The North-South Divide

There are sea changes afoot in the Blue Square Premier which are not only important in terms of the quality of our opponents next season, but will certainly make a difference to travelling fans’ pockets.

A gradual geographic shift has accelerated this year, and the division looks more northern than ever. Of the six sides which have left the division only one is northern, albeit a convenient neighbour in Chester. Of the other five, four are from the south-eastern heartland of the Conference Premier in Grays, Ebbsfleet, Stevenage and Oxford, Forest Green being the others. If, as many predict, they are reprieved by Salisbury dropping out, our petrol bills will be slashed even further.

Despite any understandable sympathy we might feel for York City, with Mike Ingham, Levi Mackin and Martin Foyle in their ranks, it was undoubtedly a good thing for us that they lost in the play-off final, and not only because a weekend in York’s an attractive prospect.

Oxford are one of the powerhouses of the Conference, a club which has marshalled its resources and used its size and earning potential to create a side capable of bullying the division. With Luton cottoning on under Richard Money in the latter half of the season, a York win would have left the prospect of next season turning into a two-horse race, with The Hatters and The Us pulling away from the rest of us. York have done well, but they aren’t likely to dominate the division like that.

The other impact on the Conference is the number of basket cases dropping out of the Football League. Hard as it might be to believe, we’re one of the more stable set-ups to drop into the Conference, as the financial backing the club gave Brian Little and Dean Saunders in our attempt to bounce back up showed. Contrast that with Chester, who failed to last the season, or Darlington, who come down with all sorts of endemic problems accumulated over the years.

The process of churning up the sediment of the Conference, as healthy clubs like Stevenage are replaced by diseased ones dropping off the backside of the Football League, must surely be a good thing for us. With plenty of small clubs who aren’t really equipped to sustain a promotion push to add to those who are limping down to our level, there should be only so many clubs capable of compiling a side capable of going for promotion. That ought to be in our favour, as long as we can get organised ourselves!

Luton Podcast

The Luton podcast is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Dean Saunders, Curtis Obeng and Marc Williams.

Is a settled side a good thing?

So far this season Dean Saunders has used 20 players to start our 7 Blue Square matches with only Mansour Assoumani and Mark Jones being ever present. Hedi Taboubi and Gareth Taylor have started six each, so is it a good or a bad thing to keep chopping and changing the side?

The old phrase of never change a winning side comes to mind so what are the teams at the top and bottom of the table doing? Top of the table Oxford have 4 ever presents and 3 who have missed one game so 64% of their team has been relatively settled. They have used 17 players so far though. Chester at the bottom have only played 5 matches so far but they have 7 ever presents. Some other sample teams Cambridge have 8 ever presents and sit in 8th position having used 14 players whilst Mansfield have 7 ever presents and 3 who have played in 6. The Stags have also only used 14 players so far this season and sit in second place in the table. Rushden, in 15th position, have used 17 with 3 ever presents and 4 more having started six matches similar to Oxford.

Whilst there will never be a definitive answer to "tinker man" or settled side due to the nature of the game the evidence above seems to point to as long as the players are good enough and play a familiar system it doesn't matter how many you use. Wrexham so far this season from this sample have used the most players whilst Mansfield and Cambridge have used the least. Yet Oxford have used 17 players and Luton have used 18 of which 4 are ever present like the U's.

One thing is certain though fans like to see a winning team and managers are under pressure to deliver one. I still wonder whether Saunders yet knows his best side from his squad. Once he does my own view is that you play them together as often as possible but then I'm not a football coach!!


Steve