We are so fucking weak. Every fucking one of us.
It's fucking shit, lads.
Fucking five goals, four goals, three goals.
It's fucking shit.
Every single one of us. It's fucking embarrassing.
And fouls we've conceded, so many fucking goals at home.
Weak as fucking piss. All of us.
Jacob, you've let him fucking just cross the ball at fucking will.
Same as you, fucking Barnett.
Ollie, get across your fucking man in the middle of the goal and score a goal.
Toz, nowhere near strong enough for fucking headers.
Nowhere fucking near. Nowhere fucking near.
Back three, weak as piss.
Weak as piss.
You're fucking kidding me.
Alive on the outside.
We are on a growth track.
We are advancing up the Football League.
And the challenge that comes with that
is keeping up with the demand, keeping up with the expectation,
because we've been striving to get out of the National League for so long.
So there is an extra level of pressure because the margin for error is so small.
So we need to make sure we have a deep bench
and, uh, strong players in every position.
The summer transfer window is a key time for us
to add reinforcements to the team.
This is a period from June the 14th to September the 1st,
during which football clubs can add players
who were previously under contract with another club.
It's sort of similar to the trade deadline in the NFL or NBA,
which ends in the early part of those league seasons.
After the window closes, teams can still sign players
who aren't under contract until the registration deadline.
Yeah, just have a look here. He opens up. Yeah, perfect.
So when we were in America,
obviously, we were looking for someone to compete with Jacob Mendy
in that left wingback position.
And then we started looking at James McClean.
So I started watching him, and I thought,
"Well, he's, like, by far the best player we can get in that position."
♪ I'm on a roll, roll, roll, roll Ready to go, go, go, go ♪
He's an iconic Irish footballer.
I love watching him.
God, what a scrapper.
♪ It's game time Here we go ♪
I'm at a stage in my career where I want something that's gonna excite me.
And the Wrexham one ticked all the boxes.
People want to be remembered as part of history.
So if we go on to achieve the success,
then obviously I will be a part of that history
and look back with a great sense of pride.
The team that we've assembled are top drawer.
Um, and that usually results in good things.
But I think MK Dons, our first game of the season,
was an eye-opening experience.
...know if he can get the shot away.
And it gets past Foster and goes in.
And there's not much more to say.
In the National League, you can get away with making a few mistakes.
In that game, every single error we made, it resulted in a goal for them.
A disappointing return to the Football League for Wrexham.
We were treated to quite a show at the-- at the Racecourse.
First thoughts on a big day for Wrexham.
It felt like being the new kid at school.
I was quite, you know, still excited, looking forward to it,
and then the big bully comes along and pulls your pants down.
Start working... Yeah, let's face it.
This club has got a long way to go.
You can say that again. We're sitting in 21st place in the league.
...collision into his left side of ribs.
We haven't got our star striker, Paul Mullin, at the moment.
We were due a bit of a humbling,
a bit of a reminder that, "Look, this isn't gonna be easy."
Go, pass, move in!
Yeah, put it in! Put it in!
Goal. Brilliant.
Every team is gonna suffer from a bit of adversity.
MK Dons came in and slightly pissed on our chips.
More aggressive! More attack!
Oh.
But, um, we just have to respond.
Time!
1-nil, Reds. Oh.
Well done, boys. Well done, boys!
Any chance I could take your photograph?
- Yeah, sure. - Go for it.
As you're Wrexham fans, and I've got this lot following me.
Yeah, go for it.
My name's Oliver Stephen. I'm a local photographer.
I live and work in Wrexham.
Quite a solitary person.
Growing up, I had trouble sort of connecting with other kids,
with making friends, with fitting in.
I was too working-class for the middle-class friends I had.
I was too middle-class for the working-class friends. Um.
I was too northern for the southerners, too southern for the northerners.
I wasn't English enough 'cause I was half Welsh, half Scottish.
I wasn't Scottish enough or Welsh enough.
So, I definitely never felt like I really belonged.
I'm an outsider.
I see it as, like, a point of pride.
'Cause of what I do with a camera and the way that I sort of make art,
it's about observation.
It gives you an opportunity to look at things
in a way that perhaps other people, like, don't see.
I wander around with a camera on match days,
and I just photograph stuff.
Which started by accident...
...and then has become a bit of an obsession.
Wrexham! Wrexham! Wrexham!
I didn't like football when I came here,
but as you grow to love the town, the town is the club.
The club is the town.
You just-- I don't know, you fall for it. Like--
I like Wrexham because it's not glamorous.
It's a simple working-class place that's grown over the years.
It just feels the right sort of beautiful and the right sort of bleak.
