Taylz of the Unexpected

Who'd have thought it? You might think we're the eternal fall guys, but we completely out-manouevred our more illustrious adversaries to pull off a coup over Neil Taylor's transfer fee!

Crucially, the case never went before the wise old heads who adjudicate on such matters; if it had, I can't help suspecting we wouldn't have got such a decent deal.

These tribunals, determined by reference to formulae rather than market value, don't seem to favour the selling clubs very often. They don't tend to follow logic either. That's why we cleverly ensured it didn't go that far.


Wrexham have played this one by the book, and in the end they made Swansea blink first with the weight of their logic. If City had maintained their brinkmanship and taken it to tribunal, they might well have got Taylor on the cheap. Surely they were reluctant to take that chance because, in these financiallly straightened times, if you suddenly get told to cough up more than you've budgetted for, you can get badly burnt.

Wrexham drew on their contacts wisely. Their case was compiled with the help of those who've negotiated far larger fees in the biggest of football's markets. They were restricted by the guidelines of the tribunal, but were advised well. Although they put their argument together according to the rules, they ensured that what would be deemed an irrelevant argument in the committee room had been given a decent airing before things got that far.

The unwitting key witness in this case was Bristol City's Albert Adomah. He moved there in the Summer from Barnet, the tribunal setting his fee at £150,000. Swansea's offer for Taylor was considerably less than that; a derisory bid which added to an uneasy feeling that they'd exploited their superior status to make this deal happen.

This is where the multiple withdrawals from Wales' Summer friendly in Croatia played beautifully into our hands. They might have been the final straw which drove John Toshack to resignation, but as he scrambled round for players willing to represent their country, he called up Taylor, who came off the bench to make his debut.

Now Wrexham had a strong argument, albeit one they couldn't use in the tribunal. If Adomah was worth £150,000, what should a full international fetch? The rules stated they couldn't present this as part of their case, but they could at least plant the seed in Swansea's mind. What if the committee followed that logic? What would City be forced to pay out? Faced with this thought, they cracked at the eleventh hour.

Throughout this deal, from first contact between buying club and player, they held all the aces. But ultimately they lost the upper hand, and Wrexham came out, having out-bluffed them, with a tidy little sum. £150,000 to be precise. Wonder how they arrived at that figure?

Efficency Over Beauty

I can't begin to tell you how uplifted I was at Kettering by our performance, or indeed how deflated I was for a spell in the second half last Saturday when I suspected it was all a dream!

Had I imagined the flowing footballl we had produced against one of the division's best sides, who were topping the form table going into the match?

It started to feel that way for a bit in the second half. I could understand why we found it hard to break Lowestoft down in the first forty-five minutes. They set themselves up to spoil, and we were faced with breaking down a stubborn side which left one man up while the rest were strewn as a series of speedbumps in our path. That's hard to play against, and I felt we'd create enough chances to get a breakthrough if we persevered.

The second half made me worry though. Lowestoft surprisingly came out to play-Ady Gallagher, their co-manager, said afterwards that he'd not wanted them to be so cautious at the outset and had sent them out to make amends after the break.

They were certainly eager, and deserve plaudits for the effort they put in. However, they really ought to have been put to the sword in those circumstances. Pushing on, they naturally left more gaps at the back, more space to run into behind them. I felt we should have been able to rip into them, but we didn't.

So I admit that, while commentating, I started feeling a little concerned. Thankfully we got the breakthrough and avoided the five hour trek to the furthest eastern outpost of the British Isles. But we needed an 89^th minute fluke to do it. Still, talking to Neil Taylor after the game put things into perspective. He rightly pointed out that we needed to be patient, and in the end that approach had borne dividends.

And at least we’re getting a stroke of luck these days-how many years has it been that we’ve been on the receiving end of such misfortunes? A string of unconvincing wins will do me just fine.

Mansfield Podcast

The Supporters Association podcast is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Dean Saunders, Silvio Spann and Neil Taylor.

Our Youngest Ever Skipper?

As bold statements of intent, naming a nineteen-year-old as captain is certainly up there! All new managers want to shake things up and organise things their way, but picking Neil Taylor to wear the armband is a bold stroke. I like it, but it begs certain questions.

Firstly the positives. Taylor's a great lad, a very articulate young man and a fine prospect. It has bee apparent for a while that he's has an old head on young shoulders and he certainly has the attributes you'd look for in a skipper. Furthermore, his energetic approach epitomises the sort of qualities Saunders is looking to bring to the side, and I applaud that. I said a couple of weeks ago that we needed a more high energy approach, and I'm hopeful that Saunders is looking to provide exactly that. If he wants a captain on the pitch who will inject energy and desire into our performances, Taylor clearly is it!

There are certain questions to raise though. Firstly, is this a permanent move, or is the armband to be a moveable feast, passed from player to player as it was in pre-season? If it is it hardly says much for Brian Little's recruitment policy-if we have to play pass the parcel with the captaincy then he hardly packed the squad with leaders did he?

If Taylor is now the permanent team captain, I hope the decision has been carefully explained to the incumbent for the last two games, Nat Brown. Tom Kearney, being out of the side, won't need to have the situation explained to him, of course, but Brown certainly will; it would only be human nature to have your nose put out of joint if you were demoted in favour of a teenager, after all. Mind you, if Brown was just told that as he had led the side out last time he'd be skipper for a game while Saunders got to know his squad, then fair enough.

Clearly it's a gamble to pick a young lad as captain, and there is a nagged doubt in the back of my mind about his propensity to pick up knocks. However, as a clean break from the Little era it's a pretty effective gesture as Taylor certainly hasn't been a first team regular this season. Maybe that's the main reason why my gut feeling is this is a good move.

Give Murtagh A Go!

