Happy Ending for Neil Roberts, But Not Us

It seems Neil Roberts has called time on his playing career to take up an opportunity at Manchester City.

It's a brilliant opportunity for him, and naturally I wish him well. He's a fine man and will suit a role which appears to require decency and common sense as he's well-endowed with both qualities. His decision casts the ludicrous decision of Brian Little to release him into an even starker light, though.

Little called time on his career in the pyramid when there was plenty more for him to offer. I remember Roberts saying, as our relegation season drew to a conclusion, that he wanted to stay on and fight our cause in the Conference and I was delighted that, although we were likely to lose players, our best performer would make the drop with us. Incredibly, Little didn't see it that way.

There's no slight towards Rhyl ntended-I've developed a soft spot for them and it's good to see them making a strong start to the season when some of the players who took them to the title last year are gone. However, it would be interesting to see if Roberts would decide to stop playing if he received this offer while he was still playing for his hometown club.

We'll never know the answer, of course, although I can't deny that, as I look at a Wrexham midfield which is crying out for someone to take control in the centre of the pitch, I can't help wondering how things might have turned out if our player of the season hadn't been immediately jettisoned by a manager whose reasoning was, to put it mildly, flawed.

I can only wish Little's new club, Gainsborough Trinity, the best of luck. They'll need it!