The Road to the Westfalenstadion (Part 18)

The following article appeared in the programme for Racing Club Warwick v Leamington on 26th December 2005.

At last it’s here! Like children waiting for Christmas Day to come, football fans in South Warwickshire have been looking forward to this game since the end of last season. So it’s a warm Boxing Day welcome to you whether you’ve travelled here all the way from Whitnash or your affections tend towards the Saltisford boys (I do hope that you’re not reading these notes at a rearranged game in March)! Let’s hope this match lives up to its billing.

Whether it be Milan, Glasgow, Merseyside, North London or South Warwickshire, what is it about derby games that whet the appetite so? And this is the real local derby after all – we’ve kidded ourselves for years that Bedworth, Rugby or Stratford mattered for local pride when, in fact, this fixture is what its all about. It’s more or less a tradition amongst football fans to try to wind up the supporters of their local rivals. Whether it be friends, family, workmates or even the bloke down the fish and chip shop (hello to the Manager of my local chippie in Heathcote!), we all seem to find it irresistible. Why do we do it? It hypes up the anticipation of the meeting of the two sides to fever pitch and usually means that the match takes on one of two scenarios: either your team scores and you spend the rest of the game desperately wishing that the referee will blow the final whistle or, worse, the opposition get one and the match from then on is sheer misery. Whichever way it goes, such games are frequently less enjoyable than regular league fare and usually not one for the neutrals – irrespective, you’ve just got to be there haven’t you! And speaking of local rivalry, I’d like to offer my belated congratulations to our opponents for their memorable run to the FA Cup 1^st Round proper. I’d also like to dispel the despicable rumour that the Essex Constabulary wanted to use your FA Cup defeat against Colchester as an example to the locals of the dangers of having “one over the eight” (smile boys, where’s your sense of humour?)

It being the season of goodwill to all men (and Brakes fans), let me try to put an alternative spin on this. Local rivalry tends to give both sides added impetus throughout the season. We both look out for each other’s results. If the opposition are doing better than your club then it adds to the urgency to see things sorted at home. Even if you’re mid-table, every league game takes on added importance if it means that you can either stay above or go above your rivals in the table. Certainly this season, it seems to me that throughout the second half of Racing Club matches we are kept up to date with the goings on of the other lot. I’m sure it’s the same over there (let’s face it, they care so much that a group of Brakes fans recently travelled all the way to Tipton to marvel at the mighty Racing Club securing a place in the third round of the Vase. Greetings gentlemen! I do hope you enjoyed our goals that day!). Overall I’d say that having a local rival helps to improve your own side’s performances. Remember that derby days such as this are something to be cherished – we haven’t seen anything like this in this neck of the woods in a generation and if today’s opponents continue their upward mobility then we may not see league fixtures between the two too often in the future.

Now it’s time for a stern ticking off for the majority of Warwick fans here today. As Delia Smith would have it “Where are you? Let’s be ‘aving you!”. It’s been over two years since the Marcus Law revolution swept into Hampton Road to banish forever the final nightmare days of the Southern League side and the woeful Dog & Duck outfit that followed. Where have you been? We’ve been turning in good entertaining performances since October 2003 in front of meagre crowds of 100 or less. Marcus and the boys deserve more than that! You’ve bothered to come to Townsend Meadow and support the Racers in today’s glamour fixture so why not try to get along to some of our other fixtures in the near future? Please? We may not be blessed with the same level of support as today’s opposition but our team is every bit as good (if not better!) and we’d really love to see you! Who knows, if enough of you come more regularly, we may even be able to give the Brakes a run for their money in the average attendance league table! Half as many would be brilliant frankly!

Now it’s time for Statto’s corner. Just to prove how well we’ve done since Marcus arrived I’ve compiled the following table showing all results from his first game in charge on October 4^th 2003 right up to and including Racing Club’s recent FA Vase Third Round three-all ding-dong thriller away at Ashville. Not a bad record is it? Who knows, if we managed to secure a win recently at Boldmere St Michaels then this might even be Marcus’s 50^th league victory in charge of Racing Club! And don’t forget that we’ve secured two trophies during his reign: the Polymac Services League Cup and the Joe McGorian Charity Cup, both in 2005. Whilst it’s true that neither trophy is the European Cup please remember that we’d seen nothing at all in the preceding 17 years so these are more than acceptable to be going on with until bigger prizes come along!

	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Points
Midland Football Alliance	93	48	18	27	168	124	162
FA Cup	2	0	0	2	3	5	N/A
FA Vase	8	5	1	2	11	7	N/A
Polymac Services League Cup	6	4	1	1	13	7	N/A
Joe McGorian Charity Cup	1	1	0	0	2	1	N/A
Birmingham Senior Cup	3	0	0	3	5	12	N/A
	113	58	20	35	202	156	162

In the unlikely event that today’s match is a little dull, I’ve got a suggestion for you that will provide veritable seconds of fun. Play spot the Christmas jumper! You know the rules! Take a look around you, especially if you’re reading this in the clubhouse as you enjoy a delicious and very reasonably priced drink (is that the plug you wanted Wayne?). Somebody will be there sporting a woolly jumper with either Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer or a “lovely” snowman in a snow scene (complete with white bobbles for snowflakes). If you see him, it is your duty to cry “You must’ve got that for Christmas mate!” and guffaw loudly. If you happen to be wearing one of these aforementioned creations, don’t worry – it’s allowed at this time of year but remember: woe betide you if you still dare to wear such a monstrosity in February or March (as my relations never tire of reminding me!). If you’re still bored, why not try a seasonal song? What about “Deck the halls with Goals by Ollie” or (to the tune of Feed the World) “Feed James Wood, let him know we’re Racing Club at home!” or even “Jermaine! Jermaine! Jermaine! Jermaine! Born is the king of Racing Club”? I’m sure you can think of much better than these (if only Marcus King had a connection with Leyton Orient I could think of a fantastic one)!

Finally, for those strangers here today who are wondering about the title of this piece, do keep a look out for a Racing Club Cross of St George at the World Cup this summer! I was finally put out of my misery on Friday December 9^th when FIFA finally got around to making the draw for next year’s World Cup groups (I was disappointed that Heidi Klum didn’t get to handle the balls!). I managed to secure tickets to two matches in FIFA’s ticket ballot earlier this year but, of course, didn’t know which teams I would be seeing. Well, for those of you who are interested (both of you), the answer was Brazil against Japan on June 19th in Hamburg (I do hope that I get to sit next to one of those Brazilian beauties that the cameramen always seem to manage to pick out on TV!) and the end to my personal road to the Westfalenstadion on June 22^nd in Dortmund will be to witness Ukraine versus Saudi Arabia (never mind!).

There! Done it! I’ve done this whole article without using the L-word “Leamington” once….oh bugger!

Keep the faith!