It's soccer ball time at The Valley

Much as I find the football coverage of the New York Times enjoyable and interesting, I do find their obsession with Wrexham irritating.  They get more coverage than any other EFL club and more than some top flight teams.

However, it has to be admitted that Wrexham have a big following among soccer ball fans in the US.  It's not just the injection of cash that they have had, it is the way they have leveraged this, albeit using their Hollywood connections, to create a global brand.

This has been achieved in a rather remote city in North Wales, although one that has had a rather colourful history (counterfeit notes come to mind, but also a famous victory over Arsenal).  I think that many local people would admit that Wrexham has faced economic and social challenges.

It does have a university, but according to some figures I saw recently, its graduates have the second lowest value added in terms of post graduation income.

The point is that the owners have used this challenging context as an asset rather than a liability   Instead of complaining, other clubs might see what they can learn from them.

Anyway on the football front, American soccer ball fans have been told that former Addicks manager Phil Parkinson has some injury problems that have led him to tweak his formation, giving a greater to former Addick George Dobson.    

Ben Sheaf and Matty James have been ideally suited to the 3-4-2-1 box midfield setup favoured by Parkinson since Christmas, bringing a level of control against other play off hopefuls during a holiday period that thrust Wrexham into the promotion race via four straight wins.

But now Wrexham are needing to cope without both Sheaf and James, since the latter broke his toe in the February 7 home defeat to Millwall. No return date has been set for James, 34, whose recovery has suffered a slight setback.   “It’s a real blow,” said Parkinson after confirming Sheaf is facing up to 10 weeks out with medial ligament damage, potentially taking him up to the final day of the season. 

His solution against Portsmouth was to partner Lewis O’Brien with George Dobson in the holding roles. The duo could be happy with their first-half efforts but could not stem the tide of Portsmouth attacks following a tactical reshuffle by the visitors at the break, as Gus Caballero was withdrawn and the lively Adrian Segecic brought on.

Only in the closing stages did Parkinson turn to Zak Vyner, the January signing from Bristol City, to see out a game in which Wrexham had been forced to defend 11 corners in the second 45 minutes and repel six shots on goal.

“You have to factor in Matty’s broken toe and then losing Ben on Saturday,” said Parkinson. “A lesser group would have maybe let that rock them but we didn’t   We didn’t quite get the control we wanted. But sometimes football is about finding a way to win. We did that really well tonight."