The Opponent: Crewe Alexandra
Even by our normal standards it has been something of an interesting week. Tuesday night will be remembered for a while. Although the QPR TV highlights suggested we were pummelled for 90 minutes and happened to sneak a couple of lucky goals, those 1700 Town fans that were in attendance at Loftus Road will know it was much more than that. A friend that made the trip said there seems to be a unity building within the team, hopefully this unity can spread and more and more people can get behind the team, and the manager. Perhaps Cooper wasn’t such a bad appointment after all? Is his record any worse than Di Canio’s start as our manager? Not sure anyone is brave enough to shout “Mark Cooper’s Red and White Army” just yet, perhaps he needs to shout more and flap his arms up and down, perhaps the occasional punch of the dugout and odd hand gestures up to Jed might make the difference? The signing of Nicky Ajose could be a masterstroke, the signing of Nile Ranger has played a part in adding £250’000 to the County Ground coffers, and all in all I think we are heading in the right direction, or at least attempting too. The visit of Chelsea promises to be a good evening, if you want to get a glimpse of the team that is likely to turn out against us I don’t think the Super Cup match earlier this evening will be much of a clue.
So, after the lord mayors show, we move on to today’s visitors, Crewe Alexandra. I like to have a dig round the oppositions local paper, sometimes you find stories that don’t justify a paragraph, other times you can find a story that actually warms the heart. After ploughing my way through The Crewe Chronicle I have to say it was a bit like the free newspaper you get from Swindon Borough Council once a year. One thing Crewe does share with a majority of the UK is a serious cocaine problem, as the local paper reports, “Widespread use of Cocaine in Town’s Toilets” and goes on to report - Drug addicts are using Crewe’s public toilets – and even baby changing mats – to snort cocaine, the Chronicle can reveal. Over the past few weeks, we’ve carried out an undercover investigation to expose cocaine use in the town. The results indicate it is a widespread problem. Traces of the potentially lethal substance were discovered at some of Crewe’s most well-used toilets, including those at Queens Park and the railway station. The class A drug is also being snorted under the noses of magistrates and court officials at South Cheshire Magistrates Court. We even found evidence of cocaine on baby changing tables at Crewe railway station. Using cocaine swabs provided to us by a drug testing company, we tested a number of ladies’ toilets, wiping over cisterns, toilet roll holders and loo seats. In the majority of cases cobalt-blue blotches appeared – indicating cocaine was present. Dave Rigg, a former Greater Manchester Police officer and owner of Crackdown Drug Testing Ltd, says the colour change means cocaine is ‘definitely’ present.“There’s nothing else that will make it go blue – it can’t be cleaning fluids or anything like that,” he said. “There needs to be a certain amount present to make it go blue, so if it does there has definitely been cocaine on that surface.” The tests are so accurate, he said, they are often used by British police forces to detect whether cocaine is present in pubs and clubs. As well as exposing the presence of cocaine, our investigation also proved the lengths some users will go to to get their next fix, snorting the drug from even the dirtiest toilet seats. Surfaces were often ingrained with grime, but that had not stopped people lining up cocaine on it. Anyone would think that Liverpool was nearby.
The last time we met at – The County Ground – One of our last home games of the 2012/13 season, we ran out comfortable 4-1 winners, with 2 goals from 8 grand a week Adam Rooney, Massimo Luongo and James Collins. Just a thought, of the 3 players that scored that day, which one would you prefer to still have playing for STFC? For me it has to be Luongo. Only just over 7100 in attendance, perhaps we will get a few more today.
They’ve served us both – Billy Bodin, Gary Roberts, Ashley Westwood, Peter Coyne, Gareth Whalley, Tony Grant, Alan Sheehan, Anthony McNamee.
Where the opposition gather – http://boards.footymad.net/forum.php?tno=168&fid=90&sty=2&act=1&mid=2112287161Last 6 – WWDLWL (Crewe currently 14th )
The Odds – Swindon 5/6 Draw 13/5 Crewe 7/2 33/1 on TAH to score the 1st goal? Hmmm. Massimo Luongo is as short as 7/1 with Bet 365 to score first but Coral will offer a whopping 20/1 on the same player!
The Son Says – When are we playing Chelsea, and 3-0.
The Prediction – After a great night on Tuesday I’m hoping Cooper has got them focused on the job in hand and if we play our football then a victory is surely the only possible outcome. I am going for 3-1, with goals from Ranger and a Miles Storey double. 7’343 in attendance, with 243 making the journey from up north, by train, of course.
And Finally – Jimmy MacDonald, not a household name by any stretch of the imagination but one voice that most of us would have heard. In 1947, when Walt Disney became too busy, and his throat became too hoarse to speak the parts of Mickey Mouse, MacDonald carried on for some 30 years, also using his voice for many other Disney characters over that time. MacDonald, who was born in Crewe, passed away in 1991 and is buried in the same memorial park as Disney himself.
