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Dear Red Passion |
Chris Pinlane responds to your letters
WREXHAM FC MUST TREAT LOYAL FANS WITH RESPECT
Dear Red
Passion
Without wishing
to perpetuate traditional stereotypes of impoverished and whining students, I feel
compelled to register my distaste at the manner in which Wrexham AFC continues to fleece
its loyal fans. Whilst the vast majority of Wrexham’s population choose to
support the Man Utds or Liverpools of this world, I have been unfortunate enough to have
acquired a deep emotional attachment for my home-town club. Since my first visit as
a child I seem to have developed a perverse desire to witness long periods of mediocre
football, illuminated by brief glimpses of relative success. This condition is also
prevalent in the 2,000 or so ‘die-hard’ supporters who will turn up whether
it’s a relegation struggle, one of our regular flirtations with the play-offs, or a
Mickey Mouse cup tie. Yet it is this group of ‘true’ fans which the
club’s financial arm preys upon. In illustrating my point I do not wish to be
perceived as an extremist launching into a polemical for no apparent reason, I merely wish
to put forward the view of the ordinary fan who works in an office or a factory five days
a week for a miserly wage, who, in return for his support of the team, wishes to be
treated fairly by the club.
Although I am
now a student at university, I still try and attend matches as often as possible.
Although travelling from Bangor to Wrexham is hardly the most arduous of journeys, it
nevertheless costs money. A return on the train costs £15 and forces the individual
to change at ‘The City of the Damned’ and suffer ‘Cheshire
hospitality’ (a contradiction in terms itself). Luckily there are a fair
number of Wrexham exiles in Bangor and we usually travel back by car, sharing petrol
costs. After arriving at the ground and parking, we head into the Paddock having
paid £9 to get in. When I leave university this summer I will have absolutely no
problem at all paying full admission prices, but in the meantime, I am left to question
why the club fails to follow the example of other clubs and reduce admission prices for
those in full-time education. At school the problem was saving enough money from our paper
rounds to see a Saturday match and mid-week game. At Yale sixth-form college it was
a question of whether the bloke on the turnstile could be arsed to make us pay adult
prices. At university it’s about the struggle to afford to stay in education
and support your team whilst from a working class background. Yet there is a little
more altruistic reason for writing this letter than pure self-interest, because if the
club were willing to give a little, then they would receive a lot more in return.
The last two
decades have seen an explosion in the numbers of people entering full-time education, as
witnessed by the expansion of Yale sixth-form college and NEWI’s interest in
university status. If Wrexham were to introduce concessionary prices for students
aged 16-25, then it would encourage those who have never experienced the dubious pleasure
of Welsh football to attend. I am not saying the club should slash prices in half,
but if they knocked a couple of quid off then it would encourage students to come,
students who when they found employment would continue to come and pay full prices, buy
‘high quality’ replica shirts, and perhaps eventually even bring their own
kids. Basically, the club is too concerned with maximising profit from loyal fans,
instead of thinking long-term.
The most recent
example of this is the commercial department’s ‘brick promotion’.
Although Allan Thomas is not a bad bloke and has generally done a good job at the club
shop, this scheme only serves to illustrate how the club is taking advantage of our
loyalty. When my mother told me on the telephone of the idea, I immediately thought
of the examples of Derby and Sunderland who had encouraged their fans to buy a brick in
their new stadium. I must admit that I initially thought that this was a very good
and forward-thinking idea; however, this opinion changed when I saw the prices of the
bricks in the following morning’s Daily Post. A brick within the Stadium of
Light had cost £5, a brick at Pride Park had cost £7, so taking into account the obvious
differences between the three clubs, I expected a brick in the forthcoming Pryce Griffiths
Stand to cost around £10 or £12. I was genuinely shocked when I saw that it would
cost £30. How can the club explain such a chasm between the prices at the
Racecourse compared to Derby and Sunderland? Again the club know full well that only
genuine supporters would be interested in taking up this ‘generous’ offer and
thus took the opportunity to fleece them for every penny that they possibly could.
However, in many
ways this is the proverbial ‘tip of the iceberg’, and only serves to illustrate
the way in which football is being taken out of the hands of those who are genuinely
passionate about it. How can a man who slogs his guts out in a factory for 40 hours
every week afford to take his two kids to a match? On a ‘family ticket’
perhaps? He’d be lucky as the club shop usually sells out all too quickly.
