Part 88: Prologue: Panning for gold.

Volume Seven: Big Pond, Little Fish
Prologue: Panning for gold.
June 9, 2019-July 1, 2019

This club needs a makeover. We were a pretty impressive little team in the Championship, but that won't fly up here in the big time. I've got a bunch of money, and a whole lot of holes to plug.



It'd be hard to overachieve more than we did. I'm still shocked by our promotion.



Thus ends Justin Bailey's four year reign as the fans Player of the Year. He was quite the lower league maestro.



Lewis also gets inducted into Wrexham's all time* team.

* “All time” only goes back to 2013, unfortunately.



Because the all-time team only goes back to the start of the game in 2013 we'll end up completely populating it with our players. We've already made a good dent.



The seasonal Best Eleven is updating again. It bugged out after the 2016 season, I'm glad to see it working again. It's a good, easy way to see who our best performers were on the season.



Our youth system is now awash in young talent. We've got 32 youth team players now, and only three of them are leaving due to their contracts expiring. They'll grub for playing time at both the U18 and U21 level. As giving you a thorough rundown on all of them would lead to a wall of text, I'm just going to post their headshots and their estimated potential, along with a couple words about them.

Alvaro
Defensive Midfielder



Alvaro, full name Alvaro Bolado, is a promising defensive midfielder who prefers to be known by a single name. He's 15, only speaks Spanish, and is potentially a stud ball-winner. He has the “Stay back at all times” preferred move, meaning that he's never going to find himself on the point of the spear, perfect for the anchor man role.

Alex O'Hanlon
Centerback



This Northern Irishman has nearly as high a ceiling as Chris Todd, according to my Ass Man. Expect to see him in a few years getting some chances with the first team.

Vasco Simões
Striker



Vasco is a French/Portuguese striker who will have to fight for primacy with the several other youth strikers I've signed. He's got as good a chance as any of them at becoming a first team regular in due time. He first has to recover from a torn calf injury that he incurred in late April and that will keep him out into August, his player status has read "Frustrated that his injury is preventing him from settling in at his new club" since he got here.

Ben Dixon
Defensive Midfielder



We brought this young Welshman back to where he belongs from Barnet for a paltry £33,000. From the time he was brought up from the Barnet Youth academy to the transfer window he featured in nine games for the Skrill Premier side, holding his own as a sixteen year old.

Piero Argenti
Forward



This excellent young trequartista has a “Model Professional” attitude, which he'll need as he tries to fight his way to the top of our youth team's depth chart. He's most suited for playmaking in the central midfield, but is also adept on both wings and at striker.

Cosimo De Blasio
Striker



Another Italian, like Argenti, De Blasio isn't as versatile. He's best at leading the line and scoring goals. He's only 5'9” so I guess the rumors of him being New York mayor Bill DeBlasio's bastard son aren't true. DeBlasio the mayor is a damned giant, whereas De Blasio the player is on the short side for a stormtrooper.

Matt Parker
Centerback



Poor Parker is only 15 years old, and already has a receding hairline. He's got plenty of ability, though, so he shouldn't worry too much about the creeping onslaught of his forehead against his follicles.

Kristian Ludwig
Centerback



Ludwig Krüger
Striker



The Ludwigs join us from Austria, and came over for a nominal sum. They were my first international signings, and both were quickly outclassed by later purchases who share their position. They'll get in a few years in the youth system and then be sold off for a solid but unspectacular profit.

Bill Timmins
Right Winger



This was a mistake on my part, I was rushing through so many players I didn't stop and evaluate Timmins as fully as I should have, nor did I ask another scout to give me a second opinion on him. He's a talent we'd have loved to find four years ago, but he's been surpassed by the players we can attract now. Ah well, he'll still make us money when I sell him in a few years

Kais Rouissi
Attacking Midfielder



Last but most certainly not least, Kais Rouissi. He's a wonderkid. He's only 14, yet already possesses professional grade technical and physical skills. He's unambitious, which is why I assume he was willing to come to a fairly unheralded club like Wrexham. That means his head shouldn't get turned easily by the largest clubs, he just doesn't care so long as he's playing. I expect that I'll use him in a cup game or two this season, and it's almost certain that he'll get on the field in a Premier League match in the next two seasons, which would make him among the youngest players in Premiership history.



As the new prospects come in, an old one takes off. Curran didn't develop quickly enough to stick with the club, so I was happy to send him somewhere he might get playing time.



I was also able to offload Siegrist at a very good price. He was only decent in the Championship, and I'd rather let Blackburn get frustrated with his mental errors than spend another year hoping he learns how to concentrate. He signed with us on a free, so we essentially made £1.5m after subtracting his salary from last year.



The transfers put us back into the black, and I'm able to terminate the contract of a scout who was leaving at the end of the month. This allows me to hire a new scout three weeks earlier.



So fancy! No more postponements for our home games and I believe our field will recover more between matches.



I'll see how much he wants before I decide whether to sell him or not.



He's not reported as being completely disinterested in the scouting report, he's in the red and "dubious" about joining us. I'm going to see if I can persuade him via the time honored method of offering him fat stacks of cash.



