Danny Ward Comes Home
The Wrexham native and former Welsh International returns to where his professional career began.
Another Dragon departs while and old one comes home…
News from the Week:
25/26 Season Fixtures Announced
The fixtures for the 25/26 Championship Season were released last week, with Wrexham beginning the season against newly-relegated Southampton. The Saints were piss poor in the Premier League last year, but nevertheless remain one of the favorites to return to it next season. It’s a tough opening assignment, but Hull City should be an easier second game.
Wrexham’s first tough stretch will come at the end of September when they face Leicester, Birmingham, and Stoke. It’ll get tougher as November wraps up when they face Ipswich, Bristol City, and Blackburn back-to-back-to-back - all of whom are promotion contenders.
April will be an important month as Wrexham’s season wraps up, with matches scheduled against West Brom, Southampton, Birmingham, Stoke, Oxford, and Coventry. West Brom, Oxford, and Stoke should be favorable matchups, but how we perform against Southampton, Birmingham, and Coventry could prove to be a decisive factor in our ultimate outcome. We’ll end the season against Middlesbrough on May 2nd. It’s not the worst possible run-in…but it’s certainly a tough one.
Danny Ward Returns to Wrexham
After weeks of speculation, Wrexham announced the signing of keeper Danny Ward through the end of next season. The 32-year-old former Welsh international is returning to where it all began, as the Wrexham native began his football career in the Reds’ youth program, though he never made it off the bench for the first team. Now, twenty-four years later, he’s returning to that bench as he seems likely to bump Callum Burton down to our third-choice keeper.
It’s a curious second signing for the club. Many fans (myself included) were very impressed by Burton’s performances last year and expected to see him as Okonkwo’s primary backup, but it hardly seems likely Phil would bring in the former Leicester City backup goalie as a third-choice. After all, he has played in two Euros and a World Cup. But those days are far behind him, and I can’t imagine we’ll see him very often in league play (knock on wood).
Will Boyle Transferred to Shrewsbury Town
Centerback Will Boyle, Parkinson’s first signing after Wrexham were promoted out of the National League, was transferred to rivals Shrewsbury Town last week. The Shrews are headed back to League Two after their relegation last season, which was where Boyle saw the most action for Wrexham. His only appearances last season were in the EFL Trophy and EFL Cup, three matches in total, and Boyle scored in two of them. The move is bound to lead to regular playing time for Boyle and an important depth boost for Shrewsbury.
Rumor Round Up
The transfer window is now open permanently until 9/1! Here are the latest names linked with the Dragons:
Ashley Young
Goal.com reports that Ashley Young, who will turn 40 next week, has been linked with Wrexham. The Everton defender may no longer be the England international he once was, but he was still effective last year for the Toffees, making thirty-six appearances (mostly from the bench or in cup ties), notching a goal and three assists along the way.
Yeah, it’s a pass from me on this one. We have other promising defensive leads who are, you know…not 40.
Updates
Owen Beck
Sports Illustrated indicated Wrexham may be close to getting Liverpool’s 22-year-old defender Owen Beck. Wrexham’s interest in Beck was previously reported, and now it seems the talks for the promising defender are heating up.
Lewis O’Brien
The Sun reports that Forest wants north of £8 million for O’Brien’s transfer fee. I would have thought that priced Wrexham out of the race, but instead, The Sun’s Alan Nixon suggests Wrexham are preparing a record-breaking bid for the midfielder.
Get to Know The Championship
With a new league comes new competition. Throughout the summer editions of the Wreader I’m going to provide a little profile of each club, two per week, for those subscribers new to the English Football Pyramid.
Middlesbrough F.C.
Location: Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England
Founded: 1876
Nickname(s): [the] Boro
Ownership: Steve Gibson
Last Season: 10th in the Championship
A founding member of the Premier League, Middlesbrough have spent almost all of their existence in the top two tiers of the English system. For almost all of the last twenty years, however, they’ve been residents of the Championship, with only a brief one-season return to the Premier League during the 16/17 season. Since then, they’ve been a playoff-caliber squad each season (except 19/20 when they finished 17th).
