Time to Say Goodbye

So the long-awaited retained list is out, and inevitably there are surprises and outgoing players that some of us will be sorry to see go.

Of course Saunders promised he's cut the squad back to the bone. Indeed, he said last Saturday that he'd have to release players he didn't want to let go.

Bearing that in mind, I have to add a qualifying statement before I go on to sympathise with certain released players: the fact is we couldn't keep the same squad as we were mediocre last year at best. Changes had to be made and you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs. As I've said all along, the need to break the squad up isn't disputed; the key is whether Saunders is going to recruit the right replacements. If six first team regulars are recrutied who make up the core of a good side next season, no one will look back to today with regret except those who have left.

Still, there are players I'll be sorry to see go, (and not just from a selfish point of view-Mike Williams, Spann, McCluskey and Jones are excellent post-match interviewees!)

Mike Williams is perhaps the man I feel particular sorrow for, He has never let us down and is a flexible defender. With two aging centre backs signed up for next season, one of whom has serious fitness and disciplinary problems, and Mani Assoumani unlikely to re-sign, I'd have thought he'd have been offered handy cover.

I don't suppose we can be totally shocked that Mark Jones is on the list, but that doesn't make me feel any less sorry about it. Apart from being Wrexham through-and-through, he had shown better form in the latter stages of the season and might have felt he'd done enough to earn another year. Certainly his performance at Hayes last season was as good as I'd seen from him this season. Admittedly there's perhaps an element of wishful thinking when I consider his departure; there's no doubt he has terrific talent, but I suppose I have to be hard-nosed and admit he's not going to recapture his form of four years ago.

Silvio Spann's lengthy, successful run at right back must surely have made him think a contract offer was inevitable: perhaps his lack of sustained form over the course of the last three years counted against him; probably his wages were the issue. And then there's the performance of Declan Walker on Saturday, which must surely have encouraged Saunders to believe that, with him and Kai Edwards on the books, he has adequate cover for Curtis Obeng.

I'm sad to see Wes Baynes go too. He suffered from the fact that we never really worked out the best position for him; was he a full back, striker, attacking midfielder or wing back? I hope we don't regret the loss of his set pieces, especially as we've also let Luke Holden go. I suspect it was Holden's likelihood to make hot-headed errors which could cost us that led to his release; it's surely no coincidence that the last we saw of him was his daft sending off for diving.

There was an inevitability about the departure of Sam Williamson, Hedi Taboubi, Jamie McCluskey, Nathan Fairhurst and Matty Wolfenden, although I'd have liked to have seen the latter two given more chances to show what they could do.

It's interesting to see that four of the released ten are either defenders or holding midfielders when our problem is creativity. Also, bearing in mind Saunders' suspicion that we're too lightweight, there are a lot of slight players on that list; only Williams could claim physical presence as an attribute. Let's hope he's able to shape a squad that justifies his decisions.

Luton Podcast

The Luton podcast is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Dean Saunders, Ashley Westwood, Mark Jones and Luton boss Richard Money.

A Matter of Balance

Christian Smith's suspension leaves Dean Saunders with no option but to wrestle with an issue which is coming to define our season: the balance between defence and attack.

He knows that in Smith and Andy Fleming, a pairing who have been fixtures in the centre of midfield for a while now, he has a duo who offer admirable protection to our defence but are less effective creatively.

He might be tempted to take a chance and select a more inventive player, but that nagging doubt which always afflicts managers is there in the back of his head: can he afford to? Defeats get managers sacked, and whereas it's easy enough for us armchair experts to urge approaching games with abandon (after all, it works for us on Football Manager 2010!) it's not so easy to let go when your head's on the block.

But will Saunders grasp the nettle now? Lacking Smith for three games, two of which are at home, offers him a chance to be more progressive. Of course he has a wide range of central midfielders to choose from, having collected them as obsessively as a ten year old schoolboy amasses Match Attax cards (and believe me, that particular line of acquisition is just as expensive!) As their names suggest, Tsiaklis and Taboubi represent the more exotic option, while Fairhurst would be a safe pair of hands. An option I don't expect to see Saunders take would in many ways be the most intriguing though, and would certainly go down well with many Wrexham fans; does he dare to unleash Mark Jones in a central role?

Kidderninster Podcast

The Kidderminster podcast is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Dean Saunders, Mike Williams and Mark Jones

Cambridge Podcast

The podcast from the Cambridge match featuring Dean Saunders, Mark Jones, Angelos Tsiaklis and Martin Ling is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk.

