The Raging Racer (Part 7)

The following article appeared in the programme for Racing Club Warwick v Heanor Town on 4th October 2008.

Welcome to another fixture at Hampton Road. There seems to fewer and fewer Racing Club followers this season than has been the case previously and that’s despite the entertaining nature of this series of articles that should be reason enough to attract you through the gates. I’d like to ask everyone from these parts that’s here today a question: How well do you know your neighbours? Isn’t it about time you asked those newlyweds who have just moved in across the road from you to spend a Saturday afternoon at Racing Club? Or what about that old lady who doesn’t get out much? Go on, I dare you. Ask them along and let’s double our gate and recruit some fresh blood along the way. We surely need it!

Wednesday 20th August – England v Czech Republic, International

The day after our defeat at home to Friar Lane, the first International of the season came around in the form of a friendly against the bouncing Czechs at Wembley. England are still finding their feet under Fabio Cappello so these kind of games are crucial as he seeks to find the most effective blend. It was a bit of a surprise then to learn that England would start with a midfield made up of David Beckham, Stephen Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry. Doesn’t that sound to you like the kind of selection that the Wally with the Brolly would have made? Apparently however, Fabio is the Fella with the Umbrella so we’ll simply have to trust that he knows what he’s doing I guess.

The first half performance was absorbing with England having the (three) lions share of possession but were lacking in penetration whilst the Czechs played on the break and looked dangerous whenever they came forward. It was no great surprise when they took the lead with a Milan Baros goal. Immediately prior to half time however, and somewhat undeservedly, England got an equaliser from my candidate for England’s man of the match: Wes Brown (cross supplied by Beckham of course). Straight after half time the Czechs restored their advantage thanks to one of the finest free kick goals that I’ve ever had the privilege to view. Marek Jankulowski bulleted it home right into the top corner with James helpless. The defensive wall might as well have not been there.

From this point on the game deteriorated. My view is that there were far too many substitutions (twelve in all) and that this interrupted the flow of the game. Whatever happened to Sepp Blatter’s plan to limit the number of substitutions that we heard so much about when Sven was in charge? It should be said that neither side looked particularly good after the hour mark and many fans had already slipped into the night when Joe Cole scored England’s second equalising goal of the night from a very scruffy opportunity. 2-2 it finished and Fabio’s boys should count themselves very fortunate. Next at Wembley will be Kazakhstan and better performances will be required in all England’s World Cup Qualifiers.

Saturday 23rd August – Northwich Victoria v York City, Blue Square Premier

Bank Holiday weekend and my first chance this season to have a look at the mighty Minstermen. This of course meant that I would have to forego Racing Club’s visit to Cradley where we had secured 5-0 victories in each of the past two seasons including that never-to-be-forgotten last day salvation two seasons ago. Part of me thinks that I should never go back to Cradley because nothing will ever live up to the drama of the circumstances on that day in April 2007.  So it was Northwich for me and a long awaited chance for me to visit their new ground which I had thought was called the Victoria Stadium (according to the local signposts) but seems to have been rebranded as The Marston’s Arena (not to be confused with Hinckley’s Marston’s Stadium!). Damn this stadium naming rights malarkey.

I made the mistake of leaving Warwick at midday for the two hour trip to Northwich and arrived at five past three feeling rather stressed. When will I learn that the M6 in unpredictable at the best of times? I should have thought about the impact of the Bank Holiday on the travel time I suppose. Luckily for me I hadn’t missed any of the goals and the game that unfolded before my eyes was an absolute five star corker with York coming from behind twice to secure a draw against the unfortunate Northwich boys. City have started this season much better than last and are already right up there in the mix for the Play Off places if not automatic promotion. I reckon that there’ll be a few more City games for me before the season in out!

Monday 25th August – Westfields v Racing Club, Midland Alliance

Who was it who once said that “It’s the hope that kills you”? Whenever we travel in hope or expectation of a good result we seem to get a knock back whereas whenever we go with a low expectation we seem to get a pleasant surprise. “I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour. But heaven knows I’m miserable now”. Morrisey could have written those words about Martin and I as we anticipated our trip to Hereford the night before over a few “refreshments”. We were optimistic. Dangerously so. With Warwick fresh from a handsome win at resurgent Cradley playing at winless Westfields we had a serious chance. As you can imagine therefore, the disappointment for Racing supporters was keenly felt. Six bloody nil! Let’s make no mistake about this one. This was not simply a bad day at the office. This was more like the office on the day that the Administrators have been called in. Or worse still, the Liquidators. I seriously don’t think that I’ve seen a worse defensive performance from Racing Club than the one that we gave in this Bank Holiday Monday display down in deepest darkest Hereford. Come to that, I can’t recall a worse performance full stop and certainly our worst ever result in the Midland Alliance was no reward for one of the longest away trips of the season. This was our heaviest defeat since April 2003 when we lost 1-7 in the Southern League at home to Taunton Town and it left me wondering why the hell I had bothered.

Certainly we could make up some excuses for the boys. The trip took around three hours thanks to an accident on the outskirts of Worcester. We were also fielding rookie keeper Scott Furlong due to the non availability of Scott Handley and injury to stand-in Rimmer. But this is a team game and the team should stand up and be counted in adversity rather than capitulating. What we got was a series of errors and misunderstandings that Westfields, who didn’t look particularly impressive on the day, seized upon six times in all. The fact of the matter is that Racing Club had three or four good chances themselves but converted none. On this occasion though, even if we had notched four, it would have been in vain and few strike forces in the country will secure many points for you if you are conceding an average of over two goals a game. The defensive organisation needs attention fast and the harsh fact is that if the mistakes continue then changes will be required. Our 0-0 draw at Alvechurch proves that we can do it but we need to keep clean sheets on a regular basis. Every opponent deserves to score if they can outwit us with skill but gifted goals are infuriating. We all hope that this proves to be a turning point for better times ahead.

Keep the faith!

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