The following article appeared in the programme for Racing Club Warwick v Friar Lane & Epworth on 25th August 2007.
Welcome
to today’s match and the latest instalment of the season’s diary by your
favourite Racing Club correspondent.
Friday
4th May – York City v Morecambe, Conference Play-Off Semi-Final 1st
Leg
York City are a club that I’ve got a soft spot for as I’ve
supported them since my school days in Yorkshire.
Sadly, after over 70 years continuous membership, they fell out of the Football
League three seasons ago and, for the first time since relegation, they’ve
shown signs of promotion form having finished fourth in the regular season and
therefore in one of the Play-Off spots. York
face third-placed Morecambe for the right to visit the new Wembley and the
Conference Play-Off Final to be held on the day after the FA Cup Final. Morecambe
are the only one of the four in the Conference Play-Offs who are not an
ex-League Club (the other two being Exeter
City and Oxford United). The
first leg, held at York’s brand-renamed home KitKat Crescent (these sponsors
take the biscuit don’t they?), is a sell out 6,660 all-ticket affair and
luckily one of my mates in the area had the foresight to bag a couple of
tickets so that I can be there. As is almost always the case in games between
teams finishing in the Play-Off places, the game is hugely competitive but the
teams cancel each other out. The balance of the best scoring chances falls to
the home side but all were spurned as the match finished 0-0. The right to
contest the final will therefore depend on the outcome of the second leg to be
held at Morecambe’s Christie Park on Bank Holiday Monday.
Saturday
5th May – Doncaster Rovers v Northampton Town, League One
Doncaster
Rovers left their former home, Belle Vue, mid-season to move into their brand
new Keepmoat Stadium just up the road and near the racecourse (personally I
can’t understand why they’re not called Racing Club Doncaster). My visit to
South Yorkshire for this final league match of the season “dead rubber”
(neither team can be promoted or relegated) is justified by my continuing quest
to remain a fully paid up member of the 92 Club (the club for fans who have
witnessed a home game at the current grounds of every side in the Premiership
and the Football League).
The
weather is glorious although probably too hot for the players to enjoy. The
sunshine gives me a highly favourable first view of the Keepmoat and its attractive
lakeside setting. The stadium is a fully enclosed 15,200 all-seater affair
completed in time for New Years Day 2007. If any readers out here ever went to
Rovers’ old ground Belle Vue, or the rather grandly branded “Earth Stadium” as
it was known at the end, the Keepmoat is about as different as chalk and
Wendsleydale (lovely cheese Grommit!). Belle Vue was surely one of the worst
grounds left of the current 92 whereas the Keepmoat, by contrast, is certainly
one of the best for a town of Doncaster’s
size. You may recall that Belle Vue was the subject of an arson attack with a
difference – the previous Doncaster Chairman was implicated in the plot,
presumably for the insurance money – so if anyone should see our Jim fiddling with
a box of matches around the back of our main stand late one night please remind
him that it’s not insured (only joking Jim)!
The
match itself? Oh yes. A cracking 2-2 draw with Northampton Town
twice coming from behind to level against the run of play. This was one of
those games where the man of the match stood out like a hoodie in a nudist
colony. Rovers James Coppinger put in one of the best displays that I have seen
in a long time. If you are a betting man (or woman) then I’d put a couple of
quid on Rovers for this season as this is a club that seems to be going places.
If they do make it into the Championship then they may have to look again at that
capacity. 15,200 is probably more than adequate for most matches in League One
but step up another level and 20,000 would be more appropriate. Fortunately
Rovers are far sighted enough to have put down the foundations for the extra
capacity should the need ever arise. The Stadium isn’t actually owned by Rovers
at all, although they are, by far the most significant tenants. Much of the
money for this venture came from the local taxpayer. The facility is there for
the whole community to use and outside the Stadium there are a number of other
pitches and an athletics track. Rovers share their home with the Rugby League
side as well as top ladies team the Doncaster Belles (and I thoroughly
recommend Hunter Davies’ book “I lost my heart to the Doncaster Belles” if you
like a good footie read). It seems a long time ago since Rovers were stuck at
the wrong end of the Conference doesn’t it?
