WitG Top of the Kops and away day kings

The Mo Better Blues and new stand that resembles 'a drug addict's teeth' edition

ANDY: The Vertu Trophy. Best ever isn’t it? We’ve always loved it here, whatever it’s been called and whatever it will be called next week. A sure-fire way to get to Wembley and absolutely not a distraction at all (…in fairness it fell right this week with the Leyton Orient game called off).

Two away wins in a row. Plus a brand new Kop that some people like and some are moaning about - despite the plans including a MASSIVE pub. Not a bad week that, is it?

We look at all this – especially the Kop as Tim was at the press conference when it was all announced – plus there’s a great fan of the week and lots of little titbits to keep you interested. At the moment it’s just £15 to sign up for the year. For all you get in here, we reckon that’s better value than a first half Mo Faal, but not as good as a second half one.

BREAKING NEWS: We are giving you this week’s edition FREE so you may think about signing up*

*please think about signing up…

Quotes of the week: “I hope he identifies as a striker” - Sent into one of my WhatsApp groups after we signed Sam Smith…

Kop a load of our first new stand this century

The plaza will be ideal for the youth of Wrexham to gather

TIM: Michael Williamson gave a 15-20 minute spiel. I nodded several times in polite acknowledgement. My eyes were transfixed on the TV screen in the Betty Buzz Suite, the summit of the Macron Stand.

I, along with several members of the Press were present for the grand unveiling of the latest and final images of the new Kop.

My eyes, like everyone else's when the images dropped publicly, were drawn to the 'wonky' facade. Initially it reminded me of the Cobra Kai fist logo... then a paper party hat you put on at a jaunty angle when you grasp it from a Christmas cracker.

It's since been compared to everything from the teeth of a drug addict to a castle. It's undeniably unique, and that is precisely what we should all be embracing. Who wants a structure that reminds you of any number of dull, uninspiring identikit stadiums? Legoland Chester looks pretty much like Northampton Town's ground, and so on.

Someone on X commented to me that 'this is football, not an art gallery'. Wrong. Football is art, so why not paint it against a canvas of splendour? You'd swear some fans would prefer to still be urinating against a tatty old wall in a toilet block more akin to the surrounds of a war-torn nation.

This, everyone, IS the jewel in Wrexham's crown. Not Paul Mullin, not successive promotions, not the owners and not chips for a quid.

Here you can watch Dan Scarr give away a penalty in glorious technicolour

Rising from the old concrete jungle that was the dilapidated original Kop, will be a rampart so vast and imposing that the council will have to remove the speed camera on Mold Road. It will be made redundant by motorists automatically slowing down to view its red-brick beauty.

Not that everyone has seen in like that - some joker has started a petition to get the design changed because he thinks one of the images displays a St George's Flag within the design. Christ almighty. Anyway, 12 people have signed that laughable petition. Such stupidity doesn't even deserve further comment.

Teeth like a bombed row of houses… or a new stand?

I could go on and on about the plans but it isn't really for me to make a case for or against it - this is all down to personal preference. But I do genuinely believe that once it is in place, everyone will cherish and praise it instead of admonishing artist impressions viewed on their phones.

Go seek out the full design access statement via the Wrexham Council planning portal. It will show and tell you so much more and probably allow you to make a much more informed and measured opinion.

What else will it include?

• a 250 square foot pub

• club superstore

• a rooftop terrace where City views can be cherished

• a tribute to the the Gresford wheel memorial

• dressing rooms appear to be on the first floor

• 100,000 Plaza. Surely this will be renamed locally. It's touching but hardly catchy.

The bigger picture in all of this is an honest legacy. The owners could have decided to uproot the club and move it into a brand spanking ground on the outskirts of town. They know that goes away from the community spirit they know and love.

Instead, they are giving a long overdue and deserved glow up to a grand old girl, that will now be adored for countless generations to come. And that, my friends, is worth celebrating.

