Comment: Ian`s All Wright Now?

The beauty of having a right to reply through fanzine medium means you can go all Star Wars when somebody – like former Arsenal, West Ham and Burnley striker, Ian Wright, says something about your team. The online empire strikes back, and all that.

Well, ok writes back then.

When I first saw Wright`s column in the Sun newspaper this morning as he praised Burnley`s recent promotion-win from the Championship, I assumed the mention he makes of facing Colchester United during his Turf Moore days would automatically be negative.

He`s only mentioning them now, anyway, because of their very impressive-looking wins against Everton and Manchester United inside the past week, I thought.

Instead the specific reference to Colchester seems to show us some respect, as he recalls facing the U`s on the away to a different promotion in 1999-2000.

“At first, I found the level of football in League One really hard. I could not cope so I said to Stan Ternent to bring me off the bench as I had been rubbish. But coming on as a sub worked.

“I remember being on the bench against teams like Colchester and Blackpool and all the opposing fans shouting at me ‘Wrighty, you’re a flash b*****d’ but I didn’t mind that.”

I`m sure it hurt his well-won ego just a little, but never mind.

My point is: someone in the famous football fraternity actually passed up the opportunity to say something negative about Colchester United! Halleluiah!

I remember when Sunderland`s former flashy-pants, Dwight Yorke, said his team didn`t want to be playing “teams like Colchester” anymore during Roy Keane`s revolution there in 2006-7, before facing the U`s at home in the Championship.

In all fairness to him, he scored although we prevented them being confirmed champions at Layer Road, winning a whopping 3-1.

I think that`s the last time a member of the opposition has uttered our team`s name in the pejorative sense, although sadly plenty of the club`s own players since haven`t held back.

By the look of it, though, we`ve even managed to stop Ian Wright from slating us in public! Thank you, kind sir.






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