Nothing strengthens the bond between comrades like experiencing extreme challenges. My co-commentators Chay Long, Bill Long, Neil Williams and I each have a tattoo on our right arms of a television screen glowing in the midst of a gale to remind us of what we’ve been through together. We were the Bear Grylls, Ray Mears and another couple of survival blokes of football commentary as … Continue reading Randoms in the Wind
The season so far has been a case of back to the future for me. Everything’s a step into the unknown, but it seems oddly familiar as I travel back to my early years as a commentator at The Racecourse. Obviously, football is very different for all of us at the moment. I’m one of the lucky few, the tiny minority who are still able … Continue reading Back to the ’80s
The press room at The Racecourse used to be under the Yale Stand and, in Football League days, was a convivial spot where reporters would chat about the game they’d just witnessed and fact-check with their colleagues to make sure the player who crossed for the second goa had been correctly identified. It would always be filled with chatter until one of the managers arrived. … Continue reading Football According to Denis
Wrexham manager Dean Keates has noted there will be changes to the squad during the January transfer window. Some things I think he needs to do: Loan in fresh, talented players full of potential Loan out some fringe players eg. Anthony Barry, for more matches to be on top form at the business end of the season. If I’m being totally honest, I believe the … Continue reading January – a key month for Wrexham Football Club
I like Barrow. I’m not sure why – it’s one of those irrational soft spots you develop for teams which have no particular rationale behind them. They just exist. However, I think it’s the fact that a trip to Holker Street quite early on in our time in the Conference illustrated neatly one of the positives of following your team in non league football. Please … Continue reading The Sausage Sandwich Game
Thank you for meeting me in the Eagles Meadow car park at this late hour. I know it’s irregular, and you might find it peculiar that I remain in the shadows, my face hidden. But I must hide my identity from everyone, even you. I simply have to protect myself from the dark forces within the Wrexham Media Team, who must never know that I’ve … Continue reading All The President’s Men
Feeling brave? Danny Baker has the ultimate test of bravery for any football fan. He suggests you pick your moment: ideally, wait until your team are a couple of goals up and looking good. Then, rise from your seat, hold out your arms in messianic fashion if you really feel like milking it, and declare, in your loudest, most confident voice: “Nothing can go wrong … Continue reading Nothing Can Go Wrong Now!
For reasons too arcane to go into, I found myself with no scope to cover the match at Borehamwood last September but with a train ticket to the ground, so I was able to indulge myself in a rare treat. I went on the away end! While I was standing there, enjoying the September sunshine and the pastoral glories of Meadow Lane, I tried to … Continue reading “Oh, Russell Russell!”
Commentating for the club, and essentially being your own boss, is liberating. It was very different when I covered Wrexham’s games for Marcher Sound in the 1990s! You get nothing for free, of course, and a regular issue at the station was whether they’d be able to get the funding to cover the matches. There was a sliding scale of payments which applied to all … Continue reading The Drunken History of Wrexham AFC
Everyone eagerly awaits the publication of the fixture list in the Summer. It marks the symbolic start of the season, the point where you discover when the derby will be played, who you’ll face on Boxing Day and when you can start planning for those exotic away trips to your favourite destinations. Mmmm, Welling. However, the fixture list can be a cruel mistress. Sometimes it … Continue reading Hankering for Gateshead
I have to admit that I had to work hard to keep my emotions in check while commentating on last Saturday’s match at Southport. It wasn’t the defeat which pushed me close to the edge: heck, if losing pressed my buttons I’d have cracked twenty years ago! It was the contentious decisions of the referee which irked me, but I like to think that I … Continue reading Keeping Cool in Commentary
Sono match tonight then! Thankfully, thus far we’ve had a pretty mild winter and avoided the nightmare of having to rearrange a tranche of fixtures. Unfortunately we’ve had a couple of postponements, and the fixtures were just about as distant as you could imagine, but hopefully we won’t suffer any more. We did have a near miss about closer to home though, which brought back … Continue reading Winter Draws On
Here’s my column from last week’s Leader. It forms part of the paper’s comprehensive pre-match coverage every Friday, featuring interviews, an in-depth look at the opposition and lots of statistical analysis. All content in the column (c) http://www.leaderlive.co.uk. When you think of the possession-based style Gary Mills favours it’s easy to see why a player like Dom Vose appeals to him. But his system of … Continue reading Wes York: Gary Mills’ Secret Weapon
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