Although Phil Parkinson’s team is going through a difficult time, should we be concerned?
“You try to concentrate on yourself, but with all the apps available on your phone these days, it’s simple to glance at the table and the lineups of every team. All you need to do is practise extreme self-discipline and pay attention to each game as it arises. That may sound trite and uninteresting, but it’s the truth.”
After his team’s 1-0 loss to Gillingham on Saturday, Jordan Tunnicliffe, a midfielder for Wrexham, presented a concise summary of the intense League Two promotion battle. That particular fight has seen several shifts in momentum from team to team since Christmas.
Now, with just five points separating the top five teams—Mansfield Town, Stockport, Crewe Alexandra, Wrexham, and MK Dons—there seem to be five teams left in the running for automatic promotion, assuming Barrow doesn’t put together something pretty spectacular over the next few weeks.
The neutral can rejoice as League Two is about to witness one of the most intense matchups in years. However, Phil Parkinson’s team must really view the previous two weeks as a squandered chance to firmly establish themselves atop the League One standings.
A concerning dip in form
This is because to the worrying form decline that Wrexham is currently experiencing. Parkinson’s team has now won just twice in their previous seven league games after their loss in Kent this past weekend. This run did feature a terrific – if somewhat fortunate – victory over last season’s rivals Notts County, so there’s no need to panic just yet.
However, throughout this quiet start to the year, there have also been depressing losses to Bradford City, Salford, and Newport County—all clubs stranded in the lower half of the League Two standings. Wrexham needed an 85th-minute winner to overcome Sutton, who were struggling, and were far from convincing against the bottom-dwelling team in the division.
However, they are not the only League Two contenders for promotion who have had difficulties. Before Christmas, Stockport appeared certain to be promoted, but they have already lost four games, which has allowed Crewe and Mansfield to surge ahead in the rankings.
However, it doesn’t justify Wrexham’s terrible performance. If you delve a bit further, you’ll find a number of underlying problems that should worry Hollywood owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds as the season comes to an end.
Paul Mullin not at his best
One such warning sign is Paul Mullin’s shocking underperformance. Mullin arrived from Cambridge United in a sensational move back in 2021, and since then, he has hardly stopped scoring goals. But lately, nothing seems to be clicking with him.
Parkinson has made the unexpected choice to bench Mullin for the most recent games against Sutton, MK Dons, and Gillingham. Mullin has now failed to score in seven games. When it happened for the first time, the Wrexham manager played it cool and said the “special” striker was taking a break after a demanding few seasons.
However, Parkinson clarified Mullin’s recent absences by saying, “The squad is important and we will just keep looking at that, and freshen it up if we feel we need to.” The fact that Mullin just entered the game in the second half suggests that his boss is not entirely happy with the way his top player has performed this season. These remarks were made prior to Gillingham’s loss.
Elliot Lee struggling too
Still, Mullin cannot be held entirely responsible. Elliot Lee has also been a little moody. Lee stepped up to the plate when Mullin was sidelined by an injury at the start of the season and became Parkinson’s most valuable offensive player.
Before Christmas, he scored 13 goals in League Two, but after then, his production has significantly decreased. In fact, he has only scored once since Boxing Day, even though he has played in all 11 of his team’s following games. At the very least, it was a significant goal—the one that separated his team from Sutton earlier this month.
Lee was benched for his team’s tie against MK Dons, just as Mullin. It is especially regrettable since the two players’ declines in performance occurred nearly exactly at the same time that they were signed to long-term contracts. What’s more troubling is that their attacking teammates haven’t been able to step up and take the place of their goals.
January signature After six games, Jack Marriott still hasn’t made the net bulge, Sam Dalby is unlikely to ever be truly prolific at this level, and Ollie Palmer, a crucial player from the previous season, appears to have lost favour. Although Steven Fletcher has at least had a great start to 2024, he hasn’t done quite enough to stop Wrexham’s dismal goal-scoring performance.
A lack of discipline
Examining the entire season via a broader lens reveals another concerning pattern. Specifically, Wrexham’s lack of self-control. Throughout the season, the Red Dragons have had six players sent off, more than any other League Two team. They have received four straight red cards. The only teams with worse total dismissal records are Salford and Forest Green, both of which are struggling around the bottom of the table.
Even though Wrexham was down to 10 men in three of those games, they still managed to win, which is impressive, but since the beginning of the year, their luck has run out. They had a mountain to climb after Will Boyle’s early red card for a careless challenge against Newport County back in January. Their Welsh rivals won the match 1-0, denying their opponents the opportunity to top League Two.
And then, 13 minutes remaining in the match against MK Dons, Boyle again went red. Considering that their hosts had already been down to 10 men earlier in the second half, it wasn’t quite as devastating, but it did lessen the sting of their attack as Wrexham pushed for a
After MK Dons manager Mike Williamson implied that the media darlings are given preferential treatment over their competitors, Parkinson lamented the latest dismissal and what he saw as the harsh treatment he has received from referees this season. “I’ve been constantly this season going through clips of decisions we could have got, penalties or red cards which were harsh against us, but over the course of the season you’ve got to accept it and it balances itself out.”
In some respects, Parkinson is correct; upon further inspection, a few of these red cards do appear excessive. However, some of them have been well-earned, so Wrexham needs to make sure they maintain composure and field 11 players at all times in the final stretch.
