There are many who roll their eyes where Wrexham are concerned, but there is no denying that despite capturing headlines for their off-field exploits, the work done by Phil Parkinson has been remarkable.
Keeping a level head while the pressure mounts to keep his players grounded when the bright lights of Hollywood call, and distractions could easily turn their heads, the boss has kept his cool and led his team to another promotion.
With this though comes a new challenge, and one that all managers at the lower levels of the EFL dread. The week after the season finishes clubs have to decide who to let go from their squads. Something that is never easy when you have a successful side that keeps on churning out positive results.
Wrexham were many tipsters’ choice for promotion this season, League Two is not a million miles away from the top half of the National League, and having stormed that division last year they were well-equipped to have back-to-back promotion years.
Now though they are a League One outfit and this does represent a new set of challenges. Parkinson has to find the right blend of experience as well as know-how at this level. Something that has left other managers struggling in the past. He has a history at this level though with successful spells at Colchester United, Charlton Athletic, Bradford City, and Bolton Wanderers.
This will be important as he now begins to assemble a squad that is worthy of pushing for a top-half finish at a minimum. To do so he has had to be quite ruthless in cutting players from a squad that has served him well in the Wrexham revival. Most notably Luke Young and Ben Tozer, two players that have held the club captaincy recently. Young had been at Wrexham since 2018, and this may have come as the biggest shock when fans saw the list of players that had been released.
https://twitter.com/Wrexham_AFC/status/1786337903393620437
League One teams have a restriction of 22 players in a squad. This rule levels the playing field, and Parkinson will have to use all his nous to create his squad for 2024/25. The one advantage is that the number of players does not include goalkeepers, or players under 21 at the start of the actual calendar year.
As reported by The Leader, the gaffer said. “People are not completely aware of that rule. We have got to work towards the 22-man squad and inevitably, the only way we can bring players in is by letting people go. The aim has always been to improve what we have got in each transfer window but also maintaining our key players.
“It is going to be an interesting summer, we have got ideas how we would like to see the squad shape up. We will take our time and hopefully get a squad which can be competitive.”
Writer’s View
Wrexham will likely enter the new season as one of the favourites to go up. This will be on the sheer reputation of what they have achieved in the past couple of years, and their ever-growing fanbase built off television documentaries and social media presence. Parkinson is too long in the tooth to now that games are not won that way.
He will be scouring all the released players lists from around the EFL and beyond, just like every other manager, but he does have the advantage of the current pulling power the Welsh side has. They are an attractive proposition, and will not be a hard sell to those that he puts on his short list.