Part 95: Chapter the Sixth: Dream an impossible dream.
Chapter the Sixth: Dream an impossible dream.January 1, 2020-February 1, 2020
We face Manchester United, again, but beyond that we don't have any games that are very difficult. We've been handed an easy draw in the FA Cup, so we should have six games over the course of the month. But first...
Midseason reinforcements are called for. Our defense is where we're weakest, especially with Lewis on the shelf for a few more weeks.
The Board has, in their wisdom, decided to not putz around and have unleashed a £13m money bazooka to fill the needs of the club. We can certainly afford it, we've got a bank balance of over £10m pounds right now and are expected to finish with over £30m in the bank.
Simpson's contract is up at the end of the year as well. I doubt that I'll re-sign any of these players, senior or youth.
Bastable was robbed. He's been nothing but extraordinary since joining us, and with 13 goals in just 19 games has been worth every single penny of his record £4 million fee.
Meanwhile Mujkic adds a second “Young Player of the Year” trophy to his collection.
Shirra finds himself on the clip show highlight reels for this goal, which was a quite nifty piece of work from a narrow angle. He's really come on this year to be a key player for our squad, and between him, Djurovic, and Mair I've found myself playing the squad in the 4-4-1-1 formation much more than the 4-5-1.
Mancunian coaches have it easy. I could win all of my games too with a £140m wage budget and the best players in the world. Instead I come in third for “only” winning four out of six Premier League matches this past month with a wage budget less than 1/10th theirs.
I really hope he gets some great coaching attributes so it's worth hiring him once he retires.
As one of his final acts, Sky Shadowing begins the hunt for a foreign feeder club. He won't see it's completion.
An Israeli wonderkid I've been keeping my eye on for the past year just got an offer from Portuguese giants Porto. I put in a matching offer, but if Barcelona and PSG get involved we're not going to be able to get him. I've held off on making an offer for him before now as my scouts say he's not interested in joining us, but I have to at least make the effort if he's going to be sold.
Bah, he'd never have picked us over Barca anyways. And those grapes are probably sour.
Check that description out. “Wonderkid.” Boumsong is a centerback, and as a loaner he'll only cost us 17.5k a week in salary. Given the holes we need to fill if we're to try and crack European play, I'm fine with using a loan player for one of them.
vs. Rotherham, January 4, 2020
FA Cup, Third Round
Rotherham are still in League One, currently sitting in 16th position. We should handle them with ease, our backups at this point are basically as good as your average Championship team. I don't want to be complacent, we will be using some starters, but our next match is yet again versus Manchester United and I want the first team fit for that.
Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Attack
Starting 11: Higgs, Youssouf, Johansen, Todd, Durand, Troelsen, Petts, Bailey, Thompson, Argenti, Harrison (c).
Subs: De Blasio, Mujkic, Shirra, Dixon, O'Hanlon, Mejasic, Love.
Rotherham stuns the crowd in the 6th minute with a free kick bender into the back of our net. It's the only goal for the first half, despite our dominance in every area of the game. I'm starting to become seriously concerned when we're unable to make anything happen by the hour mark, and put in Mujkic. Two minutes later we level the score. It's the only one we'll get, and it's not enough. Rotherham scores again in the 77th minute, and we are brutally upset by a team two divisions below us. It was a pathetic performance, and I made a huge mistake by trusting in our secondary players to get us through.
Wrexham 1-2 Rotherham
Now I know how the managers of the big clubs felt when we did this to them. I am so angry at the team for dropping that game.
Rogers was never going to play a senior game for us. I've offered up other youngsters with no long term future at the club to teams as well.
The job interview offers are getting better.
Our first reinforcement arrives.
Vid Kovacevic
Goalkeeper
Vid was riding the pine at Liverpool, and he was deeply unhappy about it. The transfer fee was low, only £925k to Liverpool up front with another £100k over the next year, but I forgot to change the club wage cap before negotiations started and was limited to offering a much smaller contract than Kovacevic would accept. His agent nearly broke off negotiations, but a deal was agreed to where he'd sign for us thanks to some very sweet escalator clauses, the promise to let him go for a pittance if we're relegated, a general £12m minimum fee release clause, and a very large agent fee. He's expensive, but he has the potential to be a world class keeper and is only 24.
He's already somewhat better than Higgs, though Higgs remains superior in the air and organizing the defense for the time being.
And in comes our second reinforcement, though he won't be eligible to play against Manchester United in five days time. I'm very likely to try and extend Boumsong's loan at the end of the season, he looks like he'll be pretty great.
The election is at hand! Who will win?
As the voting is ongoing, I have a real coup to report. We stole a player from FC Barcelona, one of the biggest and richest teams in the world.