Vertu signalling our way to Wembley

TIM: Who said Mo Faal was sh*t? Well me about 10 minutes into this 4-1 win. But things change fast don’t they? Here are five things we learned…

• Who impressed? Harry Ashfield. Shoots on sight, is composed on the ball and has an air of fearlessness about him. There's a reason he HASN'T been sent out on loan, unlike Aaron James and James Rainbird. Parky and his staff think a lot of him and he again demonstrated why he should be a permanent fixture in the starting XI for the rest of this competition. He took his goal superbly and celebrated wildly... then was forced off injured just after the hour. A promising future awaits, but let's give him something a bit better than the tiresome: "He's one of our own" (see below).

• Who failed to impress? I nearly deleted this first paragraph... but I've included it to show how fast things can change. His name rhymes with ‘Joe Carl'. He got shoved over way too easily early on and fell almost certainly in the same unceremonious way as The Sycamore Gap. I want to like him, I really do. But he's not remotely shown good value for a £50,000 player – let alone one who cost 10 times that amount. But…. Like his seven foot bed, he grew into things at Vale Park too, playing with more sustained confidence and belief than he's shown for us so far. He was a mixture of elation and relief when he plundered home the fourth goal from Revan's tidy cut back. Just maybe we've seen a little more of the reasons he was brought in.

• Ryan B or Ryan L? Barney has been exceptional for us this season but hasn't really had anyone to seriously challenge him for his spot... until now. Ryan Longman added to his late winning goal assist at Crawley with two in the Potteries. The first was for Ashfield to drive in our second before he lashed in a low drive for Elliot Lee to steer home. I like his vision and directness. What he has over Barney is his swifter decisiveness. No stepovers, no dancing feet - just a burst of pace and ping in a fizzer.

• Second string bling: Despite cruising into the last eight with a home tie against Bolton, I suspect Parky will continue with the wholesale changes approach to this competition. If we were mid-table with nothing to play for then I'd imagine he'd field a few more familiar faces. But this is what depth yields - competition, standard setting and inclusiveness. Bring on Schumacher's lot.

• He’s Okwonko-aky: Arthur was thrust back in after being hooked for Crawley. Parky said they were hasty putting him back in so soon and states that is the reason for some hesitant league displays. However, he made some decent stops against the Valliants and wasn't afraid to stick his troublesome wrist in where it hurts. He wouldn't have liked Parky's decision and will be using this game and the enforced break until Northampton away to convince the gaffer he's ready to swap places with Mark Howard - who would have normally started this game - once again.

Timothy Edwards’ chant corner

Harry Ashfield then. Homegrown players are deserving of a song far more grand than "He's one of our own..."

So this is hardly original, but it works to the tune of ‘Don’t you want me baby’ by the Human League.

“Harry Ashfield baby! HARRY ASHFIELD WHOOOAH!”

Musing on some outgoings

Anthony Forde (unattached), James Jones (Burton) plus Paul Mullin. Where is he going to end up? Somewhere nuts like Port Vale???!?!?

ANDY: The transfer window is over. Overall I'd say it was a good one with a new wing-back and prerequisite two new strikers. But is it a worrying trend that every player who we pay decent money leaves for lesser things? Or not at all?

Anthony Forde is the latest to leave for a song, but not the least of signings we've spent a LOT of money on then given away for nothing.

James Jones went to strugglers Burton. Bryce Hosannah ended up at AFC Fylde. Liam McAlinden plays for Rushall Olympic. Jake Hyde went to Chelmsford City. Billy Waters is at Oldham. Reece Hall-Johnson at Barnet. Shane Brisley = Buxton.

I'll let off Luke Young (Cheltenham) and Ben Tozer (Forest Green) but not a single player who has left us has gone higher. Or, apart from Jones, even stayed in the same league.

Callum McFadzean hasn't got a club. Ollie Palmer won't leave at all.

Are we giving ageing players big contracts, often extending them, and by the time they've finished with us they're done and dusted?

This is fine for a developing club who want to climb the leagues quickly. But one thing is for sure, now we’re in the the upper echelons of League One - where players cost £2m and wages can be £15,000 a week - we can’t carry on in this manner.

Sam plan hurts Reading man due to transfer ban

He’s beautiful and he’s ours - so stop being a complete Hunt

Reading boss Noel Hunt admitted he was left 'hurt and upset' by the sale of star striker Sam Smith to Wrexham. We remember these days Noel, unfortunately…

Here’s how it all went down in his own words: "It happened so quick with Sam. I was pulled in on Thursday evening after training and was told, from the club’s point of view, the offer was too good to turn down and they had permission to speak to him. It was a tough one to take, we didn’t want to lose anyone in this window and I’m hoping it is enough to see us through and keep everyone else.

