DRAGONS SEARCH FOR TALENT
Daily Post

IN an otherwise forgettable domestic campaign at the Racecourse, the evening of November 14, 2006, provided one moment for Wrexham fans to cherish.

When Mark Jones joined Steve Evans and Chris Llewellyn on the field against Liechtenstein, it was the first time since the 1970s that the club provided three players for the Wales first team.

A considerable achievement for an outfit which flirted for so long with relegation from the Football League.

However, the young midfielder's full international bow was just of equal significance to the Dragons' youth academy.

Jones' substitute appearance ensured the academy had been represented at every level of the national set up, from the Under-15s through to Toshack's side, during the 2006/07 season.

The fortunes of Steve Cooper's youth set up this term have been a far cry from that of the senior teams.

Most notably, in what academy director Cooper describes as a major coup for the League Two club, U15 ace Kai Edwards claimed the Welsh Sportsman of the Year gong for his age group.

It would seem that if the next Ryan Giggs is a North Walian, his path will cross Wrexham's at some stage in his career.

Cooper certainly hopes so.

"In terms of players going on playing for Wales, we were extremely productive last year," he said.

"Not only did we have four or five of our boys playing at U15 and U16, we also had boys at U17, U19 and U21 level. And, of course, we had Mark Jones breakthrough into the first team.

"We actually had a player representing Wales at every single level. At U15, we had Kai Edwards win Welsh sportsman of the year, which is a massive coup for us. We have high hopes for Kai. He is coming in full time from July

"We do have English players in, as well. But it is a little bit sweeter when they are Welsh, because we work closely with the schools in Wrexham and Flintshire.

"We are also looking to set up development centres in the likes of Aberystwyth and Holyhead.

"It is a massive catchment area for us. Although players can go and play for the likes of Chester and Tranmere, Liverpool and Everton, really they shouldn't be going there without us knowing.

"So we have just appointed a full-time recruitment officer, Stewart Webber, whose main objective is to box off north Wales. If we can get Welsh boys in, then there is no reason why we can't go on and keep developing players for the national squad.

"We want to make sure that all of the best players in North Wales end up at Wrexham."

As the only professional club in the region, Wrexham are certainly well placed to achieve that aim.

The League Two outfit, however, often faces the task of fending off the unwanted attentions of Premiership sides, who covet their best youngsters.

Cooper, though, is adamant that Wrexham's youth set up can provide as good a footballing education as any of the elite of the English game.

"We are lucky that we have chairmen in Neville Dickens and Geoff Moss, who firmly believe in developing a youth department and have given us a good base to go and do that," added Cooper.

"We are losing boys but the message is that when clubs do come in for us, we don't want them to go. We don't particularly need the money, because at that level it is not big money. We would rather keep them, as we can give them as good a football education here.

"The beauty of our club is that when the boys get a bit older, we keep the education going.

"That is where Joey Jones comes in. It can be a grey area, that period between being a youth and a pro, and it can be a difficult time. But Joey is always there to nurture them and help them along the way before they do become established."

One advantage Cooper believes the Dragons can offer which their more illustrious rivals cannot, is the prospect of first-team football early in a career.

He points to the example of 18-year-old Matty Done, who made 38 appearances for Wrexham last season.

"We have got a scheme in place which is as good as any in the country.

"What is important now is that we get the right players in. We don't do anything different to the big boys. In fact, we do more because we don't have everything on a plate.

"We often have clubs coming to look at our boys and try to take them away, but fortunately they know that if you do well at Wrexham, you will get a chance to play for the first team.

"Where would you rather be playing at 17 or 18 - in a stadium or on an academy pitch? I know which I'd pick.

"I think Matty Done played more games last season than any other 18-year-old in the League."

Unquestionably, Wrexham's youth system is working. Yet, there is a belief that the burden of uncovering the next generation of North Walian stars falls too heavily on the club.

Cooper is hopeful that the appointment of Osian Roberts as FAW technical director can help improve the Welsh Premier academies, which, he feels, would have a favourable impact on the standard of players in the region.

Said Cooper: "More should be done in North Wales. Thankfully, now that Roberts has been appointed as technical director, it will be. You can't just rely on Wrexham.

"I think the FAW are looking at improving the academies in the League of Wales.

"We could work with them then and play games against them. Ultimately, that would help to develop the best players in Wales."

CHANCE TO GIVE DRAGONS BRIGHTER FUTURE
Mark Currie - Daily Post

AN attempt to put some distance between Wrexham Supporters Trust and the owners of the League Two club met with limited success at last night's annual meeting of the fans' organisation.