He wasn't even that hard to sign, taking less than Mujkic. This will be by far our biggest transfer splurge of the offseason, we're lucky that we got so much for Siegrist and thus don't have to worry about cash flow while we seek to move other players I've deemed not worthy of wearing our kit.



: (Dyspeptically) We just got to the top, why would I ever sell him now?



Todd's demands were extremely reasonable. We're not going to find as good a player for this price, he's assured himself of his continued residency in Wrexham.



Rainey was struggling to keep up at the Championship level, he'd never have been able to handle the Premier League. Better to strike while he still has some value.



I've decided that our 4-5-1 Counter formation was simply not strong enough defensively for the next level. Specifically, our fullbacks had a real problem both playing a role in our attack while handling their defensive duties. Part of that is because our fullbacks just weren't very good, but part of it was the huge amount of space between them and the wingers, as well as those wingers lack of defensive duties. So I've created a 4-4-1-1 Counter tactic. The wide midfielders should be able to assist more on defense, and the fullbacks should be less overrun by the opposition's wide players. Our attack will run through the spine of the team, where the deep lying playmaker in the central midfield will seek to get the ball to the trequartista, who themselves will be knocking through balls to the advanced forward. The wide midfielders will be tasked with getting upfield to assist on those attacks as well.



I'm calling this one y bws Cymraeg. It's a batten down the hatches formation for when we have to venture into the megabastard's lair. Three centerbacks means we'll be able to clog the penalty area, and our game will be built around absorbing pressure and lightning quick counter-attacks to our striker.



The 4-5-1 Attack formation remains in place. It'll come out when we're at home and playing clubs that are midtable or below.



This is working out pretty well. The teams we'll be fighting against in our upcoming relegation battle are taking our worst performers from last year and giving us money for the honor. I wish I could have gotten more for Garuti, but once again he was a free transfer and thus this essentially pays for his salary last year.



He'll be granted one, he's Australia's main striker.



The deconstruction of the old team proceeds apace. Holland is valued at £2m for some reason, I highly doubt we'll get even half that for him. We should be able to get £1.5m for Pym, though.




With 29 youth players you better believe that I'm signing up for these leagues. It's the only way to make sure they all get enough playing time.



Bonuses are starting to become real money, something to keep in mind when you're negotiating contracts for the first time at this level of play.



The schedule doesn't do us any favors at the start of the season. Everton is perennially among the best of the non-megabastard clubs, and our second game takes us directly into the heart of darkness.




It's not that awful thereafter, however. I don't think there's a match we're certain to lose on it after the Man U fixture until we go to Anfield to play Liverpool in November.



By the start of the season our payroll will have nearly doubled and that transfer budget will be 1/10th the size.



For the first time we'll have to register our team, players who are not under 21 and who aren't registered can't play in league games.



For US/Canadian readers, this is approximately $70,000,000. Everyone who doesn't really follow soccer kept asking “is Premier League money really that much?” Yes. Yes it is. The TV rights alone are more than three times our total income from last year.



This is hopefully the last time promotion salary increases come into play. Mujkic's salary rose from £24,000 to £33,000 a week thanks to his yearly and promotion raises combining. Luckily, we can afford that type of salary now.



Ouch, this could really screw Wigan. Having a takeover occur in the middle of the transfer window just after being promoted is awful. If the takeover drags on it could cause them to be completely unready for the start of a year where they need to be at their best to avoid relegation.



There's now six teams in on the transfer of a French fullback I want. Our only real competition for his signature is Rennes, a Ligue 1 team. I increase my wage offer slightly in order to sweeten the deal.



Would never have happened if US Soccer would just do the obvious thing and hire me to take over for Klinsey. AU-Klinsmann can't even properly recruit players like Julian Green to switch from the German national team to the American one!



Wow, that happened fast. Three days from the takeover becoming public to the deal being sealed. Wigan's coach is going to get fired after leading the team to promotion. I already don't like this new owner.



Oh boy.



Oh boy oh boy oh boy.

Rocky Bastable
Striker


This Aussie bastard is a major upgrade on every striker that we've seen come through Wrexham, including Billy the Kid. He doesn't have the speed of Harrison, but in every other way he's much better. He's not only an incisive finisher (Finishing 16, Composure 14), but he's an aerial threat (6'2” tall, 15 Jumping Reach, 13 Heading), gets himself into good positions (Anticipation 14, Off the Ball 16), and he's great when charging the defense at speed (First Touch 14, Dribbling 18, Technique 16). Just as important, he's not at his peak and is only 23 years old. He'll likely have another year or two of rapid improvement before he hits that peak, at which point he'll be a force of nature. I've had my eyes on him for a year since looking at Mujkic's fellow national team members, and landing him is an absolute coup.



I want him integrated and comfortable by the start of the season, hear?

Bastable is merely the beginning of our first team signings. Over the next month and a half this team will see a massive overhaul that will hopefully prepare us for the rigors of the deepest national league in all the world. We're on the doorstep of worldwide acclaim, and I won't rest until we've got the global reputation our history deserves.