Part 38: Chapter the Sixth: New Year's resolutions.

Chapter the Sixth: New year's resolutions.
January 1, 2016-February 2, 2016



The trading floor is now open.



Welcome back, Bailey. You've been missed.





Alternate universe Lionel Messi wins the Ballon d'Or and World Player of the Year awards while AU Gareth Bale is rated best in Wales.



Watts is getting £1,500/wk after the promotion and yearly raises. He's not getting playing time and thus it's time for him to move on. That's also true for Baker, who's earning £1,200/wk and getting very little playing time in the current squad.



Wright, Reid, and Toms are also listed for transfer, Reid and Toms just haven't worked out while Wright is third on the right back depth chart. We'll see what the Director of Football can get for them.



Hopkins is off to Gateshead.



When coaches struggle on their courses they can keep working to pass it, but it will cost more money. Failing to pass the class might be a sign that they're butting up against their maximum ability, or just a sign that they've got low determination/motivation/discipline.



City's fans think us easy meat.



City's coach is a melodramatic asshole.



No point in getting into a war of words considering we're about 99% likely to lose this match.



Best of luck to you, Raymond. Thank you for your service.



Our DoF is doing a heck of a job selling these guys.



Really good. I did not expect to get that much for Baker. That's £3,500 a week less salary that we have to pay. If we can get rid of either Reid or Toms we'll be down to £31-32k/wk.

At Manchester City, January 2, 2016
FA Cup, Third Round

I'd like to better our performance against Manchester United last year, which we lost 5-2. So, anything better than a three goal defeat will be counted as an improvement. It doesn't help that their manager is trying to play mind games for who knows what reason.

Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter
Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Underwood, Reid, Martin, Don-Duncan, Kadhim, Simpson, Clarke, Price, Cooper, Coulson.
Subs: Higgs, Ashton, Poole, McGuinness, O'Hanlon, Toms, Baker

It doesn't take long for the difference in quality to shine through. Manchester City is 4th in the Premier League, and it shows. We're at 30% possession for the first half, and while our defense doesn't give up a big chance we're carved open multiple times creating decent opportunities for City's deadly players. They score in the 9th minute on a corner when their Dutch defensive midfielder finds himself unmarked on the edge of the area and puts it in. We're not punchless ourselves, though, and we equalize in the 24th minute on a sterling breakaway by Coulson. We hold City harmless for the rest of the half, and after 45 minutes we're tied with one of the best teams in Europe.

It remains that way through the end of the first hour, but Manchester City's quality cannot be denied as their aging Spanish striker with gorgeous hair puts a rebound in when Al-Beloushi can't corral a shot from a narrow angle. We're unable to muster a second answer, and when time runs out our FA Cup run comes to an end. Despite playing a team where multiple players earned four times our weekly wages there was no player on the field as good as Michael Coulson.

Man of the Match: Michael Coulson




Manchester City 2-1 Wrexham



Damn right we did. A little bit more luck and we might have been playing a return leg at the Racecourse Grounds.



I did no such thing! I don't like this Spencer cat, he completely twisted my words. And Tissera is a lumpen piece of shit, I have no clue why he wants to start a feud with me.





Three down, two to go.



£35,000 a week now in salary. Between this trimming and the Manchester City gate we're in good shape financially.



I'm not seeing where we can easily add improvements, especially while trying to keep costs down. I'm having the scouts go through the loaner options and players with low salary demands, but I wouldn't expect much.

At AFC Wimbledon, January 5, 2015
League Two

AFC Wimbledon is likely to get promoted this season, they're currently in second place. The goal here is a draw, but a loss wouldn't be a shock or a real setback.

Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter
Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Todd, Poole, Ashton, Simpson, McGuinness, O'Hanlon, Azille-Moore, Toms, Coulson.
Subs: Higgs, Don-Duncan, Martin, Clarke, Bailey, Cooper, Price.

We take the lead on yet another Michael Coulson goal, where he finishes by rounding the keeper and cheekily sliding the shot into the back of the net. Al-Beloushi keeps us ahead by making a brilliant save around the half-hour mark, but we go into the locker room level when a poorly cleared corner falls to Wimbledon's striker twelve yards out. We have some decent looks at the net after the break, but it's a brutal error by teen phenom Chris Todd that allows the winning strike for Wimbledon, and we go home without any points.




