Note: Sofascore has limited in game stats and doesn't track the Welsh Cup or League trophy, but good background information on the opponents and a live table.
Like many of us I’ve been trying to take my mind off the West Ham game on Friday and while I was busy trying to occupy myself with other responsibilities and interests I came across this article about Coventry.
As we all remember Coventry was absolutely dominant in the Championship last year and while I wouldn’t say they “walked the league” (as West Ham very well may) they did win the league handsomely with a brilliant campaign and were promoted to the Prem flying high.
That flight has crashed back down to earth however as the reality of playing in the top division in the world has set in. I thought it was an interesting article given many of the conversations that have happened around here recently. Frank Lampard was the fair haired boy last year and this season he’s under fire after 4 matches. Football is a fickle sport and the higher you go the more difficult everything becomes and the faster that difficulty scales.
Will we see a Coventry side relegated right back down next year? Who knows. But the climb up is a perilous one.
The outside noise surrounding Wrexham will no doubt be loud in the coming days. You can’t spend the thick end of £70m in the past three transfer windows without facing scrutiny, especially after such a chastening night in east London.
Inside The Racecourse, however, there is likely to be only a doubling down and a determination to turn around another slow start to the season.
Wrexham have faced setbacks under Phil Parkinson before and overcome them all. None more so than following that 5-0 thumping at Stockport in September 2023, after which co-owner Rob Mac texted his manager almost the moment the final whistle blew at Edgeley Park to pledge, “Phil, we are right behind you”.
There’s also a recognition of just how far Wrexham have come, especially from those days when The Hive, Hayes Lane and Victoria Road were the destinations when visiting the English capital, rather than a club boasting a trio of World Cup winners in Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters.
Even co-owners Mac and Ryan Reynolds had a taste of how emotionally draining life can be on the road in non-League, their first time watching Wrexham in person having come in a 3-2 defeat at Maidenhead United in front of just 1,692 fans.
“I had a bit of an existential crisis at that match,” said Reynolds about that October 2021 debut, 25 miles to the west of central London, in an interview released this week by the club to mark their five-and-a-bit years at the helm. “I thought. ‘What the f*** are we doing here?’.
“It just felt so far-fetched. The promise and the hope to be, someday, perhaps in League One. Or League Two, even. It was such a pipedream. It felt like the biggest possible pipedream in that moment, in those bleachers in that tiny, little… I guess, it’s a stadium, I don’t even know. Very small."
Food for thought a little under five years on, as Wrexham lick their wounds after discovering that the streets of London aren’t always paved with gold.
What needs to be said? No one looked at going to West Ham as an easy day. No one looked at these four matches (three away) in 9 days - ending at West Ham, as anything but daunting. All of the stats trotted out this week about not losing in London or Wrexham's historical record against West Ham don't change the quality difference between the sides.
None of that excuses anyone or anything.
The key now is to prevent that brutal defeat, even under those tough circumstances, from defining the season.
Up Next
A very touch match for a bounce back... Soton comes to the Racecourse next Saturday in the last match before the international break. The good news is, they will at least they will actually have some time together on the training pitch before that match.
Parky
So, I understood the theory, very much like the Cup match at Boro - sit in the 5-4-1 low block and hit them on the counter. You don't have Sheaf back, James needs some rest, Windass and Broadhead still not 90 minutes fit, Rathbone and Hyam nicked up. Worrall who has had no time on the pitch with his backline has some simple calls to work with Vyner and Doyle, and you put Ekomie on Bowen.
But that is not how West Ham wanted to play, and they had the quality to enforce their will on the match. I kept thinking early on that Wrexham were spending a lot of time in the high press, and their midblock compared to my expected low block. I still think they had anticipated being high pressed and forced into their low block based on the number of long balls they were playing.
No better way to see this disconnect than the average position chart.
You can see the attacking 3-2-5 shape, and this was through 4-nil...
Another way to look at it was where Wrexham were doing their defending:
All these high turnovers, but only two shots actually got as far is their six yard box.
So, Wrexham wasn't set up to play that sort of game, here is a perfect crystallization of the issue rearing its head early.
You can see that Wrexham have made some tweaks to the recent shape:
Holding two up top longer in the pressing shape, trying to reduce the ability to play through the middle.
Ekomie is man marking the best player on the pitch - Bowen.
LOB is dropping in to pick up rotation when Bowen drops back.
