Time To Savour A Rapidly-Maturing Cheese

Adrian Cieslewicz has only started our last two games this season yet he looks as likely a catalyst for a push into the play-offs as we've got. Whether that illustrates that you have to be patient as young players develops, or just shows how desperate we are for a bit of attacking spark is a moot point.

There's no doubt that the pace of Cieslewicz got us off our seats against Kidderminster and Altrincham. He's always possessed that attribute, of course, but seems to be more able to utilise it effectively now.

A number of fans at the end of last season were sceptical as to whether he'd ever do that, but I feel that in thinking that they forgot that he was still very young. After all, he was just seventeen when he signed for us, although his lively form in pre-season friendlies after his arrival probably built up too much expectation too soon. As a result he was straight into the first team, and when he struggled to replicate that form he dropped out of contention and many began to draw negative conclusions about his potential.

That was unfair. Admittedly, he still might not fulfil his potential. Plenty of pacy youngsters are exposed when, once their formative years are passed, it becomes apparent that speed is all they've got. Perhaps that will be the case with Cieslewicz, but I hope not. So far this season, in his substitute appearances as well as his recent starts, he has shown that there's starting to be a bit more end product to his thrilling runs. For evidence, have a look at how well he took play from the defensive to attacking phases in my tactical video review of the Kidderminster match.

He showed signs of doing so in those pre-season matches the Summer before last; his danger lay not solely in his pace but in the way he and Marc Williams dove-tailed neatly, their movement creating space for each other. In those games Cieslewicz was used as a right winger, while Williams was a striker, but they have a history of combined successfully in other positions too; by some distance Cieslewicz's best performance of last season came when he and Williams were paired up front against Kidderminster.

As one might argue that his other outstanding performance for us came in the F.A. Trophy tie against Kidderminster last month (poor old Kiddy-he must have something against them!) when he and Williams were each given their first starts of the season, there seems to be a pattern forming. There's every chance, having seen how drained both Gareth Taylor and Andy Morrell looked yesterday, that a Williams and Cieslewicz will start up front against Bath, with Mathias Pogba the third man up front. Could it be that the Williams-Cieslewicz double act will give Saunders something to chew over before he dives into the transfer market?

Bowing to the Inevitable

link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5Cmark%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml">

Waiting to see if Marc Williams gets a new contract is a bit like waiting to see if Audley Harrison beats David Haye at the weekend. It ain’t gonna happen (If Harrison wins, expect to see an edited version of this opening paragraph on Sunday morning!)

I’m very sad to have to face up to the fact that Williams’ Wrexham career is over, but frankly I’ve been having to do that for the last few months. When Dean Saunders says he hasn’t made his mind up yet, he’s just delaying the inevitable, and quite rightly as a player should be told about their future face-to-face, not through the media. However, I’m sure Williams has worked out the lay of the land already.

I’m very sad about all this. Williams is a player of potential, who took the Conference by storm when he was last fit, two seasons ago. Let’s not forget that, if he hadn’t picked up that freak injury against Salisbury, he might have ended the season as top scorer in the division and we might have had a shot at going up. Isn’t it incredible how things can turn on such narrow margins and moments of fate?

Williams is still young and has potential. I know managers are paid to make tough decisions, and fully understand that Saunders is in a difficult position. He’s seen how it went when successive Wrexham bosses kept faith in another local boy, Mark Jones, in the hope he’d rediscover his form, and he wants to free some money up to spend on the wages of new players in the January transfer window. Adrian Cieslewicz’s new contract, which the young Pole deserves, means he has to look elsewhere for someone to remove from the wage bill. That means Williams.

However, I’m not totally sure I understand the logic behind keeping Williams, or for that matter Wes Baynes, on in the Summer bearing in mind what has transpired since. Neither have even been on the bench, and Mathias Pogba has overtaken both of them. If they weren’t going to be in contention, maybe that money their release will free up should have been available from the start of the season?

I’ll be very sorry to see Williams go; an articulate footballer with a lot more to give and an excellent attitude to the game is always going to be a loss. I wouldn’t be surprised if he flourishes somewhere else, and I richly hope that he does. Waiting for his inevitable departure’s been like waiting for Jack Duckworth to die though; once we knew it was bound to happen, it’s a relief to get it out of the way. Sadly, I’m sure Marc will reluctantly feel the same.

Beware of the Pog

A good judge, certainly someone whose considered view of football I respect, delivered a damning verdict on Mathias Pogba to me after the Southport game.

It interested me because I tend towards the considered end of the spectrum, reserving judgement until I'm pretty sure of my conclusion (and then changing my mind soon after!) I'm inclined to wait until I've seen Pogba start a few games before delivering any sort of verdict, and I've been fairly encouraged by the fact that he does tend to have some sort of impact after he comes on as a substitute. However, I can't help wondering when I'm going to get that opportunity without driving out of town to watch the reserves.

Admittedly, Pogba's a cheap option. Still, if he was going to be given a chance to start, wasn't the Southport game the best chance we'll get? After all, two of our front three are getting on a bit; what a chance to give them a rest and see what the lad could do!

After the game Saunders said he'd be looking to bring in a new striker. Fair enough, but what an indictment on Pogba and Adrian Cieslewicz (whose ratio of goals to chances stands at 100% this season by the way, although he could hardly have missed the one opportunity he had, of course! I reckon Saunders missed a trick by not giving Cieslewicz a go on Saturday too, by the way. After all, he was absolutely buzzing at Hayes after his goal.)

If neither of them are going to be given a chance to show what they can do, what role do they play for us this season? Permanent impact subs? Pogba certainly did make an impact off the bench at Histon, and afterwards Saunders pointed out the loss through injury of Cieslewicz for that match, implying he saw him as an important part of his lans. But are they trapped in a catch 22 situation; the more they do well off the bench, the more likely they are to stay there?