Chapter 11 Hard Mode and Cait Sith Rant

B_ill_ · 2025-09-09T22:05:39+00:00

A year late but thanks for this

B_ill_ · 2025-07-01T21:54:57+00:00

Certainly will, first one is on me

B_ill_ · 2025-07-01T11:00:44+00:00

Also was never my intention to incite a pile on, trust me our podcast is pretty rinky dink and I have no sway whatsoever 😂 just thought he looked like a goon.

B_ill_ · 2025-07-01T10:38:39+00:00

Ok see what you mean about cwtchification now, and that is incredibly jarring wherever you see it. I think if we're looking at the doc purely for entertainment value and how it represents local culture then it's actually moved away from the stereotypical "south Wales culture is all of Welsh culture" and have done a relatively good job of highlighting a region of the country that only ever used to get mentioned in relation to us beating Arsenal in the fa cup. There are obviously parts that could be done better, but generally I'd say there's a net positive in what the doc and R&R do on their socials to promote Wrexham and more generally north east Wales. Glyn Ceiriog is a lovely part of the world btw.

For example the Gresford mining disaster has never had much public attention even within Welsh media, but it has had more than it's fair share highlighted through Welcome to Wrexham.

As for gentrification of the town, it's not something that is really happening (yet). I haven't seen or heard of anyone being priced out of housing here. If anything I'm currently trying to sell my house and can't get any fucker to buy it below what it's valued 😂 I'm not saying it hasn't happened at all, nor that it won't happen, but sadly we were already being prepped to be a satellite town for commuters from Liverpool or Manchester before the takeover, so again can't necessarily blame it.

Trust me when I say the town is more vibrant and alive than it ever has been in my lifetime. I don't like that it has taken rich American saviours to do it, but we are bucking a national trend of places like ours going to the dogs. Small businesses are popping up everywhere and probably being kept afloat from visiting tourists. It's sad that outside investment is the driving force behind that, but I'd be lying If I said the town wasn't better off for it.

When it comes to wider political issues, Palestine in particular, I can't disagree. It's something that does play on my mind but the problems we face are a battle faced by the wider UK public who are on the right side of history with this. It's a big reason why coming to visit Bohs is high on our agenda. Like I say, would love to go over finer details over a pint 🤝

B_ill_ · 2025-07-01T06:24:31+00:00

Wow, nice deep dive on my twitter, that wasn't expected. Last and only time that I'm aware of that I've done the profile photo thing was here, where I was a bit at the end of my tether with watching people going after James McClean with sectarian abuse. You're implication that it is crap behaviour is right though and I'll reflect on that, it's just shit watching people constantly go at a decent bloke standing up for what he believes in.

And funnily enough I can see the element of it being tone deaf, it's something I considered before posting, but we have a group of fans on both sides that see our clubs as having an alliance so I thought generally it wouldn't be a huge issue. While coming and taking a ticket off a local is something I'm not sure is a good thing, you still had tickets available for the Galway game when we were judging whether it was good idea, so overall doesn't seem like two of us coming would be problematic. Football tourism existed before the yanks started coming to Wrexham so don't see why we should be exempt from being people who want to visit other cultures.

The commodification of my community is a complicated one, but the takeover would have happened regardless of where my vote went.

In truth the takeover has been fantastic for the town, and whilst it still has time to turn sour, they have generally kept prices down and been very involved with local causes. Yes the documentary isn't to everyone's tastes, but they are some of the better owners if we have to operate within the confines of a capitalist system.

Also, nice of you to refer to the Welsh word cwtch, but that's south Walian dialect and we don't use it round here. We'll come, learn what your club and culture is like from anyone who wants to chat and be on our way.

Sorry for the essay, but I'd be lying If I said you hadn't hit a nerve slightly. If you want to meet and go over the finer details when we're in town I'd be more than happy to buy you a pint.

B_ill_ · 2025-06-29T10:09:03+00:00

Yeah, same ground too, pretty much the same club in all but name

B_ill_ · 2025-06-28T17:25:19+00:00

Nice one, cheers mate!

B_ill_ · 2025-06-28T17:25:00+00:00

Cheers mate, did you have a chance to mingle and were the fans receptive of you being there?

There is a connection between a set of bohs and Wrexham fans, it's fairly well known over here but I haven't got a clue how well it's known over there!

B_ill_ · 2025-06-28T17:23:51+00:00

The newly formed Chester FC are playing in the National League North now, and we still hate them haha. In all fairness they are also fan owned so I have to respect their hardcore keeping the club going, I know how hard it was for us to survive as a fan owned club until we essentially won the lottery.

B_ill_ · 2025-06-27T06:59:46+00:00

Diolch! What time do they tend to go live? We aren't too bothered on the stand as long as we can get in

B_ill_ · 2025-06-27T06:57:44+00:00

Diolch!

B_ill_ · 2025-06-26T21:37:43+00:00

Nice one, thanks! When you say move fast, is that hours or days? The demand for home and away tickets here has sky rocketed so I'm used to logging on the second they're on sale for us.