Saturday
12th May – Kidderminster Harriers v Stevenage Borough, FA Trophy Final
At
long last Wembley Stadium is ready for action. As Chaz and Dave sang back in
the 80’s, me knees have gone “all trembly” at the thought of a trip to
“Wem-ber-lee”. Despite the stadium being located in a godforsaken industrial
estate in an undesirable north London suburb and
it being pretty well essential to arrive there by public transport, a trip to
the Mecca of
football still sends a tingle down your spine doesn’t it? On this occasion it’s
not just me that fancies visiting a new ground – seven of us from Warwick set off down the
M40 to see what £757 Million gets you for your money (that’s £8,411 per seat
folks!). Given that public transport was to be the order of the day we drove
down the M40 as far as Gerrards Cross, parked up at the Chiltern Line railway
station and caught the train for the final fifteen minute journey. Train lovers
living in Warwick can, of course, get the train
the whole way as Wembley Stadium station is on the Chiltern Line, same as Warwick.
Upon
arrival at Wembley Stadium station the splendid new arch is already visible.
Mind you, at 315 metres long it would be pretty hard to miss it – according to
the programme it’s the longest single span roof structure in the world but,
then again, how many of you out there are au fait with the measurements of
other single span roof structures and are thereby able to call this particular
claim to fame into question? Anyway it’s certainly tall enough to require a
beacon to alert low flying air craft such as the Red Arrows at the following
week’s FA Cup Final! A quick circumnavigation outside the stadium reveals a
surprising lack of fast food outlets and programme sellers which were the order
of the day at the old Wembley. At the stadium end of the Wembley Way the powers that be have
erected a huge statue of Bobby Moore which has, overnight, become the number
one photo opportunity spot outside the stadium. It’s actually quite hard to get
near the thing. Bobby himself is a good likeness apart from being roughly
double the size of the legend himself – either that or it’s little wonder that
he was regarded as a colossus of the game! Entry through the stadium turnstiles
isn’t as state of the art as you might anticipate – I was expecting an
automated bar code scanner system as they have at the Amsterdam Arena and the
City of Manchester
stadiums but what we got was a man ripping tickets in half – another souvenir
bites the dust!
Once
on the other side of the turnstiles we were whisked on escalators up to the
uppermost level and to the first few of the infamous 2,618 toilets and numerous
catering facilities. Going to the new Wembley isn’t the total rip-off that the
media might have you believe. It’s true to say that the catering is a bit
pricey. I spotted pies on sale at £4.50 each but then if it bothers you too
much you can always bring sandwiches. On the other side of the coin a pint of
lager costs £3.00 which isn’t too bad all things considered. Personally though I
didn’t go to Wembley to try to save money and they have got to pay for this
place somehow haven’t they?
Today’s
match marks the very first club game at Wembley and the attendance in excess of
53,000 sets a new record for the FA Trophy. Once in our seats and having
recovered from the breathtaking first view of the stadium, our thoughts immediately
turn to Racing Club’s 2008 FA Vase Final prospects. We could play here couldn’t
we? But how many supporters would we have? It’s the stuff that dreams are made
of and we’ll be dreaming at least until the end of August won’t we? We have
acquired today’s tickets courtesy of the Stevenage Borough ticket office and
they were priced at a very reasonable £25 per adult and £10 for children. The
entrance fee turns out to be a bargain as the match is an absolute classic.
Naturally we’re sat with the Stevenage fans today and, in view of the fact that
I lived there for 18 months and attended quite a few of their matches in their
Conference winning season, I’m happy to support them on their special day.
Happy that is until the motley collection West Ham tattooed lads who we had the
misfortune to be sat behind begin announcing to each other and the whole world
whenever they want another lager / pee. Irritating is the polite word for it
and I’m quite glad when Kidderminster take the
lead. The chaps have gone for an early half time beer by the time Kidderminster score their second and the match seems to
be as good as over. 2-0 down at half-time and Stevenage
troop off to the motivational team talk from manager Mark Stimpson, FA Trophy
winner in each of the last two seasons with Grays Athletic. Mr Motivator he
must be! Former England
international Steve Guppy is substituted and his replacement Craig Dobson
proceeds to make his mark to such an extent that he is announced as Man of the
Match before the end. Stevenage turn it around
and win a thriller 3-2. What a super spectacle for the first Final at the new
stadium. One week later and the show put on by the country’s two leading clubs
in the FA Cup Final is very poor by comparison.
Keep the faith!
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