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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