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

BE REALISTIC

Dear Red Passion

I hear people saying we will be in the play-offs at least next season. But is it unreasonable to think that it will just be a season of mid table mediocracy. This is because we have no money to sign any decent players. Also I believe that having a squad of less than 20 players is going to be extremely difficult if we have a couple of injuries or suspensions. Guterman is helping us pay the bills but if he's so rich why did Chester go into administration? For me hopes of us challenging for promotion are negligible. My only hope is that we don't do a Bristol Rovers.

Chris Roberts, Wrexham

CP SAYS: Fair comment - we've got to be realistic.

DOUBLE VISION

Dear Red Passion

I have always wondered whether the editor of Red Passion is the author of Twenty Two Foreigners in Funny Shorts, and you confirmed in the last issue of Red Passion that this is not the case to a gentleman from America. But is this man, John Landis of Chicago, Illinois, the same John Landis the film maker, or is this too much of a coincidence?

Paul Matthias

CP SAYS: Sorry - can't help!

BANNED!

Dear Red Passion 

My dad was telling me he had read in a national paper that someone who wrote for a fanzine had been banned from attending matches for six months. He said this man had written something derogatory about a referee and was initially fined £100. But he refused to pay it and so receives this ban. If this is correct then surely this is a scary precedent if writers for fanzines are not able to express an opinion without the threat of official action? I thought the whole idea behind them was to allow a certain freedom of speech for fans through an official channel. Surely the concept of fanzines is undermined if this sort of action has been taken? On the other hand, if the article contained something libelous, then the fanzine should not have published it! I was just wondering if you had heard about this instance?

Gareth Venn, Mold/York

CP SAYS: An alarming story! Fanzines, by their very nature, are close to the bone, but let's hope it doesn't happen here…

POTTERS HELLO

Dear Red Passion

Let me introduce myself - I am the editor of a Stoke City fanzine called "A View To A Kiln". Recently I was at the Racecourse Ground interviewing Denis Smith for my next issue - out against you next week. Obviously, you can use any of my interview in your excellent 'zine, which I always pick up at Sportspages.

Once again, all the best.

Bunny

CP SAYS: Very good to hear from you!

DIBBLE HOPE

Dear Red Passion

No doubt many fans have been mulling over last season's failure, wondering how an established Division Two club could have dropped out without too much apparent fight and effort. But, as we have seen in World Cup 2002 - and as often quoted by those "nice", large investment companies - past performance is no guarantee of future success. Who would have predicted the three red-hot favourites would have been eliminated before the Quarter-Finals? leaving just Brazil and seven other no-hopers with the opportunity to win the world footballing crown!

There were many reasons for our failure last year. Unfortunately, too many to list here. Yes, we let in far too many goals but, up at the other end of the pitch, we quite simply failed to take those few precious opportunities that were given us. Admittedly, we were thumped heavily far too many times. But we should not dismiss the number of defeats by one goal or the draws, when we threw away valuable points. Our inability to score a higher percentage of those chances we made ultimately resulted in some worse teams than us avoiding the drop to Division 3, at our expense. Still, there is nothing anyone can do to rewrite history, and we must now look forward to life in Division 3, but hopefully for only one season!

Once Flynn had finally left, it would have been very pleasing if Denis Smith had been able to turn things around but, alas, he did not. Despite the fact that Denis inherited a dispirited and unbalanced side from Flynn he rightly shouldered some of the responsibility for our relegation. To his great credit, he was man enough to acknowledge this, but has promised better things to come, once he has rebuilt his own squad. To that end, since the end of April, Denis has had a good clear-out but, due to our uncertain future and lack of cash, he has had little opportunity to bring in too many new faces. The arrival of Andy Dibble from Stockport County -with his proven coaching skills - should be of immense value to both Kristian Rogers and Paul Whitfield. It is vital that a goalkeeper should inspire confidence in his defence and also distribute quick and accurate balls to the midfield. If Andy fulfils that task, while coaching his two underlings, we would have seen a big improvement on our performances last season. Unfortunately, although Marius Rovde made a tremendous impact last season, his arrival was too late in the season and we had, by then, thrown away far too many points.

