Where's Wolfy?

Let's be honest, it's looking pretty bleak for Matty Wolfenden.

Unable to progress from the role of late substitute, when Danny Mitchley was brought into the squad he dropped a place in the pecking order. When Mitchley was then dropped after one game it was clear that Dean Saunders hadn't brought the Blackpool striker in to lead the attack, but to round out the squad. Ahead of Wolfenden, a player screaming out for a few starts so he can earn a new contract. It hardly looks good for him.

It seems a shame, to me. I must admit that when he got a run of starts at the beginning of the season, the only time that he's enjoyed such an opportunity, I wasn't impressed. He seemed lightweight to me, and not much of a goal threat. When he succumbed to injury as well, something his career suggested was bound to happen, I was convinced that we had a very poor signing on our hands; a striker who looked toothless and was a bad risk to boot.

However, the way he has come back from that injury has made me think again. He started out with some prolific form in the reserves, and followed that up by looking sharp in his occasion cameos off the bench.

There have been a number of times when I've wondered quite what he has to do to earn a start. For example, when Lamine Sakho started up front against Cambridge and Gateshead I just couldn't work out how he'd jumped Wolfenden in the queue. Perhaps Saunders felt Wolfenden and Andy Mangan were too similar to form an effective partnership, although I'd be inclined to disagree; Wolfenden has shown a surprising robustness in recent weeks, certainly more than Sakho did inhis insipid efforts as a striker in those matches.

I suspect the arrival of Mangan was the beginning of the end for Wolfenden though. Two small strikers in front of a midfield which has struggled to create might seem an unlikely recipe for success to Saunders. And so Wolfenden's days look to be numbered, but I can't help wanted to see a bit more of him before I'm convinced that's the right decision.

Histon Conundrum Cracked

So tell me, is it a coincidence that the first time we manage to beat Histon is also the first time we didn't play a horses-for-courses team against them?

In three previous games Saunders has played a back four consisting totally of centre backs, and the fact we haven't scored in any of those games is surely not unrelated.

I've always taken it as a reasonable rule of thumb that the best way to beat a long ball side is to impose your style of play on the game. If the match is played on the floor, they'll struggle; if it's played in the air we'll struggle.

Selecting four centre backs at the back, to my eyes, accepts defeat in that battle before it has even begun. It's admitting the game will be played on their terms and adopting a damage limitation strategy from the start. It's an approach which reveals a lack of confidence in your team; would Alex Ferguson pick his tallest team if he drew Histon in the cup? I rather suspect he'd back his team to have enough about them to sort Histon out without resorting to such tactics, you know! (Mind you, I bet Rafa Benitez would be tempted to pick a specialised team for such a match, which perhaps tells you more about his merits relative to Ferguson's than anything else!)

Dean Saunders has started admitting lately that he's learning a lot about management. I hope his team selection on Saturday shows he's taken on board this crucial lesson; it'll help him enormously next season if he has.

Welcome to Hell

I don't want to admit it, but sticking your head in the sand doesn't get you anywhere: Wrexham are the basketcase of the Conference.

Okay, we're not in the relegation zone (yet!), but no other club can honestly be said to be performing as far beneath their expectations as we are.

After losing to Gateshead tonight we've achieved something fairly remarkable. You can tolerate losng to sides who are much smaller than you every now and then; that's what makes football exciting. However, Gateshead join a long list of clubs who have registered their first win over us in the last couple of seasons. Gateshead, Grays, Hayes and Yeading, Histon, Eastbourne, Tamworth, Altrincham, Crawley, Stevenage.

I don't want to belittle any of those teams, some of which are plainly better than us at the moment. But still, it's not a pretty list, is it? It certainly reflects pretty effectively where we are at the moment.

Anyone who argues this isn't the low point of the club's history, on the pitch at least, is crazy.

What must concern Dean Saunders is that all those defeats bar one came under his stewardship. Only the loss to Grays didn't happen on his watch; Brian Little was manager then, and that defeat pretty much did for him. He clearly didn't have such a charmed life as his successor.

Cambridge Podcast

The Cambridge Podcast is now up featuring Dean Saunders, Silvio Spann and Martin Ling.

Sausage Sandwich

Dean Saunders is on the Danny Baker Show playing the sausage sandwich game this morning-on Five Live, usually around 945.

Reality Bites Hard in the Lakes

Four years ago we enjoyed a great laugh at Dave Bayliss' expense. He managed the humiliating feat of getting sent off against us while he was on loan from us! Rejected, then he bombs out in public! Well, who's laughing now?

Barrow's victory over Wrexham tonight doesn't guarantee safety for Bayliss' side, of course, but it's a huge result for them. And, sadly, for us.