AFC Wimbledon 2-1 Wrexham



My scouts find someone who would be an excellent signing, Japanese national Yohei Maeno. His work permit has expired, however, and a new one is unlikely to be granted. He proceeds to show up in every single set of recommendations my talent hunters send back, even though there's no way for us to sign him to the team.

vs. Scunthorpe, January 9, 2016
League Two

The game is held on a miserable day where sleet falls constantly onto the pitch and the weather hovers just around freezing. Scunthorpe have had no luck this year, and are at risk for being kicked out of the Football League, so we should demand a victory.

Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter
Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Reid, Martin, Don-Duncan, Kadhim, Simpson, Bailey, Price, Cooper, Coulson.
Subs: Higgs, Ashton, Todd, McGuinness, Clarke, O'Hanlon, Toms.

Scunthorpe plays a violent game, racking up fifteen fouls over the course of the match. It works in keeping us off our game, and combined with the weather the match sees only four chances total. Luke Reid continues making amends for his shockingly poor start with the team, and pounces on a rebound after a corner to put us ahead. It's the only goal of the day, with our victory being assured by strong performances from our back line.

Man of the Match: Luke Reid




Wrexham 1-0 Scunthorpe




I've found two loanees who make sense for our squad, right back Ben Evans and striker Justin Dawson. We're the only team in on Evans, but Dawson could go any number of places. I've let Underwood and Azille-Moore return to Norwich, neither had been all that good and if we're going to be developing young players they might as well be our own.



Ibrahima Bah is healthy again, which will allow Coulson to move back to his preferred position on the right wing.




We get Evans, but Dawson is snapped up on a transfer. Evans has been at AFC Wimbledon during the first half of the season, and had earned a 7.1 rating over 15 games with 4 man of the match awards.



Luke Reid is in the team of the week. He's been playing much better, so I remove him from the unwanted list. If we get a good offer for him I'll still consider letting him go, but if he's actually going to start playing how I expected him to then he's going to be a big help down the stretch.



Letting him know I'm pleased is the first step towards maintaining his new form.




Likewise, it's important to keep your door open to the players, when it comes to giving them positive feedback...



Negative feedback...



Or just telling them that you have their back.




Stuart Simpson's contract has an option year, which I trigger. He's now signed through the end of next year on the same terms as his previous contract.



Justin Bailey is willing to take a pay cut, as are the other players who I'd like to keep with the team. Contract negotiations go well with each of them.



My staff thinks that Stuart Martin is unhappy because he's being asked to do too much training.



I give him a kick in the pants for motivation.





Contract extensions are finalized with three players. In each case they took a pay cut to stay with the team. I also have my first acolyte, Daniel Thomas will be spreading my gospel throughout the clubhouse and stoning heretics who think my ways aren't the wisest.

vs. Southend, January 16, 2016
League Two

Southend has been on a bit of a tear since firing their old coach. They still languish in the depths of League Two, despite losing just one of their past seven games. Taking all three points here will place more ground between us and a relegation rival, anything less is a missed opportunity to begin our climb to the mid-table.

Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter
Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Reid, Martin, Don-Duncan, Kadhim, Simpson, Bailey, Toms, Price, Coulson.
Subs: Higgs, Evans, Poole, McGuinness, Clarke, Cooper, Bah.

That chat with Martin pays dividends, as he's brilliant throughout the entire match. He and Reid are rocks in the center of our defense, and they are finally starting to look as I imagined when I signed Reid this summer. Coulson puts us ahead in the 11th minute on a beauty of a tight angled shot, and Southend can't match us despite eight first half corners. Things only get worse for Southend after the half when Price finds Coulson in the box for Coulson's second goal of the game. We ice the match with a goal from Martin off the corner, and the only concern is Price coming off in the 90th minute due to injury.

Man of the Match: Stuart Martin




Wrexham 3-0 Southend



William Harrison is back, again. It'll take a couple weeks for him to get back into the full swing of things, he's lost a lot of match fitness.



Election season is coming again. What wild promises will you be making to win over the voters this year?

vs. Northampton, January 23, 2016
League Two

Northampton may be in the promotion playoffs right now, but we're on our home turf and have just won two games in a row. I feel pretty good about getting a result out of this game despite the quality of our opposition. That's especially true as I can now bring Harrison on late to give us a jolt of energy, tired centerbacks won't be able to handle his 16 acceleration and 18 pace when he comes on in the final half-hour.

Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter
Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Evans, Martin, Poole, Ashton, Kadhim, Simpson, Bailey, Coulson, Price, Bah.
Subs: Higgs, Thomas, Todd, McGuinness, Clarke, Cooper, Harrison.