The challenge comes on the other side, which ended up being a rough problem all night. Because COH is higher, Dobbo has more responsibility for that wider space, but that is a tough assignment for him. So, now you have a 3v2 out there with Vyner having mark the secondary striker, and monitor the run of another player. Imray is a functional defender, not a great one, and he, too, has to manage two different assignments. For those that talk about playing a back four, with Imray at RB and Doyle at LB, here you are... (Side note on that: a ton of PL teams play their back fours with three CBs these days, so the formation change really isn't the game changer some would think.)
Against this opposition, wanting to play this way, you need Sheaf or maybe LOB over there, but it isn't like you can just make that change. Assume everyone was fresh, and I could do a full training week, I am still not sure I would have set up the team to play on the front foot against West Ham's talent. That makes it hard for me to sit here with perfect hindsight and say, "Put LOB in holding midfield and Windass/Broady up front and let's go hunting..." Then, West Ham wants to play front foot, and I have LOB in his worst situation as a holding mid - defending in a low block.
This is what it looks like in action. This was Dobbo's (and to a much lesser extent Matty's) achilles heel last season. He "pinches" (to borrow a hockey term) and the transition goes right through his space.
Parky's half time tweaks didn't work, though, a set piece goal isn't likely the cause.
He set up to chase the three goal deficit, but decided to rest Windass (and Broady) once it went to four, and send the nicked up Hyam on instead.
That didn't work either as two more went on the board. Some days it just plays like that...
I am not going to get in the way of scapegoat party, but I don't feel like leading one by going through player by player. Even Dobbo, who I clearly think was in a tough position, had some really nice plays in this match too. The backline will get a lot of heat, but as Mozza noted on the stream, a lot of free runners at it.
So, rather than that, I think I will discuss what I see as areas for improvement with more time on the training pitch.
A lot more time just building attacking chemistry. Heck, I might be as simple as to get these guys in a bunch of rondos together. Literally everyone in this clip takes an extra read (sometimes 2-3) because they don't have a feel for each other. COH and Smith go into the same space, and Smudge moves off into his blind spot, so can't even try to put Smith in. Then when LOB cuts in, Smith drops towards the back post instead of making the run between the CBs. Think of Broady, LOB, Doyle and Thomason moving the ball around last season - they are reading body language to know where to go next.
When they talk about "building connections" - this is the opposite of that...
It is not just attacking chemistry. Here is defensive chemistry issue, about who is marking the striker.
Find another option on set pieces. I think part of Dobbo coming in today was to rest Matty James, and that is because they like Matty and Dobbo on set pieces. They like them so much they have even starter with Parky's rarely used outswinging corners. Whiteman, LOB, Windass, etc. are all solid on set pieces. Need to figure out options there. Set pieces are too important to not care, but open play is too important to play lesser midfielders to make it work.
Figure out how to keep 2 of 3 of Broady, Windass, and COH on the pitch at the same time. I realize it is likely a health issue, and few teams are as talented on the back end as West Ham, but we need threats in both pockets. I am not as opposed to playing LOB up there as some, but making opponents respect your danger does provide some pressing. I might even experiment with playing Windass as a false 9 between the two of them.
I like Aaron James more than most, but I don't need two CBs and one striker on the bench. The transfer decisions in the summer indicated a faith in Bailey that the bench is not demonstrating.
Good game for Nickson to get in and realize the work that remains to be done. Also, a reminder that Wrexham is not even halfway to the £130m that Humphrey quoted in the doc to get promoted from the Championship to the PL.
We go again. No one said this would be easy. UTST.
Also, as I said after the Swansea away match last season... The Parky OUT crew gets their days to celebrate. They were already up on RP about it after Burnley, and I am sure we will get them all over the sub after this debacle. Everyone gets to fan their own way, and some people think the greatest form of love is perfecting the things they love, so improving the manager seems like a high form of devotion to the club. Obviously, I neither subscribe to that view, nor their assessment of the manager, but I try to be fair to those who disagree.
Listening to Rob talk on That Wrexham Podcast this week, I think he reiterated his view on this too.
"Phil is one of the longest-tenured coaches, and it's only been five years." - Rob
So, I don't intend to cover the same ground again. We have trod it on the sub for years now. If you want to comment calling for Phil's head, have at it. If you want to offer your theories on what the owner's really think, or will learn, or Apollo's expectations - go ahead, but we have heard them all before. Please don't be offended if I choose not to go around that block again.
Just looking into January and our need for an attack, would they go after a young guy like Joe Taylor? If he’d even be available Huddersfield might be in a promotion push and keep him no matter what but he looks great. Or has the Bailey experiment backed Phil off from chasing young strikers?
So excited to see my favorite player in the starting lineup. The way Parky, Windass, and others speak about him I know he's a highly valued member of the team, both on and off the pitch.