Three Weeks left.........

and this week has seen a number of friendlies played by the Dragons in the build up to Eastbourne Borough. A relatively strong line up played against both Coventry and Colwyn Bay whilst a side made of youngsters and trialists drew with Prestatyn Town. There was then a friendly against TNS at Colliers where a young Dragons side lost 3-1.

It has certainly been an interesting induction into the commentary box as with Mark missing from both the away games I have been trying to work out who is who and where they are playing. With Poles, French, Faroese and Argentinians playing alongside youth team players and first year professionals at times it has been a major challenge, especially without a proper team sheet to assist! I still don't know who Alex Wright was at Prestatyn, even the font of all things Wrexham, Geraint Parry, was none the wiser.

Hedi Taboubi impressed me against Coventry and Prestatyn and it was great to hear that he had also impressed Dean Saunders and has now signed a contract for a season at The Racecourse. He certainly brings something to the party that our other midfield players don't have. It was also good to see Mark Jones scoring a fantastic goal at Colwyn Bay, if only he can regain his form of a couple of years ago.

With the season getting ever closer two articles I have read recently point to how quickly things can change in football. Firstly both Swansea and Doncaster have climbed 61 places in the league over the last two seasons and secondly the Exeter City programme editor commented how two seasons ago he was preparing for the visits of Forest Green , Altrincham and Northwich Victoria and now he is looking forward to Norwich City, Leeds United and Southampton.
If they can do it so can we but I still think we need two strikers!

Steve

Eight weeks and counting

Well we are well into June and it seems an eternity since that last day victory over Weymouth at The Racecourse on 26th April. Since then we have seen quite a few players leave and so far only Mark Jones return and Nathan Fairhurst sign full time. In 8 weeks we start another Blue Square campaign as we look to regain our League status and looking at some of the dealings so far in the market you have got to say Oxford look like they really mean business this next season. They, of course, have been out of the league longer than us and will be just as desperate to get back. The number of ex league teams in the BSP for 2009~10 is getting longer with almost half the sides having played league football at some stage or another which is going to make for a strong competition. Can Wrexham do it? The answer to that of course depends on the players Dean Saunders can bring in to strengthen the side and squad. By the time I write my next blog we may have some more idea.

Steve

The Jones Enigma

Good luck to Mark Jones if his move to Peterborough materialises. There have been many disappointments over the last few years, but our failure to see the likes of Jones and Matty Done fulfil their potential with us is right up there.

Jones developed from a frail youth into a fine goalscoring midfield, but then like a flash of gunpowder it was gone and a player who clearly depended on his confidence to perform fell into a self-fulfilling tailspin of poor form.

You can see why John Toshack and Darren Ferguson have faith in him though. It's a common impulse in managers; indeed probably in mankind. The desire to show that you can achieve something no-one else has managed. It's what inspires managers to take jobs like Man City or Newcastle, figuring that eventually someone will unlock their potential, and it will be them.

You can see why a manager would see glimpses of Jones' undeniable talent and decide to try to make the most of it. I hope for Jones' sake that whoever takes him under his wing succeeds as he's as genuine a lad as I've ever met in football.

Goodbye Jonah

Brian Little told us to be prepared for some of our favourites to leave, and this morning I had to break the news to my ten-year-old lad that his favourite player is on his way.
Ben's attachment to Mark Jones is possibly historical; his first season watching football coincided with Jones' annus mirabilis, scoring nearly twenty goals from midfield in a mediocre side. In fact, maybe they weren't even that; as we slipped off the play-off pace two years ago, dropping points hand over fist, I wondered what would have happened to us if Jones hadn't scored all those goals. In the following two seasons we've found out.
Our failure to make the most of Jones' talent is a huge factor in our demise. There's no question that his form has not held up, and bearing that in mind the talk of Championship sides sniffing around him is interesting; could his agent be looking to work up an interest? It seems to me that Jones' shy personality and, more importantly, a tendency towards self-criticism, have worked against him. His lack of form looks to have played on his mind, becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. There's no doubt that he's a whole-hearted competitor, and that he desperately wanted to succeed and to help the club. Perhaps he tried too hard. Out of form or not, the question of whether he should still have been in our midfield ahead of Chris Llewellyn is a reasonable one though.