The sort of images that I take.
Um, yeah, it just feels like me.
You know, I've loved the town since I've got here
and felt passionate about it.
And then just through taking the photographs of the lights,
of the crowds and everything else,
gave me a chance to start trying to understand why are people into this.
My natural sort of style is, I guess, like, street photography.
I like being an outsider.
I think outside lets me see things that other people might not focus on.
I know for a lot of people, it'll be about getting near the pitch,
photographing the players,
chasing down Rob and Ryan after they come out in their cars and stuff.
And I'm, like, more interested in-- There's all these cultural rituals.
Like the stickers around the town on lampposts and stuff.
It's those little details that fascinate me.
So, Victory Parade day,
bus came down that street
and they were playing "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You."
Which is exactly how I feel about the club and the town.
But it's an odd moment, this, because that's the place that saved my life,
that we've just accidentally walked up to.
That's the art school. That's where I started this.
That was the beginning of it.
I came here in 2008
'cause I got made redundant from a job up in Colwyn Bay
where I really, really wasn't happy.
And my mum had said, "Have you thought about going back to university?"
And I thought, "No, I'm too old. I can't go back to university."
I mean, I read the words, "fine art,"
and something just, like, hit me and I was like, "That's it.
That's the thing. That's what I need to do."
Turning up here, I was suicidal.
I was depressed, um, suffering with anxiety and panic attacks.
Um, I was an alcoholic.
And in the 15 years since I've moved, um--
I've turned my life around.
I've suffered with, like, depression and anxiety since, like, my mid-teens.
Anxiety is always with you. I had an anxiety attack on the way here.
I'm probably having one right now as I'm talking to you,
but I'll just push through it.
And, you know, it never really goes.
You can push through your fears, but your fears are still there afterwards.
You just know that you can cope.
My fine art degree taught me to-- well, taught me self-reflection.
How to look at your own problems, how to look at your own ideas,
assess them, push yourself forward.
Do something, challenge yourself.
It was a degree that was about dealing with uncertainty
and dealing with, you know, "Your work looks shite.
How do you make it better?"
It's not a big step to go from "work looking shite" to "life is shite.
How do I make life better?"
In the back of my work ID,
every day when I go in,
I have a photograph of me and my nephew.
I want him and my niece to grow up
believing that they can be whatever they wanna be.
They can do whatever they want to do,
and that they can push through any pain, any discomfort.
And they can get--
They can get there.
And, um, if I'm not willing to do the same,
if I'm not willing to push through,
I can't look him in the eye and tell him, "You can be what you wanna be."
So I've got to get over my shit.
'Cause when they struggle,
I want them to know that I can get through it,
therefore they can get through it.
And they're smarter and cleverer and stronger than I am.
I'm just an idiot.
So, that's how I get through it.
And that picture I carry with me every day
'cause it's a constant reminder of why I'm doing what I'm doing.
So I've gone from loving this place to loving the place just across the road.
Have you ever been to a game?
No. I've never been to a game.
I've never even stepped foot inside the stadium.
You know, I'm scared of crowds.
I don't like loud noises.
This is awesome. Yeah? Yes.
This is the glue that holds people together.
The club is a way of, like, knowing I belong to something.
You belong. It's a-- It's a way of the community coming together
in a single place at a single time,
behind something that unites all of us.
Regardless of who you voted for,
what you do, where you work, what your class is.
We're all Wrexham.
And the people in Wrexham, you know, saved my life.
Is it on the bucket list, then, to go to a game?
Yeah.
Yeah, one day I'll make it.
Welcome to the Fearless in Devotion podcast.
Today, let's talk about that up and down start to the season.
We're facing off against Swindon at the Cae Ras later on.
Tough game.
Yeah, especially coming off of a rough first game against MK Dons.
You know, we've improved a little bit since then.
They've drawn away at Wimbledon, so things are looking up.
Pulls it back nicely this time. Shot comes in.
Deflected. And in!
Elliot Lee.
After some terrific work by Jacob Mendy.
And let's not forget, we won against Walsall as well.
...crowding the ball. Young floats it in.
Boyle heads it! Look at that!
Yes! Yes!
Will Boyle scores on his debut!
So after three league games,
we've won one, we've drawn one
and we've lost one.
Yeah, it's exactly where we were at this point last season, I think.
Puts us in 11th place.
Hopefully, these new signings will help us avoid any more embarrassments
like the MK Dons disaster
because we badly need a win against Swindon Town.
Okay, boys. Let's be a fucking horrible,
fucking hard-nosed fucking team.
