Dean Keates takes charge of his 150th game as Wrexham manager across his two spells at the club today. Ironically, an FA Trophy match is the last fixture he’d want to have. The only priority this season is our league position, and while an FA Cup run could have yielded some handy cash for mid-season recruitment, the FA Trophy certainly doesn’t have such financial potential. … Continue reading Waiting For Sutton
Things got historically bad for us last Saturday, but this is a time for cool heads. We need to get out of this mess, and if we look at the situation rationally, the most likely route to salvation is pretty obvious. The mood has partially lifted after Tuesday, and that cathartic revenge win over Eastleigh. To end our long wait for an away win, and … Continue reading The Road To Safety
Paul Rutherford poses a problem for me. After every game I record a podcast, analyzing the match and discussing the players’ performances. The issue comes when I get to Rutherford. Frankly, I’ve been repeating myself for three and a half years! The team’s fortunes can fluctuate, but Rutherford remains a constant, relentlessly bringing the same tireless qualities to the side. He makes his 500th career … Continue reading Ruthers Abides
Right, let’s get back to business. Now all that cup stuff has been dealt with, we can focus on the serious challenge of climbing the table again. Not that our league campaign won’t be influenced by the last couple of weeks. Indeed, they marked a crucial opportunity for Dean Keates to take stock. Following on from the excellent performance against Bromley, our efforts against Rochdale … Continue reading The Cups Run Over
We live in remarkable times. Off we head today to Scotland, to represent England against Rangers. But it’s their youth team. Still, we get to play at one of the world’s great football grounds, even if we choose not to give our first team the opportunity. Attitudes towards cup competitions have become increasingly ambivalent in recent years. From the highlight of the season, cup competitions … Continue reading Never Mind The Tunnocks
The consensus after the Bromley game was it was an excellent victory but a poor match. The number of misplaced passes and errors was the main reason for drawing that conclusion, and I must admit that, for much of my commentary, I was making exactly that point. But I was wrong, and I realized it as the game wore on. We’re naturally attracted to creative … Continue reading Wrexham’s Win Over Bromley Was Much Better Than It Looked
That’s more like it! There were edgy moments – about twenty minutes of them as it looked worryingly like the pattern established at Bromley would be repeated and the side would fail to sustain the penetration of its passing game beyond the opening twenty minutes. However, a barn-storming second half allayed those fears, helped by a subtle bit of tinkering by Gary Mills. Mills opted … Continue reading TACTICAL REPORT: Wrexham FC v Torquay United
So, what went wrong? This was certainly a stark defeat, if only because its nature was startling. For the opening quarter of the game, Wrexham’s game plan worked a treat, then a salvo of three goals turned everything on its head and the second half saw Gary Mills’ team dominate possession without looking penetrative. So how did this state of affairs come to pass? First … Continue reading TACTICAL REPORT: Bromley FC 3 Wrexham FC 1
Pep Guardiola famously travelled miles to spend a whole night sat at the feet of his guru, Marcelo Bielsa, discussing whether to take the job as first teamcoach at Barcelona. Gary Mills didn’t make such a pilgrimage, but he is plainly a disciple of Bielsisme. Gateshead’s football is alien to the fifth level of English football. In fact, it’s alien to the fifth level of anything, … Continue reading How to beat Gateshead, the Conference Barcelona
Flisher, Bodkin and York sounds like a Dickensian firm of lawyers to me (WARNING: a list of three footballers’ names always sounds like a Dickensian law firm to me. Except Sakho, Obeng and Ugarte.) However, Alex Flisher, Matt Bodkin and Wes York were actually the decisive players in this superbly well-contested second round cup tie. So often a cup tie is determined by the superior … Continue reading TACTICAL REPORT: Wrexham 3 Maidstone Utd 1
Two home games in a week, two very different experiences. Against Altrincham there was a failure to respond to the unusual circumstances of the match. This is, to an extent, understandable of course. We know how to react to every day problems but an unexpected crisis will throw you: that’s why I know what to do when the fuse blows in my front room but … Continue reading Wrexham Must Beware The Bear
My clarity of thought has nothing to do with Hudson’s suspension ,but my flash of recognition coincided with it. I’ve realised what our best team is, and I understand what formation they should play. My conclusions have left me looking in the mirror, eating humble pie, and swallowing some pride. Now I’m going to vomit the result right down the page. Firstly we need to … Continue reading I can see clearly now that Blaine has gone
I suppose you could see this coming. Two sides which lack creativity and punch up front scraping their way to a scrappy goalless derby draw. The tension of the occasion gave it an edge which for some obscured the fact that neither goalkeeper had all that much to do. Indeed, that fact that the one decent save either keeper made, a sharp low stop … Continue reading Chester FC v Wrexham FC Tactical Report
DragonHeart 