Wrexham v Boro - Saturday 2 May @ 12.30
There’s a big game on Saturday, apparently. We’re heading down to Wales, the land of myth and legend.
As every schoolboy knows, the Welsh for Wrexham is LLanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantisiliogogogoch (*1)
The football club’s badge incorporates two red dragons holding a football. Y Draig Goch, or Red Dragon, symbolises the legendary pub just round the corner from Wrexham’s ground. (*2)
Then there’s the legend that is Phil Parkinson. He’s been in charge now since 2021 and has led them to 3 successive promotions. This season, in the rarified atmosphere of the Championship, he’s taken them to the brink of the playoffs. It’s a myth that he can walk on water, even in Wrexham, but he’s so well appreciated by the club hierarchy that he’s been told he won’t be losing his job any time soon.
The club’s climb via three consecutive promotions from the National League to the Championship has been legendary, and allied to its 2020 takeover by Hollywood A-list legends, Rob McElhenney (‘Rob Mac’) and Ryan Reynolds, and the much-vaunted documentary, ‘Welcome to Wrexham,’ has brought it worldwide fame. This has even attracted many foreign visitors to the club and has given it an enviable international fan base.
These two stars are not your usual football club takeover merchants. The Glazers, the Venkys or Dejphon Chansiri they are not. They attend most games and seem to relish meeting the fans. They’ve had significant impact on the city as well as the club. They’re clearly intent on investing time and money in Wrexham and it looks like they have a sound long-term plan. Premiership football is the avowed aim. They’re already legends in their own lifetimes.
This article highlights their impact:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cq84pyw2gv7o
and this one, how the club’s finances have been improved:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cn82p32ng5vo
Wrexham AFC, formed in 1864, is reputedly the third oldest football club in the world. I don’t know if that’s a myth or not. The club’s ground, The Racecourse, or Cae Ras [= Field of Races] to give it its Welsh name, is the oldest international football stadium in the world still used for international games. It was originally built for horse racing in the 17th or 18th century. It’s called STōK Cae Ras these days after the coffee company who sponsor the club. Some think it hosts stock car races, but that’s a myth. (‘We fix’em and he wrecks’em’.)
After its meteoric rise through the league pyramid, the side has settled very quickly into life in the Championship, and has done very well to be challenging for a play-off place. Of course, romantics and writers of legends might hope for a fourth successive promotion, but we Boro fans will hope their upward progression can wait till next season! We hope they myth out this time.
Wrexham have scored 67 goals, just 3 fewer than Boro, but have conceded a hefty 63. Top scorer is Josh Windass, 15 goals, son of the legendary Dean (he who bared his bum to Boro fans in a pre-season friendly at PNE!) Welsh international beanpole Kieffer Moore has 11 goals and tremendous heading ability, while fellow Wales colleague, Nathan Broadhead, ex Ipswich, has 8. We’ll also need to be wary of experienced midfielders Lewis O’Brien (no introduction necessary) and former Coventry man, Ben Sheaf.
In the run-up to our Birmingham game in March, Forever Dormo wrote: “I'd hate Boro to go to the Stok Cae Ras for the final game of the season needing points to secure promotion.” Well, here we are. And it’s not just Boro. Wrexham also need the points to be sure of the playoffs, with Hull and Derby hot on their heels. Our spot is at least secure, and we still have a very slim chance of going up automatically. Our attitude on Saturday must be to go all out for the win, firstly in the hope of taking advantage of slip-ups elsewhere and sneaking into second, and then to achieve a finish in either third or fourth slot, which would mean we’d be at home second leg. And finishing third would mean games against potentially weaker opponents in any of Wrexham (again), Hull or Derby, whereas we’d probably be facing Southampton if we finish fourth. I’m sure KH will have our boys geed up suitably.
This is a testing game, no doubt. Parkinson has done an amazing job, can call on a talented squad and will no doubt have them fired up too, as red dragons should be! But Boro also go into this game in good spirits, having nearly won at Ipswich then getting back to winning ways against Wednesday and Watford. The superb second half performance against Watford was a very timely boost. How good it was to have all 3 strikers on the score-sheet! Their confidence must be high right now. Can KH go for broke and incorporate all 3 of them in his starting line-up? None of the three deserves to be on the bench in my view.
The team has generally performed well without Hackney and I wouldn’t be too worried if he’s still not fit for Wrexham, but it would be so good to have him available and for him to get some minutes on the pitch before the playoffs.
If it does end in the playoffs for us, as seems likely, then we’ll all no doubt rue missed opportunities (and literally in front of goal) to accrue the points we should have. Yet at the start of the season, with doubts about the wisdom of appointing Edwards quite widespread and the view that our squad would struggle, most of us would have snapped your hands off for a playoff slot. Boro have exceeded expectations, no doubt. They’ve given us an exhilarating and enjoyable season and some fabulous football. They have an amazing away record. There are few teams as good as Boro in this highly competitive league. That’s huge credit to Steve Gibson and Kim Hellberg, in part to Edwards and Kieran Scott, and of course, to the players themselves. I’m very proud to be a Boro fan right now.
