Welcome to Wrexham Season 2

[The_Viking_Magpie]

What's a Histon?

Did you say Histon were not only in the league that season but finished 3rd???!!! Histon the Cambridgeshire village? Finished 3rd?

Must have been a cut throat super competitive first season for the Stags that year

 

[GlynTheMilk]

Agree with this. Also permanent ban on clubs whose stadium is down the end of a road to nowhere tucked way behind the likes of Screwfix, Toolstation and Johnstones which are given far more prominent billing than it. Can't have tinpottery like that in the EFL.

That's not tinpottery, that's paintpottery! I'll get me coat...

Also, your first season in that league contained such footballing powerhouses as Histon (who managed to finish 3rd somehow), Lewes, Kettering, Rushden & Diamonds, Eastbourne, Salisbury City, Grays and Northwich Victoria, so it's a bit rich to claim this season is the weakest you can remember. You finished 12th that season, right between Rushden and Eastbourne.

Obviously that was Wrexham's first year in the GM Vauxhall Conference too. I'd totally forgotten that Northwich Vics were in it that season. For me, Northwich Victoria and Kettering Town were two of the "proper" Conference clubs; sizeable town, staunch local support over generations, historic ground that they've played in since before the dawn of history. It's as much a shame what's happened to clubs like that as it is any of the league clubs that have gone tits up. 100+ years of history at some of those grounds, all gone due to greed. It boils my piss.

What's a Histon?

Did you say Histon were not only in the league that season but finished 3rd???!!! Histon the Cambridgeshire village? Finished 3rd?

Must have been a cut throat super competitive first season for the Stags that year

Not so much "cut throat" as "black eye": Danny Wright was with Histon at the time, as were his elbows.

 

[Master D]

I went to Lewes that season, what a ground.

 

[joethegill]

Obviously that was Wrexham's first year in the GM Vauxhall Conference too. I'd totally forgotten that Northwich Vics were in it that season. For me, Northwich Victoria and Kettering Town were two of the "proper" Conference clubs; sizeable town, staunch local support over generations, historic ground that they've played in since before the dawn of history. It's as much a shame what's happened to clubs like that as it is any of the league clubs that have gone tits up. 100+ years of history at some of those grounds, all gone due to greed. It boils my piss.

You should see the ground Kettering play at now - it's diabolical.

I know I mocked that division of teams from that season, but living where I do now it'd be fantastic for me. Local side would be Rushden 10 minutes away, then Kettering not much more than that. Histon and Cambridge half an hour down the road as well, it would've been a great time to live in the area. Not quite so interesting now though, Rushden and Histon still have clubs but at a really low level and Kettering have been dogshit for seasons. Rushden's 'big' local games these days are against Corby Town and Harborough Town, which aren't quite as interesting.

 

[Pilot_Phonic]

I went to Lewes that season, what a ground.

The Dripping Pan.

What an absolute outstanding name!

 

[jacobncfc]

Barnet have some decent players - Kabamba, Kanu, Brunt could all step up and do a good job for a League Two side, plus a squad of solid players around them which will make them go close this season. Chesterfield should still win it comfortably though.

Also, your first season in that league contained such footballing powerhouses as Histon (who managed to finish 3rd somehow), Lewes, Kettering, Rushden & Diamonds, Eastbourne, Salisbury City, Grays and Northwich Victoria, so it's a bit rich to claim this season is the weakest you can remember. You finished 12th that season, right between Rushden and Eastbourne.

I know it’s Adam’s little wind up, but it really doesn’t make any sense does it haha. Can tell how much stronger it is now just on the crowds and the obvious impact that has on budgets. Boreham Wood had the lowest average crowds last season with 1,200, just had a look at the year Mansfield won it and they’d have been like 14th highest with that. Eight teams averaged three figures ffs.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

When it doesn't make sense he quickly goes quiet on the matter and exits stage left

 

[AdamStag]

Barnet have some decent players - Kabamba, Kanu, Brunt could all step up and do a good job for a League Two side, plus a squad of solid players around them which will make them go close this season. Chesterfield should still win it comfortably though.