Only two of the five candidates proposing a more sceptical approach to co-operation with businessmen Neville Dickens and Geoff Moss, were elected the to Trust's board, with the three other vacancies taken by board members seeking re-election.

Trust chairman Bruce Clapton said the year under review had been difficult both on and off the field, but he insisted there was an opportunity to secure a brighter future for the Dragons

"We are looking to put together a consortium to run the club when the current owners move on," he said, promising to deliver a report on viable options as soon as they were ready.

But fans made it clear they were unhappy with vague plans for proposed redevelopment around the Racecourse Stadium, claiming it was important for the retention of international football in North Wales that an all-seater stadium be included

Members were told the Trust made a profit in the year to December 31 last of £67,330, some £20,000 less than the previous year.

But membership increased by nearly 300 over the period and shareholders' total funds grew from £154,246 to £221,815.

And there was more good news for members when treasurer Mark Williams confirmed that Trust funds had broken through the £300,00 barrier in the first six months of the current year.

Members agreed that the cash should be ring-fenced for the purpose of buying equity in the club, either as part of a consortium or in the event of any future shares issue.

WE'LL BACK BRI ALL THE WAY!
Richard Williams - Wrexham Evening Leader

Geoff Moss today vowed to continue to do all he can to help Brian Carey bring success to Wrexham Football Club.

The Wrexham board pledged to plough cash into the club after unveiling Brian Carey as manager last month.

Joint owner Moss reported that Wrexham had seen a 20 per cent increase in turnover last season and that meant a bigger budget for players ahead of the new campaign.

Carey has already made four summer signings - goalkeeper Anthony Williams, defender Richard Hope, midfielder Conall Murtagh and striker Michael Proctor - and more are planned.

Moss said: "First of all, you go in, look around and try to stabilise. The club was losing money for years, though the administrators did well when they came in.

"It is very easy to spend money at a club but you have to make sure you work within the finances available.

"We have had a decent year which means we will put the next building block in place, and money has got into the team and Colliers Park.

"As we did with Denis Smith, we will back the manager as much as we can. If we can help, we will do. But we won't interfere with the football side of things, like signings which are down to him.

"Brian wanted players who are good at this level and he is putting together a decent squad. There are more signings to come and I know he is after an experienced midfielder. There could be more signings next week."

The financial assistance is aimed to help Carey challenge for promotion next season, and Moss doesn't want a repeat of the previous campaign which saw Wrexham battle against relegation.

Moss has nothing but praise for the part Carey played in avoiding the drop and he wants to see the Reds challenging at the other end of the table next term.

"We are getting there," said Moss

"We made an investment to save and get the club out of trouble, and we can't afford to get into the position we were in last season. That took us by surprise. We never thought we would be down there in a relegation battle.

"But Brian did a great job. No-one worked harder than him and we couldn't ask for more from him.

"I always knew Brian was the right person for the job before hand. You get that gut feeling and I could see he had great potential.

"I am a winner and hate losing. I don't want to be down there again, it is not acceptable to me. I want to be challenging at the top."

Already boasting excellent facilities, more work has been undertaken at Colliers Park, the club's training ground, to give players and coaching staff the best set-up possible.

"What we have tried to do is improve the football infrastructure for the players and management," added Moss. "Colliers Park is where they do their job on a day-to-day basis, not The Racecourse.

"This is where the hard work is done and with what we are doing at Colliers Park, there can be no excuses for the players.

"Once we get this out of the way, we will then start to make improvements to The Racecourse, such as giving the Centenary Club a refurbishment.

"Everything in time will get better - hopefully first and foremost it will be on the pitch."

Meanwhile, head coach Steve Weaver is waiting to learn if one of Wrexham's targets has agreed to join the Reds.

A wide player and centre midfielder are two positions that the Reds are looking to bolster and Weaver is awaiting a decision from a player who was approached about a move to The Racecourse.

"We have a player in mind and he is away on holiday until the weekend, but hopefully when he gets back we will get a decision off him," said
Weaver today. "We have given him until the weekend."

GROUNDSMEN'S PERFECT PITCH
Richard Williams - Wrexham Evening Leader

Johnny Edwards' hard work at The Racecourse has not gone un-noticed.

Thanks to groundsman Edwards and his staff, Wrexham Football Club's pitch has been recognised as one of the best in League Two.

Following each game, the away team and referee are asked to mark their host's playing surface on a five point scale.

Once these marks are totalled for the season, the League then informs each club of their score for the year.

The average mark for last season was 3.05 but Wrexham easily passed that figure, ending with a total of 3.24.