Saunders On His Way?

It's scary to think I might have been right for once! If it's true that Dean Saunders is on a shortlist of five for the Wales job, then there's a genuine chance that he might not see the season out with us. Hate to say I told you so!

Of the five who are said to be on the list, two can surely be written off immediately. John Hartson might be hyperactively working the media, but what actual reason is there to assume he could do a good job? And using the opposite argument to Hartson's inexperience, Ian Rush's managerial career surely disqualifies him from landing a serious job.

Of course, you might argue that Saunders' Wrexham career has done a similar thing, but that's not actually true. If you were inclined to, you could argue he's showing that, given time, he can start to put something together, and anyway, his reputation coming to Wrexham was based on a reputation for coaching top level players. Also, the fact he's been working within the Welsh set-up, and was once reported to be Toshack's heir apparent, must count in his favourite.

That leaves us with three candidates. I'd put Saunders in third place behind two experienced candidates, with Flynn the obvious choice. But since when did the Welsh F.A. do the obvious?

Who Benefits From International Experience?

Another superb result for Brian Flynn's Under-21s today, who are again in with a great shout of getting to the European finals, but what does it do for us?

With Chris Maxwell keeping a clean sheet and Marc Williams playing for the first hour up front, it's natural to be proud, but another play in the starting line-up naturally makes me think twice.

Neil Taylor played too, so forgive me for pointing out that neither of the current Wrexham players can get into our side, and maybe Taylor would have stayed if he'd been a regular too.

Of course, that's a cheap shot, but I it's also a fair concern. It's good indicator of the talent coming through our academy that our players can go to a pressured envronment and perform; getting such experience is a massive boost in their development.

At the same time it's a worry that the experience they gain in such matches might be for the benefit of their new clubs, not us. I know it's hard to hang onto young talent when you're in the fifth division, but if we're to turn the club around we've surely got to hang onto the youngsters we produce, either to get the most out of them on the pitch or to get a decent fee for them once they've matured.

It's hard to see why Maxwell would want to stay when his contract's up in the Summer if he doesn't break through into the first team, and Williams is hardly being made to feel welcome is he? So their exploits abroad are merely putting them in the ship window, while toughening them up for their next employers, I fear.

Premature Taxi For Spender

It's hard not to feel sorry for released players, so this time of year is particularly taxing for a soft-hearted soul like me. I've got a particular sympathy for Simon Spender though, whose long time at The Racecourse has been ended.

I can't help feeling that in this case the baby might have been thrown out with the bathwater.

Dean Saunders had to undertake a swift pruning of the squad he inherited, that much is beyond dispute. However, I can't help but think that Spender is a player who has plenty to offer at this level.

He has, after all, spent his whole career in the Football League, is still pretty young, and has had a frustrating career pattern: he tends to struggle to get his break under a manager, finally get his opportunity and take it well, only to be jetisoned once a more alluring right back catches The Gaffer's eye.

As an example, look at his time under Brian Carey. He finally got a run at the end of the 2006-7 season, and performed admirably, scoring at Lincoln and memorably going on that late surge at Shrewsbury which culminated in a perfectly timed pull-back for Michael Procter to hit a crucial winner. Defensively he was sound as the side stopped shipping goals, but Spender's efforts didn't protect him from his usual fate of losing his place at the start of the next season once results stopped going our way.

There is a precedent for those who suspect this is a good move: when Neil Salathiel was released by Brian Flynn it struck me as a mistake to remove a player who, though limited, had served us with admirable energy and robustness in our dark days trawling the lower reaches of Division Four. However, in bringing in Barry Jones Flynn affected a successful upgrade, and Jones' first season ended in promotion.

Ironically,Spender was captain for our first friendly this season, albeit at the behest of Brian Little, who showed trademark decisiveness by sharing the armband around rather than make a decision. Now he's rejected. I just hope we are able to find someone better than him, because I'm struggling to think of a more effective Wrexham right-back since Jones.