More Of This Please Mister Keates

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Our Ideal Midfielder!

We need a bt of creatviity and there's a promising young midfielder who can't get into his first team who might just fit the bill!

Darren Ferguson played for Peterborough reserves last week and seems to have done very well. He might well be unattached soon, as he's just had a vote of confidence, so let's hope Dean Saunders keeps an eye on him!

The Jones Enigma

Good luck to Mark Jones if his move to Peterborough materialises. There have been many disappointments over the last few years, but our failure to see the likes of Jones and Matty Done fulfil their potential with us is right up there.

Jones developed from a frail youth into a fine goalscoring midfield, but then like a flash of gunpowder it was gone and a player who clearly depended on his confidence to perform fell into a self-fulfilling tailspin of poor form.

You can see why John Toshack and Darren Ferguson have faith in him though. It's a common impulse in managers; indeed probably in mankind. The desire to show that you can achieve something no-one else has managed. It's what inspires managers to take jobs like Man City or Newcastle, figuring that eventually someone will unlock their potential, and it will be them.

You can see why a manager would see glimpses of Jones' undeniable talent and decide to try to make the most of it. I hope for Jones' sake that whoever takes him under his wing succeeds as he's as genuine a lad as I've ever met in football.

Oh great!

There was a post on Red Passion after we played at Peterborough earlier this month which made a very good point. As Darren Ferguson made his rather pathetic attack on us, there was a danger that some of the mud would stick. We weren't a voilent bunch of thugs, Steve Evans certainly didn't taking a running jump and butt their goalkeeper, who of course was able to play just three days later despite the suggestion that he was fatally wounded after the game, and we played much more good football than Peterborough did.

However, the poster suggested that if referees see Ferguson's comments then our card might be marked.

Bearing this in mind you can see why my heart sunk when I saw who our referee is for the rematch on Tuesday.

Mick Thorpe has reffed us four times, and each one was traumatic in one way or other. To be fair, generally the events which hurt us were nothing to do with Thorpe, to be fair, but

The first game he took charge of was at Scunthorpe on the first day of the 2002-3 season; in fact it was his first game as a Football League ref. It was the game which was marred, like the Birmingham-Arsenal match yesterday, by a terrible injury, as Waynne Phillips' career was ended. It wasn't a foul, just an unfortunate accidnet, and Thorpe could do nothing to prevent it, but bad luck seems to have followed him around ever since as far as we're concerned.

When we kicked off against Grimsby we were unbeaten for forty-one days, the longest length of time we'd been without tasting defeat, discounting Summer breaks, since November 2004 when Thorpe took charge of the spectacular collapse of an in-form team as we lost 5-1 at Luton.

Again, I don't recall anything Thorpe did to upset us in that game; our hammering had more to do with Simon Spender being used as a makeshift centre-back in a back three and being exposed in the air by Howard. However, Thorpe played his part in our next encounter, at Notts County in August 2005. In injury time Dennis Lawrence was fouled, but Thorpe didn't give it, didn't stop the game to allow the centre back treatment, and as Wrexham protested County scored the winning goal. Thorpe must have felt some guilt as immediately after the restart Dave Bayliss, giving us a first glimpse of his unreliable temperament, launched into an idiotic assault on a County player which Thorpe failed to punish with a red card despite the victim having stud prints on his kidney!

One more game to throw into the pot, and this one amazes me. Thorpe was ref for our spectacular meltdown at Peterborough in the F.A. Cup last November. Why has he been chosen to officiate the same fixture again so soon? It seems odd, as does a certain geographical matter. Thorpe is from Suffolk; let's hope by the end of the game we don't suspect that he cadged a lift to The Racecourse from his Peterborough neighbours!

Evo is Innocent!!!

Glad to hear Joe Lewis is fine after his collision with Steve Evans, but the fact that he's looking to be available for Peterborough's game on Wednesday puts things into context somewhat.

Never mind Ferguson's rather vague post-match comments on how he "thinks he might" have concussion(!!) Sounds like-heaven forbid!-he was making a mountain out of a molehill.

Anyway, did anyone really think that Steve Evans would launch himself in the air from a long run-up and headbutt the guy? I know he's a tough guy, but even Evans would surely draw the line at doing something which would probably fracture his own skull!

Brian Little after the Peterborough United game

Darren Ferguson after the Peterborough game

He's not happy you know!

Peterborough podcast

The Peterborough podcast is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Brian Little, Darren Ferguson, Danny Sonner and Neil Roberts.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooops

I learned at the weekend that people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

One of my favourite moments last season was in a game between Darlington and Bury. A Darlo player crosses the ball into the goalmouth and, in trying to hook the ball over his shoulder to safety, a defender slams it into his own face so hard it bounces into the net. It was an instant blooper DVD classic, but we set the bar a notch higher on Saturday!

The moment Richard Hope and Anthony Williams ran into each other I knew we'd get onto “Match of the Day” that night! Seven intervening hours having anaesthetised the impact of the incident somewhat, I could only smile as Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer mocked us.

However, the next night the BBC did some research and dug out Silvio Spann's howler too! Spann's slip as he took a corner, spooning the ball into the away end, surely set a new standard; we'd provided two classic foul-ups in one match! Danny Baker must rue leaving the gaffe compilation DVD market too soon! Didn't he know we were about to give the genre a much needed shot in the arm?

Nothing's new in football though. My favourite howler was a Darren Wright own goal at Crewe, where he bent the ball past a stranded Mike Salmon into the top corner. That is until we signed the true master of disaster: goalkeeper Vince O'Keefe.

His greatest moment came at Mansfield. We had a free kick on the edge of our own area, a situation which you'd think even O'Keefe could negotiate safely. However, as Phil Hardy tapped the ball to him, O'Keefe decided to look away, the ball went through his legs and a striker walked the ball into the empty net!

That one made it onto the comedy DVDs. A less celebrated but more bizarre incident occurred in a home game against Hereford. A Wrexham attack broke down and the ball was booted up the pitch. There were no outfield players in Wrexham's half as the ball trickled towards O'Keefe, who waited for it on the edge of the area. Again, an innocuous situation, but with O'Keefe danger was always just around the corner! Presumably bored of waiting for the ball to arrive, or misguidedly thinking he was helping the game to flow, he stepped out of the box, picked the ball up, and stepped back into the area! Fantastically, he was filled with indignation when the referee had the temerity to blow for handball!

There were many other classics in his repertoire. I recall him punching a cross into his own net with terrific gusto at Wigan, and scoring a superb own goal against Cambridge: United packed the near post for a corner but overhit the flag-kick. However, O'Keefe caught the ball to his chest, staggered and slowly fell backwards into his own net, all the time clutching it ball tightly as if it were a baby!

At least we haven't hit those depths. Yet.

A Chance For A Get-together?

I wonder if the Peterborough game will give Brian Carey and Darren Ferguson a chance to reknew acquaintances, or will we be under new management?