For the forthcoming season, like many other teams from across the Football League, we will have a small squad of less than 20 professional players. Injuries and suspensions are likely to take their toll, thus placing a great deal of pressure on an already small squad. Furthermore, we will face some stiff opposition from the likes of Hull City, Rushden and Diamonds, Exeter City (if Uri Geller invests some of his cash there) and Shrewsbury, just to name a few. Despite Denis Smith's failure to keep us up, I remain confident that he is the man to turn around our fortunes. He has released all the players who I personally thought were no longer required, and has persuaded most of the better ones to re-sign. If Dan Bennett and Jim Whitley both sign then the squad looks quite reasonable, except that we seem devoid of any out-and-out wingers. That said, I am unsure whether keeping Wayne Phillips will be wise. Our midfield was, in my opinion, the main weakness last season, and he was part of the problem. If he becomes our next player of the season - and thus proves me wrong again - I would be more than happy for he has more passion for his local club than most, and that is something I do admire. Additionally, Darren Ferguson was an expensive flop. He also needs to improve if he is to regain the respect of the fans. Hopefully, there will be no automatic selection for him, but again, if he proves his worth then that is fine by me. Personally, I would be so grateful to Mark Hughes if he would offer his services to his home town in their hour of need, for what will probably be his last season. He would make a tremendous impact at the Racecourse and would hopefully help attract bigger crowds than we have endured of late. If we were able to play a midfield of Carlos Edwards, Mark Hughes, Jim Whitley and Oz Thomas we could start dominating games instead of always being on the back foot.

If an improved midfield could supply good, early balls to our forwards I feel reasonably confident we could be pushing for promotion next year. Denis' choice of who plays up front is an interesting dilemma. Our hope must be that Lee Jones' injury does not disrupt his season for he is a rare commodity: a natural goal-scorer - as demonstrated during his demolition of Cambridge Utd. His ability is something we have lacked since the days of Gary Bennett and Dixie McNeil before him. Alas, Faulconbridge failed to live up to his potential - one goal every 4 games is not good enough - and Lee Trundle found life much more difficult. So, if Lee remains fit, who will partner him? Andy Morrell's work-rate in the last few games was tremendous - replacing Faulconbridge who, by then, had virtually switched off, prior to his much talked about departure - and he is much admired by the manager. Possibly he could prove the perfect partner for Lee but, personally, I think that the two Lees could still be the better option. If Lee Trundle could avoid those red cards and strip fitter, he would be a good target man who could hold up the ball before laying it off to the faster Lee Jones. Furthermore, Lee Jones should prove a greater threat to our opposition than Faulconbridge; therefore, that should hopefully give Trundle more opportunities on goal for, after all, he too is no slouch when given a bit of space. Regardless of which combination Denis selects, I think that we will definitely see more goals this time, if our midfielders do their job.

There is one critical position that needs to be resolved: that of who should be captain. Brian Carey has been a giant these past few seasons but has become injury-prone and often lacks the necessary pace to cope with nippy forwards. Nevertheless, Brian remains a good professional and hopefully he could still bounce back to marshal the team. On the other hand, Ferguson's tenure as deputy captain did not, in my opinion, work. He was often too critical of others, while lacking the necessary discipline required to match his own innate competitiveness - hence far too many red and yellow cards. Brian will, however, face some stiff opposition for his team position from Dennis Lawrence, Steve Roberts, Dan Bennett and Shaun Pejic. May the best men win! Personally, my big hope is that young Craig Morgan eventually secures the right-back position. We only saw him briefly last season, but I was very impressed with his composure on the ball. With luck, he could become our Young Player of the Year, while Jim Whitley could be even better if he were to play in midfield. Furthermore, Jim should be offered the captaincy as part of our plan to entice him to sign a contract. He really is a very classy player and we should make all possible effort to get him on the books before he is snapped up by another club. I think there could be better to come from this very likeable individual.

Off the pitch, Mr Mark Guterman has finally bought out Pryce Griffiths and assumed the important task of being our new Chairman. Annoyingly, he seems to have quite a few detractors already, due to his previous connections with Chester City. It is all well and good to have a bit of banter about our lowly neighbours, but we must be realistic. Mr Guterman has paid the players' wages these passed few months, enticed Lee Jones to sign up and offers us the possibility of a brighter financial future. Lets give the man a chance to prove his worth.

Pryce Griffiths also received a lot of unjust criticisms. Admittedly, his biggest fault was not appreciating Flynn's limitations and for giving him an extension to his contract. But, that aside, he gave a great deal to the club from his limited financial resources, and without his and David Rhodes' efforts we could be in a far worse condition than we are. Lets hope Pryce has a lengthy and memorable spell as Life President. And lets hope that Joey Jones makes a speedy recovery after his recent scare; Wrexham wouldn't be Wrexham without his trade-mark fist-clenched wave to the crowd from the bench. 
The Board, the Manager and the players all have many responsibilities on their shoulders as we approach the new season. The $64,000 question is: will they be heroes or villains by next April? Well, we have a demanding and entertaining list of friendlies prior to our visit to Scunthorpe Utd on 10 August. They should offer us a good opportunity to judge whether we have the mettle to achieve promotion. This is where we, the fans, can do our bit. The more people who pack the Racecourse and cheer them on, the better our chances of getting off to that often elusive good start. Am I looking forward to the new season? You bet your bottom dollar I am. So lets hope we have the usual excellent away support at Scunthorpe to cheer the lads on to our first 3 points of the season!