"The football club secretary had an email from (owner) Dayong Pang and she was sad to tell me the news but that is life. It was, what they thought, a handsome offer from Wrexham and almost too good to turn down, they said. I have my views, of course, and this is football unfortunately. We have to hope and pray that we can keep everyone else, and we potentially might be able to bring someone in with the space. We will ask the question with the space left by Sam.

"I was told that we were going to try and keep everybody. Of course, you’re upset and hurt by it, but I have to move on and focus on what I have to work on on the pitch. No one wants to lose their players, especially top scorer in the calendar year that had started this year well. He’s a big blow for us. He’s a very good player for this level. I can’t waste time thinking about what we could have had, I have to focus on these boys because they deserve that."

Quotes of the week: “I would love to be able to afford a team in the National Football League, but I don't think that's going to be possible" – Rob McElhenney on the Jimmy Kimmel show. We hope he means buying the likes of Philadelphia Eagles and not Eastleigh

The win where we had 93 minutes of pain

ANDY: Great start, mental finish but it’s just a shame about what came in between. Here are five things we learned from Creepy Crawley…

• Away days, go away: A win papers over a myriad of cracks doesn't it? We've talked a lot about away day (lack of) performances and we examined them in detail here. At Crawley we took the lead, held on to it for dear life but for large swathes of the game I and the people around me were fuming with the performance – especially when the home side equalised. But we won, so who is in the right? Phil Parkinson or us bunch of moaners? Well, both of us can be. It's a well-worn Parky trope. Take the lead after forcing the issue, then sit back and invite the pressure. A lot of times this can work and allows us to eke out games, but it's never going to be pretty or comfortable. For me we go into our shell when we take the lead and the problem for me is when we do need to go for it again (say when we conceded a 90+ minute equaliser) we can switch and put the other team under pressure, with two great headers from Ryan Longman crosses with one resulting in a goal. Are we being too simplistic to say 'just do that for a bit, get us a few goals up, then you can see out the game?'.

• The midfield conundrum: While the midfield three can't be solely blamed for the lack of adventure, they are part of the problem. And for me it's "the mix". Matty James is deep lying and likes to dictate play. Ollie Rathbone and George Dobson are energetic and like to get amongst it. But none of them are ball carriers, the sort of player that can break the lines such as Stevenage did so successfully against us last week. The two we do have who can do this, Elliot Lee and Andy Cannon, were either on the bench or not even in the squad. These two can get ahead of the play and give the opposing team something to worry about – as proved by Lee's late goal breaking from midfield. For me the jury is still out on whether the attritional Dobson works on the right hand side. I'd prefer him in the middle, breaking up play and giving us more energy with a more naturally attacking midfielder on one side and Rathbone (who provides a bit of both) on the other. That of course brings up the subject of what we do with James…

• Is Sam the main man? The simple question when you drop £2m on a striker is... what is he like then? Well, due to the factors listed above it was hard to really judge him on this performance, but there's certainly potential there. He's got a bit of everything, looks strong and makes decent runs. The good thing for me is that he isn't a show pony - he put the effort in. However I don't think we'll see the best of him until we're either forcing the issue away (ha) or doing it at home.

• From Turf Moor with love: At the Fearless in Devotion live night Burnley legend Brian Flynn said he had recommended two strikers to Phil Parkinson that would “get us promoted.” A few days later Wrexham sign Burnley striker Rodriquez. Coincidence? I think not (although Brian wouldn't say on text if he was one of them). Burnley fans still love Jay-Rod by the way - we talked to one on the train back and he couldn't speak highly enough of the 35-year-old. How did he start against Crawley? Well, he lacked match sharpness but could have given us the lead after just a few minutes. Overall he looks like a more mobile version of Fletcher and probably will fit that “quality cameo” role going forward. The problem is he had nothing to work with after the first five minutes when we took the lead... That will change as he gets more match sharpness. Although personally I wonder if Rodriquez and Smith is the to-go partnership and if there is still room for a certain Paul Philip Mullin in the starting XI.