One more big push, lads! We can do this!
(*1) This is, of course, a myth: the Welsh for Wrexham is just Wrecsam. Llanfair PG, as it appears on the road signs, is a real place on Anglesey, reputed to have the longest railway station name in the world. It’s probably also one of the very few words in any language to contain 4 consecutive Ls, and is almost certainly the only one to have 11 in total!
(*2) Another myth. The red dragon is the overriding symbol of the Welsh nation and appears on the national flag, which surely must be the best design in the world. The club’s usual nickname these days is The Red Dragons. The club’s mascot is Wrex the Dragon. He’s sure to give us a hot and fiery reception. He’ll be hoping Boro will be toast on Saturday.
I’m sorry to let it drag on a bit. It’s been very hit and myth, really. Meanwhile, I’m off to the bookies to put £100 on Aidan Morris to score the winner on Saturday with a 30 yard screamer. Legend! 😉😉
An appropriately top quality opener for a game of high intensity and drama to close the pre-play-off season. So, many thanks Clive for all of the background information and research delivered in seamless prose laced with lashings of humour which made it go down as smoothly as a high quality whisky.
Or a left-footed free-kick from Whittaker.
Great stuff, Clive and a fitting coda to this season's incredibly high quality previews. Thanks to everyone who provided them for our entertainment and enlightenment
@clive An excellent opener. And a fabulous weekend to look forward to.
I will go for a 1-4 win for the Boro. A Morris hat-trick and one for Whittaker. But will that be enough? Propably not.
Up the Boro!
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Clive.
A homeric opening for what we hope will be a final match week-end repleat with twists and turns still to come and especially for Ipswich to be all square at home to QPR with less than a minute left of added time and inwardly celebrating promotion when Richard Kone accidentally trips over his own boot lace (or maybe it will be a real blade of grass) to win a stonewall penalty decision favouring the guests to be duly converted then triggering disgraceful and unsportmanlike protestations from the team in blue but aptly precipitating premature delerium down in the Den before Oxford United belie their relegated status, scrambling a late, late equaliser to salvage an undergraduate degree of pride from an otherwise disapppointing season while simultaneously in North Wales Aidan Morris unleashes an unstoppable bolt from fully 25 yards out to steal a hard fought victory over the worthy welsh warriors of Denbighshire (or Clwyd as we ought) not only to win an unexpected £6000 payout to the Wizard Hurren, but to claim the most unlikely admission into the land of giants...
Excellent work, Clive and another belter of a starter. This Forum gets better and better.
I’m actually very sad that the season is almost over. I can’t remember one where I’ve enjoyed the football quite so much - being able to watch almost all of the games live on the screen has been fantastic, but I won’t be disappointed if Saturday proves to be our final performance of the year, given what it will mean.
It’ll be a very tense day in North Wales but let’s try and enjoy it
Absolutely brilliant, thank you Clive. I loved the “we hope they myth out this time”, it had me chuckling.
Unfortunately, I think it will be us that misses out, I just hope that it is not on goal difference.
I said after Wrexham lost at Coventry that it was a good result for us, as the sixth place spot is still up for grabs and they will need to try and win, so no low block and the opportunity for us to exploit the space.
What will be will be but if we have to meet the saints then I prefer to do so over two legs rather than one.
CoB one more big performance to complete the league season.
I would just like to echo Len’s comments and thank all those who have taken the time and effort to craft articles of the highest quality and which have been a pleasure to read; you know who you are. 😎
An absolutely brilliant opener for the biggest league game for a few seasons. The last was probably the Brighton game under Karanka and in that one we only needed a draw for automatic promotion. Saturday's game could have been very different if we hadn't conceded those last minute goals against Bristol and Portsmouth, but we can't dwell on such things. The positive is our away record. We have only lost two away games this year, at Derby and Coventry, so would it be better to finish 5th and have the second leg away? Not sure how I'm going to follow the game on Saturday. We are currently in Ipswich with the in laws and we are booked to see a musical about Radio Caroline that starts at 2:30. It was booked months ago and I didn't think that the match would be crucial.
Clive mentioned the threat posed by Kieffer Moore. Interestingly he has not played 90 minutes since their 5-3 win against Ipswich in February and that was the last game he scored in. He has been on the bench for the past three games.
Many thanks Clive for that grand finale of a preview and while Boro need several unlikely pools-busting results to sneak into second, it's a far cry from last season when our trip to Coventry needed results to go our way just to scrape into the play-offs instead of finishing 10th!