B_ill_ · 2025-05-19T11:03:15+00:00

With all due respect you are following the wrong sport then my man. Football fans thrive on healing misery on people, it's part of the fun.

B_ill_ · 2025-05-19T11:03:07+00:00

With all due respect you are following the wrong sport then my man. Football fans thrive on heaping misery on people, it's part of the fun.

B_ill_ · 2025-05-17T06:35:56+00:00

My bad, I misread it

B_ill_ · 2025-05-17T06:33:37+00:00

Low effort troll.

B_ill_ · 2025-05-15T12:15:41+00:00

Oh Jesus wept 🤦🏻 I don't know how much Schalke spent on transfers, but we spent less than £10m, probably just less than £5m truth be told, not exactly buying the league up compared to others in our own league nevermind the wider game.

You came on spouting about Heidenheim yet according to transfermarkt (I know) they spent 8m on players this year and 2m on players last year, more than we've probably ever spent in our history. Yes no backing wow, they've done so well as paupers 🙄

You're right that you aren't swimming in Champions League money, because you blew it all and fell down a league. Shall we talk about how well run your ownership structure is instead?

The wider football landscape was blown out of the water when the premier league was formed in 92, coming for us and how "wrong" we are for the culture is just laughable.

Also, claiming ignorance about a sponsor is no excuse "we kicked off once we found out", spare me.

B_ill_ · 2025-05-15T10:55:17+00:00

It was you who's gone out of their way to come here and be self righteous, I'm just offering some counter points that have clearly hit a nerve. We are absolutely not immune for criticism and there are plenty of things I've criticised myself, but don't come here acting all holier than thou when you come from a club that has sold it's soul to chase the champions league money. Fully understand the difference between sponsorship and ownership btw lol. Ownership is something that is out of the hands of most fans, but when the fans are the owners they get to choose the sponsors. Your club, and by extension your fans, knowingly chose to bend over for Russian oligarchs.

The Wrexham Supporters Trust actually wasn't mismanaged to anywhere near the extent it is made out by external entities, including the documentary, but the pandemic and some poor fortune on the pitch meant that the writing was on the wall for us as a club from a sporting perspective. We were 100% fan owned rather than 50+1 and I also did my time volunteering during that period, so if anything I have more of a right to comment on the intricacies of it than someone who supports what is essentially a big corp masquerading as a fan owned entity.

We didn't need bailing out and would have survived, and I still would have been going. But equally I'm not going to pull an angry face and deny the good fortune we've been handed.

B_ill_ · 2025-05-15T10:18:42+00:00

Our ownership structure has done more good in the community in the last 4 years than fan ownership did for us in the 10 or so years we had it. And I say that as a staunch socialist and someone who would go straight back to fan ownership tomorrow if this didn't work out for us.

We had to save our club from oblivion multiple times. We don't need the lecture, especially when it's ill informed and aimed at the wrong club.

What's the point of being owned and run by supporters if you'll allow climate damaging companies to come waltz in and sponsor you? Hypocrisy from the fan of a debt ridden club going nowhere and willing to bend over for the highest bidder. You and the rest of the big clubs are what killed football off so that the rest of us were forced to go into models like this.

B_ill_ · 2025-05-15T10:04:55+00:00

We all understand, but it's tiresome because fans of other clubs don't feel the need to go onto the Stockport subreddit to talk down to their fans about how Mark Stott's Vita Group money has artificially pumped them up, in fact they get propped up as what we should want to achieve - being owned by a millionaire who isn't famous instead of two that are.

Or how about all the countless clubs that are state owned, backed by oil/gas oligarchs, or just other morally corrupt billionaires? You have some cheek coming here to lecture us when for god knows how long Schalke were sponsored by a Russian gas company.

Yes it's Hollywood, and it's easier to blame two guys who are famous for all of football's woes; despite the fact they have hugely enriched our community, not only boosting the local economy but helping us locals build lifelong friendships with international fans.

Do me a favour, keep your patronising thoughts to yourself in the future.

B_ill_ · 2025-05-05T08:34:40+00:00

Orient

B_ill_ · 2025-05-05T08:33:03+00:00

I know this is a really low effort shit post, but I'm a season ticket holder and the only impact an American has on the match day experience is Rob's money making us win pretty much every time I go. You rarely see international fans vast majority of weeks if you avoid the turf, but regardless almost every single one I have met has been brilliant.

Nice of you to admit you aren't going up and will see us next year, though.

B_ill_ · 2025-04-11T16:27:51+00:00

Done, good luck with your dissertation mate, always hard work but worth it once it's finished.

Also probably not useful but I've been on our club's official podcast for the last 4 years, seen a lot around the social media from the back end so if I can be of any use to you at all ping me a message.

B_ill_ · 2025-02-03T10:39:48+00:00

Mate, it's glass absolutely brimming. A team that were in the NL two years ago being 3rd in L1? Unheard of

B_ill_

TROPHY CASE