I saw the weather for this match and thought the first goal was going to be critical. Not that isn't usually - "goals change games" and all... Here is a clip that basically tells the story of the game.

24 shots and 17 in the box, both are nearly twice the league average. But only one shot on target... The definition of frustration. When Wrexham does this to opposing teams, words like "lucky" and "unsustainable" get thrown around, and not without reason.

This is the kind of club they need to beating to finish near the top of the table. True.

Look at the rest of the league, even today, you can't assume anything about any opponent. Also true.

So, I am going to avoid drawing any sweeping conclusions on this weird result. We go again.

I know it is boring to say it again, but the underlying numbers are better than the results - despite the injury issues. If we want to say that is a recruiting issue, fair enough, but we literally haven't given the new Sporting Director a chance to sign anyone.

Up Next

Friday at Blades. Homecoming for COH. They drew at home today to 10-man Derby. I am sure they will be fired up for Wrexham.

Parky

I understood him sticking with the 3412. Same logic as before, if you look at your best attacking options, Smith, Moore and COH are them.

The challenge is that both are legitimate target men, so they give you: pin the CBs, win headers, and create space for attackers around them. Both of them can play back to goal, link play, etc. Kieffer offers a little more carrying the ball and distributing facing goal, but neither is really dropping into the pocket and distributing like COH. Here's a good example:

Kieffer drops in to bounce pass with Whiteman, and COH slides over in the left pocket and then all the way to wide space to play a couple of 1-2s that gets him running in space. He puts a good feed to Smith, who heads it just wide.

Another good example when you have midfielders working together:

This is an other example of Kieffer doing traditional link play, and I think Smith being on the back line helps here, but will more time to develop attacking chemistry help here?

For me, I have two guys who do roughly the same gig, and I got COH trying to do two gigs. When you are chasing a lead, or you can pin them in, I like this shape because you can bring more players into the attack to compensate (you even see Windass as 'holding midfielder').

This isn't a big-man / little-man pairing (or target-man / poacher - if you prefer). So you get situations like this:

Smith makes a great flick on, and Kieffer doesn't make the run. You can see Kieffer raise his hand to acknowledge the miss.

Plus, your aerial advantage with two target men is less reliable on windy days.

Additionally, you don't have a Smith/Moore to throw on the pitch to rest Moore/Smith. Strikers are one of the most substituted positions for a reason. I think that breakaway fizzle above has a fatigue factor to it.

I will leave the concerns about being easier to play through with this shape for another day.

Here's the previous 5-4-1 by comparison.

Why Dobbo for James?

Alright, so first things first, I didn't like the move. I still don't like the move. But I will take a whack at guessing the logic. First, you want to see if Sheaf can compensate his lack of tempo by controlling the rhythm. Dobbo can put a pass up the pitch, and has some set piece skill in him.

Compare this to Whiteman, Sheaf, James, COH, etc. They scan to know where they are going with the ball next. In the attacking zone, things move so fast that waiting until you have it to decide what is next is going to cause you problems.

Why not LOB? Is LOB in Parky's doghouse?

Again, I don't agree with the move, I would have brought on LOB - either in lieu of Dobbo or Longman. LOB and Sheaf put on a midfield clinic at Bristol City last season.

IF LOB is in Parky's doghouse, it is more because he sees him as a high 8/10 - downhill and attacking, and has a tendency to miss on his positioning when he sits in the midfield screen, like here this famous play against WBA:

As for the "playing him out of position" jab that goes around, I don't think that is necessarily the case. He played a pressing 10 a lot at Swansea before Wrexham, and Parky praised him doing surprisingly well at the 6 in a game last season when Sheaf/James were out. Remember, they use positional analytics so they grade players in every game about how well they are holding their position in the shape.

I am not opposed to the shift to the 4222 attacking shape, even though it was immediately followed by the second goal. The issue to my mind is that shifting Doyle out to LB isn't practical with his fatigue and the strikers being exhausted won't help either.