Perhaps it’s just me being cynical, but does the club only produce limited
‘family tickets’ in order to encourage a form of emotional blackmail?
After being unable to purchase a ‘family ticket’ what self-respecting father
could allow himself to take his kids home without seeing the match? The father is
compelled to pay normal admission prices and as a result the club, by only producing
limited ‘family tickets’, is ensuring that they make maximum profit out of those
who genuinely want to see Wrexham. The club should think long-term, as the kids of
today are the paying fans of tomorrow, and without ever having been to the ground they
will not develop an affinity for the team. Without establishing such an emotional
bond the child will be swanning round McDonald’s on a Saturday afternoon in a
Liverpool tracksuit, rather than watching his home town club play football 300 yards up
the road.
Again, whilst I
am broadly supportive of the development of the commercial side of the club, I feel the
need to take issue with the club over the recent turnover of kits. This is not a
personal grudge as I actually like a new kit every year, but it nevertheless serves to
illustrate the underlying contempt that the club retains for its fans’ intelligence
and the sometimes slipshod nature of the merchandising department. When the new deal
with Super League was announced at the end of the 1997-98 season I was initially
impressed, although I viewed the Carlsberg/Wrexham lager sponsorship logo as an underhand
way of acclimatising the people of Wrexham to yet more imminent job losses. Allan
Thomas told us that the deal was better for Wrexham AFC and better for the fans as the
club would get more money and the fans would get a cheaper kit. The kit looked smart
(although a bit similar to Liverpool’s old one) and I looked forward to the prospect
of a kit, which unlike the previous ENS numbers, would stand up to more than one wash.
However, I was to be disappointed once more as the ‘saving’ to fans was a
measly £1 and my September was spent in fruitless journeys to the club shop to see if it
had arrived yet. It was not really the money that concerns me, because if the shirt
was £1,000 I’d still have to buy it, but the underhand justification which the club
uses to explain its actions. If we, the fans, are not seeing the benefits of the new
kit deal then the club must – and as you may have noticed, the club has not been
overly-conspicuous in the transfer market recently.
Whilst I may
have taken issue with the club over certain organisational issues, I feel compelled to
stress that I am not one of the ‘continual moaners’ that the Racecourse seems to
attract, but a genuine fan. My experiences at Wrexham have included seeing Barry
Horne’s bubble perm in its formative years, Olly Kearns making John Paskin look like
Ronaldo, play-off heartbreak at the hands of Leyton Orient, joy at escaping relegation,
embarrassment at finishing 92nd, disbelief at our FA Cup exploits, the joy of promotion,
and in recent times, frustration at our lack of progress. Although I am not a Flynn
‘fan’ by any stretch of the imagination, I have respect for the job he has done.
Whilst I do feel that the club and team has perhaps gone a bit ‘stale’, I
cannot agree with those who are calling for his head – do they not remember the dark
days of the old Division Four with attendances of 1,200? Let’s face it,
comparing teams such as Stoke and Man City to Wrexham in terms of fan base and purchasing
power, is a little like comparing the League of Wales to Serie A. It is not Wrexham
getting worse, it’s just that we are standing still while other clubs are moving
forward. However, financial reality dictates that this situation cannot be
redressed, and faced with the choice of a club at the top of Division Three or no club at
all, I know which one I’d choose. I know that, like many other Wrexham fans, I
go home after a game cursing and swearing about how bad the present team are, but at the
end of the day, like the other fans, I know that the next Saturday I will be at the
Racecourse once more.
Therefore, the
fundamental tenet of my argument is that the club should treat its loyal fans fairly and
with respect. As one of the ‘2,200’ who are regularly taken for granted by
the club, that is all that I as an individual, and we as a collective whole, want.
Yours faithfully
‘Wrexham
Rob’ Wynne
P.S. If
the commercial department wish to use Red Passion as a vehicle to correct any
misapprehensions contained within this letter, or express their opinion on the issues
raised, then the writing of this letter will have been a worthwhile exercise.
