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12 June, 2007

The End

This was supposed to be an entry about the release of the new season's football fixtures but instead it is notice of Tartan's intention to delete this blog.

On July 1, this fundraising blog will be no more primarily due to Tartan Red's inability to 'tour' anymore after it was learnt that Ryanair have stopped weekend flights between Inverness and Liverpool. This means that Tartan will no longer be able to fly to North Wales for a mere one-night stay as he did last season but would have to fly down on a Friday and not return until Monday.

Apart from the obvious inconveniance this would cause, Tartan would also struggle to pay for the extra hotel, food and transport costs. Instead of continuing to maintain this blog in a half arsed manner as he did last season, Tartan has decided to call it a day and begin work on new projects while still supporting Wrexham whenever possible.

Tartan would like to thank all the people he has met - virtually and in person - through this blog and hopes many of you will read his occassional blog at http://www,myspace.com/tartanred01

Until next time...

posted by Tartan Red at 5:31 PM 1 comments  

09 June, 2007

When Saturday Comes

I recieved the following email last week, from When Saturday Comes editor Andy Lyons.

Hello Nathan,

We'll be running our pre-season survey in a couple of months.

Will you answer the questions for Wrexham? We'd need replies back by July 17th (Ideally no more than a couple of lines per answer).

Regards

Andy Lyons

He then listed the questions, which I will not divulge here. You'll have to buy the August edition of the magazine to find out what questions I was asked and my answers.

This is the fouth year in a row that I have been asked to compile the Wrexham pre-season survey and I only hope I can answer the question of how the club will fare next season a little more accurately than I did last time as I was in an optimistic frame of mind and suggested that anything less than the promotion play-offs would be a disappointment.

Maybe this term I should predict that we will be lucky to avoid relegation and hopefully we'll go up..

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posted by Tartan Red at 10:17 AM 0 comments  

05 June, 2007

New faces, celebrities and a turtle's head

I am back on the mainland after spending a long weekend on the island of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides and developing the squits. Think of butterscotch Angel Delight combined with the foul stench of rancid pig swill and you get the delightful picture.

Subsequently, the Wrexham FC news below has not been written by my shitty fingers but is unashamedly copied and pasted from other sites. It was either that or leave you in the dark about events at the Racecourse. You wouldn't want that would you?

Now if you'll please excuse me, I need to deal with this turtle's head in my underpants.

* Plans for the development at The Racecourse have been put on hold. An application for a mixed-use development including flats, shops and eateries was put to the council in February. But the developer, MacNiven Cameron, has now confirmed the plans have been put on hold for the time being because of the changing property market in Wrexham. Wrexham Council has also raised some concerns about the original application. It included the building of 273 apartments, geared towards the starter market, with student accommodation and commercial space for a restaurant and food outlets. It is also hoping to redevelop the Mold Road corridor, creating a new main access point to the ground. Wrexham Council says it is awaiting more information from the developers.

*Defender Gareth Evans has signed a new two-year deal to stay with Wrexham. The 20-year-old former Newi Cefn Druids player made 15 appearances for the Dragons first team last season.

*Wrexham have signed former Rhyl midfielder Conall Murtagh. The 21-year-old midfielder joined Southport last week but the Conference North side have agreed to terminate the contract to allow him to join Wrexham. Belfast-born Murtagh still has a year to complete at Manchester University, but Wrexham are willing for him to combine playing with studying.

*Wrexham have signed Richard Hope (pictured) after the defender was released by Shrewsbury Town last month despite being captain. The left-sided centre-back was a surprise departure from Gay Meadow having played in all three of the Shrews' failed play-off campaign. Hope's arrival at the Racecourse Ground is subject to a medical after agreeing a three-year deal with the Dragons.

*Celebrities took to the pitch at Wrexham's Racecourse ground in aid of the Soccer Six charity tournament. Singers including Liberty X, Goldie Lookin' Chain, former footballers Ian Rush and Mickey Thomas, and members of the current Wrexham team, also played. The travelling event has helped a variety of different good causes. Wrexham FC's Football in the Community Project will benefit from the money raised during the bank holiday Monday tournament. Also among the line-up were stars from TV soaps, Channel 4's Big Brother and ITV's The X Factor, as well as the likes of former Manchester United and Leeds player Lee Sharpe. A WAGs (wives and girlfriends) team from Wrexham FC also took part.