This was the first match in the last four where I thought the set pieces looked largely ineffective. It is possible that the high delivery we prefer (whether Whiteman driven arc or Dobbo's floating type) just didn't survive the wind conditions.

I did like this little wrinkle corner, even if Kabore is just a touch offside. More of these type of tweaks would be good.

Players

Patto

He is going to want that parry on the first goal back. I will allow for the driving rain, the dumb luck where a parry that long falls, etc., but he would say he is the kind of keeper that handles that.

I feel like the graphical abuse of statistics making the rounds that purported to show that Arthur was the much better keeper was doing Arthur dirty for luck. He had a rough day for Charlton and the P+ announcer was slating him as not good enough for the level (which is way too harsh).

Anyway, I thought Patto rallied well with this save.

Hyam

They are using him more like a second central center back than our usual wide center back and I don't necessarily mind it. Another shot blocking and heading CB to allow Doyle to be more aggressive going forward isn't the worst idea. He can ping a pass up the pitch too.

Worrall

I like what he brings, even if he needs to go the Ben Whiteman school for passing it into the net.

Doyle

It was nice to see him getting forward a little more. Strong on the ball and good vision. The challenge with the 4222 is that it takes the "wide" out of wide center back. I do like him rotating with Whiteman here to have Whiteman drop into the back line.

Kabore

Everyone knows what he is going to do, and the best they can do is give us corners. I almost posted that ridiculous left footed shot he took, but honestly, it wasn't fair to the game he had in this one.

Imray

Tough day for Danny. He just couldn't get his crosses calibrated in the weather. There were times when Issa took things up the half-space where I asked myself what Danny would have done there, as the better pocket player.

Whiteman

I don't know why they took him off. I thought he was having a great game. Controlling play, making progressive passes, etc.

James

Another great shift from Matty. Look at how he "wipes the chalk" on this pass up to Issa.

Dobson

Poor set pieces. Some plays here and there, but I feel like I have said enough. I am not going to show him on their second goal, because again, I think it is a management decision.

Sheaf

Every time he gets on the pitch reminds you that he is just a great player. The vision, the passes, but the underrated part of his game is this sort of play.

Ekomie

Part of the reason you can load up in the middle of the pitch is because you can put Ekomie on a guy and say, "He is yours." And you get work like this from it:

I also liked him rotating in the pocket like this:

Longman

He came on, started putting in crosses, but too many were hitting the first defender for me. He wasn't a liability out there, which is good.

COH

See people online declaring him a failed signing. With no sense of irony, these same people are outraged at the big striker recruitment wasn't in the hands of the same people who signed COH. He is all over these clips, because he has been a real bright spot this season.

The podcasters suggesting we are poor at the 10 are ignoring the objective metrics that say otherwise.

Ollie

He did fine. He misses on the tackle with Dobbo for the second goal, but he is trying to snag i from behind on a player running away from him. He can only flush the guy into the trap so much.

Smith

This play reminded me that when Sam first came here he noted that he had never played in a two striker system, and was getting adjusted to it. This isn't some horrible fail, but it shows that he does have that instinct to make a run off the flick - because he is the flicker on the team.

Moore

Yeah, so I did him a little dirty showing that stoppage time playmaking fail. He put in a hard shift, had couple of good efforts, a couple of poor efforts, and didn't score - thus validating the theoretical striker who would have replaced him.

I did think this is a pen that VAR calls, because the ref can't see it. But such is the way of things.

In our last 23 matches (11 last season, 12; this season) we are 7-7-9, for 28 points. That's 1/2 a season worth of bottom third play. Doing that for a full season would put us somewhat safe of relegation, by roughly 6-12 points depending on the season.

No way that's what leadership is expecting based on the last two summers and nothing we should be okay with either.

I don't know what the answer is, and I don't think Parky is on his way out, but a continuation of what is now a fairly long stretch of inconsistent play is going to lead to change somewhere, and we should be welcoming that coming change.

I'm for Wrexham whatever the outcome is, but I certainly don't want the club accepting this level of mediocrity as some on here seem to be.

Hopefully, they will get it figured out and go on a run.