And every time the ball goes in the fucking box,
every fucking time, first fucking contact,
it comes out, it goes back in, we're fucking up
and we test this fucking team to the absolute fucking maximum.
Let's fucking go. Come on, lads!
Come on. Today, they won't deny us. Let's fucking rock and roll!
Come on, boys!
Welcome to Stok Cae Ras.
This time we're gonna be bringing you Wrexham against Swindon Town.
And Swindon with a terrific crowd who really make a noise.
This is going to be a tasty one, I-I can assure you.
And away we go.
Swindon's keeper well out of goal to receive the kickoff.
Come on the Town!
Proper passing team Swindon.
Can Wrexham press them into pockets they don't want to go to?
Drop into the front there!
Hutton sweeps a good one into the far post.
Austin keeps it alive! Free header. 1-nil, Swindon!
Oh, no. The defense scrapping about.
They couldn't keep her out. They're really struggling out there.
Wrexham are 1-nil down early on again.
Wrexham will be very frustrated,
having not really had to defend that much here so far.
Mendy's put under a lot of pressure.
Pushes him in the back. Not been given.
Mendy's touch tight on him now.
And there's a lovely ball inside to Kemp... Wow. Well done.
...who chips it in the danger area.
It's 2-nil. 2-nil, yeah.
Austin with that striker's instinct got there ahead of Foster.
- And Wrexham, a bit like the MK Dons game... - Yep.
...were a bit sloppy at the back there.
And we've gone 2-nil down again.
This-- The defense is looking a little bit messy at the moment.
And Wrexham have got an issue here.
Yeah.
So from the restart, Boyle has it.
He drives it to Bickerstaff. Level the edge of the box. Left-hand side.
Boyle's going up in support of Bickerstaff now and receives it.
Twenty-five yards out on the flank.
Back to Bickerstaff.
Swindon just really doing well to smother Wrexham on that end.
Bickerstaff beats two men. Cutting into the box.
- Tight angle. It's-- Yes! - Yes! Yes!
Goal Bickerstaff. Come on! Yes! Come on!
It's unbelievable he managed that!
He was-- He beat one man, was tackled, rode the tackle,
and from an impossible angle--
Well, frankly, hit it through Mahoney.
But what a finish by Bickerstaff.
Wrexham!
That's something, wasn't it? Yeah.
And Wrexham needed a goal there.
Wrexham! Wrexham!
2-1. Mahoney knocking it long through the middle.
Looking for Young.
Boyle is all over him. Wrexham win it.
Lee is caught in possession. And Wrexham are in trouble here.
Young edge of the area. Wrexham have got players around him.
Can they stop him laying it off? No.
Kemp edge of the deep. Sets it up. Hits it.
And scores.
What a fabulous finish by Kemp. What a goal.
Sloppy by Wrexham. Lee caught in possession.
And Wrexham, well...
The defense is all over the place today.
Within a minute. Yeah.
Well, we get back in the game with a wonderful Bickerstaff goal
and then we can't defend and we give another goal away.
It's very poor at the back today.
Come on! - Very poor.
So Wrexham would look again to come back from two goals down.
O'Connell works it wide.
Oh. It's poor. It's given away by Barnett.
Wrexham can't afford sloppiness like this.
It's carried to the edge of the area. Overhead.
Jones with a tackle. It falls loose. And it's four.
I can't believe this. Incredible.
Another sloppy, sloppy goal. Very sloppy.
4-1 down after 34 minutes.
It's gonna be a long afternoon, I think.
Feels like we've been here forever already.
Yeah. This is like the season we went down.
Yeah. Yeah.
You can't take anything for granted.
We have to earn everything.
Not that ultimately, it--
one win changes a season, but it-- the whole mentality,
the whole approach of-- of fans and the belief.
We can't afford to allow it to wane.
Because in football, anything can happen, even relegation.
And that is halftime.
Well, we thought Milton Keynes was a flash in the pan.
Well, this is worse.
I mean, there's been boos from the Wrexham fans.
I have not heard that at the Racecourse for a long time.
We are so fucking weak. Every fucking one of us.
It's fucking shit, lads.
Fucking five goals, four goals, three goals.
It's fucking shit.
Every single one of us. It's fucking embarrassing.
And fouls we've conceded, so many fucking goals at home.
Weak as fucking piss, all of us.
Though, the best player on the pitch was fucking Bickers.
Everybody else has been weak as fucking piss.
You can't fucking defend the box like that
and expect to win fucking games of football.
Ball's getting cleared.
Jacob, how many crosses has he fucking got in?
So you've cost us a fucking goal by fucking not winning a header.
You've let 'em fucking just cross the ball at fucking will.
