The following article appeared in the programme for Racing Club Warwick v Leamington on 26th December 2006.
The halls have been decked with boughs of holly, the turkey and trimmings have been severely depleted and the Christmas presents are piled up around the house while you wonder where on earth you’re going to put all the new stuff that you don’t really need. It’s Boxing Day at last and that brings the one that we’ve all been waiting for (unless of course you’re reading this in March following the postponement of the Boxing Day fixture due to frost, snow or water logging), the local derby against our friends from Whitnash.
What did Santa bring you then? I’m made up this year because my missus and sister-in-law went onto the internet and booked a trip for me to the Nou Camp, home of Barcelona, with my brother-in-law Kevin (a warm Hampton Road welcome you today!) for the La Liga game between Barcelona and Celta Vigo in January. Happy Christmas or what! That’s so much better than yet another jumper or pair of socks. It does make you wonder why they want us out of the country so bad though doesn’t it? Sadly it means that I’ll be missing the visit of Atherstone Town to Racing Club but I guess that I can cope! Y Viva Espana!
I
was wondering what kind of presents the current crop of football stars would
have received yesterday. The following presents would have been pretty
appropriate don’t you think?
Christiano Ronaldo Stabilisers
Arsene Wenger A guide dog
Joey Barton An ashtray
Lee Bowyer Christmas at the Kumars
Wayne Rooney Shrek Pyjamas
El Hadji Diouf Bob Carolgees
I suppose that if the Midland Alliance were a Christmas tree then the Brakes would be the fairy (surely not the star?)! Top of the shop going into the New Year on merit and looking like Southern League material if I’m any judge. As I remarked the other day, there’s every possibility that this could be the last time the boys from the broken windmill visit Hampton Road in League action. Sad to say it but they would seem to be too big for this league and probably the Step 4 level of the Southern League Midland Division too. Talking of broken windmills, I think that it’s a very poor show that our visitors haven’t amended their club badge to accurately reflect the fact that one of the sails fell off our local landmark – unlike the legend about ravens leaving the Tower of London it seems that the Brakes can march on even if the sails fall off their windmill!
Now I’ve been to a fair few games in my life but, until Boxing Day one year ago, I’d never had the privilege of attending a match at which the ground attendance record was broken, let alone witnessing a new league attendance record. Last season’s corresponding fixture between today’s combatants was watched by an official crowd of 1,280, a figure that I have my doubts we’ll get close to today. Why do I say that? Well last season the fixture was something of a novelty and had been long awaited by our visitors since their reformation as well as loyal Racers. It was also played on a day when there weren’t many competing football attractions. This season, with the Brakes setting their sights on higher things and, with Racing Club fielding a side composed of youngsters who are still learning the ropes at this level, things are more challenging on the park. My guess is an attendance of around 800 – you can start chuckling now if I’m miles out!
Racing
Club supporters may care to cast their minds back to last season’s team for the
Boxing Day fixture that lined up as follows:
Craig Jones
Scott Lower, Ashley Pringle,
Tom Stevenson, Nick Green
Ollie Olanipekun, Robert
Betts, Darren Beckett (Mark Faulds), Leon Thomas (Jermaine Gordon)
James Wood (Ben Mackey), Paul White
Every member of that side has since left the club, with the majority following Marcus Law to Quorn, although there are a couple at Stratford Town and of course there’s that certain Mr. Mackey. Ben, infamously the target of our end of season dinner’s comedian (did you get that pink tie for Christmas Ben?), made 38 appearances for the Racers (29 plus 9 as substitute) notching 12 goals along the way. Oh and don’t forget that he has promised a hat-trick on his return to Hampton Road – I’ve got your three pre-match pints lined up on the bar when you’re ready Ben! Absent that day but making an appearance in the crowd was another former Racing Club favourite Tom Cudworth who appeared in Racing Club’s colours 99 times (95 plus 4 as substitute) scoring 11 goals in the process and who has also since defected to today’s visitors (or seen the light, depending on your point of view!). So they’re all gone and, in view of last season’s result, not before time!
As I recall it, Boxing Day 2005 never lived up to the billing. In a drab but close run affair, the only difference between the sides was the ability to put away a chance and our visitors took the South Warwickshire bragging rights as a result. The return match in the countryside at Easter was a much more exciting, if somewhat windswept, affair played in front of a healthy crowd of 785. We got our noses in front early on courtesy of Mr Mackey firing home a chance that, frankly, my mother wouldn’t have missed! But it wasn’t to last and the monstrous travesty of a final score line of 2-1 to the hosts meant that they had secured the league double over us. Those six points made all the difference come the end of the season as Racing Club finished sixth, one point and one place behind our local rivals. I’d settle for finishing one point behind them again this season, especially as it now looks like the top three sides should progress subject to meeting newly relaxed ground grading requirements. In case you didn’t hear, from next season the existing 24-member Step 4 Unibond First Division will be split into two with each new Step 4 Division (East-West or North-Midlands) having a minimum of 18 teams. That means that there are 12 additional promotion places up for grabs and, with the Midland Football Alliance being a feeder into the Unibond there’s also the outside possibility that our League may be asked to contribute more than three clubs if the numbers fall short.
After last season’s game at the New Windmill, whilst drowning my sorrows in their clubhouse, I had the pleasure of chatting to Brakes manager Jason Cadden. I reflected afterwards what a nice bloke he seems to be and how unusual it is for any manager to mix comfortably with the fans of both sides following the final whistle. Given his success in leading his side to promotion and the first round of the FA Cup last season, and the way his side are leading the pack once again this time around, it continues to astonish me that he still doesn’t seem to have the backing of all Brakes supporters. I understand that there is a sizeable minority who think that their club should have a “name” manager. To those people I blow a loud raspberry! What on earth do you want? What will satisfy you? Get behind your manager – there’s few that can match his record in the Midlands!
Keep the faith!
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