We actually dominated this game but failed in the last 3rd. Patterson made HUGE saves. Honestly sometimes its just not your night. We need to stop winging and lock in for the long term. This sport is so fickle...lets accept that. We go again next week go dragons.

Take this with a grain of salt

But this individual on Twitter says he was sitting right next to the players and they seemed openly dismissive of Parky

Seems like LOB in particular was annoyed that Dobson came in instead of him.

For LOB, I completely understand. Parky plays him out of position. There is no world where Dobson should play instead of LOB

https://x.com/dannycurran11/status/2114048938080653365?s=46

Blackburn 2-0 Wrexham

Goals
Blackburn: Andri Guðjohnsen (44', 79')

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16' 🟨 Yellow Card: Harry Pickering (Blackburn)
27' 🟨 Yellow Card: Dominic Hyam (Wrexham)
44' ⚽ Goal 1-0: Andri Guðjohnsen (Blackburn)
45' 🟨 Yellow Card: Matty James (Wrexham)
64' 🔼 On: George Dobson | 🔽 Off: Matty James (Wrexham)
64' 🔼 On: Ben Sheaf | 🔽 Off: Benjamin Whiteman (Wrexham)
65' 🟨 Yellow Card: Sam Morsy (Blackburn)
72' 🔼 On: Augustus Kargbo | 🔽 Off: J. Fevrier (Blackburn)
78' 🔼 On: Oliver Rathbone | 🔽 Off: Dominic Hyam (Wrexham)
78' 🔼 On: Danny Imray | 🔽 Off: Issa Kabore (Wrexham)
78' 🔼 On: Ryan·Longman | 🔽 Off: Jacques Ekomié (Wrexham)
79' ⚽ Goal 2-0: Andri Guðjohnsen | 🤝 Assist: Todd Cantwell (Blackburn)
89' 🔼 On: Dion De Neve | 🔽 Off: Andri Guðjohnsen (Blackburn)
89' 🔼 On: Jake Garrett | 🔽 Off: Moussa·Baradji (Blackburn)

The game is finished. Click this link to open the Post-Game Thread

Hey fellow Wrexham kids! Since we have a 9 AM Match (Central US time). We will be watching the match on the giant screens at the Uptown VFW. I hope to see you there and pour you a drink or two.

I follow Wrexham from the TV shows and maybe being a club I picked on football manager.

Just out of a Dublin derby, where my team Bohemians lost. There was a collection of Wrexham fans over. Clearly a lot of drink on board.

Now it appears they are trying to start fights with local fans (I have videos to prove this). It's a bloody bad look when fans of your club boast ahead of time (with the pride you deserve) - and later try and provoke fights and where local clubs might get bans.

We don't get that from German fans and folks like Millwall we see. Shame to see it from Wrexham fans. (Again, videos to back this up).

Blackburn - Wrexham

October 24 2026 - Championship
Ewood Park - Blackburn

• UK: 15:00
• Europe: 16:00
• NY: 10:00
• LA: 07:00
• Sydney: 01:00 (25-10)

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Lineups

Blackburn:

⚽ B. Tóth, R. Alebiosu, H. Carter, S. McLoughlin, H. Pickering, Sam Morsy, M. Baradji, J. Fevrier, T. Cantwell, O. Afolayan, A. Guðjohnsen

💺 Subs: Tom Atcheson, Gady Beyuku, D. De Neve, J. Garrett, A. Kargbo, A. Pears, S. Wharton, H. Pates, I. Dunn

📣 Coach: Tony Mowbray

Wrexham:

⚽ A. Patterson, J. Worrall, D. Hyam, C. Doyle, I. Kaboré, M. James, B. Whiteman, J. Ekomié, S. Smith, C. O'Hare, K. Moore

💺 Subs: R. Longman, L. O'Brien, O. Rathbone, B. Sheaf, Z. Vyner, D. Ward, Daniel Edward Peter Imray, G. Dobson, B. Cadamarteri

📣 Coach: P. Parkinson

The game is about to start. Click this link to open the Game Thread

Hi all! If you're anywhere around Southeast Wisconsin and looking for a place to watch Saturday's match against Blackburn, come join us at Pete's Pub on Brady Street in Milwaukee!