You look like a player who's just thought, "Fucking hell, I'm here.
I've fucking arrived."
He's fucking got crosses in. He's been more physical than you.
He's dominated you.
Same as you, fucking Barnett.
All over the pitch. All over the pitch. All over the pitch.
Ollie, fucking crosses have come in.
One near the end, where Bickers flicked it.
Get across your fucking man. One where Jake crossed it.
Get across your fucking man in the middle of the goal and score a goal.
Toz, nowhere near strong enough for fucking headers.
Nowhere fucking near. Nowhere fucking near.
Just be honest, did--
did I waste two hours of my afternoon
doing the fucking defenders meeting yesterday?
You're either not reading it or you don't give a fuck.
So I'm wasting my time doing you a fucking favor.
Say, "Steve, go and play golf on Friday afternoon
instead of sitting and writing that."
It's written for you lot to fucking look at it, read it,
and do what you need to do to stop the man you're playing against fucking playing.
Back three, weak as piss.
Weak as piss.
Not won one fucking header.
You're fucking kidding me.
We've got to fucking man up fucking quickly.
And when we've done all that,
we'll see if we've fucking got enough to fucking change it.
If it's 4-2 and we'll go and try and get back in the game.
The only way you will get this fucking crowd behind you.
The only way is to show fight. The only way.
To show spirit, fight, intensity and fucking integrity.
And courage to play.
Do you know what that means? Integrity means being honest.
Everybody fucking help each other.
And I mean that, okay? Yeah. Yeah.
'Cause it was a fucking struggle that, weren't it?
Don't cunt anybody off. Help every fucker now, all right?
To-- Totally agree. So listen in, yeah?
Fozzy just said that.
Let's not lose our fucking heads and lose-- go frantic. Stay calm.
Let's get tight on the halfway line. Let's be first to the ball.
Front men, get the bodies in.
Ball goes in the box, comes out. It goes back in and put them under pressure.
'Cause they're creaking, aren't they, on those throws?
Come on, boys. Let's go. Let's get the first goal early.
Come on. Let's go and get it.
Come on. Proper structure though.
All right, we're ready for the second half.
Wrexham are down 4-1.
We will fix this.
However, whether it's spending money or getting Mullin back or--
But we are-- we are showing--
This is showing that League Two is a whole-- a-a high, high level.
- Yeah. I think that's a fair comment. - Yeah.
Here we go, then. Wrexham restart. The ball is laid backwards.
Go Wrexham! Get into it!
Tozer immediately pings it over towards Palmer.
By Palmer let's out-- Oh, lovely turn!
Beats his man. Tight angle. Picks on another man. Beats him!
Hits it! Saved by the keeper.
That would've been almost an action replay.
Lee with the inswinger to the far post. Beyond everyone.
Penalty. Penalty. Come on.
Come on.
He was held. And the referee had no hesitation.
Wrexham started the second half magnificently and finally got a penalty.
You know, we can, if we keep going and keep believing, you know.
Whatever happens in the game, we can turn things around.
It's a penalty which Elliot Lee will take
in the absence of Paul Mullin.
And an understanding, you know, that's what this club's all about.
That's the identity of Wrexham.
Gives the go-ahead. Lee steps up. Right-footed.
Yes!
Come on. Come on.
And Wrexham are back in the game.
Wrexham!
To Palmer.
Palmer switches nicely. Looks good.
Cannon first time. That's it. Come on!
Passes Lee. He feeds it in.
- Yes! Yes! - Yes!
Yeah!
Come on, the boys!
That's two goals in quick succession for Wrexham.
- Can you believe it? - Wrexham!
Little give and go by Barnett.
Short by the pass. Danger again.
Gets the ball stuck under his feet. Tozer's done well. Fed back though.
Can he connect this from the edge of the deep?
On his left foot, hits it, and scores!
It went under Foster's hands. And they've got a fifth.
And that fight back just got tougher.
- ♪ I ain't living with regrets ♪ - ♪ No ♪
♪ I ain't never gonna lie It ain't over ♪
That's five. Okay. Five?
Tozer hurls it to the near post.
That's a great header clear by Blake-Tracy.
Mendy gets to it. Mishits it. Heads-up.
Come on!
A minute left now.
♪ I'll never back down ♪
Anyway, here we go. It's hit.
Oh, what a save! It ricochets.
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
It's in. - Yes!
Everything is insane about this club! I can't believe it!
We have drawn this game five all.
And you know what?
♪ You're not singing... ♪
That was remarkable.
Wrexham fans singing, "You're not singing anymore."
Unbelievable game, five all.
We defended like Sunday League players, but I'll take a draw.