Also, your first season in that league contained such footballing powerhouses as Histon (who managed to finish 3rd somehow), Lewes, Kettering, Rushden & Diamonds, Eastbourne, Salisbury City, Grays and Northwich Victoria, so it's a bit rich to claim this season is the weakest you can remember. You finished 12th that season, right between Rushden and Eastbourne.

In reality joe, in that first season we were lucky to have a football club, so where we finished was almost irrelevant, we came within 3 weeks of going out of business after being systematically bled dry by a the previous owner who also separated the club from the ground and charged us rent, feel free to do some research next time first so it doesn’t make you look foolish, there’s a good boy.

The Dripping Pan.

What an absolute outstanding name!

Went there. won 1-0, about 400 there.

 

[OneDecentLester]

I know it’s Adam’s little wind up, but it really doesn’t make any sense does it haha. Can tell how much stronger it is now just on the crowds and the obvious impact that has on budgets. Boreham Wood had the lowest average crowds last season with 1,200, just had a look at the year Mansfield won it and they’d have been like 14th highest with that. Eight teams averaged three figures ffs.

I think Stags fans are probably just banging this drum about it being ‘weak’ so that if we do win the league then straight away they can just say ‘yeah well it was a weak league anyway’.

Anyone (sensible) who has seen the National League on a regular basis over the last few seasons knows it’s anything but weak.

 

[Tinpot and proud]

Agree with this. Also permanent ban on clubs whose stadium is down the end of a road to nowhere tucked way behind the likes of Screwfix, Toolstation and Johnstones which are given far more prominent billing than it. Can't have tinpottery like that in the EFL.

Will happily have Darlington and maybe Hereford back though. Bury if they can be sustainable too.

What about the soulless new builds that has zero warmth or history and memories and just a manufactured Lego build.....hope Barra never really come in to money and change our League 2 Galatasaray ground.....maybe an extra toilet and new corner flags but let’s not go overboard....we love it

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

I'm told that the league has got progressively weaker since 2008/09 when the mighty Histon finished 3rd.

Forget the strength of otherwise of the league this season you've got to make sure you get out this season or you won't match the Stags' 5 seasons to escape non league football#stained

 

[Conker]

I think Stags fans are probably just banging this drum about it being ‘weak’ so that if we do win the league then straight away they can just say ‘yeah well it was a weak league anyway’.

Anyone (sensible) who has seen the National League on a regular basis over the last few seasons knows it’s anything but weak.

I could not give any less a toss, take the s out of fans.

Notts County and Wrexham need to leave the conference behind them now, instead of continuing to celebrate the stain. If they go up again they will have to defend how strong L2 is this season, so think ahead children.

 

[AdamStag]

I think Stags fans are probably just banging this drum about it being ‘weak’ so that if we do win the league then straight away they can just say ‘yeah well it was a weak league anyway’.

Anyone (sensible) who has seen the National League on a regular basis over the last few seasons knows it’s anything but weak.

Tbh as i said before, all mansfield fans wanted was for you not to go back up faster than us after you laughed at us going down, we did 5 seasons, you’re on your 6th so have spent longer down there.

You’ve done your time, crack on.

 

[EnglishRed]

When we first went down half the teams would dump their squad as soon as they were safe from relegation and just play a load of kids for the rest of the season. A good half of the league were part time, nowadays almost no-one is.

 

[Conker]

When we first went down half the teams would dump their squad as soon as they were safe from relegation and just play a load of kids for the rest of the season. A good half of the league were part time, nowadays almost no-one is.

