WREXHAM WENT CROATIAN for a night as groups of supporters across the town cheered along the Eastern European side as they put an end to England’s faltering campaign to reach the 2008 European Championships.
Local betting shops said a large amount of the money changed hands in support of Croatia. Robin Hutchinson of Ladbrokes said “Wrexham being a Welsh town, we did take a lot of bets against England, and there were lots of £10 and £20 bets being put on, and at 7-1 for a Croatia win a lot of people filled their boots.”
Pubs around Wrexham took on a decidedly Balkan feel as groups of Welsh supporters turned their attention from Wales’s plucky scoreless draw against Germany to England’s disastrous second half showdown. Staff at Ladbrokes in Wrexham however said they tried to drum up support for the England side by encouraging people to bet on them. Manager Cynthia Davies said, “We sold a lot of bets for England - we were relying on them and they went and let us down . There is a lot of friendly banter in here about supporting England.”
The FA revealed this morning that the England manager Steve McClaren had been sacked following the sides undignified exit from the championships.
Wales had already been eliminated from the competition and were playing for pride in their game against Germany last night, and with a solid performance they gave hope to Welsh fans for the future.
The real winners last night, however, were those who had backed the Croatian side to beat England. Robin Hutchinson, Ladbrokes spokesman said “Plenty of people will have enough money to take a holiday next year to Austria or Switzerland, it’s just a shame that none of our football teams will be there”.
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Local betting shops said a large amount of the money changed hands in support of Croatia. Robin Hutchinson of Ladbrokes said “Wrexham being a Welsh town, we did take a lot of bets against England, and there were lots of £10 and £20 bets being put on, and at 7-1 for a Croatia win a lot of people filled their boots.”
Pubs around Wrexham took on a decidedly Balkan feel as groups of Welsh supporters turned their attention from Wales’s plucky scoreless draw against Germany to England’s disastrous second half showdown. Staff at Ladbrokes in Wrexham however said they tried to drum up support for the England side by encouraging people to bet on them. Manager Cynthia Davies said, “We sold a lot of bets for England - we were relying on them and they went and let us down . There is a lot of friendly banter in here about supporting England.”
The FA revealed this morning that the England manager Steve McClaren had been sacked following the sides undignified exit from the championships.
Wales had already been eliminated from the competition and were playing for pride in their game against Germany last night, and with a solid performance they gave hope to Welsh fans for the future.
The real winners last night, however, were those who had backed the Croatian side to beat England. Robin Hutchinson, Ladbrokes spokesman said “Plenty of people will have enough money to take a holiday next year to Austria or Switzerland, it’s just a shame that none of our football teams will be there”.
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Published in the Wrexham Evening Leader
Ends
Comment – Wrexham Goes Croatian.
Following this particular football match the news editor was keen to find a local angle on the story. I initially tried to contact the bookmakers via the telephone, but there were no direct numbers for the offices in Wrexham so I ended up speaking to their head office. Whilst I was waiting for them to come back with a quote I thought I would try the local bookmakers and see if they were prepared to talk to me. Though initially a bit reluctant they soon saw the funny side of the story and gave me some entertaining quotes. The information about the pubs in Wrexham being filled with Croatian supporters was provided by them and I had no reason to doubt it. When I returned to the office the Ladbrokes spokesman called back and gave me some excellent quotes. Though the rivalry between England and Wales is fierce in Wrexham it is also quite friendly and there is a good degree of banter particularly about football. The story developed very quickly due to the sacking of the England manager so the disappointment or elation of the fans was no longer newsworthy, but through adding the betting angle it was given 'legs'. This was a very helpful exercise in how to drum up news on a slow news day. Very often the reporters on the Leader were stuck for something to write about and had to use their initiative to try and link a national story to a local angle, this was one of my attempts at doing that.
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