York Podcast

The York City podcast is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Dean Saunders, Sam Russell, Martin Foyle and Levi Mackin.

Pejic Takes Wembley!

Well, having got myself excited earlier this season about the thought of Wrexham getting to Wembley in the F.A. Trophy, I wasn't about to deny myself the experience, so my lad and I went to Wembley yesterday to see what we missed out on. And we missed out on something great!

The F.A. Trophy Final. the non-league showpiece, is a real day out for both sides and anyone else who has more than a passing acquaintance with them-how else can you explain 27,000 fans turning out to watch two sides whose combined attendance is more like 4,000?

It also accounted for the high volume of day-trippers in the crowd and, without wanting to sound like I'm being critical because the atmosphere was fantastic, there was a sense of being in the midst of people enjoying a good day out as much as the football-the sense of tension was diluted and at one point my view of a dangerous cross into the goalmouth was obscured by the man in front of me jumping up to wave to a friend who'd just phoned him!

But it would be churlish to focus on that. The atmosphere was great, the game entertaining, and the York Ultras made it feel like an occasion, setting smoke bombs off and admirably still jumping around behind the goal immediately after Stevenage had opened the scoring.

Of course, of particular interest to me was the large contingent of York players with links to Wrexham. There was no sign of Christian Smith, Adam Smith or Simon Brown, but three familiar faces were in the starting eleven.

Mike Ingham, in goal, had a solid game, making one particularly sharp save and having no chance with either of Borough's goals while Levi Mackin worked hard and economically in midfield, not managing to turn the game in City's favour but looking tidy enough. The star performance came from Pejic though.

When I saw he was starting at left back I assumed it was yet another example of Martin Foyle's genius! However, he looked rather good. He got forward well-in fact he was unlucky to put a twenty-five yarder wide on one of his surprisingly confident forays forward on his wrong flank and linked well with Adam Boyes, York's impressive 18-year-old prodigy who has spent part of this season on trial at Old Trafford.

Furthermore, defensively he did well, making a crucial clearance off the line and meeting plenty of crosses into the York area. You know what I'm going to say next-are all the defenders we're left with at the moment better than Pej?

The over-riding feeling was that I'd had a great day out at Wembley-next season I want another one, with Wrexham!

Wrexham Reserves Part Two!

I wrote a few months ago about how Rhyl has become a refuge for ex-Wrexham players, and now another colony of former Dragons has appeared! Just as the North Wales coast became a welcoming home for Brian Little's cast-offs, so York is a safe haven for those surplus to Dean Saunders' requirements.
Martin Foyle has loaned Kyle Critchell, Simon Brown and Levi Mackin, while Shaun Pejic and Christian Smith went there for free. That's six players we've had at The Racecourse this season if you throw in Adam Smith. Smith's a rare beast, a player Brian Little took on trial and then didn't sign! He wasn't hard to impress!
I'm not surprised that Pejic, Critchell and Mackin have all made a positive impact up there, while the jury was out on the likes of Brown and both Smiths.
Pejic was City's outstanding player on his debut last Saturday, Mackin has settled after a shaky start to establish himself as a solid defensive midfielder. while Critchell, at right back, has impressed, also looking solid when filling in as a central defender.
It'll be interesting to see what Saunders intends for Mackin and Critchell. Saunders has already spoken positively of Mackin's attitude, explaining that he feels he is capable of getting more out of him, and I'd like to see if he can.
Critchell's only played twice for us, so ironically York's fans have a much better idea of what he's capable of than we do! He looked good on his Wrexham debut, but the fact that he was allowed to go out on loan and hasn't been recalled despite the fact that we've only fielded a specialist right back in one of our last fifteen games suggests Saunders might not see a future for him here.
I assume Brown has been farmed out with a view to a permanent move, especially as this is his second loan of the season and he hardly set The Racecourse alight. However, I'm told he offers York nothing they haven't already got, so we may see him again.
It's fascinating, and something of a relief for a club eager to reduce its squad, that Foyle has decided to hold a Colliers Park reunion, but it casts some doubt on his judgement. He and Little put together a mid-table Conference side, Saunders dismantled it and put together something a lot better, yet he has decided to reassemble it rather than learn from his mistakes.
Foyle argues that, given a short amount of time to reshape his side, and with his priority to create a side capable of avoiding a relegation scrap, the sensible thing to do is fall back on players he knows. Saunders' success having inherited a similar situation suggests Foyle has set his sights rather low, and if I were a York fan I'd feel a little short-changed. Little's policy of bringing in players he knew was hardly a roaring success, and now Foyle is repeating it. Which is fine by me!

Torquay Podcast

The Torquay podcast, featuring Martin Foyle, Simon Brown, Marc Williams and Levi Mackin is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk

Grays Podcast

The Grays podcast is now up at http://www.wrexhamfan.co.uk/ featuring Brian Little and Levi Mackin

Is Mackin the Key Man?