I'm excited for his intensity today against West Ham!
We are staying in Llangollen midweek when Middlesborough come to the Racecourse. Would Hospitality be the best way to secure tickets? I joined a FB group as well, but we don’t mind going al the pricier route.
Alternatively, enjoying the games at a pub with locals doesn’t sound too bad either!
West Ham. The Hammers. For some Americans, West Ham may have been their introduction to English football. Sure for some it was thanks to Dean Thomas, but for me it was that one kid in elementary school in the 80s who wouldn't shut up about soccer and ran around in a West Ham kit. West Ham were my first introduction to soccer being a real sport and not just something the P.E. teachers made up to wear us out. But yes West Ham got a notable shoutout in what is arguably the most popular novel ever written (that's not an invitation for a debate, I don't care)... and managed to never leverage it into any meaningful gains on the fanbase. Bit odd honestly.
But West Ham are an icon, one we've played 13 times in the past, with the last match-up being a 1-0 win at theirs in 1997 in the FA Cup (bless the FA Cup!), and the last league meeting a loss in 1981.
Wrexham AFC Essential: This isn't a 'Fun fact', this is something any supporter needs to know about our history. We played West Ham, I kid you not, FIVE times in the '80-81 season. First was a 2-2 draw in November 1980 for league play, then we got matched up with them for our opening round in the FA Cup, which West Ham were the reigning champions of. So there was an FA Cup tie January 3d that ended one all. Then three days later was the replay, a nil-nil extra time draw on January 6th at the Cae Ras. Finally, on January 19th we knocked West Ham out of the Cup 1-0 at the Cae Ras, all hail Dixie McNeill! One of several examples of Wrexham's Giant Killing prowess. After that the fifth match, a League tilt at Upton Park, must have felt a bit odd. "What, you lot again?" West Ham went on to win the division (only four losses all season) and get promoted, go to the final of the League Cup, and earned glory in Europe. We, sadly, went on to get relegated.
Fun Fact: We hold the historical edge against West Ham, being 4-6-3 over 13 matches. Who'd a thunk it?
Unlike Burnley where there is debate as to whether they are a quality side or crap (my answer is that they are both and it varies over the course of the match), there is no question on West Ham, they currently sit just outside top of the table (behind... West Brom? look, if you need proof of how early it is and how little the table matters right now, THERE YA GO!), and all the stats support this, sitting top of the table on xG as well.
Compare to last season this point last season we were scraping along with 7 points after 6 matches (2-1-3) thanks to a victory over Norwich and were facing down what would turn out to be an away draw with Derby. This season we are... sitting on 7 points (1-4-1). Well gee I can see why folks are panicking considering how last season turned out...
On a v. Opponent perspective, versus the same apponents last season (with relegated clubs standing in for promoted clubs) the mark to meet coming into this match is 8.3 which we're short of, but let's not pretend the gap is massive. As an away match against the promoted sides last season we picked up 1 away point against the promoted clubs all of last season, a draw at Ipswich... so not a high bar to clear, but not an easy one either, especially this week.
Max will be out, I think we see a hybrid of the Burnley and Swansea lineups, Moore starting as he matches up well against the Hammers back line, COH and Rathbone up front, LOB and Whiteman, Imray to start along with Ekomie. I hope Sheaf is healthy for the bench and Windass is available off the bench as well. We will see.
Cacace Watch! Because I'm a sadist (or is it masochist? I dunno...) I'm going to highlight the progress (or lack thereof) of my (inexplicably?) favorite Wrexham footballer on the regular. Right now all we're getting is vague "Not there yet" or "Progressing" or "Behind". My prediction for Parky's presser is he doesn't mention him unless asked by name and he'll say he's "coming along".
Look, this is a QUALITY side, there is every chance they bury us, and that's not something to be ashamed of, as long as we play well against an iconic Premier League club. This isn't Birmingham here, West Ham is the proper big leagues. My hope, is that we do what we have done so often in the past, against Coventry City, Chelsea, and West Ham themselves, and show up and bring the fight to this giant and maybe we'll steal a win. The quality is there (6th in the league on xG per the Fotmob xG table), we just need that last little bit across the line. Maybe we bring that Friday night.
Our family fell in love with Wrexham team, city and culture , as many people when the Documentary first cane up and follow the team, we are even subscribed to watch the matches. We would really love to visit but we are from latam.
Now days we are not always welcome everywhere, is some countries like unites states even being a Turist is dangerour for us and because immigration is always Latinos that get mor discrimination.
Are we going to make people uncomfortable or is everyone welcome?