• New haircut, new man: Like an inverse Samson, the Eoghan O'Connell we know and love was back on Saturday. An early contender for player of the season EOC had a few high-profile brain farts against Barnsley and Shrewsbury - often ending up with him on the floor and the ball in the back of the net. He was taken out the firing line for Dan Scarr - but that didn't go well either. The plus points of O'Connell (namely solid defending and good on the ball) outweigh Scarr's plusses (solid defender but hoofs the ball). So it was good to see a freshly-shorn O'Connell come back into the back three for the match with Crawley. He was in for a tough afternoon as the West Sussex side forced the issue but it took a late wonder goal for O'Connell and his boys to fold. Don't discount the return of Lewis Brunt in any O'Connell renaissance though. He was missing when EOC went AWOL but he's an assured presence next to anyone.

Wrexham fan of the week

And here’s Adrian at the Turf. Look like anyone’s dad? Maybe someone from a podcast scenario?

Name: Adrian Williams

Worst moment being a Wrexham fan: Having supported the club for over 50 years, albeit from the South, clearly there have been many!! My first 2 games were at the Racecourse at the end of the 76/77 season when we lost to both Crystal Palace and Mansfield and so managed to lose out on promotion which looked odds on. You could say it set me up for a lifetime of frustration following Wrexham. However, if I have to choose a moment I witnessed as a Wrexham fan as being the worst then it has to be the loss to Newport in the playoff final at Wembley in 2013. I still remember the devastation at the end of the game thinking will we ever get out of this league along with why did it have to be Newport!?

Best Wrexham goal I’ve seen: This is a tough one as I live in Swansea and have attended a lot fewer games than most home based fans obviously. And as a result many of the classics such as Mickey’s free-kick against Arsenal, Morrell’s goal against Brighton at the Racecourse Mullin’s against Boreham Wood I will have to exclude. I love Mendy’s goal against Notts County obviously, but I’m going to pick perhaps an unusual one, Michael Proctor’s seemingly regulation header at the end of the Boston game in 2007 which secured us one more year in League Two mainly because of the audacious chip with his right foot behind his standing left foot from a shirtless Chris Llewelyn! And right in front of a packed Kop where I was standing with my son.

Most surreal moment: Sorry, I can’t help but choose one of the many celebrity appearances we are getting used to now and I suppose I’ll pick the FA Trophy final against Bromley – terrible game btw – when up in the VIP box were Ryan and Rob plus Will Ferrell and David Beckham!

Greatest Moment: I’m torn between the LDV trophy win in Cardiff and the Notts County game at the Racecourse which although didn’t mean automatic promotion at the time, all but secured it. I’ll go with Notts County for the sheer sense of occasion, atmosphere, tension and of course that save by Foster!!

What makes a top red top? The obvious answer is someone who follows the Club through all the ups and downs. The last few years have been fantastic obviously and none of us really expected such a transformation in our fortunes. To be fair I have lived in Swansea for nearly 40 years and my wife’s family are avid Swans fans and while they were in the Premier League entertaining Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea etc. as well as European trips to Seville, I was going to Forest Green, Wealdstone, Solihull Moors and Dorking with the Cochion de Cymru (South Wales Reds)! Now that’s a top red!!

My all time Wrexham XI: This is really tough but I’m going to confine myself to players I have seen play and especially in the flesh so there will be no place for many club legends who I never had the opportunity to see live, so… Chris Maxwell, Carlos Edwards, Gareth Davies, Manny Smith, Brian Carey, Neil Taylor, Mickey Thomas, Darren Ferguson, Elliot Lee, Andy Morrell, Paul Mullin. Subs: Rob Lainton, Max Cleworth, George Dobson, Lee Trundle, Steven Fletcher.

Best Chant: Wrexham is the Name. Has to be.

My Wrexham dinner guests: I’ve met Lee Trundle a couple of times in his role as a Swansea City club ambassador and I know he would be good value around the table. I would add his old Wrexham strike partner Andy Morrell, Mickey Thomas, Dennis Lawrence, Brian Flynn and Marc Creighton.

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