Part 202: Chapter the Fifth: Ten year reunion.

Chapter the Fifth: Ten year reunion.
November 1, 2026-November 27, 2026

We play in five games this month, and then for the rest of the season the schedule will be jam packed. The biggest game is a visit from Manchester City, who currently sit in the relegation zone but are talented enough to give us trouble if we're not careful. We'll also almost certainly lock down our knockout round spot in the Champions League, a point from either match versus Wolfsburg or Basel should do the trick.



That's unexpected, we must have a lower burn rate than I anticipated.



Nope, we're spending money much more quickly than I thought we would. There's only £23m in the bank, we had been at £60m when the season began. This club is right up against it's financial limits, we are almost certainly going to have to sell some players next summer. Since the board did not approve of the president's increase in our transfer budget, I will be resetting it back down to it's original total.



At least our jerseys continue to fly off the rack. We could clear £40m this year on those alone.



That's great, I'm sure missing the best player in MLS because of injury didn't hurt us in the World Cup.



Everton are terrible this year, but what interests me is that Noel Tosh has been at Huddersfield for all of five months and is already on the hot seat.



The Turf
November 3, 2026

(A wet, windy storm rages outside, and A MAN steps in with a heavy coat and his hat pulled down low. He moves gracefully to the bar.)

: Hey barkeep, how about a pint?

: Hold on a second, I recognize you...


: Heh, yeah, it's been a while.

: So what brings “Agent Coulson” back into town?

: Coach called me up after I retired and asked if I was busy. I was on a train that night.



: Well let me get you that pint!

(The door opens again to admit ANOTHER MAN in a heavy coat and a hat pulled low on his head. He moves purposefully to the bar.)

: 'Lo barkeep, can I get a pint?

: It can't be.


: I was wondering if I'd see you here.

: And I the same. It's exciting, getting the whole gang back together, isn't it?



: Wait, the whole gang? What's going on here? Are you having a laugh at my expense?

(A THIRD MAN stands up from a shadowed corner table, and strides commandingly over to the bar.)

: It's no joke, but I'll admit being a bit hurt you don't recognize me, Daffyd. After all the hours I've spent in this bar, and you recognize these jokers before me?

: Coc y gath! Of course! How did I not recognize you?


: I'm not sure, my face is in about a dozen pictures in this room.



(An especially bright spear of lightning crackles through the window panes, followed by a booming peal of thunder as A FINAL MAN walks into the bar.)

: Ah, you're all here. Daffyd, get them a dram of my private stock. This occasion deserves more than the water you British call beer.

(The four coaches raise their glasses together in a salute.)

: Up the Dragons! Up Wrexham! Up Wales!

At Wolfsburg, November 4, 2026
Champions League, Group H


A point from this match will qualify us for the next round. The Wolfsburg manager doesn't think I'm very good at my job:



I'd like to prove him wrong, but I'm not going throw our best team out there when I can give the kids some time to play. Especially if I can give my son a chance to play.

Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Minami, Patel, Hammatt, Tounkara, Cirjak, Bailey (c), Brown, Mercado, Allan, Damgaard, Stringel.
Subs: Kocsis, Reed, Laux, Bale, Bouzid, Moctezuma, Thiago.

Stringel has had a down season, struggling with injury and not playing up to his ability with only one goal in his first eight appearances thus far. So it's good to see him score quickly to give us the lead. Damgaard doubles up before twenty minutes have passed, scoring from his own rebound. He's proving he has quite the nose for net, it's his fourth goal in nine games. We're still celebrating Damgaard's work when Wolfsburg pulls one back 47 seconds later.

That one goal lead holds until the end of the game. Then we squander the victory by allowing a final minute goal to former Red Dragon Daniel Matko. Bailey gave away the ball in a terrible place and then Cirjak made an error to let his old teammate and countryman reach the far post unaccosted and score the equalizer.




Wolfsburg 2-2 Wrexham



A draw keeps our streak alive, but I'm disappointed we didn't show up that schmuck Attila Kovacs in front of his home crowd.



It's too bad that Simpson, Lewis, and Coulson aren't actually good at coaching. They're not awful, but Simpson and Coulson top out at three stars and Lewis tops out at three and a half. I'm fine with that, the contracts are intended to give them sinecures anyways.

At Derby County, November 8, 2026
Premier League


Derby bounced back after one season in the Championship, but it's an open question as to whether they'll be able to stay up since they're only a point above the drop at the moment.