Unbelievable.
♪ You're not singing anymore ♪
No doubt you remember Rob previously talking about, uh,
draws that feel like wins and draws that feel like losses.
Well, if you're 4-1 down at half time, like we were,
and you come back to draw 5-5, that really feels like a win.
But if you're a Swindon Town fan or player or official, then it feels like a loss.
Listen, first of all,
the response after the break for that first 20 minutes was fucking brilliant.
Absolutely fucking brilliant.
Looked like we're gonna get back in it, go and win it.
I thought we were gonna win, I'm gonna be honest, from the touchline.
The Swindon game was just one of those bizarre games,
where, you know, we end up with a 5-5 draw,
having been 5-3 down, going into added-- added time.
What we found is everybody in League Two has forwards who can score.
Wrexham do. Everybody does.
I mean, that's some fucking display.
So, whilst I'm delighted
that we're fucking showing that fucking spirit
and scored goals-- probably scored more,
we gotta be fucking brutally honest with ourselves.
We're just fucking weak today and we can't be weak, Boyle, can we?
We can't be fucking weak as a fucking team
in terms of the fucking shape and the structure and fucking dealing with things.
Steve, anything to add?
We have to get the needle back in the train.
We have got to get that fucking real killer instinct back.
That you are prepared to die for your teammates.
We know you can play.
You just scored five fucking goals. We know you can play.
How many goals did you score last year? Hundred and fucking up.
We've gotta get that edge back, lads.
Otherwise, we're gonna have a few more of these days, and we can't--
None of us can stomach that.
We can't stomach this, can we?
We can't stomach this as a group, can we? So come on.
But at least we stood up to be counted second half, boys.
We'll take the fucking positive.
You stuck to-fucking-gether, lads.
You stuck together, which is good.
Hello, Wrexham fans, it's Ben Foster here.
I wanted to let you all know
that I've decided to, um, retire from professional football.
Yeah, I know, again.
Must admit, it took me by shock, to be honest.
Nobody really saw him hanging up his gloves on Monday morning, did we?
Sometimes you just gotta be honest with yourself, brutally honest with yourself.
Got there ahead of Foster.
I know that he-- he, you know--
Obviously, we've conceded a lot of goals this season so far.
But, you know, I don't think Ben Foster can be blamed for the majority of those.
So, uh, super Ben Foster is not in goal.
He's just really kind of mirrored what we were thinking anyway.
It's that he hasn't been good enough.
From Ben's perspective,
I think it was the dawn of reality that he was getting older.
I feel like there's probably been about four or five goals already this season
that I should be saving.
It went under Foster's hands.
Goals are going in, and I'm thinking, "You should have saved that.
Why haven't-- How haven't you saved that?"
When you've been where Fozzy's been, where your standards are so high,
it's very, very difficult to accept when your standards have, uh-- have fallen.
So, even though we had drawn,
the lads were quiet,
and they weren't happy 'cause they knew something was wrong.
They knew that the performance wasn't what it should be.
And this might sound selfish,
but I was thinking just about my own circumstance at that moment in time
because I knew enough was enough, and I knew I was done.
And I was thinking about how to tell the manager, how to tell the coaching staff.
And I was just sort of just thinking about it.
Just, "What shall I do? Shall I do it now? Shall I ring somebody tomorrow?
Um, shall I tell them on Monday?"
I thought, "No, I'm just gonna go tell them."
Went into the coach's room, and I said, "That's me done, lads. That's me done. Um...
I'm letting you down.
I-- I'm not up to speed. I'm not what I thought I am.
And I don't wanna keep letting you down."
Because I think at that point
we had let in 14 goals or something for the season in four games.
And it was too many. It was too many.
To be honest, it was-- it was the right decision.
It was the right decision for Ben.
And in reality, it was the right decision for Wrexham as well.
It's a big call to make. It's the right call to make, I think.
I thought it was generous.
Like, it was an incredibly generous thing to do.
So few people know when to call it, you know.
I've been making Sunny for seven-- I don't know.
- This man doesn't understand. Yeah. - It's been over for five, six years maybe.
You just keep shooting it.
- He's paying for it. - Just keep making it. Yeah.
I'm making Wolverine Ten.
And we're looking at these players, and they know when it's time,
and they walk off with dignity.
- They teach us every single day. - We have zero dignity.
No. Not at all.
'Cause I have-- I have an immense amount of respect for-- for Ben
and who he is as both a player and a person.
He's a huge reason we're here in the EFL.
Done, yeah? Cut?
We're back.
Feels like it was about two years ago I played on there.
Quicker than expected,
but, I don't know, 'cause I'm not fit yet, so...