I'm still coming to terms with what happened yesterday. A lot of people have asked me if it was as bad as it sounded, and the only possible answer is a resounding yes!

The total lack of creativity in midfield is a huge concern, although to be fair the blame should be laid squarely on Little's door; he set them up to play that way. Having said that, I'd like to see Conall Murtagh given a go in there-I know he missed pre-season, but he's ready to get on the pitch and he can both tackle and pass. Actually, maybe that means he doesn't suit the gameplan!

With Christian Smith not looking the part and Tom Taylor apparently lacklustre in the games he's managed behind closed doors, it's starting to feel like a no-brainer to me!

If I was suddenly asked to be the new manager for Tuesday (not as unlikely as you might think-I've got a terrific record on Football Manager!) I'd look to play a high energy 4-4-2, pressing and discomforting the opposition. Pushing high up the pitch would leave us in danger of being caught on the break, so we'd need pace at the back, but that doesn't really worry me because I'd have Pejic and Brown in there anyway. Pejic was the only member of the back four who did okay at Cambridge, yet that remains his one appearance this season.

Likewise Mike Williams is still waiting to have a go in the first team. I'm not advocating he should jump the queue ahead of Carl Tremarco and Neil Taylor-left back seems to be the one position we look secure in! However, he's never let us down, and plenty of players who are doing that are getting a chance.

Likewise, can't we give Michael Proctor a start? He's a penalty area opportunist, the one striker we've got who is the type to link off Louis. Shaun Whalley has done okay, but he's more of an individualist and doesn't seem to read Louis' flicks. In fact he's more of a winger to me-he looks as likely to score cutting in from the flank as through the middle I feel, and the stats bear me out-he has scored two goals from each position.

But then what do I know? I don't even think long balls onto Shaun Whalley's head's a good idea!

MK Dons podcast

The Mk Dons podcast is up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Brian Little, Neil Taylor and Dons assistant boss Ray Matthias.

Vote for the Player of the Season

Time's running out if you want to vote for the Supporters Association's Player of the Year (vote here), and as I ruminated over who I would plump for, I realised that the nature of the field revealed a lot about our season.
Perhaps I should say the nature of the fields, as there are two awards. The young player of the season is recognised too, and a look at the contenders for both awards is rather revealing.
To be honest, there really aren't too many real contenders for the senior award, which tells you all you need to know about a disappointing season. Too few players have lived up to expectations and as a result we've suffered a grim campaign.
The exceptions are interesting, but there are conditions attached to a lot of them. Plenty of people favour Simon Spender, and his whole-hearted commitment to the cause certainly would make him a worthy winner. It's interesting that he has been left on the sidelines for a fair chunk of the season and yet emerges as a strong contender to be our best player though!
Likewise Michael Proctor, the only player to have managed a consistent goal threat in the campaign, is a possible candidate, yet he has regularly been left on the bench by both Brians. Phil Bolland, whose contribution since arriving on a free from Chester makes you seriously doubt the judgement of erstwhile Deva boss Bobby Williamson, has made a real contribution, yet he has been here for less than four months! That players who have put in a good half season can be strong contenders for the accolade shows that the field is thin; if Danny Sonner had stayed fit for a bit longer he would have walked it! Mind you, if he'd remained fit we might just have dug ourselves out of this mess!
Though I considered all of the above, my vote goes to Neil Roberts. Nobody could doubt his commitment to the cause, which was encapsulated in his performance at MK Dons last week. Clearly frustrated and enraged as basic defensive errors handed the game to the opposition in the first ten minutes, he snapped and snarled around midfield, angrily dissenting the referee's decisions in a manner I've never seen before. When he was given a chance to pull his side back into the game from the spot, having typically won the penalty himself, he seemed to take all his frustration out on the ball. He usually places his penalties, but this one he thrashed into the roof of the net so hard that it seemed he might uproot the posts! Even though he often doesn't wear the armband, Roberts is truly the captain of the club.
When you see the contenders for the young player award a couple of things occur to you. Firstly, the field is a lot more convincing! The likes of Neil Taylor, Wes Baynes, the Williams brothers and Gareth Evans can all genuinely be pleased with the progress they've made since August, and one might argue that some of them merited more opportunity to impress. Likewise last season's winner, Matty Done, has continued to show promise despite limited opportunity, but for his great promise it has to be Taylor for me.
However, the sheer number of candidates for the junior award tells its own story. Eleven of the players (Wes Baynes, Mike Carvill, Matty Done, Andy Fleming, Gareth Evans, Robbie Garrett, Marc Williams, Michael Jones, Mike Williams, Stuart Nicholson and Neil Taylor) we've used this season were under twenty-one years old at the start of the season; that's nearly a third of the players we fielded and remember that we were just one player short of equalling the record for the most players fielded in a campaign. With a big chunk of the squad over thirty as well, you can see the problem. Allan Hansen was made to look foolish when he suggested you win nothing with kids, but a mixture of kids and aging players has been a recipe for disaster.

Wrexham 2 Chester City 2

Click on the title to hear the podcast of the Chester derby, featuring Brian Little, Michael Proctor, Wes Baynes and Neil Taylor.

Promising Signs!

As the signings have come rolling in I've been wondering why we didn't seem to be pursuing a full back.

After all, the release of Lee Roche left us with just three full backs in the whole squad-two youngsters who, though promising, have yet to play a full season as a first team regular (Simon Spender and Mike Williams) and a versatile two-sided player in Ryan Valentine who was a bit up and down last season.

Now I've seen last week's friendlies I think I get it.

Neil Taylor looks tasty. Yet to make his debut, we shouldn't get carried away, but he looks feisty and keen to get forward. He wasn't scared of David Bentley on Tuesday-quite the reverse-and had the confidence to join in play, no sure thing in a kid. Keep it up lad!