Bomber's eye view

For those of you who missed the article in sunday's matchday programme here is the article in full.

And now for something completely different…

This might be about as welcome as a wasp at a picnic – a Bombers supporter writing in your programme about how he views Whitley Warriors. I’m not as daft as I look (not many people are as daft as I look) so I’ll start with what I like about Warriors.

It’s often breathtaking watching Warriors break out of defence with two players flying down the wings, a couple of quick cross ice passes and then the puck buried in the back of the net. I’ve watched that and been bewildered about how easy you make the game look. In the last couple of games I’ve seen this seems to be coming back with Karl Culley back in form and linking well with Ryan Sample.

Hockey’s a tough sport and I think we all like seeing big mid-ice hits and D men splattering a forward into the plexi glass. Traditionally Warriors have given a clear message that they’re not to be messed with lightly. That’s a good thing - intimidation’s part of hockey in my book. I’ve seen teams come here where the players focus more on preserving their bits and pieces than winning.

Bryan Dunn epitomises Warriors for me. He’s certainly not the biggest player in the game but I can’t think of any with a bigger heart than him. He never gives less than 100%, looks willing to skate through brick walls and never gives the opposition an easy time. He’s the kind of player that opposition fans love to hate, but probably commands the respect of most people.

I believe that every player at this level of hockey deserves enormous respect. They give up their weekends during the season plus late night training sessions for little or no financial gain. Travelling to places like Dundee on a Saturday, working your socks off in a tough physical game of hockey, arriving home with cuts and bruises at silly o’clock in the morning to then repeat the experience the following night takes a lot of dedication or a complete fool – they’re not fools! They make the game look easy but it’s anything but that.

I’ve never been a particularly brave man (I have told Chris Conaboy he punches like a girl – from a very safe distance) but I’ll say what I don’t like about Warriors. Gulp!

I said I like Warriors’ aggression – but only to a certain extent. In years gone by that aggression has sometimes seemed to take over the whole Warriors game and led to ridiculous amounts of penalty minutes.

It gets my back up as an opposition supporter but would really annoy me if my side were playing with four men for most of the game because of silly penalties.

When Simon Leach became coach he got that in control, got the balance right and Warriors were almost certainly the best team in the league to watch. I think at the moment you could do with a little more of the ‘good’ aggression. There are still 2 or 3 players who I think would be much better if they concentrated on using their talent instead of trying to be ‘hard’. Players you’ll have heard me shouting at I actually think have loads of talent but would prefer to see them using it.

There seems to be a little of the old Warriors spirit missing this season. I don’t understand why. There’s a good mix of talented experienced players and younger lads. Discipline seems to be way better but that daunting Warriors trademark doesn’t always seem to be there. I still think you’re good enough to win the league.

Any criticisms I could level against Warriors supporters could probably be levelled at supporters of any club – including Bombers. At this point I’d like to say thanks for how welcome I’ve been made to feel here and how much I’ve enjoyed chatting to so many Warriors fans. (Who’re you calling a crawler?!?)

My main criticism is the people who aren’t here. I can’t understand why Hillheads doesn’t have more people in on game nights. I’m more than happy to drive up the A19 for the fantastic entertainment provided for £7. I know I’m not the only Bombers fan who would be lost without hockey at Hillheads while the Forum’s shut. I don’t understand why people have stopped coming.

Something I don’t like (and I say the same at Billingham) is when the crowd are quiet when things aren’t going well. It’s easy to make a noise when your team have just scored 3 goals in 5 minutes but the players don’t need you then – they’re flying anyway. When they need good, positive, loud, upbeat vocal support is when they’re under the cosh. Confidence can work wonders and a bit of backing and belief from
the crowd can help lift confidence and turn a game around. I sometimes bully Bombers supporters to make a noise so I think it’s only reasonable to say the same thing here.

We probably have more in common than we realise. I love hockey, I love my team, I love it when we beat you and I hate it when we lose to you. Sound familiar?

Enjoy tonight’s game and good luck for the rest of the season.

Cheers, Mick Fern (aka Silverfox, aka Bomber Block B)