Tonci Cirjak
Right Back
Players at Spanish clubs all have release fees. For the top stars they tend to be so massive that no one would ever think of triggering them, PSG did some dick swinging this past year by talking about triggering Lionel Messi's £210 million fee but never came close to actually doing it. But for younger players they represent a way to nab excellent talent that a team would never sell to you. In this case, if Barcelona really wanted to keep Cirjak they would have made a better offer than we could ever have put forward, but that would require promising him playing time that he just doesn't merit yet for one of the five best clubs in the world. So we land him, and at a very reasonable price.
Cirjak is our last purchase of the window, there's a Danish right winger I'm interested in that can be had for about £3m but with the additions of Boumsong, Kovacevic, and Cirjak our wage budget is now up to £330,000/wk and our transfer budget is down to £350,000.
Congratulations AJ_Impy! Thanks to widespread support, appearing on 66% of all ballots and receiving more than twice as many first place votes as anyone else, he is your new President. Runners up were CVE with 28 points and A Tartan Tory with 23. Work will begin immediately on the promised “huge, fuckoff statue of a dragon” he promised us during the campaign.
We also have a new managing director position in the organization, which was given to CVE as runner up of the election.
Leeds and Millwall keep making offers for Stuart Simpson, but they're five figure sums and I'm not letting my captain go for that little.
That's amusing considering how young our team is, and that players such as Todd, Shirra, and Mair who I signed as youngsters are now first team regulars.
: I mean, a dragon monument? That's going to be AWESOME.
Curse our low reputation. I'm miffed that I haven't been asked by the board to pick the feeder team myself. Usually after about five years with a team the board will ask you if you want to suggest a team.
vs. Manchester United, January 11, 2020
Premier League
These guys again. At least we're not playing at Old Trafford this time. And this time we've got two new faces on the pitch, though that probably won't be a huge improvement until they get a chance to blend with the team.
Starting Formation: 4-4-1-1 Counter
Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Johansen, Todd, Durand, Djurovic, Mair, Petts, Mujkic, Shirra, Bastable.
Subs: Higgs, Mejasic, Vaillant, Simpson, Bailey, Thompson, Harrison.
We're not nearly as overmatched as we were at Old Trafford, but United are still superior. After the opening minutes see Durand warned and one of United's centerbacks carded, the game settles into a tough fight until United break through in the fifteenth minute on a golazo from 20 yards out. They add a second four minutes later. With only three shots, they've still put us in a deep hole. It doesn't help that we're squandering our own chances, Mair misses what should have been a goal in the first half, and right as the second half begins Bastable misses an open net from just feet away. Making the day even worse, Mair has to come off in the 62nd minute with an injury. It's yet another loss to Manchester United. Oh how I hate them.
Wrexham 0-2 Man United
We lose Mair for the next two matches, the injury is not as bad as it might have been.
Another wonderkid I was keeping my eye on is drawing attention. This time he's actually willing to come to us, so I feel confident about getting his signature.
At Crystal Palace, January 14, 2020
Premier League
We go from playing a team that has lost just twice all season to playing one that has just three victories. With the addition of Boumsong to the lineup we now have changed fully half of our back line, though when Stewart Lewis returns from injury he'll be playing as much as Todd and Boumsong.
Starting Formation: 4-4-1-1 Counter
Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Boumsong, Todd, Mejasic, Djurovic, Simpson (c), Petts, Mujkic, Shirra, Bastable.
Subs: Higgs, Hurst, Vaillant, Troelsen, Bailey, Thompson, Harrison.
The highlight of the game belongs to Rocky Bastable, who puts us ahead in the 18th minute on an audacious chip over the keeper from range. Crystal Palace is able to equalize, but the visiting fans are treated to another impressive goal, this one from Scott Shirra that floats past the keeper's outstretched hands and bangs around the corner of the goal before rattling into the net. Yet again Crystal Palace equalizes, this time just before the break.
We get a huge opportunity in the 55th minute when a Palace centerback picks up his second yellow, and I order the team to take advantage of our numerical superiority. Just moments after I do so we put extreme pressure on Palace, and take the lead when Cirjak scores his first goal for the team. It's still not enough to put Crystal Palace down, and they equalize yet again on an amazing goal that we had no chance of stopping. As time winds down we continue to press for yet another go-ahead goal, creating plenty of chances that go begging by bare margins. Yet in the end it's Meteor Mujkic who finds a fourth goal, his first of the season, and puts us ahead for good in the 85th minute.
Man of the Match: Scott Shirra
Crystal Palace 3-4 Wrexham
Higgs had just 6 months remaining on his contract, and with Kovacevic's arrival he wasn't going to be getting into games. The fans are upset about it, those gormless ingrates.
The Southampton takeover falls apart for the second time. This time it's just three days before they come to Wrexham to play us.
vs. Southampton, January 18, 2020
Premier League
Hopefully the takeover drama will give us an edge in this game, Southampton currently lie in 7th place. We need to finish at least that high if we want any chance of making the Europa League.
