Part 103: Chapter the First: The start of something special?

Chapter the First: The start of something special?
August 14, 2020-September 15, 2020

The opening matches are kicking off, so I guess it's time to see where the oddsmakers peg us to finish.



It's going to be impossible to outperform expectations at the same level we have the last few years. Being picked to finish 9th is very impressive, it means that the bookies think that if all breaks right we'll have an outside shot at fourth and that our biggest concern should be a mid-table finish.



If I didn't trust our young players we'd never have gotten here.

vs. Liverpool, August 16, 2020
Premier League


Does anyone else feel deja vu? This game is televised, hopefully the first of many for us this season. We're still missing nine players, this is one of the worst runs of poor health I've ever had. Luckily we can put out a full strength starting eleven, but three of the asses on our bench belong to youth players.

Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Kovacevich, Mejasic, Boumsong (c), Todd, Feruga, Mair, Djurovic, Nieddu, Shirra, Mujkic, Bastable.
Subs: Noble, Dos Santos, Alvaro, Petts, Bailey, Matko, De Blasio.

The season couldn't have started better. At 140 seconds into the match Meteor scores his first of the season when he simply out-worked the Liverpool right back to get to his own rebound. Before ten minutes are up we've added another, this one coming from the other flank as Dmitri Nieddu gets his Wrexham career started with a bang. When the Bastard picks up where he left off last season to make it three-nil, I feel a tingling sensation about what heights this team could reach. Liverpool looked completely at sea but for a brief spell after halftime. And that fiestiness was put to bed by Nieddu's second goal. We had nine(!) clear cut chances, and the 4-2-3-1 worked exactly as planned. We're atop the Premier League table to start the season, and for at least a moment we are masters of all we survey.

Man of the Match: Dmitri Nieddu




Wrexham 4-0 Liverpool



Damn straight we're awesome. And we're going to keep getting better. Our average age is only 22.



The whole team of the week could have been our starting 11 and there wouldn't have been any drop-off in performance.



You're no longer my keeper of the future, kid. Suck it up and do your job. Next time I look for a backup keeper I'm searching for one with an “unambitious” personality. I'm tired of backup keepers acting like they deserve better.




I tried to sell you all summer, but no one wanted you. Have you ever considered that you suck, and you should probably be grateful that I'm even giving you a paycheck?



Watch, no one is going to want you.



You insubordinate jackal. Thanks for saving me two weeks of wages.

At Norwich City, August 22, 2020
Premier League


Norwich looks like it's going to have another bottom half of the table season, but if things go wrong they could end up in a relegation fight. We're going to have to do a professional job against them, though. I'd hate to waste victories like our one over Liverpool because we got lazy against Norwich.

Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Kovacevic, Dos Santos, Boumsong (c), Todd, Mejasic, Mair, Petts, Nieddu, Shitta, Mujkic, Bastable.
Subs: Novotny, Feruga, Morvan, Djurovic, Bailey, Matko, Di Martino.

This time we're the ones who have a nightmare start, with Norwich scoring in unlikely fashion when the ball bounces from the crossbar off of Kovacevich's back and into the net for an own goal. We appear to strike back in the 11th minute, but Bastable is correctly ruled offside. From the 20th minute on we take over the game, but can't score. Bastable has another goal called off in the 48th minute, and this one is blatantly offside. In the 54th minute Shirra gets in on the action, and we've had three goals disallowed in one game. By the 80th minute it's clear that we've punched ourselves out, and we lose a game where we put the ball in the net four times to our opponent's zero.




Norwich 1-0 Wrexham



Meanwhile our players continue to find new ways to hurt themselves.

At Burton Albion, August 25, 2020
Capital One Cup, Second Round


Burton's coach was talking about how exciting it was to play against a club of considerable renown such as Wrexham. He must not have been managing Burton when we were in League One three years ago.

Starting Formation: 4-3-2-1 Control
Starting 11: Novotny, Dos Santos, Feruga, Todd, Mejasic, Morvan, Bailey, Matko, Djurovic, Mujkic (c), Di Martino.
Subs: Kovacevic, Chapman, O'Hanlon, Mair, Petts, Shirra, Bastable.

We're given a penalty less than a minute into the match, but can't convert it. The next scoring chance does get converted, and Mujkic now has as many goals in three games as he had all last season. Matko gives us a two goal lead after an hour elapsed, and we cruise to victory in a manner befitting the difference in quality between the two clubs.

Man of the Match: Daniel Matko




Burton 0-2 Wrexham



We should advance again given this draw. I'd prefer a home game, and Nottingham aren't pushovers, but this beats getting drawn against a Premier League club.

vs. Chelsea, August 29, 2020
Premier League


The last time we played Chelsea at the Racecourse Ground we were massive underdogs toppling a giant. We're still going to be underdogs, but now another victory just eight months later would be unsurprising. I'm going to see if we can come out and punch them in the nose, if it works I'll then pat myself on the back for being so clever.

Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Diamond Attack
Starting 11: Kovacevic, Mejasic, Feruga, Todd, Dos Santos, Mair, Djurovic, Mujkic (c), Shirra, Di Martino, Bastable.
Subs: Novotny, Alvaro, O'Hanlon, Petts, Morvan, Matko, Thompson.

Our attack proves capable of carving Chelsea apart, but we finish poorly and going into the half it's knotted at one. It's been a frustrating match to watch, but I have to think that if we keep getting ourselves into such good positions we'll surely convert on them. I'm not rewarded for my optimism. The teams batter away at each other in the second half, both hitting woodwork more than once. Chelsea is able to pull ahead with a dagger in stoppage time, and when we have a last gasp chance to equalize before the final whistle our shot goes off the goal frame for the third and final time of the game.