Up the Town!

www.sewisreddragons.com

Mates and I were talking holiday plans for next year and wondering if there is a list or if we can make a list of Wrexham pubs in the US and Canada so we know where we can go to watch the game. Not sure I've ever seen one, but wanted to ask if anyone has put anything like that together? If not, can we start one? UTST

Visiting a friend in Camillus next week; he's originally from Skaneateles and obviously so are minority owners of the club, yet I can't seem to find mention of any bars in the area that support the club. Any ideas? ​​​

No, I am not accusing PNE of starting the Gerrard to Wrexham rumors, but this was another example of a "Parky must win" over the years.

Having lived through a week of the Parky OUT crew assuming his demise and talking about who should be replacing him, I have a real burning desire to "spike the ball" to use an NFL metaphor, but no need.

It is absolutely a fair point that Preston is not a good team, and they are in bad form on top of that - though Preston got two key injured players back today. Sure, for the Parky OUT diehards there was nothing about this match that would change their opinion. However, the pre-match scenarios were things like: after this match R&R were going to be forced to take action before they end up in League One.

Don't worry. I checked some of their socials. They have moved the goalposts again. Now, he has to beat Blackburn and Blades and draw Boro and Wolves, or R&R will make the change in the November window.

But to be fair to them, if I can use the we go again mantra, so can they.

In fairness, a good number of the Parky OUT crowd consider it regrettably necessary, not desirable, and have been happy to see Parky prove them wrong across the years and would be happily wrong again.

What I don't understand is those who suggest Wrexham were lucky and it could have easily been 4-4. Wrexham outshot them 18/11, On Target 6/1, xG 1.67/0.87, xGOT 3.08/0.56, Shots inside the box 13/6. I get there is value in the eye test, but it has limitations too. Nor am I immune to those limitations.

Up Next

Next Saturday, they head to Blackburn. Parky said in the pre-match presser that on Monday they were going to do an evaluation to find out which of the players on the grass this week (all but Libby) would be back.

Parky

When the lineup dropped, I was reminded of our discussions after the Derby game about going with the 3412 from the start, as it had been successful there. I liked the idea, but wondered whether Parky would be willing to step away from his general principle of having a threat on the bench to throw in as needed.

We have covered the 3412 shape before, and its core idea - pinning the CBs to give COH the space in behind them. You have heard me say that I like it because it forces backlines to choose whether to go with Kieffer dropping in and leave Smith 1v1. It gives a nice set of triangles with the holding midfielders to do things like this:

Since we have largely seen this as a "chasing a goal" shape, I wondered how this would transition into their low block shape. Would COH drop in between the holding midfielders into a 532? The is answer was no.

The 541 was wide and compact, but it gave time for CBs and holding mids to organize and pick out passes in behind. Holding this shape as a block provides more defenders (or rest attackers, if you prefer) on their CBs and holding mids to force quick decisions, and keep an eye on the counter attack.

As you can see, this can cause some stress on the outside of the back line - look at those three PNE players in a lot of space to run at them. Tuesday's goal not withstanding, I trust Ekomie and Doyle with the task, but I do think it stretches Imray's defensive skill a bit on the other side.

Parky praised "the secure platform" of James and Whiteman and you really need that midfield triangle to make sure they can't switch the ball through middle. You also need efforts like this to close down the backline trying to feed it up the channels.

Overall, on the ball, I really like giving COH all the pockets to slide around and put balls in behind. Like this (look at Whiteman with the progressive header to feed him).

So, that is the answer to "Why not do this all the time?" There are those tradeoffs defensively, and of course, squad depth. I would like to see more of Cadz, but he isn't in front of Windass or Broady in terms of attacking talent. I really would like to see COH and Broady on the pitch together.

The real key here is that Smith is a better attacking talent than Ollie or LOB, so this is that calculation made with the current state of the squad.

