Wrexham Return Today in TST
Thanks to The Soccer Tournament in Cary, NC we get some fresh Wrexham matches this week.
A breakdown of the TST schedule and a review of the latest Wrexham transfer rumors await…
The Week Ahead
TST Kicks off Today
The Soccer Tournament is back in Cary, NC for its sophomore year of the 7-a-side, winner-take-all million-dollar competition and it kicks off for Wrexham at 10:15 am with the first of the group stage matches. The second group match is also today at 6:00 PM, with the final group game tomorrow at 5:00 PM. The Wrexham Women will begin their group stages on Friday at 12:30 pm with Game Two at 9:30 pm and the final group match on Sunday vs the US Women’s team at 8:00 pm. The top two teams in each group will move on to the next phase of both the men’s and women’s tournaments.
All of the men’s matches, as well as the women’s match against Team USA, will be broadcast on ESPN+, but the first two women’s matches can be streamed on TST’s website. Both finals will be shown on ESPN+ and ESPNEWS, as well as the website.
Here is the full schedule for Wrexham, including the potential knockout rounds:
Men
6/5/24 10:15am - vs FC Roha Eagles (ESPN+)
6/5/24 6:00pm - vs Saturdays Football (ESPNU & ESPN+)
6/6/24 5:00pm - vs Desimpedidos (ESPNU & ESPN+)
Round of 32: Thursday and Friday
Round of 16: Saturday
Quarterfinals: Saturday
Semifinals: Sunday
Final: Monday
Women
6/7/24 12:30pm - vs Angel City 7s (TST Website)
6/7/24 9:30pm - vs Streetball FC Canada (TST Website)
6/8/24 8:00pm - at US Women (ESPN+)
Semifinals: Sunday
Final: Monday
News from the Week:
Mendy Injury Update
In an extensive interview with The Athletic’s Richard Sutcliffe, Jacob Mendy was candid about his time at Wrexham, his thoughts on Phil Parkinson, and, of course, his season-ending injury. Mendy is about six weeks out from the surgery that repaired his hamstring and says his recovery is going well…but it’ll be a long road back to the pitch. Right now, he’s looking at an “August or September” return to playing. In the grand scheme of things that’s not too bad for the season as a whole - he’ll only miss a few matches - but it still may impact Phil’s transfer plans.
Phil clearly has a preference for shifting James McClean into the midfield from left-wingback when he can, which essentially leaves Mendy as the lone starting left-wingback on the current roster. Without Mendy, Phil doesn’t have the option of moving McClean and has no clear backup for him either. I wouldn’t be shocked if this leads to the signing of another Luke Bolton-esque wingback for the left side: probably not a stater, but a reliable option we’ll see come off the bench with regularity.
Get to Know League One
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.
Bolton Wanderers FC
Location: Horwich, Greater Manchester, England
Founded: 1874 (as Christ Church FC)
Nickname(s): The Wanderers, The Trotters, The Whites
Ownership: Burnden Leisure
Last Season: 3rd in League One
Until the 1960s, Bolton Wanderers were almost exclusively a top-flight team. After 1960, however, they mostly fell between the second and third tiers until 1995, when they reached the Premier League and stayed there until 2012 (with a brief drop to the second tier from 1999-2001.) Ever since then, they’ve been on a (mostly) steady decline, interrupted by their promotion to the Championship in 2017 under the leadership of none other than manager Phil Parkinson. Phil (and trusty assistant Steve) left in 2019 and Bolton’s decline would bottom out in a one-season stint in League Two in 2020/2021. They’ve been in League One the past three seasons, finishing no lower than ninth. Last year, they landed in third and progressed all the way to the League One playoff final, losing out on promotion 0-2 to Oxford United.
There’s little reason to think the Wanderers won’t be a promotion threat again next year. They have only six players that are out of contract, none of which are stars Dion Charles, Aaron Collins, Josh Sheehan, or Randell Williams. Also on the squad: winger Carlos Mendes Gomes, who just so happens to be a cousin of Jacob Mendy. He ruptured his ACL in February so he’ll be out for a while, but one can hope for a family reunion in the later part of the season.
As a squad, Bolton finished last season tied for first in goals scored per match (1.9), second in average possession (59.5%), and third in four notable categories: expected goals (67.6), shots on target per match (5.2), touches in the opposition’s box (1,211), and corners (282). They’re a storied club who are, in the grand scheme of football history, much lower on the pyramid than they’ll feel they should be, so expect nothing less than another strong promotion run next season.