...when I'm able to play, I'll then say it was quick or not.
But it's good to come back in. Like, I've just
been stuck at home, watching on the telly, and...
Just wanted to come back
and get back, fit, as quick as I can,
and hopefully we'll find out now when I can start running again.
All right, how've you been in the last week or so?
Sound.
How's that?
All right.
I can feel it,
- but that's sore to touch... - Okay.
...like, if i'm not expecting it.
All right, just down to your right for me.
Okay. Little bit of spasm here and there. Yeah.
In terms of what we do as physios,
I think the training philosophy comes more into it
in the rehabilitation of an injured player.
Firstly, we want to get the player back to, sort of,
normal functioning in their daily life.
Then we see them getting back into training.
Then we see them getting back into competition
and then back into performance.
So the next couple of days is really,
get you on the bike, get your CV fitness up,
and get all the soft tissue restrictions done,
'cause then, we'll start on your quads, hammies, calves, all that sort of stuff
that is not going to have any impact on your ribs at all.
So, yeah, there's not a lot you're gonna do outside running,
but there's a lot you're gonna do in the gym.
- Happy? - Yeah.
Happy as I can be about it. All right.
The rehab was quite unusual.
How do you rehab a lung?
You can't make it any stronger, apart from breathing.
And then, obviously, with four broken ribs,
it's like any broken bone, but you can't put a cast on them.
So, it's just about trying to get better with football,
and when the pain subsides a little bit more,
then I can join in again.
Everything we've done was all geared towards getting promoted to the EFL,
so we'd been operating as an EFL club effectively in the National League.
So when you look at the playing squad,
we always knew that there was never going to be the need
for a massive overhaul to be able to compete.
What we needed to do was to supplement with more players
because the competition is one division better.
The games are quicker.
Come on. Let's get fucking busy.
Get in the fucking six-yard box. That's where the goals are scored.
Three-minute games.
Three minutes on the clock, gentlemen.
Play. Away we go.
Good.
I'm Chris Johnson, uh, head of recruitment at Wrexham Football Club.
One of the things with recruitment is that, uh,
even though we got promotion, we don't stand still.
And I think-- I think we've done that quite well.
Uh, so Mulls's injury, as bad as it was for Paul himself and the-- and the group,
there was plans already in place to go and sign another striker.
Come on, then.
Here we go.
Steven Fletcher, striker for Wrexham Football Club.
Yeah, we knew Fletch was a high caliber of player.
Um, player who's been sold for a lot of money in his career.
He's a remarkable player with his, you know, samurai hair.
- He's straight out of Braveheart as well. - Um. Yeah. I know.
Yeah, I would not want to see that guy bearing down on me on the football pitch.
Fletcher's come in. He's looking dangerous.
He's, um, definitely another, um, good physical presence for the League
and can score a lot of goals.
I think he's-he's quite dangerous.
He's gonna be one to watch.
Such a clever player and then also, obviously, such a threat in the box.
The way he is in the air and how powerful his headers are, are incredible.
Scores a lot of headed goals.
He's Scottish international,
ex-Premier League experience.
I know he's aging, but he looks fit as a butcher's dog, doesn't he?
Fletch! Land on your toes. Go, Fletch!
What a ball. What a touch. Fletch, get back! Get back!
My dad was in the army, so we were moving around a lot. Um.
Dad loved football. He was a-- My dad was a Scouser.
He was a big Liverpool fan.
He used to take me to all the games. We had a season ticket.
Even when I was moving around and no matter where we were in England,
we were going to Liverpool games, so it was really good.
My Dad passed away when I was ten.
When he passed away, it was kind of like, uh,
I think for me, just to want to become a footballer,
just to kind of, like, make him proud. You know what I mean?
So, got to 16, signed professional.
Made my debut when I was 17.
Got to 21, 22,
and then Owen Coyle came calling for Burnley down in the Premier league.
So when I first moved to Burnley, I was only there a year, and we got relegated.
And I got the chance to move to Wolves.
Martin O'Neill came calling as well, then, after that for Sunderland.
So I spent four years there.
Then after that, I moved onto Marseille.
After that, I went to Sheffield Wednesday.
Fletcher, touch and a strike!
Oh, yes! What a fantastic strike that is! Oh!
And then I got a phone call from Stoke, so I went there, and spent two years there.
And then I made the decision to take us back to Scotland.
Um. So, yeah, I went to Dundee United.
And I actually really enjoyed my time. I know we got relegated,
but the lads were great, the fans were great,
and I actually will always have a soft spot for them now.
Oh, hello. Oh, hello. Ah.