Well that's over for another year, time to put all our wasted energy into something else (something that does not hurt and let you down yeah yeah we will all be back next year all 2 thousand of us)nice to win the last game though but the table does not lie we deserved to go down...congrats to Jim Whitley for player of the season although he was not actually pushed that far by anyone in second place to be fair...proof you can get good players for nowt especially now the digital deal is on the verge of collapse…can we justify Barrett and Phillips? I am not convinced myself if they are better than the released eight but there you go! I hope the Trinidad three justify their price-tags next year as well as their high wages (The jury is still out on the big man for me I know others rate him but he makes me nervous) Anyway that's it till august so we still have pre season optimism to look forward to as well as the World Cup.

Kevin Wynn, Lincolnshire

CP SAYS: Agree about the captaincy - Denis should seriously ponder the alternatives to Big Brian.

HELLO SAILOR

Dear Red Passion

I recently managed to get an old friend to send me a copy of RP, as they're rather hard to come by in the middle of the Atlantic! I sent him a fiver back, and he tells me he gave it to the club (I trust him). However, I was wondering if it would be possible to subscribe to RP? I would be very happy to cover all costs, and of course, a donation to the club and the magazine itself. I would like to add how saddened I was when we lost our battle for relegation, However, at least we can say we have the best stadium in the 3rd Division. And I'm sure that with DS's help it won't be long before we're back in the 2nd Division.

Great magazine - look forward to hearing from you and continuing correspondence.

Yours truly

Taff Humphreys, HMS Norfolk, BFPO 344

PS. My friend Jen is going out with Martin Chalk, and he was round our house at Christmas. On New Year's Eve we went to the Squire York pub and as soon as we walked in, he walked out because he was playing the next day and one of the club's directors was stood at the bar! 

CP SAYS: Nice Chalkie story!

VERY CONFIDENT

Dear Red Passion

Relegation is a thoroughly unpleasant phenomenon. It's probably worse for the fans, who pay to witness it, than it is for the players, who are at least paid for the experience. It saps morale and drains coffers. But 11 of the 92 League clubs (including eight out of 72 in the Nationwide) must suffer it every season, and from an early stage last year, the chances were that Wrexham would be one of them. However, it needn't all be doom and gloom. I will try to set out below the reasons why I feel an optimism about the forthcoming season that I wasn't able to feel a year ago. 

Firstly, Denis Smith's record in the bottom division. He has already brought Oxford straight back up after relegation the previous year, and I remember his York side running away with the old Fourth Division title with (I think) a record number of points and goals, presumably on a compara`tively similar budget to the one he must work with now. Our fall last year, exactly 30 years after Denis lifted the League Cup at Wembley as skipper of Stoke, will have hurt him and he will be determined to right wrongs. 

Secondly, the retained list. The deadwood has gone, along with some of the youngsters with only the release of Gibson the real surprise. However, players know the situation when embarking on a career in the game and in this respect football does not differ from any other industry. We should wish the lads who have been released well, but shouldn't shed too many tears, At the time of writing, the Faulconbridge situation is still unclear. I think Craig's problem was that he believed his own publicity and for the second half of the season seemed only to be going through the motions, alienating the supporters in the process. (If he does go he will leave behind one of my favourite Wrexham memories - his last-ditch winner at Walsall in 2001. I know Trundle had done all the work but the sight of the Falcon's close-range volley hitting the net is something I will never forget).

Incidentally, those who claim that Faulconbridge and Trundle are too similar miss the point - no-one is similar to Trundle. Am I the only one to notice that of the eight league goals notched by Trunds last season, seven of them earned us points? Notts and Port Vale away, Notts, Bury, Blackpool and Tranmere at home. Only at Northampton did a Trundle strike fail to gain us at least a point. To criticise him for not reproducing the previous season's heroics is to misunderstand the man and the industry he works in. His goals will flow again.

Finally, the differing standards between Divisions 2 and 3. On the last two Saturdays of the season proper, I went to see two of what were then potential, but have since been confirmed as definite, opponents for next season, and I can report that if our new squad plays to anything like their potential, the sweet aroma of success is a very real possibility. On the penultimate Saturday, I was at Rushden versus Kidderminster, having won two tickets in a competition in the local paper. Rushden, for whom victory would have secured a play-off place, were awful. Barry Hunter wasn't playing and only Paul Hall stood out, with the much vaunted Onandi Lowe having an off day alongside Brett Angell, last seen (by me at least) playing a convincing cow pie to Brian Carey's Desperate Dan in the match mentioned earlier. Two defensive howlers saw a workmanlike and noisily-supported Kiddy (who featured an impressive Danny Williams in midfield) take both points. But the overall standard was far worse than anything else I saw last season. 

