Bowing to the Inevitable

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Waiting to see if Marc Williams gets a new contract is a bit like waiting to see if Audley Harrison beats David Haye at the weekend. It ain’t gonna happen (If Harrison wins, expect to see an edited version of this opening paragraph on Sunday morning!)

I’m very sad to have to face up to the fact that Williams’ Wrexham career is over, but frankly I’ve been having to do that for the last few months. When Dean Saunders says he hasn’t made his mind up yet, he’s just delaying the inevitable, and quite rightly as a player should be told about their future face-to-face, not through the media. However, I’m sure Williams has worked out the lay of the land already.

I’m very sad about all this. Williams is a player of potential, who took the Conference by storm when he was last fit, two seasons ago. Let’s not forget that, if he hadn’t picked up that freak injury against Salisbury, he might have ended the season as top scorer in the division and we might have had a shot at going up. Isn’t it incredible how things can turn on such narrow margins and moments of fate?

Williams is still young and has potential. I know managers are paid to make tough decisions, and fully understand that Saunders is in a difficult position. He’s seen how it went when successive Wrexham bosses kept faith in another local boy, Mark Jones, in the hope he’d rediscover his form, and he wants to free some money up to spend on the wages of new players in the January transfer window. Adrian Cieslewicz’s new contract, which the young Pole deserves, means he has to look elsewhere for someone to remove from the wage bill. That means Williams.

However, I’m not totally sure I understand the logic behind keeping Williams, or for that matter Wes Baynes, on in the Summer bearing in mind what has transpired since. Neither have even been on the bench, and Mathias Pogba has overtaken both of them. If they weren’t going to be in contention, maybe that money their release will free up should have been available from the start of the season?

I’ll be very sorry to see Williams go; an articulate footballer with a lot more to give and an excellent attitude to the game is always going to be a loss. I wouldn’t be surprised if he flourishes somewhere else, and I richly hope that he does. Waiting for his inevitable departure’s been like waiting for Jack Duckworth to die though; once we knew it was bound to happen, it’s a relief to get it out of the way. Sadly, I’m sure Marc will reluctantly feel the same.

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.

Baynes Remains!

So it looks like Wes Baynes is staying. I see that as very good news, and not only because my lad has his name on the back of his shirt and wasn't terribly amused when he was released!

Baynes clearly has ability. His ability to strike the ball cleanly and his delivery from set pieces make him a useful attacking option, and he chipped in with a few handy goals in a side which struggled creatively.

Of course, it would be interesting to know just how the circumstances changed to allow Saunders to bring Baynes back into the fold. On the indispensible Red Passion's thread on his assumed return it was suggested this might represent a hitch in Saunders' recrutiment plans, the failure to snag his intended targets freeing up the funds to pay for Baynes. That's clearly a possibility, but hopefully there's another explanation.

As I've suggested previously Saunders might have saved some money with the departure of Sam Russell; if he replaces him with back-up for Chris Maxwell, then he ought to have a bit of spare chage jangling in his pocket. If that has lead to the return of Baynes, then I'd say it has worked out pretty well.

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.

Swindon Podcast

The Swindon podcast is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Dean Saunders, Wes Baynes, Gareth Taylor and Swindon skipper Gordon Greer.

Man City Podcasts

The Man City podcast is now up at the temporary site (http://finalwhistle.podomatic.com/) featuring Dean Saunders, Wes Baynes and Glyn Hodges.

Lewes Podcast

The Supporters Association's podcast is now up at www.wrexhamfan.co.uk featuring Dean Saunders, Wes Baynes, Marc Williams and Lewes boss Kevin Keehan.

Wes Has Left The Doghouse!

As tales of redemption go, that was a good one! The way Dean Saunders reacted to Wes Baynes' transfer request it looked like a promising Wrexham career was over almost before it began, but the gaffer's pragmatic enough not to cut off his nose to spite his face, and he was rewarded at Lewes!

Wes Baynes is not only back in the fold, but he's a match winner! His prodigious set piece delivery has already been valuable to us this season, but to hit his first goal of the season just days after coming off the list...for it to be a screamer...for it to secure a win in a tough away game. Mustn't grumble!

It certainly made the long journey home seem palatable, although the bloke opposite me on the train is talking to himself a little more than I'm comfortable with, to be honest!

Baynes Remains

Looks like Wes Baynes has had the most predictable rethink since Rafa Benitez decided Robbie Keane isn't the second coming (although as that happened yesterday I guess it isn't the best example!)

We need Baynes: he offers depth at right back, the area of our squad which is looking most threadbare at the moment, and his quality from set pieces is invaluable.

However, he needs us more: he could develop into a quality player, but he's not there yet, and both playing regularly and working under a quality coach aid development, as Nathan Fairhurst, Angelos Tsiaklis and Jon Brown will attest.

Reading between the lines of Dean Saunders' comments, the obvious conclusion that Baynes had been badly advised seems to be accurate. Now he has a chance to be his own man, and develop into the man he ought to be. It's the decision which will ultimately benefit both sides most.

What's Going On Wes?

So what's going on with Wes Baynes then? He's managed, in the space of one day, to promise to knuckle down and fight for his place, hand in a transfer request and apparently offend Dean Saunders!

It's an odd story, and hard to work out just what's going on. In The Leader Baynes says he's going to get his head down and work for his place, although he's the man in possession as he played in our last game, against Woking.

Yet by the time of his transfer request he's complaining he should be given a chance in the team. Let's trace back his recent appearances then; he was a regular under Saunders until the win at Stevenage, when he had a poor game and was subbed at half time. That was Saunders' seventh league game in charge, and Baynes featured in every one of them. He was then injured and returned for the Woking game, which as far as I can work out was the first one he was available for once he was fit again.

So why is he frustrated at not getting a chance? Has someone expressed an interest in him? Is his agent agitating for a move?

If it's the latter he's being poorly advised, I'd suggest. Looking round the Conference I don't see too many better young talents than him, and he has a chance to gain valuable experience at the heart of a side pushing for promotion, under a coach who appears to place a lot of importance in what happens on the training ground, and who has excellent facilities at Colliers Park at his disposal.

Saunders' comments are consistent with how the situation appears from the outside. He knows ability when he sees it, and has not only consistently picked Baynes but has made the most of his delivery from set pieces. We look more organised from dead ball plays than we have done for a long time and Saunders isn't stupid; he recognises the crucial role Baynes plays in that.

I hope this gets sorted out the right way, although Saunders' comments in The Post don't necessarily sound promising. Baynes is only just twenty, and the club's the right place for him to develop. I remember Neil Wainwright making a fine initial impression, being badly advised and leaving too soon, only to go backwards on the fringes of Sunderland Reserves when he should have been developing in the first team at The Racecourse.

From a selfish point of view it would clearly be for the best for us if he stayed, and most importantly of all, he's my lad's favourite player and we bought him an away shirt with his name on it for Christmas. If he leaves I'm billing him for the replacement; if I get Williams on the back of that one we should be pretty safe-we've got dozens of them!

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.

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.