Tony Price suffers another injury in this match, this time in the 16th minute. Adding insult to injury, our offense struggles despite creating several easy chances while our defense invites the Northampton players to make themselves at home in our area. It's only thanks to stunning play from Al-Beloushi that we don't concede in the first half, and despite his best game for the team he's unable to win us a point all by himself, conceding a goal in the 59th minute. We have four clear cut chances, and we walk away with zero points because we don't convert a single one of them.

Man of the Match: Nasser Al-Beloushi




Wrexham 0-1 Northampton



Bah hasn't found the net since September. With Harrison's improvement over the year Bah needs to start scoring more if he wants to keep his job as the starter.



I doubt we'll be doing much in this final week of the transfer window. I forgot to get a screenshot of it, but we sold Toms for £10,000 a couple weeks ago, so our weekly salary is now down around £32,000. I'm pretty happy with the team, we're at 21 players, and our youth team is good enough to cover any short term absences.

At Gillingham, January 26, 2016
League Two

We're away against a mediocre League Two team and I think we can get a result here. The weather is going to be miserable. Our players will be lashed with freezing rain and sleet for the entire match, and the pitch should be a right slippery mess.

Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter
Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Evans, Reid, Martin, Don-Duncan, Kadhim, Simpson, Clarke, Coulson, Price, Bah.
Subs: Higgs, Thomas, Todd, McGuinness, O'Hanlon, Cooper, Harrison.

We draw first blood off of a corner in the 23rd minute. It's the only good news of the day. Our lead evaporates immediately as Gillingham scores twice in the following ten minutes., and our defense, which had played quite well earlier in the month, is miserable. We slump to defeat, and are lucky that we lost by only one goal. Our offense is downright miserable, creating just two half chances all game.




Gillingham 2-1 Wrexham



In the last three games Price has picked two injuries that knocked him out of the game but didn't force him to miss practice or game time. Then he goes and hurts himself exercising. His new years resolutions must have included "get hexed." I let him take the time off to heal fully as that way he misses just two games rather than risking another game should he aggravate the injury. Cooper will be happy for the additional playing time.

vs. Exeter, January 30, 2016
League Two


It's January 30th and our pitch is still in OK shape. Only Amhazair, Shazback, and JT Jag are still in the running for the contest, and I'm starting to think JT Jag might end up winning by default. Exeter kicked our ass when we played at their house in the fall, so it's time to get out there and earn some vengeance.

Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter
Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Evans, Reid, Poole, Don-Duncan, Kadhim, Simpson, Bailey, Coulson, Cooper, Harrison.
Subs: Higgs, Thomas, Martin, McGuinness, O'Hanlon, Clarke, Bah.

As per usual we let the opponent control possession. We're able to get several chances early on off of corners, but can't put one away until Exeter's centerback is called for a penalty. Simpson converts, and we take the one-nil lead into the second half. Exeter has their best chance to equalize when a pinballing corner falls to the oddly named Ross Ross in the 78th minute. Ross Squared is in the six yard box, with Al-Beloushi out of position, but can do nothing with the shot except hit it directly at our keeper. We maintain the 1-0 lead until the dying moments of the game, when an Exeter player is called for a handball on another of our corners. Clarke ably manages the shot, and gives us the final goal of the game.

Man of the Match: Matthew Poole




Wrexham 2-0 Exeter



The first penalty was a bit soft, but they still would have lost because of the late game handball.



Always good when we remind a team how losing feels.



Walsh is not having a good year. First he loses several months from an injury with the Welsh youth team, now he loses the rest of the year from another injury while with Kidderminster. These injuries amount to a lost year for him, and makes it very unlikely that he'll ever play regularly with our first team.




It's not all that impressive a goal, at least from what the game shows me, but it's still a nice award.



I suggest a negative campaign impugning your opponent's ancestry as containing dirty Englishmen.



During the final day of the transfer period I'm asked about selling Martin. I respond equivocally, it's late in the day to be selling him but I wouldn't mind doing so if the price were extravagant enough.



Crystal Palace never makes an offer for him, so the window ends uneventfully.



We're beating the teams we're supposed to beat and playing well against tougher clubs. We're as far from the middle of the table as we are from the relegation zone. Best of all, we played a great game against Manchester City, making them sweat for an hour in their own house. Wrexham's now a lean, mean, football machine, and I think we're going to surprise some people before the end of the season. With 16 games left in the season my goal is to get as close to the top 10 as possible. We're 8 points back right now, so it's not impossible, and a mid-table finish would be much better than what was expected of us before the season.