AFC Wrexham looking to build after hectic summer and slow start to Championship season

4 months ago

Wrexham AFC’s Sky Bet Championship campaign has started in dramatic fashion, with the club battling to find their footing after a challenging opening run. Their latest, a 2-2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday.
Kieffer Moore, who joined from Sheffield United over the summer, opened his Wrexham account with a first-half brace, giving the home side a 2-0 lead inside 31 minutes.
Charlie McNeill nearly snatched a late winner for the visitors, highlighting the fine margins in Wrexham’s early-season struggles.

Transcript

00:00It's been a difficult start for Wrexham to their life in the championship,

00:07following, of course, all the back-to-back promotions they've had

00:10from being in the National League to now being in England's second tier of football.

00:15And they are employing a transfer policy of going for experienced players

00:18who are perhaps a little bit older than developing youth

00:21that may serve them well in the future.

00:23And it's an interesting argument and debate they're trying to weigh up here

00:28because, of course, in the championship, it is an incredibly tough league.

00:31You need that experience and you need that quality instantly

00:34to be able to cope and compete and not hopefully be at risk

00:38of going straight back down again.

00:40But at the same time, these are players who probably won't be around

00:42for as long as players who they could develop and start to bet in now

00:47and could be really good in the future.

00:49So it's an interesting one to weigh up.

00:51But, of course, I think from Wrexham supporters' perspective,

00:54they'll want to be doing OK now and the future can sort itself out

00:57when it comes around to it.

00:58And you could argue that both could happen simultaneously, to be honest,

01:01that development can still go on, but they need to also be bringing in experience.

01:05So some may say that actually the strategy has been good.

01:08But regardless of that, the start has been difficult

01:10with some of the losses they've experienced at this level.

01:13And ultimately, perhaps that was always going to be the case.

01:15I think another promotion was always going to be very, very difficult,

01:18especially getting into the Premier League.

01:20But just what is the feeling at Wrexham at the moment?

01:24To find out more, let's go to our Wales sport correspondent,

01:26Charles Hague-Jones.

01:27Charles, what are your thoughts on Wrexham's transfer policy?

01:30And can both things be true and happen at the same time?

01:33And where do you envisage them from the end of the season?

01:37Yeah, it's not been a good summer, really,

01:40in terms of Wrexham's results on the field.

01:43They obviously sort of struggled in most of their club friendlies,

01:47only winning one game.

01:48And, you know, they've obviously won on the EFL Cup penalty shootouts

01:55against Hull.

01:56But on the opening day, they took the lead, obviously,

01:59against Southampton, then conceded two in the last 10 minutes

02:03of the game away at Southampton, obviously relegated from the Premier League.

02:07I think that just shows some of the levels that Wrexham

02:10are going to have to operate in.

02:12You know, the game wasn't done at all.

02:13They were wonderful.

02:14They had to dig in a bit deeper.

02:17And Southampton just came alive with Will Stills' influence

02:20and, you know, Manning getting the 90th minute free kick

02:23and then Stephens winning the game.

02:25I mean, it's just an incredible situation that Wrexham are in.

02:30They're going to be playing these guys.

02:32They've had loads of Premier League experience.

02:35They need to adjust quickly.

02:36It hasn't gone to plan.

02:37Obviously, they then faced West Brom, also another club

02:40with previous top flight experience throughout their history.

02:45You know, they did think they maybe called something back in the game,

02:47but Isaac Price had a fantastic day for the baggies.

02:51And losing at home, obviously, something we've mentioned before,

02:54Wrexham's home record since the takeover,

02:56since these three promotions on the bounce,

02:59has been pretty much impeccable.

03:02To lose at home is tough to take.

03:05They did still score two goals.

03:06They are still scoring goals and creating loads of chances.

03:09That is something Wrexham have to make sure

03:12they are using as a positive.

03:15They obviously maybe face a bit of a nicer run now

03:19in the next few weeks in the championship.

03:22But Phil Parkinson's side have got to make sure

03:25that they are adjusting in terms of the summer window.

03:28Obviously, it didn't go great on the pitch,

03:30but they've explored big moves.

03:33They've broken their record multiple times.

03:37And the last time they broke it was the 80s.

03:39But they have faced early championship issues.

03:42Despite the signings, they've lost their first two games

03:45in the league, obviously Southampton and West Brom.

03:49And now they really have to look at a few things.

03:53Parkinson's going to be under a bit of scrutiny.

03:55They're going to question whether success lower down

03:59can translate into the championship.

04:01But I think this season is going to be a real transformative season

04:05for Wrexham as a club.

04:07Can they adjust, firstly, to the demands of the championship?

04:10That's going to be the huge issue.

04:12The story will surround it for the whole season,

04:15whether they can remain.

04:17And then secondly, can they ensure that they are becoming a club,

04:22that this is their bottom standard now,

04:24that they are up in the championship.

04:26So they've got to stay up.

04:27They've got to remain and start to build

04:28over the next couple of seasons.

04:30It's going to be an interesting season throughout.

04:34But there's always a storyline with Wrexham

04:37in this modern era.

04:38And we are keeping track of it

04:40and keeping you up to date with the latest.

AFC Wrexham looking to build after hectic summer and slow start to Championship season

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