Oxford Podcast

The Oxford podcast is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Brian Little and Steve Evans.

Fixture Delight!

There might not be a game on Saturday, but does this weekend marks a watershed in our season already? I'm not being daft; I know nothing is decided at this point of the season, and the drive back to Rushden reminded me to be cautious. You can't listen to a procession of twits on radio phone-ins handing the title to Chelsea and writing Manchester United off after one game without being reminded that nothing is won in August. However, I do think we're already reached a key juncture in our season.

I heard something bizarre the other week; the Conference fixtures are not compiled by computer, but by one person! Apart from the terrific waste of time and effort, the thing that struck me was how open to accusations of favouritism the Conference is. When I read our opening four fixtures, I wondered if we'd done anything to offend the fixtures man! Four genuine promotion contenders were lined up to test our credentials just as Brian Little was looking to bed down a brand new line-up; it looked like just the sort of test a club which, as Little admitted last season, was used to defeat, didn't need.

However, we're through them now and, on paper at least, have a few games which look rather more winnable. If we're to kick on and establish ourselves at the top end of the table this is where we'll do it, I feel. We've got to learn to bully the small teams, frankly. Getting into a winning habit is something we haven't experienced for a few years, but we'll get a chance to do exactly that now.

The most lop-sided element of our fixtures is our home programme, though. We have a tough run at home until mid-October; our first seven home games are all against sides who start the season looking to be part of the promotion race. After that things change dramatically. In fact, the visit of Cambridge in January is the only visit by one of the sides considered to be contenders at the start of the season.

Dai Davies said in The Leader's season preview that he felt home form would be the key to our success this season, and he's right. The geographic isolation which will make following the side something of an expedition also offers us an opportunity to establish The Racecourse as a fortress. Already a trip to North Wales seems to be a big deal for most of the other Conference sides. We're viewed as a big club, and a trip to an international venue, the second biggest in the history of the Conference after Carlilse's Brunton Park, is a big deal for them. It's our job to make coming here feel like an ordeal rather than a big day out! I enjoyed reading the Tony Adams' version of Arsenal's defeat to us in his autobiography, as it made Wrexham sound like some grim, isolated outpost in the back of beyond whose inhabitants strike fear into careless travellers who accidentally wander into their territory.

I don't know if he watches “The League of Gentlemen”, but his description of Wrexham made Royston Vesey, the macabre, grotesque outpost which proclaims “You'll Never Leave” on the signpost welcoming you into the town, sound pretty tame. And that's fine by me! If teams are scared of coming to North Wales, if they see us as unwelcoming types who'll send them home with their tails between their legs, if that helps us to ruthlessly take full points off a succession of opponents, then that's fine by me!

The Lowdown on Jeff Louis

A new Dragon Talk is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk, featuring the inside story on Jeff Louis.

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.

Rushden Podcast

The Rushden podcast is now available at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Brian Little and Tom Kearney.

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.

Borough Better Than You Think

No Wrexham fan expects us to swan into the Conference and sweep everything before us-two years of awful football have taught us not to have grand aspirations! Ironically, the 5-0 beating of the pre-season title favourites last Saturday has only reinforced that sense of respect for the Blue Square Premier.

Stevenage might have defended poorly, but their approach play was superior to virtually anything we saw in League Two last season. Their commitment to keeping the ball on the floor was admirable, although it was costly when their defenders tried to pass from the back and were pressed by an ernergetic Wrexham side which had done its homework well.

Perhaps the only area in which Borough compared poorly to Football League sides was their finishing. Despite splashing out on some established Conference strikers, they were wasteful in front of goal. Opponents last season would have punished us given the number of opportunites Borough created.

Still, their ability to move the ball around was impressive. If that's the standard we'll face this season we'll see a lot more quality football at The Racecourse over the next nine months.

Stevenage Podcast

The Stevenage podcast is now up at http://www.wrexhamfan.co.uk/ featuring Brian Little, Sam Aiston, Gavin Ward and Graham Westley.

Stevenage Vlog

Stevenage Vlog
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Rich and Mark reflect on an incredible opening day of the season

Gazzetta Dello Wrexham 21st July 2008

Gazzetta Dello Wrexham 21st July 2008
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Another look at the Conference papers

Blackpool podcast

The Supporters Association podcast is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Brian Little, Michael Proctor and Jefferson Louis. Apologies for the sound quality at the start of the Brian Little audio-for the first time he was out straight after the game and once I'd packed the stuff up and got down there he was finished so I had to record him off a dictaphone!

Wolves Podcast

Go to http://www.wrexhamfan.co.uk/ for the latest Supporters Association podcast, featuring Brian Little and Mick McCarthy.

Gazetta Dello Wrexham 1

Gazetta050708
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Take a trawl through the footy papers for all matters Wrexham!

A New Hope?

So Brett Sancho is on trial with us-the man whose main claim is having his dreadlocks yanked by Peter Crouch in the last World Cup! This article in "When Saturday Comes" gives us a persective on him from last November.

Doesn't sound too promising!