Has Saunders Cracked It!

Now here's a revisionist argument. Could it be that Dean Saunders is a tactical genius? It's a notion plenty would take issue with as Saunders has been scrutinized and criticized with relish by a lot of Wrexham fans, and I'm not going to be a hypocrite and pretend I've been a consistent advocate of his decision-making, although I hardly fall into the anti-Saunders camp either. However, it would take a churl to deny that he's put together a much better side than he did last season, and I'd go further to suggest he's been making a number of calls which have made the most of his resources. I'm not just referring to team selection; he has been sparing with his substitutions this season, but he has often made in-game changes which have altered the game's balance in our favour. There's greater coherence about the Wrexham side than we've enjoyed for a while. As we turned in erratic performances at the start of the season I consoled myself by thinking that once we gelled things would go our way. However, there was that nagging doubt in the back of my mind (call it my realistic side if you must!) that suggested things would never actually settle down, and we'd suffer another campaign like last season, when we spent nine months searching for the winning formula. However, the fact is that we have started to click. There's a balance to the side, and we need fear no-one in our division. Chris Blackburn, a player I admit I wasn't sure about, has settled very well in front of a back four which is starting to look robust. From that basis we can create through the likes of Dean Keates, whose presence at this level of football perplexes me more each passing game. Admittedly we still don't take our chances in front of goal as I'd like us to, but at least we're creating chances, which is a big change from last season. So yes, I feel kind of satisfied: confident even! It's an odd feeling, but I could get used to it!