Wigan Athletic FC
Location: Wigan, Greater Manchester, England
Founded: 1932
Nickname(s): Latics
Ownership: Mike Danson
Last Season: 12th in League One
After living a mostly third and fourth-tier existence for their first 70 years, Wigan Athletic shot from League One in 2002/2003 to the Premier League in 2005/2006. They'd enjoy an eight-year stint at the top before being relegated in 2013 (the same year they won the FA Cup) and beginning a steady drop back down to League One’s 20th place in 2021. After returning to the Championship for 22/23, a last-place finish landed them back in the third tier last season, where they finished 12th.
As James McClean’s team for four seasons over two different stints, our meetings with Wigan this season promise to be intriguing, particularly following a year where we bested them in the first round of the EFL Cup. They also stand a chance at being favorable matchups for Wrexham, given the squad’s performance last year and their summer turnover. Of their four players to score more than 5 goals last year, all but Thelo Aasgaard are out of contract and set to depart, so Aasgaard will join their top-rated player Chrlie Hughes as the anchor of the team. As a squad, the club only led one major category in League One last year: yellow cards. In terms of FotMob rating, they were decidedly middle of the road at 14th. Barring any major signings over the summer, I would expect a similar performance out of Wigan next year.
Rumor Round-up
Wigan-to-Wrexham Pipeline?
Speaking of Wigan, the Latics are the home of multiple rumored targets of Phil Parkinson. 27-year-old centerback Jason Kerr has reportedly been on Phil’s radar for some time, but Wigan announced they had re-signed the defender yesterday. However, in addition to Kerr, Wrexham are rumored to have inquired about leftback Tom Pearce, right winger and versatile forward Stephen Humphrys (who Wrexham was chasing for the January window), and striker Josh Magennis - who is also out-of-contract with the club.
Marc Leonard
Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion product Marc Leonard is no stranger to League One, as the Premier League club has loaned him out to Northampton Town for the past two years. Last year he ranked as the fifth-best player in the league according to FotMob, and as such he has attracted widespread attention, so Phil has competition if he’s serious about signing him. Adding to his appeal as a transfer target is the fact that this is his last year under contract with Brighton, so a summer or January transfer deal would make a lot of sense if the Premier League club don’t see him factoring into their long-term plans. He’s primarily a central midfielder but has also spent time as a defensive midfielder, a right winger, and an attacking midfielder. That sort of portfolio would give Phil a ton of options and he’d likely be challenging Evans for a starting midfield role if we signed him.
Marvin Ekpiteta
The Fearless in Devotion podcast has sources indicating that Wrexham are interested in signing recently released Blackpool centerback Marvin Ekpiteta. That said, it doesn’t sound like North Wales is the ideal destination for the 28-year-old defender, who has said:
Joining a Championship club is my aim - football is a short career so I want to play as high as possible. I know I’m still good enough to play at that level…I’d love to play in the Prem, or even another top European league like Germany, France or Italy. I’m definitely open to a team abroad. I’ve got a young family so we’re not worried about school or stuff.
Jamie Lindsay
A holdover from Wrexham’s January target list, midfielder Jamie Lindsay has since confirmed he intends to leave Rotherham United as his contract runs out. Now a free agent, Lindsay could provide some excellent depth in midfield - specifically for Evans. A lot of Wrexham fans are big on Lindsay online. Me? Not so much. His numbers from last season aren’t exactly impressive, as FotMob will tell you, and if a midfielder like Lindsay is on Phil’s radar I would think Lindsay only factors in as a consolation prize for someone like Marc Leonard. Otherwise, I’d expect Phil to offer him a mostly reserve role, as I don’t see him threatening Evans, Lee, and Cannon as a starter - particularly with James Jones already on the bench.
Squad Depth
Below is the squad as it stands. I’ll keep this depth chart updated as time and transfers go by. My depth rankings are based on the assumption Phil keeps the same 5-3-2 formation and everyone is healthy.
No changes from last week
Arrivals
James McClean »»» Contract extended for a second year
Harry Dean »»» Signed to a professional contract from the youth squad
Departures
Aaron Hayden »»» Released »»» signed a 2-year deal with Carlisle United
Rob Lainton »»» Released, currently a free agent
Callum McFadzean »»» Released, currently a free agent
Jordan Tunnicliffe »»» Released, currently a free agent
Owen Cushion »»» Released, currently a free agent
Dan Davies. »»» Released, currently a free agent
Ben Tozer »»» Released »»» signed with Forest Green Rovers
Luke Young »»» Released, currently a free agent
Max Hayes »»» Released, currently a free agent
Michael Hayman »»» Released, currently a free agent
Jack Pilkington »»» Released, currently a free agent
Jake Roberts »»» Released, currently a free agent
Dan Wright »»» Released, currently a free agent
Scott Butler »»» Released, currently a free agent
Known Offers
Steven Fletcher
Aaron James
Mark Howard
Arthur Okonkwo
Good luck in TST, Reds! With a little luck, the club will be $2 million richer this time next week!
