Over the coming weeks, I will be adding a match programme for each of the games that I have focused on in Dirty Old Town.

This is the programme from the European Cup Winners’ Cup First Round First Leg match against FC Porto at the Racecourse on 19-09-84. The game ended 1-0 to Wrexham.

Some stories never grow old. This is one of them.

Our beloved club was in turmoil and struggling to keep its head above water in the basement division. Dire on-field performances under the tutorship of Bobby Roberts led to calls for his head, attendances had plummeted and the club was in financial dire straits. The only glimmer of hope on the horizon was entry into the European Cup Winners’ Cup following defeat in the previous season’s Welsh Cup final to English side Shrewsbury Town.

When the European draw was made in Zurich, the Reds were paired with the illustrious FC Porto who had reached the Final of the previous seasons’ competition, losing to Juventus. After the draw, Roberts said: “It’s going to be very hard because they are a top-class side.”

The first reaction of Porto President, Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa, was “Where’s Wrexham?”

He was about to find out.

The chapter goes on to summarise the match against FC Porto and our season in full as each chapter in Dirty Old Town does. This creates the ideal gift for all true Wrexham fans.

Order your copy from nathanleedavies.com/shop today.