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Deep pockets

By Mark Currie on Dec 24, 08 01:46 PM in Journalists
'Tis the season of goodwill, but Wrexham have reasonable grounds to feel aggrieved by the postponement of their New Year's Day Blue Square Premiership match against Barrow at the Racecourse. Traditionally one of the season's bumper dates, the loss of the lucrative fixture is likely to cost the Dragons as much as £30,000 in lost revenue at a time when few if any clubs have money to burn. Wrexham owner Geoff Moss was quite right to moan, especially as the likely take when the match is eventually played in midweek later in the season will almost certainly be substantially less. The fault lies not with Barrow - who not surprisingly did not want to play 48 hours before their FA Cup third round match at Middlesbrough - but with the Conference administrators who lined up a full league programme for the holiday. The result is that several other clubs apart from Wrexham have been inconvenienced and financially penalised, a situation that could easily have been avoided if the lead provided by the Football League, which decided against a New Year's Day programme, had been followed. Unfortunately it's not the first example of muddled thinking from the Conference. There has been little or no logic in a pattern of fixtures that saw the Dragons play only one home league match in November. And following Sunday's home match with Woking, those fans who enjoy their fix of weekend football at the Racecourse will have to wait until February 14 for their next Saturday home date. For Wrexham, and many other clubs no doubt, it must be a nightmare to try and stick to bidgets when cashflow is so erratic. Add to that the cost of overnight trips with Wrexham visiting Ebbsfleet, Basingstoke and Torquay United in the space of 12 days next month and one wonders who is paying the bills. With banks unwilling to entertain much in the way of overdraft capital the buck stops with people like Moss - a sobering thought for those who believe that football clubs should be owned by the fans.

Christmas cheer

By Mark Currie on Dec 9, 08 01:14 PM in Journalists

An erstwhile journalism colleague has not heard much of late from his 'dismal Jimmy' contacts, which is hardly surprising given the upturn in Wrexham's Blue Square Premiership fortunes in recent weeks.
Dean Saunders' Dragons made it seven wins from eight league matches with last Saturday's 2-1 success against Kettering Town to add further fuel to the feel-good factor ahead of Saturday's FA Trophy clash with Mansfield Town and the following weekend's visit to the Racecourse of Eastbourne Borough.
It's been a long time since the club's supporters have looked forward with such eager anticipation to the next match and I'm encouraged that their loyalty - in spite of the credit crunch and the added financial pressures of the festive season - has not gone un-noticed by the powers that be in the Racecourse boardroom.
Club directors generally have been guilty in the past of taking their fans for granted and, historically, that has certainly been the case at Wrexham. So it has been refreshing to see Geoff Moss & Co introduce price reductions for both of this week's home fixtures.
Not only that, the club has offered to buy a drink for each of its season ticket holders planning to attend the Eastbourne game on December 22.
The details of the offer were sent out in a letter from the club that also announced the phased introduction of an online ticket booking service, which should prove a boon to those fans often inconvenienced by a sometimes lengthy journey to the Racecourse to purchase in advance.
Taken in isolation, the measures may not add up to much in the greater scheme of things, but it's evidence that improved customer service off the field is as much a goal for the club off the field as is a swift return to the Football League on it.

The FA Cup exit apart, Wrexham's fortunes have been looking up of late with manager Dean Saunders boasting a 100% Blue Square Premiership record to date and progress in the Setanta Shield to boot.
But the Dragons face a major test of their credentials in the coming weeks with three successive away matches against sides whose home records have been good and, with the exception of Saturday's opponents Weymouth, who would also hope to be in the promotion mix at the business end of the campaign next year.
The visits to Kidderminster Harriers and Stevenage Borough, in particular, could have a major and longer term influence on what happens at the Racecourse with regard to the manager's plans when the January transfer window opens and the level of financial muscle made available to him by the club's directors.
Recruitment to date - Ashley Westwood, Joe Allen, Ritchie De Laet, Angelo Tsiaklis and most recently Patrick Suffo - is indicative of Saunders' initial verdict on the quality of the squad he inherited from Brian Little.
But the majority of the recent arrivals are a short-term answer and if Wrexham fail either to improve their league position or at least maintain it in the coming month, the Racecourse boss will be looking to make further and more permanent changes in personnel during the important post-Christmas period.
Only this week he confirmed that quality rather than quantity is what is required and, while he may be confident in his ability to attract the players he wants, they probably won't come as cheaply as a club in Wrexham's circumstances might have hoped.
It will require a leap of faith by the club's directors to back their manager's judgement and they can be prodded in the right direction if supporters continue to back the Dragons in the sort of numbers that to date have been the envy of many other Blue Square Premiership outfits.
Unfortunately there are not too many Racecourse dates between now and Christmas to boost the coffers so Saunders and his players need to pick up results on the road in order to maximise the potential for improving attendances.
In a nutshell a team effort involving everyone from the boardroom down could be the catalyst for a New Year promotion push as opposed to the relegation battle that dominated the second half of the previous two seasons.





So far, so good

By Mark Currie on Oct 20, 08 03:14 PM in Journalists

The axiom 'A week is a long time in politics' immediately sprang to mind when Wrexham manager Dean Saunders remarked today that he had spent a total of just seven days on the training ground since he was appointed Brian Litle's successor.
The result to date is a run of three straight victories and begs the question just how good the Dragons might be when they have had the benefit of seven weeks work with the former Wales international, who has certainly hit the ground running in his first crack at being the boss.
Having hit all the right notes at his introductory press conference on October 2, Saunders has continued to demonstrate a sure touch by naming a well-respected No 2 in Terry Darracott and using his influence in the Wales set-up to engineer the postponement of the match with Histon.
And on the early evidence there's no question either that the recruitment of midfielder Joe Allen and central defender Ashley Westwood has strengthened his squad, bringing creativity and stability in those areas that had been the cause of much concern to supporters.
Central to everything, though, has been the Saunders personality. He doesn't do doubts, negativity is an alien concept to him and is now banned at Colliers Park.
Unlike his predecessor, who went with horses for courses, he wants to breed thoroughbreds and if the current stable proves inadequate he will do whatever it takes to bring in new blood.
In short, he is a winner and as long as the Dragons continue to grind out results we can expect to see the bubbly personality with a ready smile on his face.
Last week in Moenchengladbach, however, I witnessed a very different Saunders after Germany's 1-0 World Cup win against Wales, who had played very well for no reward.
An hour after the final whistle as the squad made their way to the coach, John Toshack's assistant manager acknowledged nobody as he brushed his way through the throng and only a face set in thunder betrayed his his deep disappointment - even anger - with the outcome.
It was a side to his character one suspects that Wrexham players would do well to avoid for as long as possible

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