Salisbury Podcast

The Salisbury podcast is now up at http://www.wrexhamfan.co.uk/ featuring Dean Saunders, Christian Smith and Sam Russell.

Holmes Sweet Holmes

Dean Saunders' post-match performances have come under ever-increasing scrutiny recently, as the BBC appear to have made a decision to pursue a more aggressive line with him.

It'll be interesting to see how he handles it if we don't win, and especially if we also manage to get hold of the Salisbury general manager, Nick Holmes.

It's a bit hit-and-miss whether we get anyone from the opposing team: the excellent work of David Roberts after the match (without him and Geraint Parry we'd be stuffed!) means we usually get the opposition's point of view. but sometimes the visiting team's media hijack their man and the rest of us are left high and dry. If he can deliver Holmes, we'll be able to compare his reaction to Saunders in tonight's podcast.

Salisbury's problems came to a sadly inevitable conclusion when they went into administration and were docked ten points. Thankfully, the side had made a strong opening to the campaign, meaning the penalty only dumped them to mid-table rather than consigning them alongside Chester City amongst the dead men.

That the team was able to absorb the punishment is down in no small part to the excellent work of Holmes and his first team coach, TommyWiddrington. The avuncular general manager is a class act in a profession packed with self-promoting bullies, cutting a gentlemanly air and rising above the infighting which characterises so many aspects of the game.

No doubt his sang froid came in handy when matters came to a head and the administrators came in, and he seems to have succeeded, along with Widdrington, in insulating the squad from the external problems to an extent.

I suppose that's why I view today's game with a certain trepidation; although that seems to be my default mode at the moment!

It's Not A Dead Match After All!

Hold on a second...we thought Weymouth were coming to The Racecourse with nothing to play for, but it turns out they might stay up after all! According to their new chairman Ian Ridley, there's talk that a team which has survived the battle against the drop might want to take a voluntary demotion, meaning the side in fourth bottom will stay up, so a win today and a defeat for Woking would save them.

There's a well-established precedent for this, of course, as Altrincham survived the last three seasons by virtue of the collapse of others sides, and teams do take voluntary demotions in non-league when they outstretch themselves, although it's a surprise to see it happen in the Premier-and an indication of the extent of our fall from grace that we might be in the same league as a team in those circumstances.

I assume-and it is just an assumption as this isn't a rumour I'd come across before-is that there's an 80% shot that it's Grays Athletic, whose chairman/owner/occasional manager/benefactor/dictator Mick Woodward is prone to sudden dramatic decisions. Otherwise, I guess Salisbury might think that way, unless I suspect not as they seem committed to keep going by running themselves within their means and seeing where it takes them.

If it is one of those, I have to point out that it means we've dropped points to a side which doesn't want to play at our level, which is a depressing thought. Mind you, we probably have if it isn't one of those too!

Salisbury Podcast

The Supporters Association's podcast is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Dean Saunders, John Curtis and Salisbiry boss Nick Holmes.

New Dragon Talk Podcast

There's another new Dragon Talk podcast up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk today, featuring a chat with a Salisbury fan ahead of Saturday's game and an interview with the head of youth development at Weymouth, whose young lads look like they'll have to play out the rest of the season-as long as Weymouth don't go under. He wrote a terrific, impassioned essay on the future of the club which is still on the front page of their club site and speaks with real emotion about the future of his club.