Once more we've played a side into form. Once more a side which hasn't won for ages in the Conference has broken the drought against us. Once more we seem to be something of a pushover.

Sadly, there was a familiar inevitability to it all. When we took the lead, did you really have confidence in us finishing the job off? Did you actually think we'd keep a clean sheet at last? The only surprise was that we took the lead in the first place.

This isn't not how being a "big" team in the Conference was supposed to be. We need to be feared; instead, teams must be desperate to line up against us.

And to think, just a couple of days ago we were about to launch a late charge into the play-offs!

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 Whole New Ball Game For Saunders

In the 1980s the news was full of experts billed as "Kreminologists". Their job was to gauge the temperature at the heart of the Soviet government, looking to read the signs of which leaders were in fashion and in which direction the byzantine party machine would lurch.

Heaven knows how in the loop they really were, and you could ask the same of anyone trying to read the goings-on of a football club. By nature they tend to be anything but transparent; after all, they tend to be run by businessmen who move into football and fail to understand why the club should be any more open to scrutiny than their own company.

Therefore, you should treat any attempt ot work out the machinations of the boardroom cautiously; but having said that, here goes!

Ian Roberts introduction as chairman and comments on Dean Saunders' future got me thinking. Having assumed Saunders was pretty much unsackable under Geoff Moss, it'll be interesting to see just how much of a difference the new constitution of the board will make to his security of tenure. While Roberts' comments are supportive, there's a clear demand for performance on the pitch to improve markedly over the next year. I'd be a little edgy if I was a manager and the chairman started talking in such detail about my team too!

So will Saunders, who as I've said previously, seems to be getting a bit more of a handle on constructing a side able to deal with the particular requirements of The Conference, find the extra adrenaline released by this extra imperative to succeed of use? Or something important changed in the balance of power at the top of the club?

But of course, this Kremlinologist could be completely wrong!

Saunders' Scouse Scufflers

I'm feeling a bit encouraged. It seems to me that Dean Saunders has hit upon a new line of attack, and it might just work!

It might be a bit late for this season, but there are the green shoots of some sort of recovery showing. It starts with his two transfer window signings. Luke Holden and Andy Mangan are the sort of players we need.

They've both got ability, that much is clear. Managan might not have got as many goals as he might have wished, but he he's shown there's more to his game than just being a goal sniffer. he can hold the ball up, brings player in well, and has the sort of movement which brings midfielders to life by offering them options.

Holden's contributions have been a little uneven, but he's direct, positive and confident. He scared the hell out of Salisbury on Saturday, and was a constant threat.

These qualities are not the only things I like about them. I hope this doesn't come over the wrong way, but they're both awkward Scousers! I lived in Liverpool for five years, love the place and need to explain what I mean, sharpish!

They've strong-willed, confident and not scared of anyone, all qualities which help to make Liverpool a great city which stands out from the identikit, characterless metropolises that scatter the country.

Transfer that onto the pitch and what do you get? A strain of determination running through the side which I like. Look at how Mangan regulates substiutions, hurrying Jamie McCluskey off the pitch when we're losing and telling him to slow down when we're winning! Look at Holden's hyperactivity and constant dissatisfaction; he wants to be involved all the time and is never happy if things aren't going his way. The angry boot of the ball across the pitch at the final whistle last Saturday, his similar smashing of the door to the player's entrance when he left the ground, showed the desire any fan wants to see from his players.

Admittedly there's a potential downside when such characteristics spill over; both would have beensent off for frustrated, over-the-top tackles on their Wrexham debuts were it not for the generosity, or should I say uselessness, of Conference refs. However, it's a risk worth taking if they can inject a winning mentality into the side. Saunders seems to have identified the types of character he needs to succeed which can only be a good thing, even if he needs another transfer window to complete the project.

Salisbury Podcast

The Salisbury podcast is now up at http://www.wrexhamfan.co.uk/ featuring Dean Saunders, Christian Smith and Sam Russell.

Conference Board hold your heads in shame.......

So we now have the situation in late February that to everyone with a nose on their face was inevitable in July/August with Chester City suspended from the league awaiting the final cut.

The Conference members now have to vote to confirm the expulsion of our oldest and nearest rivals. The problem is by now Chester have played 25 odd games won a few, drawn a few and lost many so different clubs have built up different points totals and as such the loss of these points will have bigger effects on some than others.

The fantastic little club Chester City used to be is dead - the majority of their supporters know it and want to be allowed to rebuild their own club without the cancer that is their owner. I am devastated to see our great rivals in such a predicament but feel that despite the self interests which all clubs will feel at this late stage of the season the club must be expelled.

The Conference need to look at themselves very carefully for breaking their own rules at the start the season and allowing Chester to start the campaign. In the meantime the decision is more difficult for clubs to make because an element of self interest takes over and the likes of Cambridge will if they vote for expulsion will lose six points and immediately drop themselves into a relegation dog fight.