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

Former Wrexham youth prospect Michael Upson gives the home team joy in the fifteenth minute. We trail until the third time is the charm for Thiago after an hour of wasted chances and wasted effort. Our push for a winner goes wanting, though, and we drop points for the second time in as many games.




Derby 1-1 Wrexham



At least Chelsea flat out lost to Palace, so that we can at least take solace in being the last undefeated team remaining.



I pulled everyone I could from their international teams. Our players need a rest, and this upcoming ten day period is the last chance I'll have to send them on one.



Ok, now stay healthy. Otherwise James Loseille is going to die of exhaustion around March because we have no one who can replace him.



I don't think there was any question that Brony Hunter was going to stay on for another term after he won the triple in his first year. I have found it odd that the elections are held midseason, though. A late May election date would make much more sense.



That's all well and good, and I'd be excited for either String or Meteor, but what about Thiago?

vs Swansea City, November 21, 2026
Premier League, Welsh Derby


Swansea's head coach is on the brink of getting fired due to their poor start. It's his bad luck that the Swans are playing us just when everyone is healthy and well rested.

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

J Quibz scores in the first three minutes of his return to service. That lead vanishes ten minutes later, we're constantly leaking goals as of late. The lads finally push through a second goal at the end of the first half, but I'm not appeased.

We've hit the post three times in 50 minutes. Some call it bad luck, I call it being off target. After my two minutes of hate at halftime we play better, padding the lead when Thiago nicks the ball deep in Swansea territory and quickly gets the ball to Parr in front of the net. Thiago then scores a goal of his own from a Mujkic corner, and despite a frustrating first 40 minutes we come out well ahead after Swansea and Stringel trade late goals.

Man of the Match: Steve Reed




Wrexham 5-2 Swansea



The one thing I wish I could change about using fictional players is the lack of historical records. No, Wrexham did not just set a record for going unbeaten, because the 2003-2004 Arsenal Invincibles went the whole damned season without losing once.

At Basel, November 24, 2026
Premier League


The only meaning this game has for us is in keeping our unbeaten streak. I don't really care about that, because I feel like it should have been over when we lost the Community Shield. Two years ago we used the WM against Basel when we were trying to throw the match and get them into the second round over PSG. But the WM is an English formation and only 100 years old. Why use that when we have something older and closer to home? It's time to re-invert the pyramid:



Wrexham invented the Pyramid in the late 1870s on their way to victory in the Welsh Cup. It was the main formation in professional soccer for most of the next fifty years, and I aim to reintroduce it to a global audience.

Starting Formation: Pyramid (2-3-5)
Starting 11: Minami, Tounkara, Hammatt, Laux, Shirra, Maloney, Parr, Stringel, Thiago, Allan, Mujkic (c).
Subs: Kocsis, Quiboulaz, Bale, Zouaghi, Ünsal, Damgaard, Moctezuma.

First blood goes to Wrexham, as Tounkara gets forward on a Thiago free kick. Ten minutes in we've had 70% possession. That doesn't hold up the entire half, but it's still a 1-0 game and Basel haven't been successful at counter-attacking us.

Mujkic adds a second from far out wide that the opposition keeper lets go off their hands, and it starts to get ugly. First Laux is tackled hard, and forced to come off. That doesn't slow out offense, as Parr makes it three-nil when he hits the post and the ball bounds right back to him for a simple finish. Basel are able to score against us in the final twenty minutes, as they get a 3-2 chance that they put away. They feel humiliated, though, and take it out on Shahed Parr with another crunching tackle that drives him from the game.

A look at the match stats show just how dominating the Pyramid was. As the away team Wrexham had over thirty shots and 15 chances. On a day with better finishing we could have won 10-1. But there was a cost to be paid, with injuries to our starting right winger and our defensive rock. Hopefully they don't prove serious.

Man of the Match: Dramane Tounkara




Basel 1-3 Wrexham



At least Laux isn't seriously hurt.



But Parr's injury causes a problem for us. I don't want to use Matias Mercado that much because he's gone from being a valuable player to awful in short order, and because I definitely don't want to trigger his vesting option that would cost us another £11.5m next year. At the same time none of Pickee, Moctezuma, or Bale are ready for a full time jobs.



Thanks to two draws we've given up some of our advantage in the league, with Southampton creeping to within five points and Arsenal sitting six back. If you told me that we'd be five points up on second place by Thanksgiving, though, I'd have taken that in a heartbeat. Now we just need to keep it up throughout the rest of the season.