Saunders to Hereford?

This one has flown under the radar, hasn't it? Saunders on his way to Hereford? Unlikely, but it's out there, so let's investigate!

My immediate reaction's that the story's unlikely. What, after all, has Saunders done to attract a Football League club?

However, should he turn us around and turn us into a side capable of challenging for promotion he could become an attractive proposition; after all, his name is still worth something in the game, as the interest the likes of Derby County and Nottingham Forest supposedly showed after his brief, bright start suggests.

Saunders is no fool; he sells himself extremely well. He has used this talent, plus his name, to attract players like Joe Allen and Andy Crofts to The Racecourse when they appeared to be out of our reach. A bit of success and he'll be able to present himself as a big name who has turned a club around.

And don't over-estimate the average club owner. No matter how shrewd a business head they might have outside the game, there are plenty who'd be thrilled with the thought of appointing an ex-Liverpool star, once the most expensive player in the UK, and lording it over him.

However, Saunders hasn't reached that point yet; we're at a low point, and his immediate concern is that he gets off to a strong start in order to ensure his job security isn't compromised. It would take a seriously star-struck CEO to appoint him in a higher division, I'd suggest. He hardly has a record of making the most out of limited resources either, and surely that's a key consideration at Edgar Street these days?

The problem with such stories is it's impossible to know where it began. Is its source a well-informed insider? A reporter with an inside line? Or a speculatory piece like this, which appeared last week, predating the South Wales Argus story?

The interesting part of it is the confirmed fact that United are speaking to a Conference manager. Is that supposed to be Dean Holdsworth, who signed a new contract today, or someone else, because the list of possibilities is short. Surely managers are the larger clubs, like Luton, would see Hereford as a backward step; although in a higher division they are surely a smaller club. Managers of the smaller clubs might seem to be unattractive gamble. Saunders, however, could see them as a way out of a job which has certainly not been as easy as he'd hoped when he arrived.

Not that the poll at the bottom of this page suggests Saunders' exploits with us have filled Bulls' fans with enthusiasm!

Done Gone

I'm not going to pretend I wasn't disappointed that Matty Done didn't sign a new contract for us, although it wasn't much of a surprise bearing in mind the time the decision was taking and a crytpic comment from Brian Little last week which implied he wasn't holding his breath over a deal. I think he could have been a real force in The Conference with his pace and direct approach.

However, there is another side to the argument and, though I'm not totally convinced by it, I'm going to trot it out, if only to try to convince myself that this isn't as bad a blow as it's starting to feel. Done hasn't scored since we knocked Sheffield Wednesday out of the League Cup at the start of the 2006-7 season, and hasn't had all that many assists since then either. His pace and the width he offers can really stretch a side; I particularly recall his impact as a sub in a number of games, particularly in the win at Bristol Rovers when Brian Carey's side battled their way to safety. However, the bald stats tend to suggest there wasn't enough end product from him. He's still young and will surely improve on this, but maybe we shoudl draw small consolation from the fact that Little might be able to bring in a more finished article for next season.

It all puts his effereverscent early impact at Hereford at the end of last season into a different context though, doesn't it?

The Supporters Association podcast is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Brian Little, Graham Turner, Mike Williams, Michael Proctor, Wes Baynes, Shaun Pejic and Mel Pejic.

If The Kids Are United

Was beating Notts County the start of something amazing or just a cruel, teasing moment of hope before the inevitable? Committed as I am to the club, and desperate as I am for something to turn up, in the cold light of day I have to admit it was the latter.
The commitment that the young lads showed, the energy they threw into the cause, might have embarrassed some of the more senior players who were overlooked yesterday, and made Brian Little's revelation that he pondered making a similar change after the Barnet game rather poignant. If he had done so would the team that beat Notts County have got any fewer points in the subsequent matches? I suspect not.
Having said that, we mustn't get carried away. County are trying to avoid the drop themselves, so it was hardly a win against testing opposition, and we created little until after the goal, when they were over-committing and Danny and Conall were bringing a freshness to the centre of the pitch.
However, Brian Little was right to signal an element of caution for Tuesday's game. The impetuousness of youth-seven of the starting line-up plus one of the subs used are eligible for our young player of the year award-if a promotion-chasing side hit us hard early on then it'll be hard to recover.
On the other hand, as Neil Roberts suggested afterwards, the only way to find out if the kids can withstand such a test is to pitch them in and see!
Anyway, we can't go down on Tuesday, so we live to fight another Saturday. Another chance for the South Wales media to swarm over us like vultures, ready to record our demise! I'm surprised the season will still be alive with only eight days of it left; wouldn't it be great if a miracle happened at Edgar Street and we really had something to go for?
Don't hold your breath though!