CP SAYS: Thank you very much for your letter. RP will be
forwarding a copy of this letter to WFC – but from recent experience we know that the
club is not very good at responding to (or even acknowledging) constructive comments
emanating from loyal fans… This is a constant disappointment to us
MARRIOTT AND CARTWRIGHT
Dear Red
Passion
I write to you
after just returning from the 0-5 defeat by Preston. When will Flynn admit he made a
mistake (and a big one at that) by selling Andy Marriott? The standard of Mark
Cartwright’s goalkeeping this year has been very, very poor; Mark will admit he is no
Marriott, but at the end of the day, he is not good enough to play for Wrexham.
All I am asking
for along with the other 2,500 fans is for Flynn to admit the mistake, but he is so
stubborn, he won’t drop him because it was his decision to play Cartwright as No.1
while Marriott was there. As for Clayton Ince, Sunderland got rid of him and then signed
Marriott and Millwall got rid of him and they now have Nigel Spink in goal, so it’s
not saying a lot for Ince.
What about Kevin
Dearden who has just been given a free-transfer from Brentford, or Martyn Margetson who
went from Man City to Southend in pre-season? Even Neville Southall! Please
print this as all Wrexham fans feel the same.
Regards
Darren Gilmore
CP SAYS: I think we should remember that Cartwright has
had some excellent games - Man City a, Luton a, Macclesfield a (is it just a coincidence
by the way that they have all come away from the Racecourse and the abuse he often suffers
there?) However, I also think he’s been lucky: Ince can’t come; Ward didn’t
want to come; and Flynn, obviously, has no faith in Walsh
R.I.P. CHESTER CITY
Dear Red
Passion
Did anybody
watch the Football Focus feature on Chester City on 16-1-99? If you didn’t then
let me enlighten you, it was referring to the previous night’s match of Chester
against Brighton when it was designated to be a ‘Fans United’ game. A game
where supporters from all over the country (well, Blackpool and Bury!) came to show
solidarity to Chester in their hour of need. The feature finished with 4/5 idiots
banging a drum singing that dreadful ‘Great Escape’ song. All was well
until at the end of the song they started chanting ‘We hate Wrexham!’
Now, a few
points on this, firstly in their ‘hour of need’, of all the messages they put
across to a national audience about the plight of their club, they chose to sing about us
– thank you. Imagine if the Reds were in dire financial trouble and were about
to collapse, I wouldn’t waste a single precious breath on Chester - certainly not on
national TV. How about supporting your own club? It was awful, for a while I was
actually fooled into feeling sorry for them. After all, we are a small club in the
same position and it could (it nearly did!) happen to us. But all sympathy I had for
them went in those few seconds, now I really hope they go the same way as Aldershot,
Southport, etc. The less we see of these bigoted, deranged people the better!
They seem to
think they have a divine right to stop in the league purely because they sold Ian Rush to
Liverpool two decades ago! That is the limit of their success, they sold a player
for £300k! Sad. They should have seen the signs long before then,
they’ve had terrible managers, teams and directors who’ve frittered what little
money they had away (they’ve only had one decent manager and he’s Welsh!).
As for support, what support? Where is the ambition in building a 6,000-seater
stadium? At least when Flynn was appointed at the Racecourse he had the sense to
see that our club was in trouble and something had to be done. First, a good youth
policy, top-rate training facilities, stability and slowly, a much improved stadium. In
the end Chester themselves are to blame, they let their top scout go, Cliff Sear, who has
been picking up good players since for fun. They let their top striker go, a certain
G.Bennett. What did become of him? It still rankles with them that we
accommodated Benno to play his best football here and he loved playing for us!
(‘Benno’s coming home!’ and kissing the penalty spot, lest we forget!)
Also, Rushie has returned to his homeland, he always maintained he wanted to finish his
career in Wales NOT with Chester! Like I said THEY are masters of their own destiny and
the writing’s been on the wall for far too long. For God’s sake, someone
put them out of their misery!
K.B.
CP SAYS: Thanks for the letter – but I’ve got
to say that I’m very wary and suspicious of letters that are both anonymous AND have
to be severely edited on grounds of taste and decency (like yours had to be)
DERYN’S
THE MAN
Dear Red
Passion
Further to our
conversation on an Arriva bus, Tuesday 9 February, I thought I would write to you and give
my opinion on one or two points about Wrexham and some of the players. As I told you on
the bus Deryn Brace is my favourite player, even though he hardly ever plays. I hear a lot
of complaints about Deryn always being injured – it’s just one of those things.
