Part 199: Chapter the Second: "And they're off!"

Chapter the Second: “And they're off!”
August 14, 2026-September 10, 2026

One thing that we have going for us is that the core of our team remains the same. Of the players who spent last season on our senior team only Enrique is gone. That could change a little before the end of the transfer window, but I'm not actively trying to move anyone at this point.

My biggest concern going into the season was Mujkic and Minami both missing a lot of time to national commitments. I thought we'd have to cope without our captain during both the Asian Cup and the stupid ASEAN Championship, depriving us of our Meteor for half the year, but look!



He's only 29, so he could return at some point, but that run to the quarterfinals might be his swan song on the international stage. Meteor finishes with 106 appearances for the Socceroos, with 34 goals and 48 assists. That would be enough to put him second all time in real life for appearances, behind Mark Schwartzer, and goals, behind Tim Cahill. I can't find a website with their leader for assists, but he's almost certainly number one in that category.

In this universe he's also behind John Karbon of Bologna and Matthew Higgins of Shakhtar Donetsk for caps, and Rocky Bastable for goals. The Bastard of Madrid, nee Wrexham, also retired on the same day as Mujkic. Between the two of them they had 208 caps, 98 goals, and 79 assists. That changes Australia from the best team in the Asian Cup to something far less impressive.



Quibz will miss the next match, I don't want to take any risks with his recovery, but having him back is a relief as he provides a great deal of depth and versatility being able to play across the entire back line.

vs Reading, August 15, 2026
Premier League


We pissed away our last two matches, glorified friendlies or no. It's time to control the ball and get a solid victory to start the season.

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

Parr starts the season with one hell of a goal, chipping the keeper from the edge of the box in the third minute. Then a handball on a corner gives us a PK, and everyone knows that the Golden Boy never misses from the spot twenty minutes later. Thiago scores his usual goal in the second half, and while Minami is forced to make one save late in the game it's Reading's only shot of the afternoon.

Man of the Match: Shahed Parr




Wrexham 3-0 Reading



Meteor and Bailey are 12th and 13th, respectively, in all time league appearances for Wrexham when you include real life.



I'm really looking forward to getting our new stadium. Another 10,000+ seats will help our bottom line.




You're a pain in my ass, Damgaard.

At Huddersfield Town, August 23, 2026
Premier League


I'm interested in seeing how Huddersfield does a year after they shocked the league by not only staying afloat but finishing in the top half. Then I remember that their coach retired and they hired Worst Manager Ever Noel Tosh. They're getting relegated.

Meanwhile, little old Burnley is turning out to be David to Man United's Goliath, having won twice and drawn once with the Mancunians since returning to the Premier League two seasons ago.

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

In the fourth minute Huddersfield suffers the ignominy of an own goal, the strike from the offending centerback couldn't have been better had he been wearing green and black instead of white and powder blue. Tounkara adds a goal on a recycled set piece, we're deadly when teams don't immediately clear the ball a long ways downfield.

Thiago's golden feet and crown aren't on target, so all our scoring is coming from our back line, with Loseille joining Tounkara on the scoresheet when he cuts inside onto a ball from Shirra and looks like a born forward spanking it past the keeper in the 84th minute. Then just before the death it's not a Thiago goal but rather an assist for setting up a Shirra goal.

Man of the Match: Scott “The Golden Boy” Shirra




Huddersfield 0-4 Wrexham



Aww c'mon. He was only on the pitch for the last thirty minutes!



And Bailey hasn't even seen the pitch yet because of his own injuries.



Boo! They just didn't want to give us home field advantage!



I want the easiest possible group.



That's not bad, but it's not the easiest possible group. Wolfsburg is the weakest of the two seeds, but I was hoping for something more like Braga and Slovakian micro-giants Zilna (They've won the Slovakian league eleven years running) for the third and fourth opponents.



I was winding up to kvetch about how we never get a League One or Two side in the League Cup, but then I looked and only one was left by the time we entered the competition.



It's a youth movement! Pretty much everyone over thirty has been cleared out so that the youngest players can start building some rapport.

vs Real Madrid, August 28, 2026
UEFA Super Cup


Loseille is actually suspended for this game after picking up one too many yellow cards over the course of last season's Champions League campaign. Mercado is in the starting lineup, it'll be nice for Real Madrid fans to see their old talisman.

Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Vivace
Starting 11: Minami, Cirjak, Tounkara, Laux, Quiboulaz, Shirra, Ünsal, Mercado, Allan, Mujkic (c), Thiago.
Subs: Kocsis, Reed, Leandro, Maloney, Bale, Damgaard, Parr.

The Golden Boy is in rampant form. In the fourth minute Real's keeper can only punch the ball away, and it flies to Shirra. His fine form continues when he threads a pass through defenders to Thiago. It's the only goal we'll score all game. Madrid can't solve our offense, though. So it comes down to the 89th minute when Rocky Bastable has one last chance to equalize against his old club. His shot goes off the post, and we've picked up our first trophy of the season.

Man of the Match: Dramane Tounkara




Wrexham 1-0 Real Madrid



It wasn't our most impressive performance, but it nets us our first trophy of the year. It's the 17th of my tenure at Wrexham.



Good, the last thing we need is him getting crocked on international duty just as he's recovering from his current injury.



Burnley takes a point from a trip to the Etihad! They've now picked up four of six points from the Manchester teams.



That's going to be a big loss for Arsenal, Cirelli was the tip of the spear for their offense. Perhaps AJ_Impy's efforts are bearing fruit? Arsenal's financial status is only OK, and this makes no sense otherwise as they laid out £40m for him but are only getting £33.5m back.



So that happened fast, I hadn't realized the transfer deadline was only two days away. I won't be sorry to see Cirelli go, especially since we host Arsenal in two weeks.



Even after selling Cirelli it's no problem for Arsenal to thrash United. United are off to a rough start, and have already lost twice.



Is that a panic buy by Ryan McLeod? We play Everton this afternoon, I wonder if they'll hold Darby out of the starting eleven pending the transfer.



I guess we'll never find out. That happened quickly, and now Everton won't have a top quality attacker to throw at us in five hours.

vs Everton, September 1, 2026
Premier League


The Toffees without Darby looks a lot less dangerous:



They're also missing very good defensive midfielder Andre Williams to a suspension.

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

Everton jolt us out of our complacency early, but can't finish the job. On the same play Shirra picks up a knock and spends a few minutes getting fussed over by the physio. During that time Parr gives us the lead.

After a half-hour it's surprising that we're only just now scoring our second goal, this one a Laux production from a corner. After an hour, we could be up 8-0 when Thiago scores our third, and then the flood gates finally open. First the refs decide to help us out by giving a soft penalty, then Loseille bamboozles the embattled Everton keeper with a long range effort, and finally Thiago wraps things up with a 90th minute goal to make it six-nil.

Man of the Match: Thiago




Wrexham 6-0 Everton





It's been a good start for the Dragons, and these awards don't even take into account the six-spot we dropped on Everton. We can be pretty happy going into the international break.



The Premier League seems to have shipped out more talent than they brought in, with Chelsea, Arsenal, and Man City all net sellers. Man City also massively slimmed down their wage budget, dropping a full 25% from £121m last year to £89m in an effort to comply with Financial Fair Play rules. We were buyers ourselves, spending a modest net total of £5m. That's mostly due to the price tag on Moctezuma.



Two quick friendlies against the Swiss and Panama, and the United Arab Emirates, and then everyone can get back to their professional careers. At least until the October international break.



I can see the hunger in their eyes. Now lets find out how they handle it.



Heh, Wankdorf.



My contributions to the mighty footballing state of Scotland continue. Lajos Kocsis also got his first cap, so good for him too.



Actually, it'll give me a chance to break a bunch of youngsters into the squad without throwing them into the deep end. I'm going to try and schedule one challenging opponent and one “kids table” opponent until CONCACAF qualification starts.



And in other news our U20 squad went to Uruguay and dismantled the locals 6-0.



So much for starting slowly. Wrexham looks just as much a juggernaut as ever, not conceding once across four matches. The USMNT brought in a lot of new blood and held the Swiss to a draw in the Alps before proceeding to pound the UAE. And then the U20 squad handled Algeria 2-1 before pasting the fourth place finisher at the last U20 World Cup six-nil in front of their parents. Lets hope this keeps up, we play Arsenal in two days and then travel to Old Trafford to face a reeling Man United a week later. Beating both of them would vault us out above the contenders for the league title.