Part 204: Chapter the Seventh: We need a bigger trophy cabinet.
Chapter the Seventh: We need a bigger trophy cabinet.December 13, 2026-January 1, 2027
Ah, time for the Club World Cup. A minor tournament that's given far too much attention by the game because FIFA is trying to make it a major event despite the fact that it's less than two decades old and the only winners are European and occasionally South American clubs.
Who are we playing?
Meanwhile, the Asian Cup is drawn. It will begin in January. Kuwait are the hosts of the tournament, and as such Group A is all minnows. Even so the hosts are unlikely to get through to the knockout round.
You've got to be kidding me, Tottenham. I really hope you get relegated.
AU-Tony Pulis is unceremoniously dumped. Is it just me or have there been more sackings than usual?
Aww, I was hoping to get the Ivorian team. We played Seoul last time, and I wanted something new.
vs FC Seoul, December 16, 2026
Club World Cup, Semifinal
Let's get this over with.
Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Kocsis, Cirjak, Tounkara, Laux, Quiboulaz, Bailey (c), Ünsal, Mercado, Allan, Damgaard, Thiago.
Subs: Minami, Mattuschka, Hammatt, Zouaghi, Shirra, Moctezuma, Pickee.
We're sluggish in the first half, and it takes until just before the half for us to score when Mercado gets his first goal of the season. Bailey follows with his first of the season right after the break, and Thiago scores in the 54th minute to place us safely ahead. Seoul don't give up, but they're too far behind with too little time to have any hope despite creating several chances.
Man of the Match: Justin Bailey
Wrexham 3-1 Seoul
Ünsal was hurt in the final minute of the match and now he's crocked until at least March. I was planning on selling him during the winter window, so the real loss here is to our bank account.
That's lucky. If we get by the Rovers we face another Championship squad rather than Chelsea or Arsenal in the semifinal.
Valencia are one of the easier teams we could have drawn, they're roughly as good as Chelsea or Arsenal.
vs Gremio, December 19, 2026
Club World Cup, Final
Hey Dias, your boys won the Libertadores this year! Congratulations! Their reward is facing off against us.
Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Minami, Reed, Hammatt, Laux, Loseille, Maloney, Shirra, Pickee, Stringel, Mujkic (c), Thiago.
Subs: Kocsis, Cirjak, Quiboulaz, Zouaghi, Allan, Damgaard, Moctezuma.
Steve Reed gets us a penalty shout, but for the first time in seven years Shirra's not automatic! We have 10 shots and five chances in the first 10 minutes and nothing to show for it. Then Reed is injured in the 30th minute, and the Gremio player gets away with just a yellow for his two footed assault.
Our lads finally score shortly after halftime, it only took us 21 shots to find net. Then we earn a second penalty a few minutes later and this time Shirra doesn't miss. When Mujkic is tripped up in the box five minutes after that and Shirra scores his second penalty of the day it seems like this ref may have money on the outcome. We don't score again, and Gremio denies us a clean sheet but doesn't threaten otherwise.
Scoring only three goals when given three penalties and taking 32 other shots is awful, and I don't mince words with the players despite our win.
Man of the Match: Mateo Mujkic
Wrexham 3-1 Gremio
Now we can get back to things that actually matter. Rather, we can get back to things that matter after our League Cup match against Blackburn.
vs Blackburn Rovers, December 22, 2026
League Cup, Quarterfinal
I don't even want to think about how crowded our schedule is going to be if we make it through to the semifinal and add another two matches in January.
Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Minami, Reed, Tounkara, Quiboulaz, Loseille, Zouaghi, Allan, Parr, Stringel, Mujkic (c), Thiago.
Subs: Kocsis, Cirjak, Hammatt, Maloney, Shirra, Damgaard, Pickee.
An early goal always makes things easier, and we have breathing room after Stringel puts one away in the ninth minute. Yet we struggle again to score. It's a good thing we create so many chances, because we do a terrible job putting them away.
In the second half Stringel scores again, a Blackburn defender earns a straight red, and we coast to victory with a man advantage over the final 15 minutes. It was an unexciting game, and we once again fail to score as much as we should.
Man of the Match: Isaac Stringel
Wrexham 2-0 Blackburn
Can you feel the Cup fever? I sure can't.
At Leeds United, December 26, 2026
Premier League
The team has played three fewer games than the rest of the league thanks to the crimp in our schedule created by the Club World Cup and League Cup. Despite that, we still have a four point lead atop the table. Leeds welcome us to town in the midst of a strong season, they're a single point off of a Champions League spot, so they do have the potential to surprise us and we're going to need a competent job to ensure victory.
Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Kocsis, Cirjak, Hammatt, Laux, Loseille, Maloney, Shirra, Pickee, Stringel, Mujkic (c), Thiago.
Subs: Landgraf, Reed, Quiboulaz, Zouaghi, Allan, Parr, Moctezuma.
Thiago has a goal called back in the 8th minute, but scores in the 18th from a Mujkic corner, in their fourth year of playing together the two have an incredible feel for each other's play. Thiago adds a second two minutes later. When we earn a penalty Shirra offers the shot to Thiago, who misses and denied his hat trick. He's back at the spot fifteen minutes later and this time doesn't miss. Three goals isn't enough for Thiago, though, so he scores a fourth right after halftime. The only disappointment on the day is when Quibz gives Leeds a late penalty which prevents a shutout.
Man of the Match: Thiago
Leeds 1-4 Wrexham
With Parr healthy again I don't have to use Mercado, but Pickee has been pretty good so far in his limited appearances and is showing why he has sky high potential.
Our Braziltaliowelshman isn't quite as great as he was last season, but he's still notched 24 tallies in 27 matches this season.
I hope Lajos Kocsis is ready to step up while Koji is gone. More importantly, he needs to stay healthy. 16-year-old Malte Landgraf has great potential but he's only a decent League 1 player at this point in his career.
At Reading, December 29, 2026
Premier League
This is our final game of the year, so let's end 2026 on a high note.
Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Kocsis, Reed, Tounkara, Laux, Loseille, Bailey, Shirra, Parr, Stringel, Mujkic (c), Thiago.
Subs: Landgraf, Cirjak, Quiboulaz, Zouaghi, Allan, Damgaard, Moctezuma.
Thiago has a goal called back again, which allows Reading to draw first blood. It only invigorates our players, and the response is immediate and overwhelming. Stringel gives us the lead with two goals and Parr adds a third all within 10 minutes of Reading's strike. Much later in the match Mujkic gives us our traditional three goal lead, and our defense doesn't allow any late game shenanigans.
Man of the Match: Isaac Stringel
Reading 1-4 Wrexham
This for some reason counts the Community Shield as a draw, which it wasn't. So really, we had a streak of 30 unbeaten games snapped by that loss, and are now on a new 29 match unbeaten streak. Even if we had won the Community Shield we'd still be a ways off of the English record. AFC Wimbledon holds that, after going a whopping 78 games over 22 months without a loss from 2003-2004.
Being at the top of the table despite our opponents playing three more games than us shows just how huge our lead is. We're missing matches versus Nottingham Forest and Southampton, and at West Ham. We'll take at least six points from those games, meaning that our lead over Chelsea and United is more like 12 to 15 points. That's going to be almost impossible for them to overcome. Also, if we can win our next two Premier League matches we'll have gone a full calendar year without losing, something we should accomplish playing bottom half Huddersfield and bottom of the table Everton.