Nah a lot were full-time, a couple were properly part-time and a few more were hybrid type like Dorking. Already looked this up. Probably more proper full-time now mind, but it was not close to a good half.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

When we first went down half the teams would dump their squad as soon as they were safe from relegation and just play a load of kids for the rest of the season. A good half of the league were part time, nowadays almost no-one is.

That's an excellent point well made. More professional and more full time clubs now.

But seeing as our #stain only lasted 4 seasons all of which ended with playoff campaigns I'm prepared to listen to Chesterfield, Mansfield and Wrexham fans who all have more experience than us at 5th tier level.

 

[Master D]

Back on topic, 2 good episodes today. One about the Gresford Colliery disaster which is commemorated each year and then one on the match the women's team played at the Racecourse last year.

I would expect next week will feature the Halifax and Notts County matches.

 

[AdamStag]

As a neutral, is it actually worth a watch?

I mean i remember watching the salford documentary before they became relevant, is it something to go for?

For me, wrexham were our relegation buddy from the FL, so would always have a soft spot for them regardless.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

What about the soulless new builds that has zero warmth or history and memories and just a manufactured Lego build.....hope Barra never really come in to money and change our League 2 Galatasaray ground.....maybe an extra toilet and new corner flags but let’s not go overboard....we love it

Aye I was referring to Chester in that original post which is absolutely soulless and one of the worst grounds in the country. No wonder the ground move caused them to regress as a club.

I love proper grounds all day long and Barrow is a cracking awayday. It's the hobby clubs I'd love to see reduced in size so we can have some traditional aspirational non-league clubs mixing it in with the long-term lower league regulars.

 

[GTFCfish]

As a neutral, is it actually worth a watch?

I mean i remember watching the salford documentary before they became relevant, is it something to go for?

For me, wrexham were our relegation buddy from the FL, so would always have a soft spot for them regardless.

I’d say around 80% of it is a good watch with the odd rank bad episode thrown in.

 

[EnglishRed]

As a neutral, is it actually worth a watch?

I mean i remember watching the salford documentary before they became relevant, is it something to go for?

For me, wrexham were our relegation buddy from the FL, so would always have a soft spot for them regardless.

It's pretty well done, but you have to accept that a lot of it is aimed at an American audience, and if you really hate the comedy styling of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny it probably won't be for you. That said its a pretty good picture of a lower league/non-league club - it's about Wrexham. but there is a lot that will be familiar to fans of a whole load of other clubs. It's mostly about the people around these sort of clubs.

 

[Tinpot and proud]

It's pretty well done, but you have to accept that a lot of it is aimed at an American audience, and if you really hate the comedy styling of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny it probably won't be for you. That said its a pretty good picture of a lower league/non-league club - it's about Wrexham. but there is a lot that will be familiar to fans of a whole load of other clubs. It's mostly about the people around these sort of clubs.

Watched latest episode(11 I think) we are just about to enter April.....I think last years race was amazing and was really looking forward to season two because of it......this season has glossed over it and gone down a whole different rabbit hole.... seen maybe 10 minuets of this season dedicated to this historical run and fight.....bizarre change of a winning docu formula.

 

[joethegill]

In reality joe, in that first season we were lucky to have a football club, so where we finished was almost irrelevant, we came within 3 weeks of going out of business after being systematically bled dry by a the previous owner who also separated the club from the ground and charged us rent, feel free to do some research next time first so it doesn’t make you look foolish, there’s a good boy.

Not sure I'm the one looking foolish here.

I'll entertain you one more time though, only to point out that by your own admission you essentially had bugger all of a football club left and you still managed to finish mid-table in a division that you claim was harder than the current division. Case closed.

Anyway, personally I've found most of the Wrexham doc pretty watchable, albeit clearly aimed at an American audience rather than trying to get new fans over here. There's 100% a degree of some current fans of clubs in this league getting over-excited at the thought of a trip to the Racecourse though - there's not a chance that nearly every side (ourselves included) would sell out that particular away game without the additional 'romance' that now exists in North Wales. Some clubs would, but even then there's absolutely an additional attraction there and I think a lot of people have their heads in the clouds if they reject that.

