Last Chance To See

With the regular overhaul pretty much complete, we can start to settle into seeing how the new squad operates, but don't let yourself get too familiar with them. There's another huge revamp on the horizon, and perhaps some nettles should have been grasped this time round to avoid it.

Irrespective of our success or failure this season, a chunk of the side will disband next summer. If we fail to mount a promotion challenge we'll see plenty of our new signings depart courtesy of the policy of generally only offering one-year contracts. For the same reason, if we succeed we'll probably lose a few of our best players, who won't be tied to us. However, a trio of changes look inevitable no matter what happens on the pitch.

Firstly, should be get the centre back Saunders has been chasing on loan, he surely won't hang around. However, it's the demise of two more familiar faces which I'm thinking of. Frank Sinclair is surely embarking on his final season as a professional. That he has kept going so long is a huge testimony to his professionalism, and he has already made a very positive role for us. To see him still committing himself to his task, even though it's to try to aid a mid-table club in the fifth tier of the pyramid, is hugely impressive. It would be an honour if Wrexham turn out to be his final club.

One would assume the same also applies to Gareth Taylor. Another genuinely fine pro, he was the sharpest knife in a pretty blunt cutlery draw last season. (in case you were wondering, Lamine Sakho was a spoon.)
The worry is that Taylor might now be blunted. Of his ten goals last season, only one came in 2010. Furthermore, that was a fluke; a mishit cross that Wimbledon's keeper misjudged. Throw in another glorious fluke against Lowestoft, when Sakho's inaccurate header hit the back of his head and looped over the keeper, and two penalties and he only got six intentional goals in open play, the last of which came in October.

The fact that he began to pick up injuries in 2010 is a worry too; like Sinclair he showed the early signs of physical decline which might signal the end for them. Taylor does not appear to be in Saunders's thoughts as a first choice striker as the season begins, but he might be a highly valuable tool from the bench, offering us an aerial option when things get tough. Cast your mind back to the superlative job he did late on at Mansfield too, when the way he held the ball up in the closing stages was a huge factor in us keeping The Stags at bay.

However, don't expect Taylor to be the central figure he was last season. This campaign might be your last chance to see a couple of venerable internationals.

Baby Steps

Dean Saunders continues his learning curve as coach, and I'm hopeful that he's making more correct calls than he used to. He certainly appeared to have learned from a recent mistake yesterday when he made a crafty, match-winning substitution.

Gareth Taylor's introduction with Adrian Cieslewicz was a departure for Dean Saunders. The obvious comparison was the Cambridge match; indeed, Saunders said it was a similar scenario after the game at Field Mill. However, his reaction to the situation was completely different, and much more astute.

I'd argue the Cambridge game wasn't particularly similar to yesterday's. Frankly they weren't as threatening as Mansfield despite having plenty of second half possession, but despite a lack of real threat on our goal, Saunders withdrew one of his strikers, putting on a defensive midfielder. The result? We left poor Andy Mangan horribly isolated up front and a side which was used to throwing the advantage away took the lead from their manager, surrendered the initiative totally, and nearly lost despite being 2-0 up late on.

Saunders was very unhappy when the BBC's Ian Beddow questioned the substitution afterwards, calling it a "clever dick question" and complaining that any point could be made with the benefit of hindsight. He was wrong; it was absolutely the key question to ask after a match that had turned on the change, and as for the charge of abusing hindsight, well what else can we use to analyse a match? I must say that in commentary, Steve Edwards and I were both making the same point as the substitution took place, as I'm sure Ian did.

Saunders, a cornered, wounded animal, defended himself by coming out fighting, but yesterday suggested that privately he'd taken the point on board. We were under a great deal more pressure and only defending a one goal lead, albeit defending it admirably, Mansfield chances coming rarely. The spectacular implosion at Wimbledon four days earlier meant Saunders might have been even more inclined to draw further into a defensive shell. Instead he made an excellent call.

We were defending grittily but unable to keep the ball higher up the pitch, so Mansfield were able to pile pressure on us constantly. This time, instead of bringing another defensive player on, he kept two up front and introduced Taylor with immediate results. He gave a fine cameo performance, holding the ball up superbly, winning headers, and relieving the pressure in textbook manner. The result was a surprisingly comfortable last fifteen minutes, apart from an injury time volley from Luke Foster which drew a superb injury time save by Chris Maxwell (and incidentally should have resulted in a red card for Foster, already on a yellow, who took his frustration out on the keeper when the ball was crossed back in with a brutal foul).

