Worldnet has been and gone, below is the report from our player/manager/captain Tim
Robinson.
An awful lot more information on Worldnet can be gleaned from the official websites
which can be found at The IFA Worldnet
Page and the Internet Royals Worldnet 98 Page.
The dust has settled and the aches have almost gone. The
hangover is history and the sunburn is fading. We travelled in convoy from Alsager to
Reading, finally getting to Reading at about 9:30. This was after getting lost on the
very last bit of the journey, stopping at a pub to ask for directions and finding some
other Motley Crewe players who were inebriated and in no fit state to show us the way.
We rolled up, jumped out of the car and into the Rugby Club bar. The rest of the team, except Andy Steele (local), and Daniel Beale were already there in
their own little corner, so when we got there, at about the same time as Kev
Toft, Jay Daly and Daz Howard the singing, piss take and drinking really began. We were
the loudest bunch of fans in the bar on the first night by far, with Portsmouth and West
Brom the only other teams making a decent effort at singing. "Blue Moon",
"When I was just a little boy", "To work upon the railway" "South
Cheshire" and all the other favourites came out. "Stand up if you hate Man
U" did provoke a reponse from everyone in the bar!
When the bar shut at about 1am everyone was very pissed, which made finding an empty tent
and getting our stuff into it very difficult to say the least.
About 3:30 and the Celtic fans were still singing in their tents near the Alex tents so a chorus of "Shut up Celtic" ensued. This resulted in our tent
pegs getting pulled out, so we shut our mouths! At 6, they were outside drinking cans and knocking a ball around! So without much sleep we prepared
for our first ever Worldnet game against Spurs. We started badly, petered off a bit in the middle and ended dreadfully. In
reality, 1-0 was about right as we didn't really create and they didn't create much. The goal came when one of their central midfielders broke
through, as the defence backed off, he lobbed a 25 yard shot over Andy
Steele who'd come off his line anticipating a through ball.
The hardest thing I had to do was pick the team for each game and choose which subs to bring on as I could only use three. I opted for giving
everyone a fair crack of the whip, and everyone got a game, whilst still trying to win the matches.
In our penalty match against Forest, after goals from Kev T, Darren, Paul and Jay and a horrendous miss from Gant it went to sudden
death, where they scored and Kev sliced it wide. Out.
For the second game against Reading at about 11, the sun was really beating down, so I changed the personnel round a bit to give people a game or a rest
accordingly.
Looking back, this was the game we needed to win to have any hope of progressing to the knockout stages. Unfortunately, an error by Daniel Beale
on the edge of his box let in their right winger for him to pull back to the centre forward in the first minute. 1-0. We then proceeded to dominate
possession without really looking like scoring. We had a few corners and lots of the ball, but chances were few and far between. Still 1-0 at half
time, I bought on Paul Kerby at left midfield and Eric Boldon at centre forward, due to Andy Jodrell losing a contact lens, which stayed lost for
the rest of the weekend. It was looking like a second defeat when Paul Kerby ran onto a pass to round the keeper and slot home. So the game finished 1-1.
This meant we now had to win the last two games against unbeaten Everton and whipping boys (er...people) Leicester. We had an hour or so to kill, and
retired to the bar. We all put a couple of quid into one of the fruit machines and then watched Kev Tuohy take it back out. A pattern which was to
be repeated throughout the weekend. He must have finished about £30 up!
AND he's got a pretty girlfriend. Some people have all the luck.
The Everton game left me the dilemma of must win versus some people haven't had a game, such as my younger brothers and little Jack Manuel. We started
off well, and passed the ball around, only to have the wind knocked out of our sails by another early goal. However as the first half progressed it was
easy to see we were the better team. We had numerous chances, and about five minutes before half time we equalised when Kev Toft used his pace and
determination to slide the ball into the bottom left hand corner.
Disappointingly, we allowed them to score almost immediately, and it was a dreadful goal to concede, as the Emmanuel Petit lookalike beat two or three
men and as Andy Steele came out, passed inside for another tap-in, although
Bill Howard did later "claim" this one as an own goal. The second half again
started well possesion wise, but again we ruined it by conceding a soft goal. (Anyone notice a pattern emerging
here?) Dave Walton was standing near the Emmanuel Petit lookalike when the latter blotted his copybook by hurling himself to the floor and rolling
about 26 times. The ref gave a penalty which was greeted by laughter from Everton and swearwords from us. Has anyone seen the "I suppose you think
this inflatable banana's a Big Mac" advert? Just like that. 3-1. We got on with it and were awarded a penalty ourselves two minutes from time. I
stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way. 3-2. We had some ridiculous goalmouth scrambles and one effort where I curled a ball through for Kev
Toft, who lobbed the keeper only to see THE WIND clear the ball off the line AND away from Daz's despairing lunge. We were out, with just one match and
friendlies left.
We agreed with Leicester to stuff the 3 subs rule for the last game so everyone could play at least half, and we fielded an eleven consisting of
young 'uns and out of position players.
We won this match that was the best-spirited and most fun, 1-0. And before you say it, the result wasn't why it was fun. Leicester, who I played for
last year, were the most friendly team, had two women players, and at one stage had a dad, son and daughter playing at the same
time. Goal of the tournament by centre back cum Van Basten, Bill Howard. Well played to Jack Manuel who had a great game in his first appearance of
the tournament.
In the evening, I played in the second half of the first-ever Internet international which saw us beat the Jocks 5-1. Then it was time for the big
piss-up. Most of the Crewe fans went out into Reading. We were supposed to all meet up in Level 1, but I ruined this by giving one of Jay's fags to a
beggar outside. "Not tonight lads". It baffled us too. We went to a less
impressive, £2.30 a pint club, handily placed down the road, and got drunk. When the DJ put on "Dario G, for the lads from Crewe" we piled on the dance
floor and stayed there until the club closed. Great night.
On our arrival back at camp we woke everyone up by singing "We are Crewe"
(got you back Celtic), and then just as everyone was getting back to sleep, the lads who had got into Level One came back singing "Dario Gradi's Red and
White Army". We entertained Celtic and Coventry lads by giving them beer and
saying we thought Dion Dublin and Alan Stubbs should have been in the
England WC squad (yeah, right!) and they said they'd look out for the Alex's result (yeah, right). One of the Celtic lads was someone I'd stopped from
scoring in the international by tripping up.
Sunday we awoke stiff (our legs and backs that is), in a collapsed tent again (cheers Celtic) and with friendlies lined up against Sheff Weds and
Derby. In the event, we just played one, against my mate from the trials Dougie, and Man Utd. We lost 3-1, but Gant scored a good goal, and we gave
Jack, Howard, Peter and Joe, my non-footballing mate from Uni a game, so no disgrace, especially as the ref just kept playing until they were winning by
two clear goals. I think we tired after the 3rd hour of the second half.Overall the weekend was a great success. It was a shame we didn't get to see
all the teams due to the spread of the pitches, and that the bar ran out of beer. The changing room facilities could have been better, and I wish that
Petit bloke hadn't dived. Overall though the refereeing was great, the atmosphere brilliant, the Alex fans were loud but friendly (as it should
be). We passed the ball and never gave up, and it was a superb event. As Bill said, it was a mini World cup. Thanks to those who put the effort in,
namely the IFA, Juzza, My mum, Si D, Bill, Tony Booth, everyone who drove, everyone who turned up, my brothers, the refs and our opposition. Come again
next year, and if you didn't come this time make sure you do next time round. Let's hope Vale, Stoke and Wrexham are there too.
Now you've read the report, check out some of the pictures.
