ANOTHER BRICK IN THE RED WALL #8

david o’gorman (DOG)

• Hometown: Haverfordwest (but born in Cardiff)

• Current Location: Essen, Germany

• Club You Support: Cardiff City and Rot Weiß Essen

• First Wales away: Poland, 2000 (about 200 Wales fans)

• Wales away caps: 46

• Favourite Wales away trip: Poland, 2000, my first one. Spent the night in the bar with the Wales squad in the Sheraton hotel, Warsaw. Speed and Coleman on guitar, no words, like a dream, they were amazing to us. Things like this can’t happen now, unfortunately. I was hooked.

• Favourite Wales away memory: As Wales fans we play away in a football tournament in Lviv, Ukraine, every year so I arranged 25ish boys in colours (fancy dress). 4 in each colour. We went to a strip bar at the end of the night and someone threw a plant at the bouncers as they refused entry (no names mentioned). Anyway, I ran as I knew the old bill would be arriving soon. Neil Dymock, the Wales fans manager had a call from the police, “we have arrested a yellow man and a green man but a blue man and a red man ran away”. I was blue, but to get away I had to jump a 20m wall to get to the hotel. The whole night was funny but the yellow man and green man were not impressed.

• Favourite all time player: Kevin Ratcliffe, he was world class but nowadays on Wales away, he looks after me and is a real good mate actually.

• One essential Wales away item: A Spirit of 58 Bucket hat. My mate, Tim designed them and I met him in Warsaw in 2000. The Red Wall is full of them but no fakes please!

• Favourite band: U2 or Oasis. I have seen both live.

• Band we should be listening to: The Declan Swans, a band from Wrexham. Scoot the singer is a regular on Wales away and is a good friend and they’re amazing live. I’d recommend them to all Wales fans, not just Wrexham fans.

• One surprising fact about you: I am the International scout for Cardiff Met FC