Part 52: Chapter the Eighth: The trip to the Tyne.

Chapter the Eighth: The trip to the Tyne.
January 8, 2017-February 1, 2017

Another six games before the transfer window closes. I'd expect to start seeing some tired players by the time this season ends in April.



This is why I used fake players. I don't think there's any prostitute scandals in the game, but you can imagine why this doesn't happen when using the real player names. Time to break out the switch.



Nash is unimportant, he's getting let go as a free transfer at the end of the season anyways. So he makes for a good example to all the other players that I won't put up with shit that will get them into the tabloids.



Walsh is well and truly made of glass:



It's going to mean he never amounts to much, his development gets set back each time he's injured, and he's missed multiple months for several years running.

vs. Shrewsbury, January 10, 2017
League Two


We continue to play promotion opponents. Our fans are coming out in force these days, nearly 5,600 for a League Two game is 1,600 above our average.

Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Attack
Starting 11: Higgs, Thomas, Todd, Reid, Smissen, Kadhim, Simpson (c), Bailey, Price, Netala, Read.
Subs: Al-Beloushi, Tench, Lewis, Jenkins, Sinclair, Franks, Spilsbury.

The game is a back and forth furor, with both sides earning scoring opportunities through nifty passing and strong work on offensive set pieces. Our best chance at a goal comes in the first half where the ball bounces around in the six yard box for nearly 10 seconds before finally being cleared, while Shrewsbury shortly thereafter can't convert a one on one breakaway thanks to Higgs. Our defense plays well, but our inability to score leaves us unable to add points in triplicate to our promotion card.

Man of the Match: Daniel Thomas.




Wrexham 0-0 Shrewsbury



Not a bad chunk of change. And we're going to have a whole lot of eyeballs on us, we could really shake the heavens if we play well.

At Bradford City, January 14, 2017
League Two


Another game against a promotion contender. Our schedule has not been easy recently, but getting these games out of the way means that we'll have an easier final stretch of the season. This is an away fixture as well, so we're going back to the 4-5-1 Counter. One thing that's really helped us recently is our defense, since losing to Oxford we haven't given up a single goal over five matches.

Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter
Starting 11: Higgs, Tench, Reid, Poole, Smissen, Simpson (c), Cobb, Bailey, Coulson, Mujkic, Spilsbury.
Subs: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Lewis, Kadhim, Jenkins, Netala, Read.

We have the better of the game for the first 30 minutes, but can't score during that period. Bradford then starts playing as I expected, and only an excellent Higgs save keeps us from falling behind by one. Late in the first half Mujkic scores off of an indirect free kick, and we take the lead into the locker room. Our defense remains impregnable for the second half, and are once again to thank for the victory.

Man of the Match: Sam Smissen.




Bradford 0-1 Wrexham



Those doubters should have looked at the ages of the players on the team. If you predict a team to be mid-table based upon talent at the start of the season, and the team has a lot of developing players, you should probably expect that at least some of them will improve as the season continues.



De-Fense! De-Fence! D-|=|=|=|!



Bah, we get no money from this. I tried to sign Hay to a new contract so we'd at least be able to sell him for something, but he had zero interest in staying with us.



No, I wasn't in the weight room sabotaging the machines before Hay used them. Why do you ask?



Our defensive players get their due for their excellent performance.



We're absolutely going to focus on defense, I have no interest in getting blown out.



That's really polite of him. I'm similarly friendly in my own press conference as a result.



That's a good crowd, but not a sellout. The match should bring us over a million pounds of income, given that we're currently sitting at just over £150,000 it'll be a major shot in the arm. Deep Cup runs have really made a huge difference for us.

At Newcastle United, January 21, 2017
FA Cup, Fourth Round


That BBC journalist is kind of crazy. We've been on a streak, but even so at 4-1 odds we're considered to have just a 20% chance of winning. 20% chance is better than I expected, so we should at least be able to give Newcastle a fight, and one in five chances do occur not infrequently. Still, Newcastle is just two points off of a Champion's League berth at the moment in the Premier League. Even a draw would be a magnificent achievement.

Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Defense
Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Tench, Reid, Poole, Smissen, Simpson (c), Cobb, Bailey, Coulson, Mujkic, Spilsbury.
Subs: Higgs, Thomas, Todd, Kadhim, Price, Netala, Read.

We really should have scored in the 16th minute when Spilsbury has the Newcastle keeper off his line, but he instead shoots straight to him. Newcastle scores themselves on a set piece just moments later, and while we make a game effort to equalize we're unable to do so. It's an expected result, but the team played their hearts out and on a slightly different day we'd be forcing them to come to the Racecourse Grounds for a rematch.




Newcastle 1-0 Wrexham



With just a bit of luck we could have stunned the world, but we performed well and made Newcastle fight hard for their victory. There is no shame in this defeat. Put it this way, we made it as far in the FA Cup as Chelsea and Manchester United. Both of them lost by multiple goals.



That's a bit of a step down from the FA Cup payment. Of course we just made £800,000 from the Newcastle match, so perhaps I'm looking at this from the wrong perspective. We're already very close to topping last year's total income, and it's not even the end of January.



Harrison's back!



