Wrexham: 2012 / 2013 Pre-Season

Hello friends and welcome back to my continuing football manager story featuring Welsh side Wrexham who are preparing for a new season in League One.

So after a few weeks off I was pleased to hear that all my back room staff had renewed their contracts so now I could sit down with my Assistant Manager Barry Postlethwaite and review the first team squad. Based on his reports and player ratings it became evident that we needed at least nine replacement players to meet the challenge of League 1 football and so far as we crept into early June there was no sign of any money forthcoming. We had a shortlist drawn up of the players we no longer required and Fulham had just released Alex Smith and Marcus Bettinelli who we were very interested in and on our list of new recruits.

As June drew to a close it was time to set the seasons expectations and given there was no transfer money I set them as avoid relegation. The salary budget had been increased to £39,000.00 so that would give me a little le-way though most of the player salaries had been increased also. Fulham announced a link with Doncaster which was bit of a set back as that will now create competition for the loan players available.

July 1^st came and my earlier fears about losing players were unfounded as everyone I wanted signed new contracts including Ismael Fofana which I was delighted about. With the transfer window now open our plan was put into immediate action with the signing of Alex Smith who had been released by Fulham and Billy Clifford who we got on loan again in the RB position from Chelsea for another season.

I was particularly delighted with the midfield acquisitions of Conor Henderson from Arsenal and Dean Hammond who was let go by Southampton. Hammond is by far the oldest player in the team at 29, but in stepping up to League One I felt it pertinent to have some experience in the squad and Hammond seemed to fit the bill. I feel along with Williams, Gilmour and Rooney I have quite a solid central midfield.

My tactic is set up as focus passing down the left flank (in some ways like Spurs do in real life) so to supplement Smith I acquired from Fulham on a season long loan his former team mate Alexander Kacaniklic. Although not terribly quick he can dribble and is very creative so I think he will do well at this level. My scouts followed him all last season whilst he was at Oxford.

Joe Bennett will also add something to the left flank tactic and I will probably allow him to drift forward more than his counterpart on the right side of the field. In the centre of defence Scott Wotton from Man United will be a useful back up to McArdle and Nicholas and in fact will most likely push for a regular starting place. I also picked up 18 year Conor Brennan as a reserve goalkeeper just in case of injury to my starters Hansen and Maxwell.

The players leaving the club were all high earners and in the end produced very little on the field for the salary they were earning. In fairness Laurent he did contribute something to the title win last season but I was constantly reminded about his wages.

As the transfers were finalized early I was able to focus on my own contract and signed a new one year deal.

The bookies didn’t give us much hope of challenging for the title and in fact our opening game will be against joint title favourites  Swindon at the Racecourse Ground.

In fact we have a very difficult August as we face Championship side Blackpool in the League Cup followed by games against Norwich and Notts County.

Our opening friendly games went very well albeit against much weaker opposition but banging in some goals always boosts confidence. We then faced a more difficult challenge in Portsmouth and I was totally shocked by the result.

Wrexham v Portsmouth highlights

During the game LB Darren Lough picked up an injury which will mean I’ll need short term loan player to cover his absence.

I decided to apply for the Ireland job…I didn’t get it :)

The right side of the field I felt still presented a problem for me and after a frustrating search I final found the man I was looking for in Jimmy Keohane who we signed on loan for the season from Bristol City. He’s nothing spectacular but gives the appearance of a good solid performer and should be able to provide a spark down the right flank when our preferred left field attacking move is not an option. Alex Billington was picked up from Blackburn for 2 months to cover for the injured Lough.

Finally I acquired another striker, Marco Mitrovic who was released by Chelsea. A very fit player with good finishing and composure attributes and so will hang beside the last defender waiting for some through balls from midfield. A good penalty taker as well!

The final games of pre season also went much better than expected with a handsome wins over our parent club Fulham as well as our first ever international fixture against Argentinian side Belgrano.

As you can imagine the mood in the dressing room is very positive following our pre-season activity but I don’t want too get carried away as once we start league action things could change very quickly. Still, I’m delighted how the summer went and I’m looking forward to the challenge of playing at a higher level.

Thanks very much for reading this jam packed article.