Rushden's ground is actually in the nearby town of Irthlingborough, surely now the smallest place to host league football. Lovely stadium (when was the last time you visited a ground to be greeted by lawns and banks of tulips?) You park in the yard of club sponsors Dr Martens, whose factory is adjacent to Nene Park. Facilities include fixed seating under the AirWair stand (part of which is set aside for visiting fans) where you can sit and watch Sky Sports whilst enjoying the beer which is available before and after the game as well as at half time. I have given up pre-match drinking so can't help on that score, although there seemed to be plenty of old-fashioned boozers in Irthlingborough High Street. Reasonable programme, fanzine trying hard, but the supporters turned savagely on the team as soon as they went a goal down - which is worth remembering. The following Saturday saw me at Boston as the battle for promotion from the Conference approached its climax. Again the standard was - well -substandard really, as Boston eased past a dreadful Farnborough side by four goals to nil. The York Road stadium has been impressively revamped to comply with League regulations and the home support was thunderous. Banners in the home end proclaimed the Pilgrims (Boston's nickname) of Blackburn, Darwen and Newbury! No players I recognised. Decent programme, no sign of a fanzine. One piece of advice - get there early if you can. Car parking would not appear to be very high on Boston Town Council's list of priorities. 

Reasons to be cheerful? 

Alun Thomas, Lincolnshire

CP SAYS: See you at Rushden and Boston…

TERRIBLE TOILETS

Dear Red Passion

The state of the Ladies in Blackpool was disgusting to say the least - one toilet only, dirty and smelly. And that's being kind. I have written to Blackpool FC to complain. Only cold water and nowhere to dry your hands and no toilet paper.

By the way, spotted in the Old Bridge Inn, Blackpool - a monkey in a plastic carrier bag! Poor monkey.

Finally, I was appalled at the hand gesture Waynne Phillips made at the Chesterfield home game in March. It was so out of character for Waynne that I could not believe what I was seeing. I have never, in 42 years supporting Wrexham, ever seen a Wrexham player react in this way, and believe me, we have given some players an even harder time than we have given Waynne. This is the first time I have ever seen anything like this happen at the Racecourse.

Elsie Price, Wrexham

CP SAYS: You must send us Blackpool's reply when you get it.

HOW DARE THEY?

Dear Red Passion

I'm writing to say that I can't believe that Mr I.Mamoron and a Bluebird fan can write to the Wrexham FC fanzine and slag us off. How dare they? No, Wrexham FC might not have played their best last season, but how could these people write to 'our' magazine and say that about our team? They had no right. I was very shocked when I read the 37th issue of Red Passion.

I know that many people will feel the same about that Mr Mamoron and that Bluebirds fan. Shame on you two.

Samantha Wheeler, Wrexham

(A supporter of the best team in the world)

CP SAYS: Keep cool!

DENIS THE BAGGIE

Dear Red Passion

Thanks for the large pile of 'zines -just what I need during the football-less summer. No honestly...I'm always interested to learn about clubs who don't get that much media attention. I trawled through my photo library and dug out a few pictures of Denis that you may (or may not) care to use. For me, Denis was an honest manager without a devious side and that cost him. You've got to be a right devious sod in the modern game. Denis tried...he really did and put himself out for the supporters. He was one of the few (only?) managers who'd talk to us off the record. Albion supporters ought to be eternally grateful though for his bringing Enzo Maresca to the club. You may not recall Enzo as Brian Little didn't think much of him...Juventus did and gave us £4 million for him. And that £4 million is a prime reason why we're now a Premier League club. Enzo will probably captain Italy in 2006 - you're a plank, Brian Little. 
Gotta go.

Simon (Editor, Grorty Dick, WBA Fanzine)

CP SAYS: Denis is an honest bloke, but he's got to prove himself this season.

GREAT DAY OUT

Dear Red Passion

After watching Aston Villa for some 25 years, home and away, I now watch mainly lower-divisions football (I mean £25 a match ticket is taking the p***).
So, on 6th April I took myself off to watch Wrexham v Cambridge. On arriving at the ground, I popped into the Turf pub where I met Charlie and Carl, who spent time chatting to me. Charlie had been going to Wrexham for some 50 years and Carl some years too. Thanks for your great stories about Wrexham!
As for the game, well, 5-0 with Jones scoring all five. The way you played in the second half, I wondered why you were in the bottom four. 

But I hope you come straight back up. So, thanks again to Charlie and Carl for a great day.

Yours

Kevin Murphy, Rugby, Warwickshire

PS. I have enclosed a cheque for £8.50 for the next six issues of Red Passion.

CP SAYS: All new Dragons supporters very welcome!