Wrexham’s Carabao Cup campaign is over before it really had a chance to begin.
Phil Parkinson’s side were defeated 4-2 in the first round defeat at Championship club Sheffield United, with Will Boyle and Seb Revan netting for the visitors either side of goals from Auston Trusty, Louie Marsh, Anis Slimane and a Lewis Brunt own goal.
The Athletic picks out three big talking points.
How did Wrexham’s new faces fare?
More than four decades have elapsed since Phil Parkinson and Chris Wilder first met as 14-year-olds at Southampton. The pair went on to share digs as apprentices at The Dell, Wilder even giving his slightly younger team-mate a lift in every morning after splashing out on a second hand Ford Fiesta.
Youth team manager Dave Merrington was a strict disciplinarian, ensuring all the menial jobs done by budding young footballers back then — such as cleaning the dressing rooms and sweeping the terraces — had to be done to the highest standard. If they weren’t, the task would be repeated.
Both left Southampton without making a senior appearance but their days on the south coast help explain the team ethos that has characterised their managerial careers, includig a strict ‘no d***heads’ policy when it comes to signings.
For Parkinson, this extends to insisting on meeting any prospective addition in person. If he doesn’t like what he sees, the deal is terminated, no matter how far down the line.
Wrexham’s need for a partial rebuild ahead of returning to League One meant a busy summer of meetings for the 56-year-old. He’s welcomed seven new faces, five of which were making their full debuts on Tuesday night.
With their characters having passed Parkinson’s test, it is playing ability that now intrigues supporters. Callum Burton was the pick of the bunch last night, twice denying £18.5million striker Rhian Brewster, including from the penalty spot.
It was a tough night for a defence featuring Dan Scarr and Brunt for the first time, particularly in the air with United’s physicality causing all manner of problems. Brunt also had the misfortune to put through his own goal when trying to clear a Brewster cross.
Dan Scarr had a tough night for Wrexham (George Wood/Getty Images)
Nevertheless, there were still encouraging moments for the pair, including Scarr creating the opening goal for Boyle with a firm header from James McClean’s corner.
Revan caught the eye in attack and managed a late goal on debut. But there’s clearly still work to do defensively, with Femi Seriki proving a very tricky opponent in the first quarter. Ollie Rathbone, despite playing out of position up front alongside Sam Dalby, showed promise.
“We did a bit of team-work with this XI on Monday,” says Parkinson, who made 10 changes to the starting team that beat Wycombe Wanderers. “But you are never going to completely get the picture because relationships all round the pitch need to form.
“There was a bit of rustiness. But I did think there were some good performances. And the back lads will benefit from playing together for the first time.”
Did tempers flare again?
Eighteen months after these two teams had literally gone toe-to-toe in the tunnel after a barn-storming FA Cup tie, this tie stood out from the moment the first round draw was made.
Sky Sports clearly agreed by choosing to show it live, no doubt hoping for a repeat of an ill-tempered FA Cup fourth round replay that ended with mutual mud slinging as both teams accused the other of lacking respect.
“Stick that on your documentary!” crowed Billy Sharp at the Wrexham players after his stoppage time strike had helped United to a 3-1 win and a glamour tie with Tottenham Hotspur in the next round.
He followed that up with an incendiary TV interview that angered Parkinson and Wrexham. “I’m glad we’ve beaten them,” he said. “I wasn’t happy with the way they’ve been as a club before the game, eyeing up Spurs.”
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney eventually had the last word when Welcome to Wrexham aired the following autumn. “We were living rent free in that m************’s brain,” said the laughing It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-creator.
Jack Marriott looks disconsolate as Wrexham slide to defeat (George Wood/Getty Images)
With many of the main protagonists having since moved on, including Sharp, Tuesday proved a much calmer affair with the home fans only really stirring when former Wednesday striker Steven Fletcher came off the bench.
That was, however, until a 92nd minute clash between Sydie Peck and Jack Marriott following Revan’s consolation goal to spark plenty of argy-bargy between the two teams. Maybe the bad blood remains.
Why did Wrexham struggle so badly from corners?
Parkinson’s side contributed to an entertaining tie but there was one glaring issue for the League One side — defending corners.
Time and time again, the ball would be pinged across the visitors’ penalty area and a United head would be the first to connect. The first and fourth goals came via this route, just as Sam Vokes’ goal had for Wycombe on Saturday.
Parkinson pleaded mitigating circumstances, particularly for an opening goal that he felt saw Boyle blatantly blocked in the build-up.
“How the ref has not seen that is beyond belief,” he says. “He (referee Kevin Stroud) did apologise to me at half-time, someone must have told him. In the Premier League, there would be VAR so you can’t get away with it.”
“When Chrissy was here before — and Paul Heckingbottom after him — they were very good at blocking off. And we knew that. Equally, you can make your players aware of it but you need help from the officials.”
What next for Wrexham?
A trip to Bolton Wanderers on Sunday at 3pm, which will be shown live by Sky Sports in the UK and Paramount+ in the USA.
(Top photo: George Wood/Getty Images)
