“Fletcher again, ole ole…..”
Not for the first time this season, Steven Fletcher, 38 next month, was the hero for Wrexham.
After being brought off the bench just as two promotion contenders looked set to cancel each other for the second time this season, the former Scotland international broke the deadlock against Huddersfield Town.
It maintained the striker’s happy knack of netting important goals, this being the fourth time he had settled a tight game in Wrexham’s favour since Christmas. No wonder, therefore, the 1,746 travelling fans were regaling Fletcher at the final whistle with the ‘ole’ song.
“When the opposition see Fletch warming up it must put a bit of fear into them because he’s such a good player,” added manager Phil Parkinson for good measure.
In truth, the finish was routine. Fletcher couldn’t really miss after the ball broke to him on the line following a mini-scramble. Nevertheless, the value of that strike from close range cannot be overstated.
The moment you’ve all been waiting for 💥
🔴⚪️ #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/14KLiV6Q96
— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) March 4, 2025
Not just in terms of sealing a fourth straight away win to keep Wrexham firmly on the tail of Wycombe Wanderers in the race for second place behind runaway leaders Birmingham City.
But also by easing some of the pressure that had been building amid a lack of goals from what is comfortably the most expensively assembled group of forwards in the club’s history.
Just once had a striker found the net in the seven league matches prior to tackling Huddersfield, Sam Smith’s opener in last month’s 2-0 triumph at Northampton Town.
With Jay Rodriguez and Smith, the January window’s two big money additions, having arrived early in that relatively barren run, much of the admittedly online consternation has centred on that pair.
Neither Smith, Wrexham’s first seven figure signing, nor former England international Rodriguez were able to get on the scoresheet against Huddersfield during their sixth start together. But Parkinson was certainly happy with the duo’s contribution to a precious victory.
“Sam and Jay give us a platform to play,” he told The Athletic. “We can get the ball into Jay’s feet, (while) Sam is good at stretching it. But also their tactical awareness without the ball was brilliant against Huddersfield.
“Jay has obviously played at the top level and the detail in the way he presses and covers space is brilliant. It helps the midfield so much. They are getting better all the time as a combination.
“I was very pleased with them both. As much as they didn’t get the moment (every striker craves by scoring), they so nearly did. Jay had a brilliant shot, Sam had a header. But the main thing is they played well to enable to team to get the result.”
Sam Smith has not scored in his last four League One appearances for Wrexham (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Tuesday’s first half offered a big hint as to why the goals are yet to flow for either Rodriguez or Smith. Not only did the pair receive very little service, particularly in wide areas with only one of Wrexham’s 11 attempted crosses being deemed successful by Opta.
But those opening 45 minutes also saw the two strikers way too far apart, up to 30 yards at times. This meant, when the ball was played up front, there was precious little chance of it sticking. An upshot of this was Wrexham taking until the 31st minute to have their first touch of the evening inside the home penalty area.
Things did improve after the break, as a Smith knockdown set Rodriguez up for a fizzing 25-yard shot that Town goalkeeper Lee Nicholls did well to beat away. Then, after Smith’s header from a pinpoint Ollie Rathbone cross had also been kept out, Fletcher swooped to settle the contest.
Whether taking three points off a Town side who ground out a goalless draw at The Racecourse Ground earlier in the season will silence the debate about the deployment of Wrexham’s seven senior strikers remains to be seen.
Fletcher finishes a chance worth 0.9 xG (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
But it seems unlikely, with even Ollie Palmer’s dad weighing in on X earlier this week by urging Parkinson and assistant Steve Parkin to have a rethink.
“Need to look at the team they had before Christmas,” messaged Palmer senior, a former Royal protection officer who featured in series two of Welcome to Wrexham. “That team got them to where they are now…just saying. Maybe a Smith and Palmer upfront.”
Palmer hasn’t featured in a league squad since coming off the bench late on in the 2-1 win at Crawley Town on February 1. Considering his tireless efforts in the first half of the campaign, this does feel harsh.
Paul Mullin, Wrexham’s all-time seventh highest scorer with 110 goals, must also feel hard done by over his absence from the matchday squad for the last two league games.
Parkinson, though, is now spoilt for choice. Four wins and a draw from the six games Rodriguez and Smith have started together also seems to back up his selection, especially in a season where, as the below table compiled before the trip to Huddersfield shows, Wrexham’s frontline has been slightly under-performing. The deficit between expected goals (xG) of 20.08 and actual goals (17) suggests a failure on the part of the strikers to capitalise on the quality of chances created. 
Wrexham’s frontmen need to start taking more of those opportunities, especially as Richard Kone and Dan Udoh have bagged 21 between them for Wycombe, while Birmingham City’s lethal partnership of Jay Stansfield and Alfie May have 26.
Mullin and Palmer will no doubt back themselves to do just that should they return to the fold during the run-in, something that cannot be ruled out judging by Parkinson’s response when asked about the recent absence of two stalwarts who have served Wrexham so well during the rapid rise from non-League.
“We’ve got a lot of strikers,” he says. “It’s difficult. We can’t keep everyone involved. But we will keep assessing things, looking at training all the time and picking a team, and the bench, accordingly.”
(Header photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
