An injury to their star striker and the retirement of their veteran goalkeeper are just two of the reasons for Wrexham's early-season struggles
Expectations were sky high at the SToK Racecourse heading into Wrexham's first season back in the Football League since 2008. The 2022-23 campaign was one of the most joyous in the club's history.
Buoyed by the generous ownership of Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Phil Parkinson's side romped to the National League title, recording a division-record points tally in the process. And although no one was denying that there would be a step up in quality this season, Wrexham were the bookies' favourites to go up again.
Flash forward to the present and the feel-good factor around the club has taken a significant dent. At the time of writing, Wrexham are currently stuck in mid-table, albeit just four points adrift of league leaders and rivals Notts County at this early stage.
With only six games played, it would be ridiculous to write off the Red Dragons. However, Parkinson and Co will still not be entirely satisfied with the way they have started the campaign.
Getty ImagesFar from a dream return to the EFL…
Things are never boring in north Wales and nothing summed this up better than Wrexham's League Two curtain-raiser against MK Dons at the Racecourse. The Red Dragons were 2-0 down inside 10 minutes and 4-1 down after an hour, with a pulsating game eventually ending 5-3 to the visitors.
To their credit, Wrexham responded a few days later by knocking cash-strapped Wigan Athletic out of the Carabao Cup on penalties, before stumbling to a 1-1 away draw at AFC Wimbledon.
Their first win since returning to the Football League was eventually earned against Walsall on August 15, but they were brought crashing back down to Earth by a completely bonkers draw with Swindon Town.
Losing 4-1 at home with little over half an hour on the clock, a 96th-minute leveller from Elliot Lee eventually earned them a 5-5 draw. It was a breathless affair but Parkinson was not happy at full time and a 1-1 stalemate with Barrow did little to raise his mood.
Since then there have been some green shoots of consistency, with back-to-back wins over rivals Tranmere and Newcastle U21s coming after a penalty-shootout defeat to Bradford in the Carabao Cup.
So, Wrexham are out of one of the domestic cups and have more draws than wins to start the League Two season. Any hopes of 'p*ssing the league' are firmly in the rear-view mirror.
AdvertisementGettyNo magic Mullin
The reasons for Wrexham's less-than-stellar start are multi-faceted. By far and away the biggest factor in their early struggles, though, has been the absence of their offensive talisman Paul Mullin.
Mullin was clattered by Manchester United goalkeeper Nathan Bishop during a pre-season friendly over the summer, with the collision leaving the striker with a punctured lung. It was a scary moment, with the 28 year old revealing: "I was trying to breathe in but nothing was happening. I couldn’t get air into my lungs. That’s when I knew it was bad. In that struggle for breath, with my lips turning blue, I accepted that this could be it for me. That’s how it felt. I couldn’t breathe properly for a few minutes."
Mullin has been Wrexham's standout player since arriving at the club from Cambridge United in 2021, scoring a ridiculous 74 goals in just 90 games. The 32 goals he plundered for Cambridge during the 2020-21 season also suggests that he would have had no issue with the heightened competition this campaign, with many tipping him to claim another Golden Boot this year.
But due to his grizzly injury, he has not made it onto the pitch at all so far. With him leading the line, there's little doubt that Wrexham would have been able to turn a few of their low-scoring draws into victories. Indeed, the Red Dragons have had little issue creating chances so far, registering 70 shots in League Two – the fourth highest in the division. They've just needed their star striker converting them.
There is light at the end of the tunnel at least, with Parkinson confirming that Mullin had returned to training recently. Wrexham will be desperate to get him back on the pitch as soon as possible.
GettyFoster hangs up his GoPro
Mullin is not the only high-profile star Wrexham have lost in recent times. Heading into the 2023-24 season, Ben Foster was full of fighting talk, backing he and his team-mates for a League Two title charge.
However, just five games into the new campaign, Foster announced that he was hanging up his gloves for a second time, having previously been tempted out of retirement by Reynolds and McElhenney earlier this year.
The news came as a shock to fans, team-mates and manager Parkinson, with the 'Cycling GK' explaining his decision in a recent interview.
"I just got to the point where I didn’t feel that I could do the team justice. I felt like my legs had slowed down, my sharpness, my spring, my reflexes. I felt I’d let too many goals in that I knew I should have been saving. When I got to that point I felt I was letting my team-mates down. I can’t do that, I can’t look at myself in the mirror. It’s the right decision, there’s no shame in it," he said.
Although Wrexham did ship a lot of goals with Foster between the sticks, 13 to be precise, it's hard not to feel that the ex-England international was being a little harsh on himself. But if Foster wasn't feeling comfortable anymore, he has made the right decision. Still, losing your first-choice goalkeeper so early in the season is bound to have significantly disrupted the squad.
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GettyA chaotic transfer strategy
Foster's departure instigated a mad dash to sign a replacement goalkeeper. And this haphazardness seemed to sum up Wrexham's approach to the most recent transfer window.
Early in the summer, Parkinson had preached caution, with the Red Dragons making just one signing before the season kicked off, bringing in Will Boyle from Huddersfield. However, after winning just one of their opening three games, the club's owners sprung into action, strengthening the squad with a string of new arrivals.
First, James McClean arrived at the SToK Racecourse from League One Wigan for a fee of around £250,000 ($314,000). Not content with this, the club also had a busy deadline day, completing a last-minute double swoop.
First, George Evans – capable of playing in central defence or midfield – arrived from Millwall. Wrexham then raided Arsenal for Arthur Okonkwo, signing the promising goalkeeper on loan, likely to replace Foster.