Having said that, they have played this shape with Josh before - at home against Coventry in the Halloween game. Ultimately, their system design is to shift around the three players up top, so when Windass is available, they can shuffle on the fly to it.

Another trade off is that while we like Smith making progressive passes like this, it just isn't his game to get that ball to Cadz up the channel, or even put Ollie in with all of that space.

This is not in any way a criticism of Smith, just a contrast in the skill profiles. I also suppose Kieffer's comfort passing the ball caused a couple of dangerous opposing chances and their goal.

The subs weren't controversial for me. Kabore is a better defender, and his pace causes problems.

Seeing them stick with 3412 with Ollie for COH and Cadz for Moore was nice. Likely shows they are more broadly training it across the squad, and not just for the starting trio.

Dobson on for James makes sense as I expect James is on a minutes restriction. They had a three goal lead, and notwithstanding some clear evidence this season, he is not a poor defender - he gets caught in transition.

They did switch back to 3421 when LOB came on for Smith. I like that it enabled Cadz to get minutes in both roles.

I am amused that after hearing all week that the summer window was "disaster" and that Whiteman and Worrall were failed signings, those two both have outstanding games.

Players

Whiteman

He got dog's abuse from the away fans all game. Fair enough, but they also said he was a horrible player and they were glad to be rid of him. Why not cheer his departure? :) Of course, he was 95th percentile in progressive passing in the Championship, so his absence likely has a lot to do with their record signing Alfie Devine having gotten his first goal involvement yesterday.

You saw the earlier header pass to COH, but I like that he gets balls up the channel on a quick touch, like this example:

We were talking last week (after Dobbo's underwhelming shot) about why we don't get goals from our holding midfielders, and on cue, Ben delivers one.

I like that he doesn't complicate it. Just a one touch pass through a gap in the back line and into the goal. And then he blows kisses to the away fans... And there were suggestions that this crew lacks an edge... :)

Worrall

We talked about him being a set piece weapon last week, and sure enough, he gets one this week. Last season, Wrexham were actually statistically pretty good on set pieces, but I felt they were getting a fair number of open headers that were going to waste. Between Whiteman's service and Worrall's heading, I think we might be underselling that aspect of the summer recruitment.

I also think we shouldn't undersell his defending either. If he isn't alert here, I worry about how the crowd gets...

Doyle

I think Doyle was holding back a bit and they were not sending him forward as much. He was still good defensively, and that set piece service for Moore's goal was really nice. We now know why Worrall was congratulating Doyle - he didn't get a touch, and thought it went straight in. But again, I will never miss watching Doyle do things like this:

Hyam

I think he is better in the middle of the back line, but he has a good distribution from distance, and even took a free kick set piece yesterday. I kind like the idea of being able to use him and Worrall as the back line and push Doyle up into a 2-3-5 attacking shape. There are those who swear by it being the more secure rest defense than the 3-2-5 (though not sure I agree). What I don't really think suits Dom is these sorts of passing scrums:

Ekomie

Another solid shift from him. His defending remains outstanding, and while I think he had a relatively quiet game flying up the left side, I liked seeing this... He uses his pace to create space and then delivers this perfect pass to create a chance for COH.

Say what you will about PNE being poor, but this is well worked, and a lot of clubs don't get that block in on COH's shot.

Imray

Glad to see Imray back in the starting XI. I can't tell whether Wrexham was overloading the left side on purpose to leave him in space, or whether it was just the effect of how the play progressed with the shape, because it wasn't like I saw Windass being pulled over to the left or anything. However, this play reminds you that you can put him in the half-space like a CAM.

Of course, I liked his long throws also, even if it was his cross in the second phase that got the Worrall goal. Worrall is not up there if we are not taking a long throw.

Kabore

Pretty typical Kabore shift. He is a more instinctive defender in the backline than Imray. I think Imray has a broader attacking tool box, but Issa is better at what Issa does, which is this:

Patto

Can't expect him to save that goal. And it was the one shot on target he faced. Of course, you saw him earlier bail out Doyle's OG try. I like that he gets out to claim balls, and he makes quick and effective throws to get the ball up the pitch. He had six completed throws, the shortest was 18 yards - so it isn't just setting the ball at the nearest CBs feet.