There don't seem to be many people eager to advocate Levi Mackin's virtues, but the performance against Rushden made me wonder whether he isn't a very important part of the side. After all, Tom Kearney was a lot more effective than he was against York, when Christian Smith didn't cover the same amount of ground in support of him.

Perhaps Mackin, who was full of beans at Nene Park, is more importnat to the balance of the team than people give him credit for. I certainly hope he can take confidence from what happened on Sunday and make a good fist of this opportunity.

Poor Old Levi!

I know fans are divided over the merits of Levi mackin, but no matter which side of the fence you sit on over that particaular debate, surely you've got to feel sorry for the guy? Not for the first time, a chance to establish himself in the side has met with frustration.

Brian Little summed up his red card against Stevenage perfectly; it was probably the wrong decision, but Levi was rash to take that risk. Sliding in from behind is daft when you're on a yellow card already, especially considering it was the first day of the season when officials look to establish a disciplinary benchmark and the ref had already shown himself to be erratic, to put it kindly! However, he did seem to play the ball, and there doesn't seem to be much doubt that his intention was undoubtedly to do so.

However, the red card was shown, and Mackin suffers an abortive start to his season. Again.

This looked like his best chance of establishing himself as a regular in the side at last, as for four years he's been on the fringes without quite getting a foothald in the first eleven.

He had a run of seven late substitute appearances at the start of the 2005-6 season but never quite made the breakthrough into the starting line-up and faded away, despite establishing himself that season as an all-action captain of the reserves.

A similar scenario played itself out the following season, but last year it looked like a corner had been turned. He was a beneficiary of a strange team selection, but ironically his big chance was also thwarted in the same manner. Brian Carey rested most of his first team for a League Cup first round game at Port Vale and was rewarded with one of the few good performances of the season. We drew with our higher division opponents, winning on penalties, and even Richard Hope looked good! Perhaps the most notable performance came from Mackin, who bossed midfield and was rewarded with a run of starts in the team in which he showed off his key attributes of energy and tenacity to good effect and looked like he might finally be approaching that moment every pro encounters where he proves his worth or perishes.

Sadly, his cause wasn't helped by a second quixotic team selection. The reward for beating Vale was a home tie with Premiership Aston Villa, and the decision to once more rest key players was to have far-reaching, catastrophic consequences. We were hammered 5-0, the first of five consecutive defeats which, for me, triggered our dismal collapse to Conference. It was a silly, self-inflicted wound and it hurt Mackin badly.

He had established a robust partnership with Danny Williams, but Carey left the senior partner out, replacing him with Conall Murtagh. Now I rate Murtagh highly, but pairing two young lads in the centre of the park against a rampant Nigel Reo-Coker did neither of them any favours, not least because Murtagh had spent the afternoon in an exam and travelled to the game by train believing he would be a spectator! The damage to Mackin was catastrophic. His confidence looked battered and although he started the following Saturday he looked poor and was replaced with a quarter of the game left. Inevitably he lost his place in the side; after one more appearance on New Year's Day he was shipped off on loan to Droylesden.

Brian Little seems to be taken by Mackin though. Whether he gave him a few starts at the end of last season because he saw smoething in him or because he needed to establish whether he should be released we'll never know, but the manager was certainly pleased with how Mackin responded. And so, for the first time, he was in the starting line-up for the opening game of the season, but once more he was thwarted in his hopes of becoming a regular by suspension. Like Little, I've started to what Mackin can offer the side; I hope he can overcome this set-back, and start avoiding the accidents that seem to little his progress.

Special Dragon Talk Podcast From The Relegation Party

There's a special edition of Dragon Talk up at http://www.wrexhamfan.co.uk/ to commemorate our farewell to the Football League at Lincoln, looking to the future and enjoying the extraordinary relegation party.

It features interviews with Carl Tremarco, Levi Mackin, Geraint Parry, Bananaman, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, a cow and a bloke in a tutu. Also, there's a chance to relish the magic of Wes!

Lincoln Podcast

The Supporters Association podcast is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Brian Little, Carl Tremarco and Levi Mackin.

Grimsby Town 1 Wrexham 0

Click here for the podcast.

