Wear Red for Wrexham

By TheLongside.co.uk
November 20 2004

This Saturday, the Clarets face Brighton at the Withdean Stadium. Wrexham and Brighton fans have urged all travelling supporters to wear red to show support against what could be the extinction of Wrexham AFC. 19/11/04: PRESS RELEASE ADDED!

Visitors to the site were made aware of the situation on the 4th October when this message was posted on our Message Board:

"I'm a Wrexham fan in desperate need of help.

Our chairman has done nothing but lie to us for 2 years, asset strip our club and now he is threatening to have the bulldozers in very soon.
He wants to run us into the ground and build property.
Wrexham afc is the oldest football club in Wales and one of the smallest towns in the football league.

The England team uses our training ground when they play at anfield or goodison. Can you really believe this is going to get destroyed?

Us Wrexham fans are doing all we can to beat this arrogant man but we can’t do it alone."

A link to a petition can be found on this page.

Earlier this month, this message appeared on our Message Board:

"As you may know Wrexham are in danger of losing their ground and going out of business. Brighton fans, who, you may recall have had enough problems of a similar nature are not prepared to let this happen to a fellow club and are doing everything we can to help.

We want to make the Brighton v Burnley match at Withdean on Nov 20th a "Wear red for Wrexham day". Please spread the message amongst your supporters coming to Sussex and ask them to join in and wear something red.

The bit below comes from the Wrexham fans who are trying to co-ordinte this event country wide. Please read on and help to spread the word. Thanks.

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As we all know the financial situation at the club at the moment is pretty dire. The bank account is frozen, and a hearing is scheduled with regards to an Inland Revenue winding up order.

The Supporters Trust have put a deal to buy the club to Mr Hamilton and are awaiting his response. (Editor: Two deals which included this one have been rejected by Mr. Hamilton.) However the club itself needs funds to continue its day to existance.

The only home league match this month is on Saturday November 20th at home to Bristol City. Please urge EVERY Wrexham Fan to attend this game, and to bring as many other supporters with them as possible. Bring anyone who wants the football club to survive, its that important. Everybody who wants football to continue at the Racecourse needs to attend this game. Lets show Dennis Smith and the boys what the club means to the town. Lets make the home game against Bristol City MASSIVE.

Please email this message to everyone you know who cares and ask them to do likewise.
Bring your kids, bring your friends.

Lets get the message out there - we will not let our club die."

I am sure there are many other clubs including Brighton who will be sympathetic to Wrexham after similar actions to generate money for the owners have been taken against their own clubs. It will not also be the Brighton game and the Bristol City game that will have thousands of fans wearing red, as other fans will no doubt be expressing their disgust at the match they will be watching. Brighton are still looking for a new ground and part of the match programme will be for all present to show their support for Wrexham.

Yesterday, the high court delayed its decision to liquidise the club and put it out of existence, this is giving the club a chance to try to put itself into administration. The matter has also been discussed in the Welsh Assembly and there have been talks about how the council could raise enough money to buy the ground, which is estimated to be worth £1.5 Million.

Wrexham's 132-year history looks set to disappear down the drain unless fans across the UK show their disgust to what is happening at Wrexham and to Football in general. Franchising football teams and selling off grounds to be redeveloped just is not what football is about. The Manchester United fans do not want it as their vocal opposition to Mr. Glazer taking over is very fierce and nor do the Wrexham fan's who are firmly behind their Supporters Trust. We can just hope to God that we do not need to use our Trust in this way and with the current board who appear to have the club's interests close to the heart; it looks like it will never happen while they are running the club.

We cannot be too relaxed though, if one of the oldest football clubs in the UK can be hanging onto its life on a string, then who will be next as Wrexham certainly will not be the last to have problems.

So, do not forget this Saturday to wear Red for Wrexham at Brighton. This action is likely to show those people in charge of clubs who think this action is acceptable that, we the fans, think otherwise!

For details of the Clarets Trust.

For details of Wrexham’s Supporters Trust

Richard Oldroyd's Excellent Article on the very same subject on Clarets-Mad.

News of how Wrexham were this week given a lifeline by the high court by delaying action to liquidise the club. (BBC)

We now have a Press Release about the situation from a few days ago.

Thousands of fans unite to save Wrexham AFC

"TENS of thousands of football fans are putting aside tribal differences on Saturday in a mass display of unity to save one of The Football League’s oldest clubs.

The Fans United day of action on Saturday 20 November will see peaceful demonstrations at every football ground in England and Wales as well as a huge gathering of fans from different clubs at Wrexham AFC’s Racecourse Ground.

On Wednesday 17 November, Wrexham AFC faces a winding-up petition in the High Court. This case is being brought by the Inland Revenue following demands for £900,000 of unpaid tax.

On Wednesday, Wrexham AFC faces the prospect of being placed into Administration and having 10 points deducted by the Football League. The club could even be forced into Liquidation. If the latter occurs, Wrexham will be the first Football League club to go out of existence since Aldershot FC in 1992.

Many fans believe the Club’s plight is due to the attitude of its owner Alex Hamilton, who wants to sell the ground for over £6million to property developers, but in any case Wrexham AFC is living on borrowed time after 132 years of football.

Now supporters of Brighton and Hove Albion – who lost their own ground almost nine years ago – are leading a day of action to draw attention to Wrexham’s plight.

Fans United: football fans are being invited to wear their club colours and attend Wrexham’s home game against Bristol City on Saturday 20 November – kick-off 3pm. They are asked stand alongside Wrexham fans and watch what could be Wrexham’s last ever league game.

Wear Red for Wrexham: those fans who cannot make the trip to The Racecourse are asked to wear something red – or even carry a piece of red card – to their own team’s match on the same day. They are also asked to stand for 15 seconds at the kick-off to their match to show their solidarity with Wrexham AFC.

A Fans United spokesman and life-long Brighton supporter Nic Outterside said: “It is 12 years since Aldershot FC went bust and in that time many other football clubs have gone to the brink. In many cases these crises have been due to mismanagement or sheer greed of club owners or chairmen.

“When we lost our own ground – sold by our chairman Bill Archer to build a retail park – we came within inches of going out of existence. Even now our club is homeless and survives on a season by season basis.

“The danger of Wrexham folding is real and it would create a domino effect which could see many more towns lose their football clubs forever.

“I urge every right thinking football fan to take part in next Saturday’s day of action.”