Some fans only dislike Deryn because of the silly mistake he made against Chesterfield
back in March 1997; mistakes do happen, even to the best of us. People may never be able
to forget but they should try and forgive. The reason why Deryn is my favourite player is
because when he does play, he gives it his all. I think he would walk through brick walls
for Wrexham if they asked him. When you talk to Deryn you can tell what sort of person he
is – no that doesn’t mean a big-headed ‘I’m so clever’
footballer. Deryn’s a nice, down-to-earth person with a great talent – football.
It’s about
time Deryn had a few games back in the first team now he’s back to fitness.
Yours sincerely
Lisa Jones
(Season ticket holder), Southsea, Wrexham
CP SAYS: Thanks very much for your letter; I often
wonder whether Deryn has still to really get over his Chesterfield error. I bet he still
has nightmares about it.
TERRY COOKE REALLY TOOK A LIKING TO WREXHAM FANS…
Re. The Terry
Cooke Interview. Enclosed is a copy of the interview Terry Cooke gave the recent
Manchester City monthly magazine:
Can you also
publicise our small and dedicated Manchester Reds group as a few more members would be
nice. So anyone in or around the M60 ring road…please give us a shout. Just look for
the Manchester Reds Flag. Transport can be provided. Any prospective Manchester Reds can
phone me after 7.30pm any weekday evening or write.
See you at
Stoke.
Yours in exile
Richard Hill,
Manchester Reds (1 Hamilton Crescent, Stockport, Cheshire SK4 2AL; Tel: 0161 442 3266)
CP SAYS:
I personally think the Cooke interview is dynamite. It certainly raises a lot of
questions. I would like to encourage other letters on this issue. Best wishes for the
Manchester Reds!
RP’S
SERIOUS ERROR
Dear Red
Passion
Thank you for Red
Passion No.5, received today. Another good issue. It was postmarked Bradford
on the 25th so it took four days to arrive in Sooke which isn’t bad. Thank you also
for placing my article in the issue. I hope some fans find it of interest although
most of my recollections about the team go back 30 to 40 years - long before many of
today’s Wrexham supporters were born. How many of today’s Reds fans have
heard of Tommy Bannan and Aly McGowan? Not many - but back in the 1950s they were
two of the most popular players in the team. Both were Scots and I think Aly still
lives in the Wrexham area. Another player of that era was the goalkeeper, Rolando Ugolini,
who spent most of his career with Middlesbrough. He was of Italian parentage but
also came from Scotland. I think he finished his playing days at Dundee United and
later became a bookie. He was a great guy! Lots of Scots have played for
Wrexham over the years. There was one error in RP No.5. On the front cover you
have printed: “Exiles: The man from Vancouver” (instead of “The man from
Vancouver Island”). It’s a common error for non-Canadians to make, but Vancouver
is not on Vancouver Island. The city is on the mainland, and from there it takes a
plane or two-hour ferry ride to get over to Vancouver Island. Our main city here on
the island is Victoria - which also happens to be the capital of the province of British
Columbia. Years ago I lived in Vancouver but surprisingly, I have only been there
twice in the past two years - both brief visits. It’s too big now - I much
prefer the quieter life on Vancouver Island! Keep up the good work. I look forward
to Issue No.6. Do I owe you any more money yet?
Chris Hyde, Sooke,
Canada
CP SAYS:
Thanks a lot for your letter – your ‘Exiles’ questionnaire was much
appreciated. And we’re now learning about Canadian geography…
GREETINGS
FROM E.LONDON
Dear Red
Passion
When I saw a new
Wrexham fanzine for sale outside the Memorial Ground, Bristol, I got a bigger rush than I
did the day we signed Rush himself. Your fat, fact-filled fanzine close to my heart helped
protect me from the chilly autumn wind blowing across the Memorial Ground. With an
eight-inch Cornish cheese pasty deep inside me, I felt a warmth and optimism, which
sustained me through the battle with Bristol Rovers (a nil-nil draw) and the long, smoky
journey back to East London.