*Former Wrexham players Waynne Phillips and Lee Jones have been appointed as the new joint managers of Welsh Premier side NEWI Cefn Druids.

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posted by Tartan Red at 11:34 AM 0 comments  

01 June, 2007

Away from home


I will be unable to update this blog for a few days as I am getting dragged to the Outer Hebrides and the barren island of Uist. This godforsaken place is home to fields, sheep, hostile natives and a Co-Op supermarket. That's it. I'm not joking. Some areas of the island haven't even got broadband yet and to complete the appeal I will be spending the weekend with my mother-in-law*.

Pray for me.

* DISCLAIMER: I actually love my mother-in-law and only use the above jibe to carry on a comedic convention used with varying degrees of success by Les Dawson and Jim Davidson.

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posted by Tartan Red at 8:33 AM 1 comments  

26 May, 2007

Proctor signs three-year deal


The main Wrexham related news of the week is the signing of former Hartlepool striker Michael Proctor (pictured) on a permanent deal.

The 26-year-old joined the Dragons on loan in March on an initial one-month agreement that was then extended until the end of the season. Proctor has signed a three-year deal and the former Sunderland trainee will join Wrexham when his current deal with Pools expires in June.

The signing of Proctor is a risk. At the end of last season he looked dreadful - a passenger rather than someone who was willing to dig in and battle for the cause. Only two goals in eleven games also suggests he isn't exactly prolific in front of goal. My main cause for concern though is that we have handed an unproven goalscorer a three-year contract. If he doesn't provide the goods next season we are stuck with a flop for another two years.

That said, he did take his goal v Boston on the last day well and might show some more commitment now he has signed properly. I'm not holding my breath though...


*****

*Wrexham's Mike Carvill and former on-loan midfielder Robbie Garret have been called up for Northern Ireland's Under-21 clash with Moldova.

*Figures released by the insolvency firm which took over the running of Wrexham FC reveal that the club actually made a profit for much of the time that it was in administration. The Dragons’ trading profit was more than £208,000 during the 2005 and 2006 seasons, a report shows. The news means creditors will now get back more of their investment than they expected.


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Wales v New Zealand

The first time I ever watched watched a football match at the Racecourse, Wrexham weren't playing. Instead I attended a World Cup qualifier between Wales and Spain back in 1985. Wales won the match 3-0.

Over the years, Wales have regularly played matches at the Racecourse. After all, Wrexham was the birthplace of the FAW in 1876 then on 2nd April 1906 The Racecourse hosted an international match between Wales and Ireland. The match ended up 4-4 and was attended by approximately 6,000 people [The oldest footage of any football match in the World was shot at this game by film pioneers Mitchell and Kenyon. The film is currently housed in The National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales in Aberystwyth].

However, Wrexham's claim to be the home of Welsh football was gradually eroded over the years as major internationals were also held at Swansea or Cardiff in the south of the country. The FAW also moved their headquarters to Cardiff. Now that the Millennium Stadium has been built in the capital it makes financial sense to hold most international matches in this grand stadium.

As a result, the international side rarely visit North Wales except for friendly games against football minnows such as Canada and Liechtenstein. So when the FAW announced that the national side would be playing at the Racecourse this summer there was little excitement before the opponents were announced - though even the most pessimistic Welshman must have hoped for more illustrious opposition than New Zealand.

I didn't even know they played football in that part of the world...

Unfortunately, it seems they do and after the 2-2 draw at the Racecourse, the All-Whites can claim to be at least as good as Wales as our plummet down the world rankings continues.

For a full match report, click here.

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MySpace

To read all about Tartan Red's week, visit his MySpace page and view his private blog. Here you can find out all about his desire for outdoor sex, the Buzzcocks concert he attended ast week and why comedian Richard Herring called him a c**t.

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posted by Tartan Red at 7:09 AM 0 comments