Big Spender

Brian Little would be entitled to ask his defenders what U.E.F.A. coaching courses call "The Carpenters Question", namely "why do butterflies suddenly appear every time the ball's near?"
While there are clearly problems all over the pitch, there's a pressing need to address defensive matters: no team leaks goals regularly and gets results. Our defence is made up of players who have achieved plenty at this level of the game; not only do we have a current international, a member of the Wales squad from last season and the current player with the most appearances for us to choose from, but we also have the captain of a side that got into the play-offs last May. Clearly the issue is a matter of confidence, not experience or ability.
So how can this be sorted? New blood's the obvious answer, but there are possible solutions in the existing squad which might make a difference.
The most attractive one's off the agenda for a while, sadly. Danny Williams plays with authority and heart, and though I prefer him in the centre of the pitch under normal circumstances, there are anything but normal circumstances! Surely he'd make a difference at the back with a bit of no-nonsense defending, but that's not going to happen any time soon.
I'm loathe to see Mike Williams or Gareth Evans throw in with the instruction to save our season, as I think that would be asking too much of either youngster, but another neglected defender at our disposal might be able to make an impact.
Remember that the back four which held firm at the end of last season and dug up out of trouble was Spender, Pejic, Evans and Valentine. Simon Spender has only featured under Brian Little as a late substitute in his first game in charge, and he deserves the chance to show what he can do. After all, you'll never complain about a lack of fight from the full back, and spirit seems to be the attribute we need at the back these days.
Spender's tenacious, enthusiastic and able to get up and down the line too. I accept he has his limitations, but who doesn't in League Two? More importantly, he has not been part of the huge loss of confidence we've suffered of late. When the first team squad is struggling with a collective fear of failure, what better point to throw in a player who is champing at the bit to get back on the pitch and show what he can do?
Mike Carvill's another player who might be given more of a whirl too. He certainly isn't tainted by failure, having had little chance to impress this season. Where his best position is in this circumstance is a problem; when we're unable to get proper service to the strikers another little attacking player is in danger of being by-passed. However, he clearly has the scrap in him to compete, plus pace and a neat turn of foot. At the very least it's worth having him on the bench, from where he made a couple of decent little vignettes at the start of the season.
Likewise, when Conall Murtagh is fit he is worth giving a go to. The midfield has hardly covered itself with glory this season, and while his premature exposure to Nigel Reo-Coker against Aston Villa and subsequent injury have left him looking like The Racecourse's forgotten man, anyone who saw his contribution to the victory at Port Vale, not just in terms of his performance, but also the coolest debut penalty you could hope to see, will have had their appetities whetted.
Oops, did I say “ The Racecourse's forgotten man”? Don't even get me started on Levi Mackin!

What About Mackin?

So we're to have another central midfielder for Sunday apparently. Danny Williams and Mark Jones are injured, Andy Fleming, Matt Crowell and Conall Murtagh are not match fit so we need reinforcements.

Fair enough, but what about Levi Mackin? He had a good run in the team at the start of the season and looked good until he was swamped during the Aston Villa fiasco. And now, apparently, he's persona non grata. Bet he feels great.

Carey The Genius

Brian Carey was right to urge caution after the fine victory at Port Vale on Tuesday; after all, one swallow doesn't make a Summer, and smashing Sheffield Wednesday at the same stage last season hardly led to great things did it? But it was great wasn't it?

The greatest delight of it was its unexpected nature. It looked a tough task anyway, but when I saw that Carey had picked Michael Jones in goal and Levi Mackin in midfield it was clear where his priorities lie. Or so I thought.

Both youngsters have been rotting in the reserves over the last season and were in need of a boost, but giving them one by throwing them into an away tie against a higher division team looked like putting their interests ahead of the team. They emphatically proved that to not be the case.

The important thing with Jones is to remember how young he is-just nineteen. Goalkeepers are generally thought to mature in their thirties, so he's still over ten years off his peak! In 2020 he should be pretty tasty! However, goalkeeping is about confidence, and nurturing young keepers requires careful consideration for the damage a bad experience can inflict. Remember how a traumatic experience at Peterborough destroyed Paul Whitfield? It came hot on the heels of an LDV tie at Stockport in which he conceded five goals, and we never saw him again. Jones let in five at Edgeley Park last season as well, and his other appearance was in the shock defeat at Newport, so his selection could have backfired. However, it emphatically didn't; two superb second half saves marked a flawless performance, and Jones took a major step forward in the maturing process.

Mackin is also an interesting case. It's four seasons now since he made his debut, and a lot of fans feel that he hasn't kicked on from a promising start. This season might well be make-or-break for him, and rotting in the reserves is hardly a recipe for success. However, Tuesday showed that this might just be his year! He was energetic and, after looking a bit tentative in the first half, really grew into the match. His passing got crisper and he started getting his head up and playing ambitious balls over the top to the nippy forwards who turned the game in our favour.

It's a question of confidence with Mackin, I suspect. Sometimes when a young lad is new to the scene it's hard to push himself forwards and take a leading role. As the tie wore on, Mackin did exactly that, and in doing so finally established himself as a serious option for Carey.

All credit to Carey for seeing that. Obviously a manager gets to see more than us. Sometimes fans get frustrated when a player is persevered with despite a lack of success in the first team, but remember that the coaching staff will get the full picture on them. Performances in training and the reserves might mark a player out as having something which those who just watch the first team haven't seen. On the other hand, you might argue that if a player doesn't deliver in the first team, then there's no point in waiting for it to happen. I remember a lad I played with who, in training, was one of the most gifted players in a strong side. However, in matches he went to pieces and the creative flair he undoubtedly had was completely obscured. Eventually giving him games in all sorts of outlandish positions in the hope that he would settle, he was reluctantly jettisoned. Thankfully, Mackin responded the other way, and as a result has just given his career a huge boost, and Brian Carey an extra option.