncaster"), Steve Roberts ("will be a great player in the future").
International politics

Craig explained that he wasn't totally in favour of US policy in Afghanistan. He told me that the Taliban government was "a lot smarter" than people gave it credit for. I just nodded and agreed.

So, Craig Skinner, Racecourse legend, non-league wannabe and astute observer of the War on Terrorism. He was very chatty and very charming and, to be honest with you, he's my new hero.