Exeter have been on fire recently, and just beat the league leader. So naturally they're our next opponent.



It's been a quiet transfer period for us. There haven't been any takers for the players I wanted to move other than my mistake in letting Ashton get away for nothing, so unless that happens we're going to look pretty much the same all season.

vs. Exeter, January 24, 2017
League Two


Exeter has moved themselves into the chase for promotion, so we're catching them at just the wrong time. We've also been exceptionally good recently, so I'm hoping our hot streaks cancel each other out and we can win on our greater talent.

Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Attack
Starting 11: Higgs. Thomas, Reid, Lewis, Smissen, Simpson (c), Cobb, Bailey, Franks, Mujkic, Read.
Subs: Al-Beloushi, Tench, Todd, Jenkins, Price, Netala, Harrison.

Stuart Simpson crumples to the ground in the second minute with what looks like a serious leg injury. That could be a major setback to us if it's as bad as it looks, but we still have a game to play. Exeter takes the lead after 20 minutes, but we answer back quickly and I like our chances to take the lead in the second half. Exeter's defense holds us to a draw, however, and we take a measly point from a match that saw our captain collapse. It makes for a bittersweet return for Harrison, who's a late game substitute and unfortunately can't power us to victory.

Man of the Match: Justin Bailey




Wrexham 1-1 Exeter



That is terrible news. Simpson has been vital to us as a leader, and now we'll have to manage without him for almost the entire rest of the season. Harrison's back, but he won't be fully healthy for several games.



The transfer window is still open, so I try to grab a Norwich player who's been listed for loan. I'm hoping he doesn't reject the loan.



Oh come on. January 31st is the first leg of our Johnstone's Paint Trophy regional final, and we're going to be missing five first team players and three potential backups. Nice to see that Mujkic is getting time for Australia's senior team, though.

At Gillingham, January 28, 2017
League Two


Gillingham has been in first place for months at this point. They've hit a rough patch, however, and a loss here would see them fall out of that position. Since we're going to be missing a full quarter of our first team I'm using everyone who's going to be away for this match. I'm going with a counter tactic, just because they're slumping doesn't mean they're not dangerous.

Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Attack
Starting 11: Al-Beloushi (c), Tench, Todd, Poole, Smissen, Kadhim, Jenkins, Price, Coulson, Mujkic, Read.
Subs: Higgs, Thomas, Lewis, Cobb, Bailey, Netala, Harrison.

So, I forgot to change to the counter-attacking tactic before the match and didn't realize I hadn't done so until half-time. No worries, everything worked out wonderfully. We actually have more possession in the first half and force Gillingham to scramble for the entire period. It leads to an own goal in the 24th minute, and Michael Coulson looks to finally be waking up from his slump when he picks the centerback's pocket and rifles a shot into the net from 25 meters away. I switch us back to counter for the second half, and with 30 minutes remaining bring in Harrison so that he can continue getting his sea legs back. He does even better, scoring our third goal less than 10 minutes after being brought on via a classic Harrison breakaway. It's a good performance in our first match without Simpson.

Man of the Match: Michael Coulson.




Gillingham 0-3 Wrexham



He went and got himself hurt just after I put in the loan offer. Meanwhile they're demanding a wage contribution for the other DM that they've put up for loan. Norwich sucks as a parent club. This summer I'm going to recommend that we find a different one. At the moment, though, I have 11 hours and 15 minutes to find a replacement for Simpson before the transfer window closes.



Shit, down to 9 hours, 30 minutes.



Oh come the fuck on. It's 5pm. Seven hours left.

vs. Chesterfield, January 31, 2017
Johnstone's Paint Trophy, North Final Home Tie


This is going to suck. We're missing so many players.



Everyone on the first team is in uniform, and that's with this competition only allowing five spots on the bench. If we can manage a draw I'll be happy, but that will mean we have to win against Chesterfield on the away leg.

Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter
Starting 11: Higgs, Tench, Reid, Lewis, Smissen, Jenkins, Cobb, Bailey, Coulson, Netala, Spilsbury.
Subs: Thomas, Poole, Price, Franks, Read.

We outplay Chesterfield all game long, but can't score until Stewart Lewis heads one in on a corner kick. Our lead is short lived as Chesterfield responds immediately, but we're able to salvage a draw from a match where we were seriously undermanned. Now all we're going to need is two away goals in a draw at Chesterfield or an outright win, neither are impossible tasks.

Man of the Match: Stewart Lewis




Wrexham 1-1 Chesterfield



He's already good enough to start in the Premier League, I have no clue why he wasn't capped even sooner.



I was unable to find a defensive midfielder in our price range that would be worth signing, and every loan option was either injured or refused to join us. That's going to mean a reliance on Kadhim, I really need him to step up while Simpson is out.



We've played exquisite football for over a month at this point. Even with a much depleted squad we outplayed a League One team, and our only loss in the last ten games was against Newcastle where we punched way above our weight. With a game in hand over the two teams ahead of us a win will put us atop the table and we're in decent position to make the Johnstone's Paint Trophy finals. Add to all that a bank balance of nearly a million pounds and we're in a great position for the future. As compared to, say, Tackleford, who are only five points clear of relegation and are having player mutinies on the regular.