Of course, it will surely be a great atmosphere with both clubs needing a win to secure promotion or play-offs - though if Boro do win and Wrexham miss out on the play-offs it will be a strange atmosphere at the 'Cae Ras'.
I suspect since Southampton are the only team with little to gain this weekend they may rest some players after their hectic schedule - plus Boro can only avoid playing them in the semi-finals by winning and finishing 3rd - which needs Ipswich to lose and Millwall failing to win - which actually would have Boro finishing 2nd instead!
So if Boro make the play-offs, the only way Boro can avoid Southampton is...
Millwall win (2nd) but Ipswich lose (4th) and Boro win (3rd)
Millwall win (2nd) but Ipswich draw (4th) and Boro win by 6 clear goals (3rd)
Ipswich don't lose (2nd) but Millwall don't win (4th) and Boro win (3rd)
or
Southampton win (3rd) but Millwall lose (5th) and Boro draw (4th) - with Ipswich 2nd
OK, it's probably easier to assume Boro will play Southampton in the play-offs unless there's an upset...
btw Thankfully, I've remembered to renew the diasboro.club url to avoid the site going down for the last game as the annual subscription renews tomorrow 😉
It’s been an excellent season even if Boro don’t win the playoffs. For non locals like me it’s been good to watch so many games live on sky tv.
One has to congratulate Wrexham for 3 consecutive promotions plus the real chance of making the playoffs. That is some achievement.
I’m assuming they will go hell for leather to win on Saturday. I’m not expecting a cagey tactical game but more of an open attacking game by both teams.
My main wish for Boro is to win simply so that they go into the playoffs on a decent run of results.
Then the bonus would be if Hackney could play some part in the playoffs. Even if he can manage to get some time on the pitch then I think it will be a boost to the rest of the team.
Score prediction Boro 2 Wrexham 1
philip of Huddersfield 👍😁
@werdermouth. Thank you for doing that again Werder.
I would be happy to chip in towards the cost, euros or pounds are easily available to me. Happy for your to email me with any transfer details. 😎
You already do a good deal of unpaid labour on our behalf, so it's not right that the subscription should fall on your shoulders every year. Either we should all chip in, or if the sum 'is not enough to worry about' then we should take turns in paying it. I'm happy to pay for next year and drum up a successor in 2027 if you let me have the details.
Thanks also for the offer Len but it's really not that much to notice and I pay through my registered account as the url requires personal ownership and it would just be quite complicated to involve any payment through another party - so thanks but the running costs of diasboro are not anything of significance 🙂
Clive, thank you for a very interesting preview with some facts about Wrexham I wasn’t aware of, humour as part of the package for free 😂. We (as Boro) can go into this final fixture totally relaxed and play with freedom knowing a playoff place is sealed. We then have a complete week to prepare for the first playoff game (if needed) I am not worried who we meet, at the beginning of the season I would have bitten your hand off for 6th place, let alone for the excellent football we have witnessed. Irrespective of where we play our football next season, I am already looking forward to it.
Still with 2/3 previews to go, I would like to add my thanks and admiration to all who contributed for the excellent read, information and humour prior to each match day, well done to you all.
Come on BORO.
Absolutely brilliant, Clive. Really enjoyed that one and a fitting way to end the regular season. Bravo.
I’d also be more than happy to contribute in whichever way we can for the costs of the site, Werder.
Thanks for the offer KP but the sum involved is not enough to worry about 🙂
Well I’m not paying - the whole Forum is rubbish! Oh hang on, it’s actually brilliant, with a group of virtual people who I’d like to call friends. If ever a contribution is required I wouldn’t hesitate to chip in.
What's all this nonsense then. Call yersels Yorkshire men. My hand certainly doesn't reach the bottom o'me pocket... Oh. Hang on a minute. Maybe that is one thing that sets Teessiders apart... of course my pockets are readily accessible and count me in too if we are going to have a whip around.
If we don’t finish 2nd, I am hoping we finish 3rd or 4th not for any particular opponent but purely for a selfish reason as I travel to Memphis on Monday and don’t get back until Sunday, therefore I will be back in time for the home leg.
Come on BORO.
Just watched the training video from MFC and it looks like Riley McGree was taking a full part but no sign of Hayden Hackney.
Clive, that was as always, a well delivered Headliner full of interesting information, all with a side that made me laugh.
Let’s hope we can keep the momentum and confidence going on Saturday and whichever team we meet next, then we meet full of hope.
Just watched the training video from MFC and it looks like Riley McGree was taking a full part but no sign of Hayden Hackney.
MW unfortunately I think the only way we will see HH play for us again is if we get promoted
https://www.mfc.co.uk/news/2026/april/30/wrexham-match-picked-for-international-broadcast/
Come on BORO.
Does that mean that our Finnish correspondent won’t be able to watch the game? @Jarkko?