The Opponent: Tranmere Rovers
Imagine having Liverpool as your older and better brother or sister, that’s what living in Birkenhead is like. Having Liverpool, despite its drabness and petty criminality, as the place nearest to you that’s actually OK in places. And then picture yourself ‘across the water’ in Birkenhead looking at Liverpool everyday and knowing that the town you live in is overshadowed by a dying, decaying once-great gateway to the world. And then picture yourself looking at Birkenhead itself. It’s most famous statue is a replica of the cake Queen Victoria scoffed at her wedding. A fucking cake statue...... Merseyside PCT records show that they also have the highest suicide rates in the country, the area is famous for its smuggling, luring ships and wrecking and murdering shipwrecked sailors, nothing has changed apart from different targets, old age pensioners. The Wirral is also known to have more drug addicts and hookers per square mile than anywhere else in the country. Impressive. Commonly known as ‘North Baghdad’ by those in more fortunate parts of Wirral, this blighted spot is quite possibly the most resolutely working class enclave in Britain. The middle classes have totally fled from it.
Hot off the local plastic Scouser press, Channel 4 has decided not to film a new series of their infamous reality show Benefits Street in Birkenhead North. Last week residents in Fairbrook Drive received letters from programme makers Love Productions, inviting them to take part in a potential second series of the reality show. It sparked outrage from householders, who told the Globe they would not be taking part in the programme. Now Channel 4 has backed down in the face of protests. A spokesman for the channel said: "As part of research producers spoke to two residents of Fairbrook Drive in Birkenhead and to Magenta Housing."We are not planning to feature the street in the series." Surely this could have been the perfect start to regenerating Birkenhead back to standard shithole levels? Talk about ungrateful. The thing I find most surprising is the Channel 4 producers didn’t just go for a more widespread view of the area, Benefit Town, so to speak.
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Where the opposition gather – The other Tranmere site requires registration it would seem. I ain’t telling them a thing, cunts will burgle my house next time we are at home.
http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/boards/list/s383.htmLast 6 – WDLLWL – Currently 20th on 39 points with a minus 21 goal difference.
They have served us both – Gareth Edds, Gary Williams, Abe Rosenthal, Steve Peplow. Roy Greenwood, Nicky Summerbee, Alan Navarro, Marlon Broomes, Wayne Allison, Paul Rideout, Pat Jackson, Ian Muir, John Kelly, Tony Warner, Stewart Williamson. Jake Jervis, Ken Beamish, Scott Endersby, Iffy Onuara, Bryan Hamilton, Alf Day, Arthur Briggs, Frank Curran, Liam Ridehalgh
The Odds – Tranmere 9/5 Draw 12/5 Swindon 13/8 Can we make it 3 games unbeaten including 2 on the road? Of course we can. 1-0 Town pays a large 10/1 with Ladbrokes. I noticed they seem to be offering much better prices on 1-0, 2-1 and 2-0 scorelines to either side than anyone else. The same 1-0 Town scoreline is 15/2 with most others. Paddy Power are offering 18/1 on the new great white hope, Ben Gladwin scoring first, worth a few bob?
The Son Says – He is still buzzing from Saturday’s effort it seems. After managing to drag him away from Minecraft (don’t ask) for 3 seconds he has predicted a handsome 2-0 victory.
The Prediction – The shellsuit wearing Northerners are in a relegation battle and will be looking to take the game to us. We will expose this and destroy them. 3-1 Swindon, Gladwin, Smith and Luongo with the goals, 267 making the journey, poor sods.
And Finally – HMS Birkenhead (no really) was designed as a frigate, but was converted to a troopship before being commissioned. On 26 February 1852, while transporting troops to Algoa Bay, she was wrecked at Danger Point near Gansbaai, 140 kilometres from Cape Town, South Africa. There were not enough serviceable lifeboats for all the passengers, and the soldiers famously stood firm, thereby allowing the women and children to board the boats safely. Only 193 of the 643 people on board survived, and the soldiers' chivalry gave rise to the "women and children first" protocol when abandoning ship, while the "Birkenhead drill" of Rudyard Kipling's poem came to describe courage in face of hopeless circumstances.
