There are some players in Wrexham’s recent history that fans would rather forget, including the current chief executive of the PFA.
With a roster loaded with elite quality, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s Wrexham supporters are now having a blast.
Supporters of the Red Dragons, who have seen their fair share of subpar signings since the year 2000, have not, however, always had it easy.
Here, we take a look at eight players that the Racecourse supporters were happy to see go.
Nortei Nortey
Nortei Nortey would undoubtedly lead any ranking of the most eminent players to have worn the Wrexham shirt by a wide margin.
Sadly, though, the midfield player is not a purchase that supporters will remember for a very long time.
Arriving from Welling United in June 2016, he was one of Gary Mills’ many peculiar acquisitions made in preparation for the club’s second season under his leadership.
During his first start of the season, Nortey was relieved of his duty at halftime because he didn’t appear to be a fit for life in the National League.
With Wrexham in 15th place in the league when Mills was fired in October, Nortey received his marching orders from his successor, Dean Keates, in January 2017.
Simon Ainge
Simon Ainge played defense for the majority of his career before moving up front to play for Harrogate Town, where he scored 33 goals in 2017.
When the former Halifax player signed on loan the following February, Wrexham thought to have the ideal player to help propel them up the promotion ladder.
But long after the striker arrived, things went horribly wrong when Dean Keates, the man who brought him in, abruptly left to take up his hometown club, Walsall.
During his tenure at the Racecourse, Ainge made just one start and nine substitute appearances, failing to make an impression and failing to score a goal.
He later called his tenure at Wrexham “a bit of a waste of time” and never regained the form seen during his purple patch at Harrogate.
Ainge is having a better time these days after starting his own recruitment company, which reportedly made £3.8 million in revenue last year.
Adam Barton
When Adam Barton signed a two-year contract with Wrexham in the summer of 2019, some people took notice.
The midfield player had a respectable background before he started playing for Preston, but things had not been going well for him when he got to the Racecourse.
After spending time on loan at Connah’s Quay Nomads in the Welsh Premier League, he was signed by Bryan Hughes.
What came next was a string of sluggish and plodding midfield performances by Barton in a sitting role.
After eight games without a victory, Hughes was fired at the end of September, dropping Wrexham into the National League’s relegation zone.
Barton played just 10 games for the team before leaving in February 2020. Later on, he decided to play part-time while working construction sites to supplement his income.
Michael Bakare
The team assembled by Gary Mills ahead of his second season at Wrexham really was a stinker.
Striker Michael Bakare joined the club on the same day as his Welling teammate Nortey in what he ominously described as a “match made in heaven”.
The reality was more like hell as he lacked a killer instinct in front of goal and failed to score in his eight appearances for the club.
Following the arrival of Dean Keates, he was sent out on loan to Braintree before having his contract cancelled in January 2017.
Bakare has become something of a journeyman since and was most recently seen at Gibraltar-based side Glacis United.
Maheta Molango
“Who is that approaching from over the hill? Is that Molango? Is that Molango?
When Maheta Molango, a striker from Switzerland, arrived at Wrexham on loan from Brighton at the end of 2006, he was met with a fantastic song.
However, following four games in which he hardly threatened to score, blasting several misdirected shots sky-high onto the old Kop, supporters were quickly left wishing he’d vanish back over that aforementioned hill.
Unsurprisingly, Denis Smith decided not to extend his loan period. Fans were even more taken aback when, less than 15 years later, he emerged as the Professional Footballers’ Association’s chief executive.
Darran Kempson
Before Wrexham’s inaugural season in non-league football, cross-border rivals Shrewsbury sent a defensive misfit named Darran Kempson to the team.
The center defender, who joined Brian Little in the summer of 2008, had a strong season before his play abruptly declined.
After a dismal debut outside the Football League, little was soon let go in late September, and Kempson hardly made an impression under new boss Dean Saunders.
Soon after, he was loaned to Forest Green Rovers, and in mid-2009, his contract was terminated one year earlier than expected.
Xavi Valero
After seeing him on film, goalkeeper Xavi Valero was signed by Denis Smith, the manager of Wrexham at the time, in January 2005.
Who knows what clips he saw, but his botched club appearances would have produced a hilarious blooper reel.
He barely made a few appearances, and during a match against Chesterfield, his defenders reportedly lost faith in him, which is why he was famously hooked off at halftime.
To the dismay of Wrexham supporters, Valero has gone on to have a prosperous career as a goalie coach for teams like West Ham, Real Madrid, and Liverpool.
Richard Hope
There was excitement following the signing of Shrewsbury’s captain (them again!) when Wrexham first signed Richard Hope in 2007.
Following a poor campaign, the team was demoted from the Football League for the first time ever.
Their weak defense, which Hope repeatedly played clumsily, was one of the key problems.
After that, he briefly attended Grimsby before resigning to pursue further training to work on oil rigs.