Wrexham 1-2 Chelsea



This would blow away our previous transfer record, but there's no way I'm selling the reigning Golden Boot for any penny less than an oligarch's ransom. That goes double when it's the last day before the end of the transfer window and I wouldn't have a chance to replace him.



We take gold and silver in the young player of the month awards. I'd trade that for having beaten Norwich or Chelsea.



Thompson forced his exit by being a headache. I could have kept him, but he was a malingerer who was only getting into games if we had even greater injury problems than we'd already had. It was more of a hassle to keep him than it was to sell him, so he got his wish. That we were slightly over budget only exacerbated matters, now we're back under the wage cap an have half a million in the transfer budget.



No huge transfers this window for any club, despite a whole lot of cash thrown around overall. I feel like we're the most improved club.



The fans are still more jazzed about our win over Liverpool than our losses to Norwich and Chelsea.




Todd's earning 5,750/wk, making him a bargain. He's signed through 2023, so I want to put off giving him a new deal for at least the next year. He's been very good over his last 15 games, without a single bad game and multiple strong performances. If he can consistently deliver on his potential we're going to want to keep him.



Meanwhile, Lewis is likely to see less and less time as the season goes on. He's not a bad player, but he's never going to be a starter on a Champion's League team.



Our rash of injuries appears to be over. Aarts and Boumsong will each be back in a week to ten days. Someone will probably get injured between now and then, given our luck so far.



Here's to many hundreds more.



The double shot of improvements from going up a youth level and adding Stu's Shack makes our youth facilities “great.” That's on par with the lower tier of Premiership youth facilities, but still some ways behind the middle of the pack.



Within a month of the season starting we're more or less at what I consider the minimum acceptable level for tactical familiarity. That's pretty good, considering that we have seven new first team players this year, and we introduced two entirely new formations.

At Cardiff City, September 12, 2020
Premier League


It's the first Cwp match of the year. As the fifth most important trophy that we can win (I would rather win the Cwp than the Capital One Cup, but neither are in the same category as European competition, the league, or the FA Cup) it'd be great to get ourselves off to a strong start in our title defense. Also, I'd rather not go 1-3 to start the season again.

Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Diamond Attack
Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Lewis, Todd, Mejasic, Mair, Nieddu, Mujkic (c), Shirra, Di Martino, Bastable.
Subs: Novotny, Richards, Feruga, Morvan, Petts, Djurovic, Bailey.

Nothing of note occurs until the fifteenth minute, when the Cardiff netminder makes a gorgeous save to deny Di Martino his first Wrexham goal. The young Italian returns with a vengeance later, and once again the Cardiff keeper stands on his head to prevent the goal. He can't control the rebound, though, and Dmitri Nieddu is there to grab us the advantage. We don't keep it long, and thus it's 1-1 right after the half when Todd is given a red card for a clean tackle from a ref that was 30 yards behind the play. I have to modify our formation, pulling off Di Martino for Feruga to replace Todd. We also move to a counter-attacking posture, our best bet for a goal will be a long ball upon which Shirra or Bastable can work their magic.

The second half is a nail-biting affair, with Cardiff happy to press their man advantage and rack up a number of shots on goal and shots adjacent to goal. Kovacevic saves the game on more than one occasion. At the same time our counter is running wild against their back line. Our sallies repeatedly force Cardiff into desperate defenses, paying off in the 87th minute when Bastable heads a long ball up the field for Meteor Mujkic, who is officially in rampant form, to take the rest of the way. He splits the defenders and from outside the area launches an arcing shot past the diving keeper and into the corner of the far post. The Cwp will be ours.

Man of the Match: Dmitri Nieddu




Cardiff 1-2 Wrexham



The ref was behind the play, a long ways behind. He saw Todd come in from a tight angle and make a tackle, and then saw the Cardiff player go down. So he pulled out a red card, despite the fact that Todd got ball and only ball, and didn't make contact with the Cardiff player until after the ball was already well on it's way to safety. It was a bad call, but I can see how it happened. It's pretty neat when a game is detailed enough you can figure out why the ref screwed you.

Also, I can't remember the last time we had a red card, but if I'm remembering right we're now on a four game winning streak when going a man down.



When you think a red card was bullroar you can appeal to the FA to cancel the suspension that comes with it. In some cases it's hard to tell if the card was without any justification, but if it looked like a ridiculous card when you were playing the match, and the commentary ingame calls it out, and the post match screen calls it out, and your Ass Man calls it out, you can be confident in the merits of your appeal.




Meh, I'm willing to let it ride for the moment. There's another international break in a couple months, I'll do my best to make sure Mejasic can use that time to rest.



I told you we wouldn't go ten days without further injury.



Argh, Curse my jinxing the club by noting our senior team was finally getting healthy! Shirra will miss three fixtures, league games against Swansea and Aston Villa and our Capital One Cup game against Nottingham Forest.



To end the update on a brighter note, Nieddu is looking like our best signing of the offseason and an absolute steal as a free transfer. He's picked up three goals in three matches, and has been named man of the match in two of those.



Our results aren't that much different from last season, we've won two league games instead of one through our first four matches, but the process has been wildly different. Going into last season Liverpool was a mountain to face, this season we dominated them at the Racecourse Ground. Last season it was a massive upset to beat Chelsea, achieved thanks to parking the bus and hitting them on the counter. This season our last second defeat came at the end of a game where we had gone out to put them on their asses from the whistle, and had been successful in forcing them to play our game. Our loss versus Norwich was a fluke occurrence where we had three goals called back while their winner needed to be banked off the crossbar and our keeper's back to go in, while our win versus Cardiff showed the determination of our players when we went a man down after an awful call by the referee. I think we're going to do special things this year.