Promotion chances for Wrexham in the second half of the season following a pivotal 2024 first victory

The Hollywood-owned Red Dragons began 2024 with an emphatic comeback victory over League Two promotion rivals Barrow. Sat third in the table, they are on track for another promotion-winning season.

When does Wrexham’s practice of using coincidence to tell stories start to make sense?

Naturally, Paul Mullin herselfalded his second act with a free-kick against Barrow on New Year’s Day that was as wonderfully ludicrous as the rumors themselves, having just confirmed he would not be trading in the charm of north Wales for the lust of Saudi Arabian silver.

Naturally, Wrexham—now encased in four walls and excruciating—extended their record of goals scored at home to an astounding 50 straight games. Naturally, Steven Fletcher finally scored his first hat-trick in the English game on his 400th league football appearance, with Wrexham behind 1-0 after 33 seconds.

Therefore, the announcement that 2024 is the Year of the Dragon should come as little to no surprise. This is an example of nominative determinism that, at this point, seems fittingly fated.

Football is a sucker for circular symbolism. And while there is admittedly little real difference between Sunday December 31st and Monday January 1st beyond an increase in paracetamol purchases, Wrexham’s 4-1 comeback victory over promotion rivals Barrow–the first match of the new year, the default and totally fallible forecast of what is to come–felt riddled with metaphorical value, the sort that is difficult to pry away from when considering the second half of the League Two promotion race.

With 25 matches gone and 21 matches remaining in the regular season, Wrexham sit third in League Two level on points with Mansfield. Phil Parkinson’s side are two points off Stockport in top spot with a game in hand.

The three goals scored in the space of four minutes in first-half stoppage time not only secured victory over Barrow but a four point buffer to manager Pete Wild’s side in fourth. The urge is to decry that, in their current form, Wrexham are on track for successive promotions. Go on and pop the corks.

That type of brazen conviction is stomach churning to the more entrenched Wrexham fans, who know the club’s capability of spiffing away chances intimately. “There are a lot of twists and turns between now and the end of the season,” former Wrexham striker Neil Roberts told the Mirror after the 2-0 victory over Newport, his tone notably cautious and weathered when considering what the future could bring. But is such a worldview at risk of becoming out-dated?

The unmatched drama that accompanied Wrexham’s historic achievement served as the hallmark of its 2023. The eagerly anticipated comeback to the English Football League following a 15-year hiatus failed to completely eradicate the high-stakes addiction. Wrexham’s first four games were a chaotic baptism of fire, as they conceded 13 goals while only managing five points. Even though the Red Dragons scored 13 points, the focus of the discussion was mainly on the club’s newfound soberness and how Hollywood glitz may turn into hollow glitter in the intense heat of the NFL.

After six months, the ending appears distinct, potentially even disappointing the growing group of non-Wrexham supporters.

The Red Dragons’ penchant of self-immolation is still present (they took just 33 seconds to do so against Barrow), but Parkinson’s team has the second-most wins in the division, trailing only Stockport. When necessary owing to injuries or suspensions, the club has won outstanding games by slogging it out and developing an unbeatable home record in the process. This season, Wrexham has scored in 50 straight home league games, and they have scored twice or more in each of those games.

The home record this season for Wrexham is a continuation of what has been achieved under Parkinson: in 75 games under his direction at the Racecourse, the team has won 59 in all competitions, scored 208 goals, and given up 76.

Talk of fortresses can be cheap, but Wrexham’s home form will surely only work in their favour as the promotion race continues.

Of Wrexham’s remaining 21 matches, eight are against the current top 10 sides, five of which–including against top two sides Stockport and Mansfield Town–will be on home turf.

Mullin and Elliot Lee, who is quickly proving to be one of the club’s most anticipated signings, have signed new contracts. This provides more stability to a team that appears poised to add another impressive player during the January transfer window. The concern over midfield reinforcement has subsided thanks to Andy Cannon’s return to form, while Max Cleworth’s defensive exploits have only served to highlight the benefits of his contract extension last December. Fletcher’s injury comeback is much needed and anticipated.

In order to maintain the current trajectory, some reinforcement is needed in January, with defense and offensive alternatives requiring the greatest attention from recruiters.

Depending on how much weight is placed on whimsies like resolutions, new chapters, and starting as you mean to finish, Wrexham’s dramatic home comeback victory over promotion-rivals Barrow at the beginning of 2024 and dramatic away loss to Walsall at the end of 2023 may or may not carry any greater significance than a team that overcomes a setback.

The 2023–24 season’s first half was very similar to an on-the-spot learning exercise. Lessons have to be implemented in the second half if promotion is to be achieved in a subsequent season.