Now this is one of the reasons that I enjoy playing in the Nationwide – the opportunity to go to a northern outpost and give the locals a well deserved whipping. And British Rail 0 London Transport 4 was one such occasion. We really did boss it about from start to finish – true, you could argue that we should be mullering these sort of teams, but even so, there is no way I could condemn a performance like that.
MOTM was undoubtedly Jon Harley, two goals on his debut and he’s already a cult hero. Other goals for Gayle and Euell settled the rout. Couple that with the close proximity of Crewe Railway Station and a handily early train back to t’smoke and all in all, a most productive and entertaining day. And I didn’t mention Hartson’s absence once (oh shit….)
Anyhow, shall we……?
Plus points: We won. Handsomely. Away. With a clean sheet. Jon Harley, probably one of the best debuts I have ever seen. A much more committed (and mobile) Marcus Gayle, playing up front. Nobody played badly, although some doubts remained about Euell. Sizeable WFC contingent. The fact that even after 2-0 up, we still kept going a la Sheff Wed and Oodersfield. Excellent stewarding, let us stand for the entire game and seemed to come from the planet they called Earth.
Minus points: Chris Wilmott’s sending off – not only has he shagged a witch last week but another one gave him a blow job at the same time. We let Crewe have a few many too attempts on target towards the end, though I put that down to us playing comfortably.
Where to improve: Still reckon we need to tighten up on teams running at us.
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) Having an internet point in the pub we were in. It censored most of the decent stuff, though let SW19’s ARMY through. Damn. (2) Playing well without really breaking sweat. (3) Bar at the station called “Crewe Hero”. No picture of Jon Harley there as of time of writing. (4) Crewe’s big stand called the “Railtrack Stand”. Nearly didn’t get built because neither Railtrack nor the contractors wanted to take responsibility. (5) Stewards putting up the teamsheet in the away end.
Point to ponder: John Hartson didn’t play because he did his knee in the warmup. Although even before the coach arrived I found out that he wasn’t playing. Hmm. Didn’t seem to miss him though – we certainly looked much more mobile up front without him. Sign of things to come?
One for the stattos: Who was the last WFC player to score two goals on his debut?
Quotes: (1) “So, how many are the Alex going to win by today?” – one 9 year old Crewe fan to a WFC fan. (2) “Wimbledon are scum” – same Crewe urchin after said WFC fan humoured him. Hope he enjoys his lifetime of cleaning the toilets at the station. (3) “He took Ron Noades’ money” – certain un-named Womble on why he didn’t chant Dario Gradi’s name.
Still scary: Mark Williams’ hair colour.
In a nutshell: Nice