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

Funny game football. You spend three years depressed then pop down to Wiltshire and everything seems fine in the world. Bang and the hurt is gone! You might caution me to show a little more perspective, but since when was supporting a football team, especially Wrexham, about getting things into context?
Or am I wrong? Perhaps I should look at the bigger picture. We were all moping around about our poor away form last week, but haven't we lost just one of our last five away games? Didn't we score four in two of them? Aren't we in fifth place despite having four away games in our first six games? And despite coming up against some stiff opposition in those games: the pre-season title favourites (beaten 5-0), the pre-season second favourites (beaten 2-0), a side at the top of the table (beaten 4-1), a side which would go top if they beat us (1-1 away draw which we dominated). Perspective's not such a bad thing!
Perhaps the best thing though, is that we're actually watching a competitive Wrexham team. Forgive me for stating the blindingly obvious, but the last three years have been a bit tough haven't they? Watching Wrexham scratch around for enough points to survive was grim, but all of a sudden we are going into games thinking we can win them. Even if things don't pan out as we want them to at the end of the season, it's nice to have a campaign where we can actually enjoy the ride. At last we have hope (possibly that's linked in with the fact that we don't have Hope!)
Of course I cast envious glances at League Two, where history suggests we really ought to be. I feel particularly aggrieved when I look at the situation at the bottom of the table. With Luton, Bournemouth and Rotherham hobbled, there's no way anyone else will be going down, so it'll be a nice stress-free season for the genuine no-hopers in that division. For heaven's sake, even Chester won't be able to get themselves relegated!
Remember that season when we finished bottom of Division Four but stayed up because the league was being restructured? It gave Brian Flynn the chance to blood young lads with no great pressure, take the long view and plan for the future. And the result? The next season we beat Arsenal, the season after that we went up and were an established side in League One for most of the nineties. Happy days! If only Little could have been afforded that luxury.
Still, there's no point in focussing on what might have been. If my auntie had wheels she'd be a bus, as the Germans say (apparently!) Another handy way to build for the future is to drop down to a level where you can get promoted and create some forward momentum. Carlisle did it, Doncaster did, so let's see if we can emulate them.

Little Raises The Bar

So what's going on with our away form? It's a bit early to be concerned, but the contrast is pretty graphic: a hundred percent record at home, but we've claimed just twenty-two percent of the points available away from home, and we'll do well to improve that percentage at Salisbury! After all, they're going well and appear to be a higher grade, more extreme version of what Altrincham were; organised and physical.

And full time of course. Last Monday was our first taste of action against a part time side this season, and while I don't want to fall into the trap of claiming they're easy games, when you lay down the facts you can see why we were looking for a win.

Having played much of their 4-0 defeat just two days ago with ten men, they were not only in poor form, but would surely flag considering the fact that Wrexham had enjoyed two extra days recuperation time and their small squad was stretched to the limit by suspension and injury. After all, their aging but potent talisman, Colin Little, had gone into last Saturday's game carrying a knock and was withdrawn early in the second half having been totally ineffective.

But they stifled us without looking too stretched.

That's why Brian Little seemed more annoyed after the game than I've ever seen him at a press conference, and when you think of what his side did last season, you begin to realise that's a pretty dramatic statement. It would take a bit to ruffle Little's sang froid in front of the press, although he's entertainingly animated on the touchline-when Kyle Critchell squandered a good position halfway through the second half at Altrincham Little was bouncing-I thought he was going to turn himself inside out!

Still, the air of exasperation as Little explained that the players had been told to do the same to Alty as they did to Oxford was new to me, as was his singling out of three players as being adequate, while the thers had fallen short of what he consideredto be acceptable.

I think this is an encouraging sign. In his first season Denis Smith inherited a similar situation to Little; we were on a downward spiral and looked in danger sinking without trace. Neither man was able to turn things around and we were indeed relegated both times, but the demeanour of these two experienced managers offers a contrast.

Smith was memorably erascible in his first season. Mention is often made of the post-match tirade he launched at Exeter the following season, but it was an isolted display which helped is to go up-we didn't lose another game all season, no doubt because the players were terrified of provoking a similar dose of the hairdryer again! However, it seems to be forgotten that in his first season in charge he was often like that!

He'd often berate reporters for their questions (almost always the ones from the BBC, some of whom would put themselves in the firing line in a remarkably gauche manner), would complain about their time-keeping on occasion or even question who some of his questioners were! I recall one awesome tirade after a loss at Swindon which certainly had to be tidied up before it was printed in the Leader! I had to put a bleep in the Supporters Association's podcast for the first time this week when a word slipped inadvertantly from a player's lips, but if I'd been producing the podcast that night there'd have been more bleep than speech!

But Smith relaxed once the season was over. Little's approach seems the exact opposite. Perhaps he had to accept the inevitabl last season, especially as the season wore on, and he was able to put our demise in context. This season he's less happy to accept inadequacy, to explain on his players behalf that although their efforts were not good enough they did do their best. the implication at Altrincham was that merely doing their best is no longer good enough for him. He has compiled what he thinks is a strong side and he expects them to succeed. If that's the case, it's exactly what I want to hear!