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

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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.