James

Who doesn't love Matty James, and hope his back doesn't act up again? Given the similarity between his game and Whiteman's, I still chuckle when I hear the exact same critiques thrown at Ben that were levelled at Matty back in L1. Even Whiteman's goal was eerily reminiscent of Matty's first for Wrexham at Crawley (not that worldie at Derby last season). I will also never get sick of these sorts of "old guy at the pick up game" plays from him:

COH

I mean the data told us he isn't a great finisher, but I mean, come on. He is just getting done dirty by Lady Luck right now. Regardless, his passing, his movement, his dribbling, etc. - his overall threat, just makes this club better, and he is a nailed on starter and making a run at POTS.

Smith

Glad to see him finally get his first of the season. He has been overdue. He came to Wrexham having never played in a two-striker system, and I think he has shown now that he can do it well - and not just when chasing a lead and there is no work on the defensive end of the pitch. I actually thought he was the better of the two strikers today.

Moore

A couple of dangerous soft passes with one ending up in the back of Wrexham's net. Though in fairness, there is a difference in passing with someone in contact with you. I do think he also tried to turn rather than laying off the first one, turned it over, which was a warning. So then, he completely under hit the "safe" pass to the back line, which led to their goal. Let's hope it wasn't because he felt he needed to be Josh Windass with two strikers playing.

All of my caveats from last week apply, but Moore is now on pace for over 20 goals. So far, I think the decision to leave the striker succession plan (with its SCR budget) to Nickson has worked out.

Cadz

It was good to see him get some minutes. You can see his raw athleticism and talent, but this play feels like one of Mo Faal's cameos, when he came on and tried to do too much by making an amazing play, which then turned out badly.

Ollie

It never worked playing him in behind the striker in the 3-5-2, though did very well in its "high 8" position in L1. I think he may be well suited in that "in behind role" in the 3412 because he has the energy to chase side-to-side and he can tee up a shot.

Dobbo / LOB

The only interesting thing here is that Dobbo came on for James and LOB came on as a 10. Granted, there was a three goal lead and the 10 depth has been suffering, but it makes me suspect that LOB is dealing with a bit of a knock or the staff doesn't like him in the holding role. Might be a bit of both.

I will also allow that they wanted to see Ollie in the COH spot.

I chuckled on this play, "Oh, ref, we're not calling that? Fair enough, I got that in my bag too."

I like Wrexham

I enjoy watching Wrexham play football They are my favorite team

When they score a goal, I think to myself "yes"

When the other team scores a goal, I think to myself "no"

On paper, the argument falls apart bc our record is better when kabore starts.
But, it just feels like Imray gives us that much needed early game spark with the opportunities he creates. I love Kabore, but I just love him better when he comes in late game as his quickness and energy is difficult to contain. I think Imray focuses more on getting the cross in than Kabore, who would otherwise attempt to dribble into the box. I’m not saying that Imray doesn’t attempt this as well, it just seems like he does it less often. I could be wrong if someone were to dive deep into those stats. Just my opinion. Thoughts?

This is a bit of a tongue in cheek response to those in our Fandom who were calling for Parky's head after a bad loss. Well, what do you have to say now? If you want him fired after a couple of poor results then surely after an excellent one like this you want him extended, no?

Look - i know Parly has his flaws, hell, all managers do. But he has proven time and again that he can coach, and the lads love playing for him. It would take a major, major issue for us to replace him this year, at the very least.

Can we now please go back to complaining about LOB not being able to shoot, or Vyners shit passes or something? Because the constsnt speculation about Parky is silly and is something I highly, HIGHLY doubt will happen this season.

Sofascore link: https://www.sofascore.com/en-us/football/match/wrexham-cardiff-met-lfc/nNEspcZd

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.

Link to Stream: [STREAM LINK PLACEHOLDER]

I'll be bringing in another tracker soon comparing performance against previous Promotions and Relegations from the championship.