Gossip: Windass lined up by Wrexham
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Leader Live
20 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Wrexham AFC reporter Richard Williams looks back 10 years
Hopes were always high going into the start of a new season during the non-league nightmare that this would be Wrexham's year and it was the same heading into the 2015-16 campaign which kicked-off away to Bromley Wes York put the Reds ahead in the first half at Hayes Lane but that was as good as it got as Bromley quickly levelled before taking a 3-1 lead at the break and it stayed that way. Wrexham, with Gary Millis in the hotseat, came good in the coming months and were amongst the leaders but a dreadful Christmas period left The Racecourse outfit with too much to do and there was no chance of ending the stay in non-league. It was a familiar story during the 15 years in the fifth tier and Wrexham were even battling against relegation to National League North when the 2019-20 ended early due to the coronavirus pandemic. When football returned, it emerged that Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney were interested in becoming owners of the success-starved north Wales club and the rest is history! The feel-good factor has returned to the area, Wrexham have become a global sensation and more importantly, there has been a lot to celebrate on the pitch. Phil Parkinson has written the Reds into the history books by securing three successive promotions, climbing from the National League to the Championship at a rapid rate. A decade on from that opening day showdown at a sun-drenched Hayes Lane on August 8, 2015, Wrexham are now preparing for a clash with Southampton at Sy Marys Stadium on that opening day of the 2025-26 season this Saturday. I was a regular visitor to Greater London when Wrexham played Bromley at a ground that could house a few thousand spectators. Fast forward 10 years and Parkinson's men will face the Saints - relegated from the Premier League last term - at St Marys in front of 33,000 sell-out crowd! How times have changed and it won't be the only big venue the Reds will play at this season with huge crowds, which will include Wrexham supporters once again travelling in their thousands, the norm. I've said it many times but you really do have to pinch yourself what has happened at the club since the A-listers became co-chairmen. Although the likes of Dominic Vose and Connor Jennings were on duty at Bromley in August 2015 and had something to offer, loan signing Mason Watkins-Clark, who was brought in from Stoke City and never played again for Wrexham after being taken off at half-time, was also in the side. Now Parkinson, armed with the biggest budget in the club's history, is completing big money signings like Liberato Cacace and George Thomason. Being able to splash the cash doesn't guarantee success and Wrexham will be making the biggest step up yet when they mix company with the likes of Ipswich and Leicester this season. But the new signings coming in will make the Reds competitive and Parkinson knows the division well having been here before with Bolton. Who knows what will happen but although there may be more defeats than what we've been used to over the last three years, I'm going go enjoy the ride because it's something I never expected to happen. And losses in the Championship will be a lot easier to take than leaving the likes of Bromley without a point which became a far too regular occurrence!
Leader Live
20 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Joey 'inspired so many fans on Wrexham's iconic terrace'
Fist-pumping, tenacious-tackling, straight-talking Joey Jones sadly passed away last month but supporters, former players and managers will be heading back to town later this month to pay their respects and celebrate what he gave to Wrexham Football Club. Sir Joey played for Wrexham in three spells, giving it his all every time he pulled on a red shirt - all 479 of them! The advice he handed out to any player who came through The Racecourse doors proved invaluable when he became part of the coaching staff - all ex-Reds players will tell you that when you speak to them. It was also his down-to-earth attitude that the Wrexham fans loved. He'd won league titles and the European Cup twice during his time at Liverpool but not that he'd go on about it. Forty seven years ago, he returned to Wrexham from Anfield in a record transfer deal as the Reds embarked on their first ever season in the old Second Division. He also made more appearances than any other Wrexham player in what is now called the Championship and just how much would he have loved to see how the Reds fare second time around in the second tier. After celebrating record-breaking back-to-back-to-back promotions, Wrexham embark on their latest adventure at Southampton on Saturday afternoon. The first game of the season is one when every supporter, at every club across the world, dreams that 'this is going to be our year!' Wrexham fans, who will have to set their alarms early ahead of Saturday's 12.30pm kick-off on the south coast, will be thinking just that as they head down to St Mary's. They'll all be jam-packed full of hope, desire and passion - and Joey Jones had loads of that and more!
BBC News
21 minutes ago
- BBC News
WSL2 was 'crying out' for more promotion places
The Women's Super League 2 was "crying out" for extra promotion places and additional spots are a "massive incentive" for clubs to invest, say players in the second promotion and relegation to and from the Women's Super League (WSL) was introduced in 2014, only the champions have earned a spot in the top will change in the forthcoming campaign, with the WSL expanding from 12 to 14 teams from the 2026-27 top two in the WSL2 will be promoted this season, while the third-placed club will face a play-off with the WSL's bottom team."It's hugely motivating, something the league has been crying out for," Durham's Becky Salicki told BBC Sport at a WSL2 media day."It's a step that needed to be done and I'm glad the league has done it. It gives us extra motivation to keep kicking on." The move comes as part of the increasing professionalisation of women's club football in England. For the first time in 2025-26, all 12 WSL2 sides are completely are fears of a growing gap between the top two tiers, with the newly promoted side relegated after one season in each of the last two WSL campaigns - Bristol City in 2023-24 and Crystal Palace last Salicki is unconcerned, pointing to the gap between the WSL top four of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City to the rest of the teams."There is a gulf there, but there's a gulf in the division regardless - there's a gulf between the top four and the rest of the WSL," added the 33-year-old defender."If the infrastructure is there, anyone can compete. I was in the Sunderland team the year they got promoted [in 2014] and everyone wrote them off, but they were flying high that year."There has to be an organic growth, it cannot just be flung at people. It has been done in the right way. Now the right step is for multiple promotions and hopefully that continues for the years to come." 'Any club would be amiss not to invest' The two automatic promotion places are a one-season deal. In the 2026-27 campaign, second place in WSL2 will mean a play-off against the 13th-placed WSL side, with third missing adds a sense of urgency for sides in the highly competitive WSL2. Last season eight of the 11 sides were in promotion contention at times, while nine points separated the top five come the end of the promotion was only decided on the final day, when champions London City Lionesses secured a 2-2 draw away to Birmingham City, who finished two points behind in second spot."It is a massive incentive, any club would be amiss not to invest," Sunderland's Brianna Westrup told BBC Sport. "You never know when that many spaces might be available - even next season there is one less."Two seasons ago we finished third. It is definitely attainable. We all have our eyes set on that.""With three potentially going up it's a huge opportunity," added Southampton goalkeeper Fran Stenson. "Everyone can see how much has been invested, and with 12 professional teams hopefully it's all positive."The competitiveness, and added promotion places, of the English second tier has allowed it to draw in more England midfielder Jordan Nobbs has dropped down from WSL side Aston Villa to Newcastle United, while Bristol City striker Rio Hardy says it was also a factor when she chose to leave Scottish giants Rangers this summer."My goal is to play in the WSL," Hardy, 29, told BBC Sport. "I was clear with Charlotte [Healy, Robins manager] about that. It was one of the things that pulled her to me, we both want promotion and to achieve my dream."Playing for Rangers I'm used to competing for trophies, that's something we want to do at Bristol City. There's a lot more to play for, with possible three promotion places, it's what more clubs will be aiming for and it will draw more people to the league because of that."