We might have forgotten what qualities Taylor brings to the side as a result of his enforced absence through injury, but he reminded us of what he can bring to the side with that canny performance. Clearly Saunders hadn't forgotten Taylor's attributes, and his positive use of them earned us a hard-fought three points.

Swindon Podcast

The Swindon podcast is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Dean Saunders, Wes Baynes, Gareth Taylor and Swindon skipper Gordon Greer.

Will Gareth Taylor Suffer From Robbie Keane Syndrome?

The cup tie tomorrow will, no doubt, see Dean Saunders fall back on his most experienced and reliable performers, and there can be no doubt that Gareth Taylor falls into that category.

Yet the Kidderminster game posed an interesting question. Look back at last Sunday: Robbie Keane is a fine player and has been a regular for Spurs, but things haven't properly gelled up front for them despite their abundance of attacking options. Last Sunday Keane was rested and suddenly they clicked, Peter Crouch getting two and Jermaine Defoe hit five! Selecting a football team is about finding a blend, not picking your best players.

Central to Saunders' plans, Taylor has delivered and is not just our top scorer, he's our only scorer. Strong, willing and the one playerwe've got who you'd fancy to take a chance on the rare occasion one presents itself.

Yet Tuesday's game posed a vexing question; are we better when he isn't playing?

It seems a ludicrous question on the face of it; after all, without his goals we'd probably be in the bottom four.It's horrendous how reliant on one player's goals we are.

Yet the Kidderminster game, which Taylor missed with a knee injury, was an eye-opener. Okay, neither of the strikers who replaced Taylor have scored this season, a worrying state of affairs when you're virtually in December.

However, it was most fluent attacking performance for some time. Admittedly neither Marc Williams nor Adrian Cieslewicz were particularly clinical in front of goal, but their enthusiasm caused all sorts of problems and their movement meant suddenly we started playing football!

Saunders knows he has an issue of balance to resolve in his team; Christian Smith and Andy Fleming are both having good seasons, but neither of them have really offered much creativity. We look very solid with them protecting the back four, but we don't pass the ball through midfield quickly or penetratively. Until Tuesday. With Williams dropping off and Cieslewicz looking for balls to chase, suddenly we looked creative, rather than desperately hoofing the ball to Taylor.

So what happens tomorrow? Taylor will start, and I'm not saying that's wrong, as he's been crucial for us this season. But who makes way, and will we be hankering back to Tuesday as the game wears on?

Histon Podcast

The Histon podcast is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Dean Saunders, Frank Sinclair, Mike Williams, Marc Williams and Gareth Taylor.

Lowestoft Podcast

The Lowestoft podcast is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Dean Saunders, Gareth Taylor, Neil Taylor and Ade Gallagher.

Chester Podcast

The Chester podcast is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Dean Saunders, Chris Maxwell, Silvio Spann and Gareth Taylor.

Eastbourne Podcast

The Eastbourne podcast is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk/page8204.html featuring Dean Saunders, Gareth Taylor and Garry Wilson.

Drewe Love!

Drewe Broughton is eager to see his two old sides, Wrexham and Chester, return swiftly to The Football League, and I half agree with him!!

Of course Broughton's record of playing in teams that get relegated is well known. yet he manages to do exactly what we aspire to: he consistently remains in the Football League.

I was about to suggest he splits Wrexham fans' opinions, but realised I'd be lying; it seems most people didn't like him much. Yet is that fair? He's certainly a more steady character than Jeff Louis; you might shoot back that Louis scores more goals, but who wanted to retain him at the end of the season?

By way of contrast, there are plenty of Football League managers willing to employ Broughton. This might not be the most widely-held notion, but I reckon we'd have been better off if we'd held onto Broughton. And he's six years younger than Gareth Taylor!

You Win Nothing With Kids

I suppose there's no point in speculating on the quality of new signings when we haven't seen them play for ages, but since when did that stop anybody?

Gareth Taylor was certainly an effective player a few years ago. One might argue that he was an effective player last season as he started a third of Doncaster's games in the Championship. One might also argue the opposite as he only scored one goal in them.

I've always had a prediliction for fielding a big bloke up front, as insurance against an inability to pass the ball around, and it might be that Taylor will be a bit too canny for Conference defences. On the other hand, he's thirty-six, and Saunders' penchant for signing aging strikers has hardly been a roaring success thus far, Suffo and Jansen failing for different reasons to help our promotion push.

Frankly, I never feel too comfortable when we sign a guy who ticks the same box as me when asked his age on an application form!