When I left Dundee United,
I'm not gonna lie, in the back of my mind, I was thinking, is that me done?
I was just half-thinking that, "Do I just now concentrate on family?"
Being a-- a dad and a husband on a more day-to-day basis?
But I think after about a month, the wife got sick of me...
...and she was like,
"No, you've still got something.
Your career is not over.
You've still got something there to give."
What was your thoughts whenever the Wrexham call came?
You had been at a golf day... - I was at golf, yeah.
...and you came home, and you just had this look on your face.
And I knew straightaway that he was going, like, he didn't even have to say it.
You took your golf hat off,
and I went, "You're going, aren't you?"
- Do you remember? - Oh, yeah.
But it was the first time, all summer,
that I knew you were genuinely excited about something
because you'd sat there, like, with a few things coming through.
And I could see it in you.
Like, nothing was kind of, like, getting you excited, was it?
No.
Even if you're not a Wrexham fan,
as a footballer, when you watch the kind of highs that they had,
you still get that little buzz watching it.
And that's all I needed.
I just needed something inside me that was gonna be like, "Let's go again."
Good. 2-nil. Come on!
Come here.
Welcome to the Fearless In Devotion podcast.
Today we're looking ahead to the upcoming clash between Wrexham and Grimsby.
Right. We all remember Grimsby knocked us out of the playoffs in 2022.
It's still hard to take.
They've done it!
Grimsby have won it in extra time.
But you know what? I think we'll get a little bit of revenge.
You can't forget the-the playoff game against Grimsby.
Because it set them on the way, it set us back, and you can't deny that.
So, yeah, there was a little bit in the back of our minds saying,
"Come on. You know, today is the day we can put the record straight."
Wrexham v. Grimsby at home, and we're gonna win.
Revenge Day for Grimsby Town. Come on.
With Ben Foster now retired though, Mark Howard will be back in goal.
Well, I haven't seen the team yet.
I guess Mark Howard will keep his place in goal.
Oh, I don't mind Howard.
I felt bad for Howard 'cause he gets a lot of criticism.
But, for me, he--
What everyone forgets is he did play most of the games last season.
And, yes, he made a couple of mistakes, but doesn't everyone?
Manager pulled me straightaway.
He goes, "We might look to bring someone in.
It all depends on how things go and availability,
but it's up to you now to go and prove yourself again.
And we know that you're good enough,
and you've got the quality, and you've done it for us in the past."
When you think, "Oh, man, actually you're gonna get one 90 minutes out of this,
but you've got to make the most of it."
After a few weeks sabbatical,
we're back.
Super Paul Mullin has returned. Finally.
I reckon he'll get his first start of the season as well.
I think he'll-- think he'll come good.
Is he still your best player,
despite all the other signings you've made?
Without a doubt. He's just that little bit of sharpness that we need.
We were absolutely gutted when we lost him,
because you can't replace a fellow like that.
So, yeah, without a doubt, he's our best player.
He's gonna make us a lot stronger
because obviously in my opinion, he's the best striker in the league.
Yeah, it'd be nice for Mullin to start. You know, we definitely missed him.
Everyone wanted me to be ready. Everyone was willing me to be ready.
I wanted to be ready, but it was on me, and obviously,
me being me, probably done it a little earlier than people would have liked,
but that was me because I knew it was gonna take time to get back.
So the quicker I was back playing, the quicker I could feel half myself again.
And, uh, I was willing to take that chance.
I was just glad to see Mullin get back.
I'm going for a three-nil win.
Both teams to score. Wrexham win. Mullin to score.
That's-- That's my bet for the day.
Up at 'em!
The ideal scenario would be giving Mullin an hour and win 1-nil. Win it scrappy.
♪ We've got Mullin Super Paul Mullin ♪
♪ I just don't think you understand ♪
♪ He plays in red and white He's fucking dynamite ♪
♪ We've got Super Paul Mullin ♪
We got in trouble here.
We snuck around here to just try and get photographs over the top of the fence.
And we got in trouble with the stewards
because you're not allowed to photograph the match
while it's happening due to broadcast rights.
I've seen a few people, like, climb up on top of the, like, container there
on top of the bins and getting in trouble.
People line the walls along Crispin Lane as well.
They're trying to, like, look over and watch things,
but you can't see anything from there at all.
And I'm not going to try and climb up,
because I've got knees that don't work and a back that hates me.
Yeah, just a couple of things, boys, okay?
So make sure we get passes and move this team round with the ball,
and make them work out possession.
We're at home with fucking physical firsts and seconds, but in control.
Reset as a team.
If there's a period where we've not had our way, just be cool, reset again.