Found the first series better than the second in the main, the episode with the father/son dynamic played out really got me having lost my Dad a few years back and now having a little boy myself who I hope to have the same footballing relationship with in the coming years.

 

[Y Ddraig Goch]

It felt like we had 1 hand on it after that game but it was only after we got out of Barnet with a point that I thought we had it properly won. As we were always going to win our 2 home games after that.

If we had drawn to Notts or lost to Barnet then we probably wouldn't have won the league IMO. That 1 point was crucial as it meant we could win it at home.

I didn't sleep properly from about February until the end though, Notts County almost killed me.

It was relentless wasn't it! Every game....I remember getting no work done all day because of how nervous I was about bloody Yeovil at home, and the sense of relief when Forde finally put us ahead!

 

[Y Ddraig Goch]

The swinger for me was Dagenham at home. I wanted to find the score when I was working, so ended up putting the commentary on BT when I was driving. Effiong scored about a minute later. I was driving past the Ramada and had the window open slightly. There were a couple of people standing at the bus stop when I screamed my head off in pure delight!

Nothing will ever come close to a title race as good as last season. Not even the premier league.

I've always tried to avoid checking the scores on games like this, but I was constantly refreshing the last 20 mins of this one on my Saturday night desperate for it to stay 1-1, lost it when it flicked to 1-2 on flashscore.

 

[jacobncfc]

It felt like we had 1 hand on it after that game but it was only after we got out of Barnet with a point that I thought we had it properly won. As we were always going to win our 2 home games after that.

If we had drawn to Notts or lost to Barnet then we probably wouldn't have won the league IMO. That 1 point was crucial as it meant we could win it at home.

I didn't sleep properly from about February until the end though, Notts County almost killed me.

It's funny how differently you view it when it's your own club. I wasn't even particularly bothered about missing the penalty as I'd pretty much decided it was win or bust, and a draw was just delaying the inevitable.

I think you'd still have won it if we'd got a draw at your place. The game that killed us was the Dagenham defeat, I think if we'd have won that we might have gone on to do it. Despite the game against you and the madness of the play-offs, that will always be the stupidest game of football I've ever watched. At least we can look back and laugh at it now.

 

[iesty wfc]

It's funny how differently you view it when it's your own club. I wasn't even particularly bothered about missing the penalty as I'd pretty much decided it was win or bust, and a draw was just delaying the inevitable.

I think you'd still have won it if we'd got a draw at your place. The game that killed us was the Dagenham defeat, I think if we'd have won that we might have gone on to do it. Despite the game against you and the madness of the play-offs, that will always be the stupidest game of football I've ever watched. At least we can look back and laugh at it now.

hopefully from our joint League 1 positions next summer

 

[EnglishRed]

Good episode this week, centered around the April Notts County game at the Racecourse (and the preceding game at Halifax). Also touches on stuff like expenditure.

 

[Pilot_Phonic]

It's funny how differently you view it when it's your own club. I wasn't even particularly bothered about missing the penalty as I'd pretty much decided it was win or bust, and a draw was just delaying the inevitable.

I think you'd still have won it if we'd got a draw at your place. The game that killed us was the Dagenham defeat, I think if we'd have won that we might have gone on to do it. Despite the game against you and the madness of the play-offs, that will always be the stupidest game of football I've ever watched. At least we can look back and laugh at it now.

'Stupidest game of football i've ever watched'

Blimey, we have had several contenders since the take over alone...

Wrexham 6-5 Dover
Wrexham 7-5 Barnet
Wrexham 4-5 Grimsby PO
Wrexham 3-5 MK Dons
Wrexham 5-5 Swindon.

Notts game at home in April was carnage, especially the 2nd half after the 1st half display from the lino on the Mold Road side.

 

[EnglishRed]

Season 3 confirmed