Starting Formation: 4-4-1-1 Counter
Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Boumsong, Todd, Mejasic, Djurovic, Troelsen, Petts, Mujkic (c), Shirra, Bastable.
Subs: Love, Hurst, Vaillant, Simpson, Bailey, Thompson, Harrison.
The Meteor is back! After an even opening to the game where he repeatedly caused panic in the Southampton defense, Mujkic puts us on the board at the 25 minute mark. We withstand a barrage from the Saints, but they punch themselves out and we take advantage to put ourselves up by two on a Dejan Djurovic goal. A two goal lead is important, as it means we're still ahead after Southampton is able to pull one back, and we see the game out successfully. The win moves us into eighth place, only five points back of a Champion's League spot. Dare we dream? Probably not, we've still got a -9 goal differential thanks to the hidings we've been given by the megabastards and the fact that most of our wins are by one goal. But eighth place in mid-January is nothing to sneeze at. We're ahead of giants like Tottenham and Liverpool on the table at the moment, which is simply remarkable.
Man of the Match: Richard Petts
Wrexham 2-1 Southampton
Ok, now I'm starting to get job offers from clubs with some real name recognition. The Dutch Eredivise is a second tier European League, but Ajax are a regular fixture in the Champion's League and were masters of all Europe in 1995. I'm getting all these job interviews because of how poorly I'm paid at just £1.3k/wk. The Premier League average for a head coach is £50,000/wk, and the second lowest paid manager earns £13,000/wk. We're going to have to have a discussion about my compensation soon, before I get disgruntled.
A healthy Lewis means we now have a solid defense that should match most of our Premier League peers in quality.
I knew this day would come. Shirra's been amazing this season, the 19 year old has 7 goals and 8 assists in just 22 games.
I'm glad he's willing to wait until the end of the season, we don't have much space in our wage budget at the moment to offer him the salary he's likely to command. He does have an option year on his contract, but I'm pretty sure triggering that would just piss him off, and I don't want him leaving us for Manchester United at the age of 21 because I was too niggardly to give him a well deserved raise.
You'll never be as good at Reading as you could have been with me, punk!
Youssouf is turning out to have been a bad signing. He's 32, so he's not getting any better. He's signed for two more seasons. And he's earning £14.5k/wk. I signed him because we desperately needed right back cover, and I'm paying for my panic.
And my chance to nab this Dane is gone, his release fee was previously just £2.5m, it's now been bumped up to £28m.
vs. Swansea, January 28, 2020
Premier League
Cwp fever strikes Wrexham! Currently the Cwp standings are all knotted up, with each team having won one game and lost another. Swansea holds first thanks to goal differential from when they thrashed us early in the season. It's time to make them pay for that.
Starting Formation: 4-4-1-1 Counter
Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Boumsong, Lewis, Mejasic, Djurovic, Mair, Petts, Mujkic (c), Shirra, Bastable.
Subs: Love, Hurst, Todd, Simpson, Bailey, Thompson, Harrison.
Our counter-attack lures the Swans in several times in the opening stages of the game, and we get chances due to their overextension, but Shirra misses badly on the best of them. We are in fine fettle for the whole first half, but it doesn't pay off until Shirra draws a penalty in the 43rd minute. He doesn't miss that one at all. Then, only 94 seconds later, Mujkic springs Bastable for another goal and we've gone from having nothing to show for our good play to coasting into the locker room with a solid lead. At least, that's what you'd expect. Instead, Swansea comes back less than a minute after Bastable's goal to get back within striking distance courtesy of a frustrating lapse on left back Dinko Mejasic's part.
I grunt in exasperation when Swansea appears to score an equalizer, but then see the sideline judge waving it off due to a foul from the Swansea player. Swansea repeatedly makes me moan in worry, especially during a frenetic last minute barrage that sees them earn three corners in stoppage time, but we hold up. All the scoring in the game occurred in a brief span between 42 minutes and 30 seconds, and 44 minutes and 58 seconds. With the win we're now leading the Cwp standings with six points. Cardiff play Swansea on March 21st, while we host Cardiff on April 25th. If we win that Cardiff match, the Cwp is ours, and we will empirically be the best team in Wales.
Man of the Match: Meteor Mujkic
Wrexham 2-1 Swansea
Well that's unfortunate. He'll miss three games thanks to that virus.
That's very unfortunate. I guess the game noticed that we didn't have anyone currently injured, so it took steps to ensure that I'm now missing two of the three players I brought in to bolster our playoff run. It's back to a pairing of Lewis and Todd for the foreseeable future.
We've moved up the table to 9th place, and are only two places off of a likely Europa League qualification spot. We're just five points off of fourth, which carries Champion's League qualification. I don't think there's any way we manage to achieve that, but it's a sign of just how good we've been this season that we can even dream of such an outcome.