It'll be fucking fast and fucking furious, but fucking stick together.
Cool, calm and collected whilst starting that fire in our bellies. Let's go.
Come on. Away we go. Come on, boys.
Come on. Everybody on it. No slow start.
Come on, Sam. Come on. Boylie.
Wrexham are hoping for a bit of revenge today.
Looks like plenty of noisy Grimsby fans here.
And starting for the first time since his injury, Paul Mullin.
Wrexham kicking towards the Kop end.
In the first half.
It is getting loud here, isn't it?
♪ It's there for the taking ♪
♪ It's destiny in the making ♪
Go Wrexham!
Right, here we go.
Mullin's first chance to trouble Waterfall,
and I think Mullin's fouled again.
And then Mullin falls on the ground.
Waterfall certainly had a handful of his shirt.
Well, the ref didn't give it.
Mullin running at his man cuts in towards the edge of the box.
Palmer screams for it. Mullin shoots.
And it, I think, took a little deflection that took the pace off it.
Easy save for the keeper.
But Mullin is such a threat, isn't he?
Mullin's back. Good chance.
Wrexham!
♪ It's destiny in the making ♪
You're gonna miss chances in football.
It's gonna happen. You're gonna miss shots.
You're gonna miss easy goals.
Feeds the ball towards Mullin. Mullin beats his man. Hits it left-footed.
Just wide.
And Mullin just couldn't quite hit the target.
But if I can miss six in one game and have a bad day at the office,
then I go into the next week even more confident that I'm gonna score.
♪ Let's go ♪
It's put down the flank for Mullin who beats his last defender.
Running in on goal, Mullin. Can he finish? No.
Oh! Well, he'll be so angry he missed that.
He was clear on his own through the middle.
Long ball over the top.
Mullin's on the chase down the right-hand side.
He'll do well to keep it in. He's won a corner, has he?
They'll get a corner out of that.
Yep. That's impressive, isn't it?
Wrexham!
Having Paul back obviously is a-- is a huge deal for us.
Um, he's our talisman. He's our goal scorer.
It's a corner.
The choir is all getting noisy for James McClean
as he stands in front of them and spots the ball up for the corner.
But to succeed in a league like League Two,
you have to be having all the different parts of the machine
working in-in perfect unison.
McClean... floats it in nicely.
Keeper paws it away.
Did well getting over the big men.
So here's Lee now in a shooting position.
Curls in across!
♪ I can do anything ♪
Headed on! And in!
It's in! Ollie Palmer floats it over the keeper.
He's got his second goal of the season.
McClean wins the ball back on the left, sweeps in the dangerous cross.
Come on! Get in.
Boyle is superb!
Now, that was just quality football for me.
It was a good ball, that, McClean.
Feeds it in around back of the defense and Mullin is in there.
Can he get the shot off?
Oh, just wide. That was... So unlucky.
...a great effort, that.
I know he's missed a couple of good chances,
but he also deserves a goal, doesn't he?
When Mullin's gonna get back to full swing, he's gonna be amazing this season.
So Fletcher, our new signing, will come on for Mullin.
Mullin, what an ovation for him, and quite rightly again.
♪ Fucking dynamite We've got super Paul Mullin ♪
Backheel back to Lee, and Lee takes, 360 degrees.
Stabs at the cross. Overhead kick. Oh!
Brilliant save by the keeper.
- Fletcher is filthy. Absolutely filthy. - Fletch! Fletch!
Dalby runs onto it right side of the box, back to goal.
Tries to pull it back and he does nicely.
Lee, yeah! Yes!
Lee nails it.
Brilliant stuff from Fletcher and Dalby.
And this game has been put to bed.
And it was nice to get a bit of revenge on Grimsby, to be fair.
What a fantastic performance by Mark Howard.
It's his second clean sheet in the last three matches.
It was a complete performance all round.
They've really stepped up.
This is fun.
So after eight matches and that win against Grimsby Town, we're now
sitting in fourth, which is just outside the automatic promotion places.
To have some revenge.
It felt good. It felt good.
That felt good. We have a lot of respect for Grimsby, but we still wanted revenge.
Uh, having dashed our hopes, so it was great to be able to play them again.
Yeah. That was-- That was--
That was a very resounding moment for us in the club.
That felt really good.
Yeah, well done, boys.
Listen, it's a really good day's work for us, that.
Just thought, like, when we believe in ourselves,
fucking hell, we look a good team, don't we?
I thought that was one of our best performances of the season.
I thought we were really good.
Great win, lads. And we kept a clean sheet.
Fucking brilliant. Well done, well done, well done.
See you Monday.