Defense was their Achilles’ heel last year, as the sixty-four goals they scored were better than six of the nine teams above them on the table. Striker Tommy Conway was their top scorer with midfielder Hayden Hackney ranking as their top player (and 17th overall via FotMob). They haven’t added many new players so far this summer, as their first order of business was naming a new manager. They found their man in Rob Edwards, who departs from Luton Town, where he earned their historic promotion to the Premier League in 2023. Previously, he led Forest Green Rovers to the League Two title in 21/22. Edwards will mean business as he looks to bring a second team to the top of the pyramid, and Boro already has a decent base for him to build from.
Boro was a leader in expected goals, shots on target, and accurate passes last season, so if they can tighten up at the back, I could easily see them in the playoff picture next season. If they don’t, I still see them as a lock for a top-half finish.
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Location: Shepherd's Bush, West London, England
Founded: 1882
Nickname(s): QPR, The Rs, Rangers, The Hoops, SuperHoops
Ownership: Ruben Gnanalingam, Richard Reilly, Lakshmi Mittal
Last Season: 15th in the Championship
Yet another founding member of the Premier League currently residing in the Championship, Queens Park Rangers have gone through three distinct phases in terms of the pyramid. Up until the 1970s, they were almost always found in the third tier before skyrocketing up to the top tier, where they mostly remained until 1996. Since then, it’s been mostly the Championship life for QPR, with a few seasons in both League One and the Premier League mixed in.
But for the last ten years, they’ve been flirting with relegation. They appeared to be on the way up with ninth and eleventh place finishes after the pandemic, but they’ve been sub-fifteen the last three years. Last season, their top scorer, Michael Frey, only brought in eight goals. They ranked in the bottom five teams in FotMob rating, expected goals, and big chances. So while they finished safely in fifteenth…it could have gone better.
But a new QPR may be on the pitch come August. They’ve hired a new manager in Julien Stéphan (who started yesterday), who already has a major trophy under his belt, having led Rennes in France’s Ligue 1 to a Coupe de France (the French FA Cup) title in 2019, defeating football superpower Paris Saint-Germain. He will undoubtedly be making big changes at the club, with the hope of returning to top-tier football. If he can bring in some defenders and a solid striker, I can easily see QPR improving to become a playoff contender. If his hands are tied in terms of pre-season acquisitions, I wouldn’t be shocked if they start flirting with the bottom again.
The transfer tracker is back! Throughout the summer, I’ll keep a rolling summary of Wrexham’s comings and goings at the end of each newsletter.
Updates this week:
Will Boyle - Transferred to Shrewsbury Town
Danny Ward »» Signed through the 26/27 season
Arrivals
Ryan Hardie »»» Signed through the 27/28 season
Danny Ward »» Signed through the 26/27 season
Departures
Mark Howard »»» Currently a free agent
Steven Fletcher »»» Currently a free agent
Josh Adam »»» Currently a free agent
Jordan Davies »»» Currently a free agent
Harry Dean »»» Currently a free agent
Brad Foster »»» Currently a free agent
Liam Hall »»» Currently a free agent
Sam Dalby »»» Joined Bolton Wanderers on a 4-year contract
Paul Mullin »»» Loaned to Wigan Athletic for the 25/26 season
Will Boyle - Transferred to Shrewsbury Town
Known Offers
James Rainbird (pending recovery)
Tom Cairney (reportedly)
Rumored Interest
Jamie Vardy
Tom Lawrence
Charlie Savage
Sunusi Ibrahim
Aaron Cresswell
Lewis O’BrienBen Davies - Extended with Tottenham
Myles Peart-Harris
Danny Ings
Stuart ArmstrongBarry Bannan - Extended at Sheffield Wednesday
Michael Keane
Ashley Young
