Part 189: Chapter the Eighth: Burn them all.

Chapter the Eighth: Burn them all.
February 2, 2026-March 1, 2026

There's only one thing that matters right now, and that's beating United. If we lose, we can kiss the title goodbye for a second straight year. If we win we're right back on their heels, and our remaining schedule is far kinder than theirs.

vs Manchester United, February 3, 2026
Premier League


Hammatt and Quiboulaz are still in the trainers room, which means Laux and Tounkara will have to be on their game despite being fatigued already. Their backup is 17-year-old Mehmet Sadula, who has never played a league minute for us. Let's hope he doesn't need to.

Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Minami, Reed, Tounkara, Laux, Loseille, Maloney, Ünsal, Mercado, Shirra, Mujkic (c), Thiago.
Subs: Kocsis, Cirjak, Sadula, Enrique, Bailey, Allan, Parr.

A nasty collision in the 2nd minute sees Shirra stretchered off, and Callum Allan needs to warm up very quickly. Apparently he was able to do so, because he finds himself completely unmarked by the Red Devil defense and gives us the lead in the 23rd minute. It's a chippy game throughout, with each side earning three well deserved yellow cards, but United muster a grand total of two shots all match against our defense. Thiago seals the win with an amazing free kick with twenty to play, and Laux caps off a game where he dominated every United player that wandered into his area by heading home a Thiago flick on to close out a joyous victory. Can you hear the footsteps, United? They're getting closer.

Man of the Match: Matthias Laux




Wrexham 3-0 Man United



Against other head coaches I'd think it was really a callous and premeditated attack.



But McLeod and I have a long understanding with each other. What a nice fellow. I hope he's as gracious when we nip the league out from under him.

vs Everton, February 7, 2026
Premier League


Everton aren't out of the chase for a Champions League spot, and I don't want our impressive victory over United to go to waste by overlooking them. Once we get past the Toffees, though, our schedule eases up and we don't face a top half team until Chelsea comes calling in March.

Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Minami, Reed, Tounkara, Laux, Loseille, Maloney, Bailey, Parr, Allan, Mujkic (c), Thiago.
Subs: Kocsis, Cirjak, Sadula, Enrique, Ünsal, Bouzid, Mercado.

It's a slog of a match through the first half, but we catch a break when Andre Williams, Everton's excellent defensive midfielder, is hurt at the 54 minute mark. We catch a second when Parr draws a soft penalty just after the 60th minute, which Laux converts. Thiago doesn't need any luck, of course, outpacing the Everton defense to get to a long Reed pass before the keeper can gather it to ice the victory.

Man of the Match: Matthias Laux




Wrexham 2-0 Everton



Yeah, it was pretty soft, but they still would have lost even without the PK.



Thiago's now tied the real life Premier League record for goals in a 38 game season. The all time EPL record is 34 goals, by Alan Shearer in the early 42 match seasons. He will surely surmount that record as well.



String is back! It'll take him a week to get his legs under him, but with Shirra out it's nice to have my first option at the attacking midfielder position back.

At Stoke City, February 10, 2026
Premier League


I told you our schedule would get easier. Stoke are still in last place, and you couldn't get anyone to bet that they won't be relegated despite it only being February.

Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Minami, Cirjak, Tounkara, Laux, Loseille, Enrique, Ünsal, Mercado, Allan, Mujkic (c), Thiago.
Subs: Kocsis, Reed, Sadula, Maloney, Bailey, Stringel, Parr.

Our first goal comes after Ünsal earns a penalty during the scrum following a corner kick. Mercado converts. After a half hour has elapsed Mujkic makes a perfect pass to set up Thiago all alone in front of the net for yet another goal, then scores twice himself on each side of intermission after sublime passes from Ünsal and Loseille. The only blemish on this win is a Stoke strike after we're already up four-nil, when Minami makes a terrible throw to a player in the wrong jersey and is caught out of net in a rare error.

Man of the Match: Mateo “Meteor” Mujkic




Stoke 1-4 Wrexham



Rocky who?



Here's something you don't see every day, a major transfer fee paid by a Brazilian team. Flamengo is a major power, having had an amazing record in the Copa Libertadores over the last decade, but the largest real life transfer fee I can find a Brazilian club making is the £13m that Santos paid to bring megabust Alexandre Pato back home in 2013. This is the exact opposite of how things usually work in real life, when Eastern European oligarchs purchase Brazilian players for their teams.



At last, we can rotate our centerbacks. Tounkara and especially Laux have been great over the last month, but I don't want their legs falling off come late April.

At Newcastle United, February 14, 2026
FA Cup, Fifth Round


If we play anything like we've been playing the past month, this game is a mere formality. Even our squad and youth players outclass anyone on the other side of the pitch.

Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Kocsis, Cirjak, Tounkara, Laux, Enrique, Zouaghi, Bailey (c), Parr, Allan, Mercado, Stringel.
Subs: Minami, Reed, Sadula, Maloney, Ünsal, Bouzid, Thiago.