Well done!
Mark Waters,
London
CP SAYS:
I too like cheese pasties
TARTAN REDS?
Dear Red
Passion
Could you through the pages of Red Passion ask
if there’s anybody out there in sunny Scotland who would be interested in going to
WFC games now and again. I don’t drive myself but would gladly pay my fair share of
the petrol money to anyone who would be interested in a travelling companion. Well,
here’s hoping for a decent run-in to this quite disappointing season so far.
Wembley’s still on as I write this! Good luck for the fanzine - it’s an
excellent read.
Cheers
Alistair Sawdon, 4H Barke Road, Seafar,
Cumbernauld, Glasgow G67 1AL (Tel: 01236 612700)
CP SAYS: What about a new Tartan
Reds?
HELLO FROM CARDIFF
Dear Red
Passion
I bought a copy
of issue three of Red Passion at the York game – what can I say, it’s fantastic!
Yours in
football
Dyfan Wyn Owen,
Roath, Cardiff
PS. I see you
have the same problem with ‘I’ in Welsh. I think I’ve cracked it – if
you put ‘caps lock’ on and then press shift ‘I’ it gives you a lower
case ‘I’. Of course, this may not work!
CP SAYS:
Many thanks for your kind comments. I’ll keep trying with the PC…
HELLO FROM HAYES
Dear Red
Passion
At long last
I’ve got round to taking out a subscription. Excellent magazine – nice to see
you cover footie in general around North Wales. Next time I might write an article on an
away trip. Our next one in the South East maybe – Millwall?
Many thanks.
Wrecsam am byth
Gareth Roberts,
Hayes, Middlesex
CP SAYS: Thanks a lot – all contributions very much appreciated…
HAPPY AS A PARROTT
Dear Red Passion
Many
congratulations on Red Passion – great job. It’s much needed and one of the best
fanzines (although I maybe slightly prejudiced from a Wrexham supporter’s
perspective!) I thoroughly enjoy reading Red Passion and will certainly publicise it. May
I wish you and your team every continuing success. Keep up the great work. Thanks again
for Red Passion and for keeping us in touch, especially we Wrexham FC supporting
‘exiles’.
All
the best
Stephen
Parrott, London
CP SAYS: Your letter’s much appreciated!
LONG LIVE BILLY BRAGG
Dear Red Passion
Congratulations on
the first issues - a really good read but then again how can a fanzine that quotes Billy
Bragg fail? Why I want to read about a team that loses to Wycombe, sells their best
players to Sunderland for peanuts, and insist on playing Craig Skinner, I don’t
know. Once it’s in your blood I don’t suppose you can help it. At
least it could be worse, I could support Chester (No, I couldn’t!)
All the best
John Ellis, Wirral
CP SAYS: Billy Bragg is seriously underestimated
HILLSBOROUGH
Dear Red Passion
The Hillsborough Justice Campaign is issuing an URGENT APPEAL to survivors of
the Hillsborough Disaster to contact our office in Liverpool. We are asking for survivors
to be made aware that a Stoke man, Peter Bromilow, who was injured at the disaster,
recently won a High Court Judgement against his former solicitors Linskills of Liverpool.
The Judgement ordered that Linskills, who had previously paid Peter Bromilow 3,000 pounds
in 1989, now pay 50,000 pounds, which is to be used for professional counselling.
Many survivors were badly represented by solicitors, and even those who
didn’t seek legal help may still have a case to be answered. The more survivors who
come forward, the more chance we have of uncovering the truth on a wider scale. The
solicitors who won Peter Bromilow’s Judgement have promised us that they will
inerview any survivors free of charge, to assess whether you have a case to pursue. It is
very important to families who lost their loved ones at Hillsborough that the survivors
come forward, as we believe a sustained campaign of pressure from all angles will
eventually lead to justice for all the victims of Hillsborough. We are calling for a
boycott of the Sheffield Wednesday game at Hillsborough on 8th May 1999. Stay away in the
name of justice for the 96. This includes Liverpool FC directors.
Yours for justice
K.Robinson, Hillsborough Justice
Campaign, Anfield, Liverpool (0151 260 5262)
CP SAYS: Best wishes for your campaign
