Dead End Up Front

As we stagger edgily towards the play-offs, Dean Saunders makes a fair point as he complains that, unlike other managers at the sharp end of the Conference, he’s handicapped by his inability to bring in new players.

Just have a quick look at the Non League Paper from a couple of weeks ago for proof of the benefits of freshening up the squad: AFC Wimbledon’s manager, Terry Brown, attributed his side’s second wind on the arrival of ex-Wrexham triallist Kaid Mohammed from Bath. His goals and performances have enlivened a side which was expected to wilt as its small squad was stretched to the limit. Meanwhile, Saunders manages with his hands tied, unable to freshen up an attack which struggles to take chances.

So what can Saunders do in the circumstances? There are options available to him, although drafting in a goal poacher sadly isn’t one of them. I assume that’s the case anyway, as there’s a Wrexham player banging the goals in at the moment. Obi Anoruo is playing in the division below us, for Vauxhall Motors, and despite being in a team which is struggling at the wrong end of the table, he has fifteen goals to his credit. I assume we can’t recall him though: if he’s on a season-long loan then I believe one of the conditions is he can’t be called back.

There are other options at the club though. Marc Williams has hit two hat-tricks in recent weeks for the reserves, but remains outside the first eleven. At least he returned to the squad against Kettering, but I continue to be confused over his continued absence from the pitch. There have been some away performances lately when I’d have thought his spirit would have been valuable, and even if he isn’t accommodated in attack, he might have been given a run in midfield when Jordan McMillan, a decent player but to me a defensively-minded full back, was given the role of running box-to-box recently.

However, I also understand Saunders’ reservations to an extent. The way we’re playing at the moment might not suit Williams: with the ball spending a fair bit of time in the air, Gareth Taylor was a more obvious replacement for Mathias Pogba aerially, and although he lacks Pogba’s pace, Williams is no sprinter either. Wrexham's long ball approach requires strikers who are either big or quick. As Williams is neither, it might be that his hopes of breaking into Saunders' side are limited.

Fear of the Known

Dean Saunders made it pretty plain after the game: he wants a new striker.

Quite apart from the very reasonable question of where the money's going to come from when Danny Racchi (who took a chance for York yesterday, by the way) was at best paid next to nothing and Mathias Pogba appears to be in a very similar financial position with us. Still, Saunders is in the market apparently, so let's think about what he can afford.

I've just bought a car myself, and I can imagine the models Saunders will have to look at: either clapped out old bangers or experimental prototypes!

The former category's filled with the sort of players Saunders has been tempted towards in the past. Ageing unattached players who'll come to us because we're the best offer on the table. Reliability's the issue here: you might pick up the odd bargain, but you're more likely to get a dud, and tie yourself to him until the end of the season to boot! For heaven's sake, no-one tell Saunders that Keith Gillespie is unemployed and looking around for a Conference club at the moment! Gateshead are welcome to him!

The other approach is to get in a lad from the Premiership's reserve teams and hope he has the class to shine. Saunders used to like going down this route too, but has been burned by his experiences. The theory behind it's sound: players the likes of Manchester City have picked up young because they appear to have the potential to flourish arsenal likely to be decent, so they ought to have the technique to blossom in The Conference.

The problem is that they tend to be naive as well, and throwing them in against big, nasty Conference centre backs is usually a rude awakening for them. Danny Mitcheley and Stuart Nicholson are examples of such players we've had in recent seasons, and there was no mourning when they went back to where they came from without a goal between them.

Adrian Cieslewicz, though a better prospect than those two, fits into a similar category; he remains one for the future rather than someone who could have an immediate impact.

The other danger of bringing in players from big clubs in this manner is their lack of sustained experience at a decent level. Just look at the likes of Nathan Woolfe and Jon Brown for examples of players who looked very good early on but faded as the demands of holding a place down over a long period kicked in.

Also, the very fact that we're a Conference club is a handicap. There are fringe players at the big clubs who are available on loan and would be terrific sign ins for us. The problem is, there's no benefit for either the player or his parent club in dropping down to our level. A spell in the Football League is seen by them as a useful finishing school, but playing at the fifth level is not viewed as a profitable idea.

So what do we do? I suspect we'll go for a kid or another Lamine Sakho and hope we luckily stumble on a bargain. There is another way to freshen up our attacking options though, but I don't think for a moment Saunders will take it. Our second top scorer from two seasons ago, our second top scorer from last season and one of the highest scorers in the league below us are all on our books, but I can't see Marc Williams, Wes Baynes or Obi Anoruo being recalled to have a run in the team somehow.

Oh Boy Anoruo!

Another notable match in the Welsh Cup this weekend saw Obi Anoruo in action. He maintained his excellent scoring record, although he also missed an easy chance before he hit the net, but was also sent off.


Anoruo had been involved in an earlier incident which led to an opponent getting a red card: before a corner he appeared to be arguing with his marker-nothing physical was going on-and for some reason another defender came across, gripped him round the throat from behind, and was off!

It looked like things continued to be feisty afterwards, and when he took a swipe with his foot at an opponent as he lay on the floor, the ref showed a straight red-possibly a little harshly as he didn't seem to make contact.


It's never a good thing to get sent off, and it's a shame he'll now miss three games when we've sent him out to gain experience, but I must say I don't mind seeing a young lad who is willing to stand up for himself either.


I suppose all experiences are valuable if you can absorb and analyse them. I suspect Obi will return ready to join the fray.

Prolific Wrexham Strikers Shocker!

We might be struggling to score goals, but the players we farm out to the League of Wales seem to be finding the net pretty easily.

Steve Abbott got another two for TNS at the weekend, to continue his successful start for them, while Obi Anoruo hit the net for Newtown as well.

Abbot has hit five goals in his six games for TNS and, from what I can see from the highlights on S4C, is playing as a traditional centre forward rather than in the attacking midfield role Dean Saunders bought him for. I must admit that some dubious League of Wales defending has contributed to some of his goals, not least against Airbus a couple of weeks ago when his initial inability to put an easy chance away was compensated for by the defence's even greater ineptitude at clearing the ball!

I'm not sure what Abbott's goals tell us. Any player in scoring form is not to be sniffed at, although it might be argued that the defences he'll come up against while on loan are rather more porous than those in The Conference.

Still, it'd be interesting to have an insight into Saunders' thinking over Abbott. has he farmed him out to gain confidence from first team play? Or has he decided he made a mistake in making Abbott his first transfer and is looking to put him in the shop window, as he did with Darran Kempson, Carl Tremarco, Nat Brown and others?

Obi, on the other hand, surely has a future at the Racecourse and is just being sent out to get experience. He certainly looks to be taking the opportunity with both hands as he marked his debut with a goal in Newtown's first win of the season and followed it up by opening the scoring at Llanelli on Saturday with a well-taken one-on-one. Hopefully Anoruo can fill his boots and return to us ready to make an impression, Soon!

Mansfield Podcast

The Supporters Association podcast's now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk, featuring Dean Saunders, Obi Anoruo and Neil Taylor.

Histon Podcast

The Supporters Association podcast is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Terry Darracott, Gunnar Neilsen, Steve Abbott and Obi Anoruo.