Last updated 19:37, Thursday, 21 February 2008

I KNOW that no sympathy from the Reds fans is going to be coming my way this week but anyway . . .

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Tony Hopper

Last weekend I made the trip down to Crewe to watch Carlisle United play. We got there, parked up, went to the pub, just to be told at 2pm that the game had been postponed.

That is just one hour from kick off!

There was roughly 1,000 United fans milling around Gresty Road, all gutted that the game was off. It meant Swansea, Doncaster, Forest etc could pull that little bit further away from us, which they did!

The rearranged game is next Tuesday. Great, I still have a valid ticket but unfortunately there is a meeting which I can’t get out of.

So now I have a ticket, which I can’t use. I paid petrol money to get to Crewe and back, which I can’t claim back and who cares? Not the football clubs.

I understand that the players safety is paramount and if the pitch was not playable then fair enough but the Crewe officials could and should have looked at the pitch earlier and made a decision before people from Cumbria set off.

It is not just Crewe so I will lay off them now - it just really made me mad.

Anyway, what is happening at Workington Reds? Performances range from the bizarre to the sublime.

One weekend, sticking five past Tamworth then going down to Redditch.

I have a great interest in Reds. A lot of players I used to worship at Brunton Park are now there. Of course, we have Darren Edmondson, who is still the best right-back of my era for Carlisle.

Graham Anthony, who swung the corner in which Jimmy Glass scored from, and Tony Hopper, who like Anthony played for Carlisle at a very difficult time.

And the United fans still appreciate them for their efforts.

What I would like to see between Carlisle and Reds is a loaning system. I don’t mean to sound patronising at all, but the likes of Madine, Hindmarch, Luke Joyce, Neale McDermott etc who are not getting a game or still playing youth football would really benefit from playing first team games.

Carlisle have a lot of potential coming through and under Darren’s guidance they could flourish at Reds.

I know that the two clubs had got together to discuss this, but nothing seems to have happened.

It would benefit both clubs, so this is my calling to those at Carlisle United and Workington Reds - get together and get this system in place. It just makes sense.