Things go according to plan, with Howard Webb making amends for his penalty decision in the Capital One Cup by handing us the lead in the 13th minute after Tounkara is fouled on a corner kick. Fifteen minutes later Stringel proves he's ready for action by taking the ball off the boot-tops of the defender and then incisively slicing his shot past the keeper. We give one back before the half, but we're coasting to victory in stoppage time when Thiago, who came on with twenty minutes to play, chests in a Stringel cross to take the remaining air out of the sails of the Geordie faithful.

Man of the Match: Isaac Stringel




Newcastle 1-3 Wrexham



Stoke City will be the sternest opposition we've faced through our first four rounds in the FA Cup. Dreamsicle must have paid off the people drawing the matches to get us such a sweet path before resigning as club president. If we don't make it to Wembley, we have only ourselves to blame.



I was certain they were going to move our Chelsea match again, but it turns out that game will go off as re-re-scheduled in March.



The US better be in the top 10 after the World Cup, or something will have gone seriously wrong.

vs Reading, February 21, 2026
Premier League


It's been a while since we've played the Vivace. Reading is the definition of mediocre. We're at home. Let's see how it goes.

Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Vivace
Starting 11: Minami, Reed, Quiboulaz, Laux, Loseille, Maloney, Parr, Mujkic (c), Allan, Stringel, Thiago.
Subs: Kocsis, Cirjak, Tounkara, Enrique, Ünsal, Bailey, Mercado.

The bad news is that Reading score on fully half of their shots. The good news is that they only took two shots all game. The better news is that we were already up three-nil on goals by Thiago, Allan, and Parr when they scored. The best news is that after I pull Meteor at the half as a precautionary measure (he took an elbow to the ribs), Matias Mercado came on and scored a second half hat trick to run the score all the way up to 6-1. We're not going to lose the league if it comes down to the goal differential tiebreaker.

Man of the Match: Matias “Super” Mercado




Wrexham 6-1 Reading



Alas, our captain will have to skip our trip to Barcelona. Parr also took a ding while drubbing Reading, but the Fragile One came away none the worse for wear.



Hooray! Welsh solidarity! Swansea's two goal comeback in the final twenty minutes means Wrexham is now atop the table on goal differential!

At Barcelona, February 24, 2026
Champions League, Knockout Round Away Tie


Barcelona are one of the most fabled teams in soccer, the Yin to Real Madrid's Yang. The Catalan giants have fallen on comparatively hard times, though, failing to win the league in the past four years and not even making the finals of the Champions League since 2022. We're here to show them the future; we're unimpressed with their past.

Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Vivace
Starting 11: Minami (c), Reed, Quiboulaz, Laux, Loseille, Maloney, Parr, Mercado, Allan, Stringel, Thiago.
Subs: Kocsis, Cirjak, Tounkara, Enrique, Ünsal, Bailey, Hayes.

The match is close everywhere but the scoreboard. Barcelona dominate possession, but Wrexham is up 1-0 after Mercado scores on yet another penalty kick. Then Parr gets hurt, as is his wont, in the second half. That requires some juggling, as Loseille moves up to play as an out and out winger and rookie Enrique is thrown into the fray. The change doesn't benefit Barca, with Thiago and String both scoring on our way to a statement victory in our first match against one of the biggest clubs in the world. Face it, Barca, if Real Madrid can't handle us what chance do you have?

Man of the Match: Thiago




Barcelona 0-3 Wrexham



A “stubbed toe” must mean something different in soccer injury parlance, because when I've stubbed my toe it's felt better within a few hours, tops. Dope him up so he can play, docs.



Shirra is our only player out with more than a niggling injury, which means I'm dreading the news of several more serious injuries in the next week or so.

At Crystal Palace, February 28, 2026
Premier League


The drear of London's seventh most popular club is a bit of a change from the lights of Camp Nou, but a victory here will see us remain at the top of the table and on a torrid streak of 19 wins in our last 20 games played.

Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Vivace
Starting 11: Minami, Cirjak (c), Quiboulaz, Laux, Reed, Maloney, Mercado, Loseille, Allan, Stringel, Thiago.
Subs: Kocsis, Enrique, Hammat, Ünsal, Bailey, Mujkic, Hayes.

We don't match our recent tallies, but I can only credit the Palace keeper for keeping us from putting up a crooked number. Our defense does the job I expect from them, and we need nothing more after yet another impressive goal by Thiago in the 33rd minute. Howard Webb seems eager to keep making up for costing us in the Capital One Cup, though, and so we score a second after he spots an 89th minute penalty to improve our moods.

Man of the Match: Thiago




Palace 0-2 Wrexham



Typical. He didn't even play in the Palace game and now he can't play next week?



There are times like this I start to think that we'll never lose again. We're still only tied with United on points, and we still have to play Bruno Santos and Chelsea twice before the end of the season, but the dream of the triple grows more tangible with each broken team we leave in our wake. Up Wrexham! Up the Dragons, and burn them all!