BUBBLE WILL NEVER BURST

In an extract from his hit book The Card: Every Match, Every Mile – published by Ockley Books – we catch up with Chester super-fan Steve Hill on his trip to Wrexham

IT IS one of the ancient rules of football support that you must hate the teams closest to you, hence the advent of the local derby. And we really do hate Wrexham. A mere 13 miles separates the clubs and, crucially, that short distance straddles the border between England and Wales.

On my first ever visit to The Racecourse, a Wrexham fan impressively ran the entire length of the pitch wielding a Welsh flag before being robustly tackled by our goalkeeper.

The fixture often crops up in lists of ‘World’s Tastiest Derbies’ along with the likes of Celtic v Rangers, Liverpool v Manchester United, Millwall v West Ham, Southampton v Portsmouth and Boca Juniors v River Plate. It’s what Danny Dyer might describe as “proper naughty”, despite the significantly smaller crowds. That said, in the 1970s the fixture once attracted a remarkable 19,000.

With both clubs languishing in Non-League, and Wrexham’s former international stadium now partially derelict, the attendance today will be barely a quarter of that. The fact that it’s being broadcast live on BT Sport will also provide an easier option for a few stragglers, particularly among the Chester contingent who have to face the dreaded bubble.

Introduced when the reformed Chester FC were promoted to Non-League’s upper echelon, and hence resumed hostilities with Wrexham, the bubble – aka safe travel – fixture essentially involves compulsory designated transport. With no independent travel allowed, supporters have to go on official coaches, for which they have bought a voucher. They are only issued with match tickets once safely inside the cordon at the other end, thus negating any chance of rival supporters meeting.