Conference board hold your heads in shame for allowing this farce to continue for so long. We await the next episode in this farce.

Tactical Strikes

I'm really looking forward to this afternoon's game, despite the fact that we're the two dullest teams in The Conference-fewer goals are scored in ours and Altrincham's games than anyone else's-and the only goal in our two games last month came completely out of the blue.

Both those matches saw an interesting tactical battle of wits break out between the managers, and encouragingly Dean Saunders was often a step ahead.

Alty's boss, Graham Heathcote, deserves massive credit. His side is part-time, but they show a level of flexibility rare amongst sides that are able to work on things every day. In each of the five clashes we've had with them over the last two seasons Altrincham have adjusted smoothly during matches, adapting to circumstances adeptly, their players showing an ability to cope with a variety of positions. It's good to see, even if solidity is often their first aim.

In the F.A. Trophy games last month we started out playing 4-4-2 and failed to make an impact on Altrincham, who played three at the back and outnumbered us in midfield. In both matches Saunders switched to 4-3-3 and immediately took control of the game.

Will Saunders be tempted to start with a 4-3-3 today? Does he see Andy Mangan as the sort of striker who can play on his own up front? Would that allow him to accommodate Jamie McCluskey, who has put in two impressive substitute appearances this week, playing behind a front two for the first time for us last Saturday?

Or will he recall what happened in the tie that we lost: after hammering Alty for twenty-five minutes our domination ended when Heathcote responded by switching to 4-3-3 himself. The result? The tie returned to a tight, thrill-free tussle, and they got a scrappy winner from a set piece which they then defended easily.

That was one of the few games this season which actually conformed to Dean Saunders' claim that we consistently create chances; if he can find the formation to create a similar amount today then Mangan will get chances to score his first goal for us. The battle in the dugouts will be as crucial as that on the pitch.

McCluskey's Catch-22

So where do you stand on Jamie McCluskey? And more importantly, how does Dean Saunders see him?

He's hardly had a proper run to show what he can do; admittedly the injuries he keeps picking up don't help, nor his finishing; let's just say he hasn't found his feet in front of goal yet! Both those factors could count against him when he looks to renew his contract in the Summer.

Yet there is always a sense of promise about him. Look at the AFC Wimbledon game. He has never played behind a front two for us before-he lined up behind Jeff Louis from the start at Kettering last season, but he's never been allowed free reign with two forwards making runs ahead of him.

He impressed, and also made an impact off the bench on Tuesday. But will that help or hinder him? If he gets pigeon-holed as an impact sub his hopes of establishing himself with us will be limited. The only way he can shake that reputation is to perform well when given a start, but the only way he'll earn that right's to impress off the bench, which might tempt Saunders to keep him there.

McCluskey needs to find an answer to that conundrum, and so does Saunders. In a squad lacking creativity, the little Scot could prove to be very handy indeed.

Mangan Signs For Wrexham at last!

At last! And you thought the Christiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid saga was tiresome! Now we have to see if we was worth the wait.

To be fair, you can't fault Saunders for his pursuit of him. When did we last land the top scorer in our division?

He looks like the type of player we're screaming out for too, so let's hope he delivers! There are plenty of others who’ve arrived at The Racecourse looking good on paper who haven’t delivered on the pitch, and frankly we can't afford for Mangan to join that list.

It'll be nice if he does come off as it'll buck a trend; transfer window signings tend to be born out of desperation and are often doomed to failure.

In the old system I seem to recall the occasional stunning signing on deadline day. Didn’t Mick Harford sign minutes for Birmingham City minutes from the deadline in the 1980s and score the goals that kept them up?

However, such cases are few and far between.

You never know though. Sometimes a few subtle changes to a squad can make a surprising difference. Football’s not as easy to read as the pundits claim-the regularity with which they contradict themselves shows that. I mean, can Rafa Benitez really alternate between fool and genius as often as we’re told he does?

The game is littered with players who looked useless or finished, but suddenly find a new lease of life, Stephen Carr at Birmingham being an obvious current example. He was contemplating giving the game up, having been without a club for a fair spell, when Alex McLeish came in for him.

Although this can happen, the chances of stumbling on a gem are slim when you’re in the bargain basement. That’s why I’m reassured to see we appear to be going after players teams are reluctant to let go-Barry and Mangan are the sort of players we ought to aim for.

Of course, Mangan carries a different sort of baggage, and I'm not going to pretend I'm comfortable with that. Still, everyone was horrified when Gary Bennett signed, but those objections dissolved when he started banging the goals in. I'm going to be a coward and hide behind the football fan's prerogative to decide what sort of signing he is once he's scored a hatful!