After a two week absence that I am sure was felt keenly in the hearts of all Wrexham fans everywhere, this column returns into a world of uncertainty. We are reliably informed that the Levelling Up Fund decision is likely to be handed down today, Thursday, December 15.
Indeed, it may have come down before this column is actually published, though the fact that I tend to write this before going to bed on a Wednesday evening means I have no idea what he result is. Therefore I am going to slightly hedge my bets and ask you, the reader, to only read one of the following paragraphs.
Firstly, if our bid is successful, I want to express the Club's tremendous excitement and enormous gratitude to UK Government for helping us to restore the Racecourse to its rightful place as the jewel in the crown of North Walian football. I hope the Civil Servants and Politicians responsible for reaching this positive decision have great Christmases and that an old flame reaches out and tells them they look hot in their most recent Instagram post.
Alternatively, if our bid is unsuccessful, I want to express the Club's great disappointment that our quest to restore the Racecourse to its rightful place as the jewel in the crown of North Walian football has been dealt such a blow. I hope the Civil Servants and Politicians responsible for rejecting our bid have rubbish Christmases and somebody they have a crush on from work leaves a comment on their Instagram saying, "Go a bit easier on the turkey next year, yeah? Ha ha ha."
We are, of course, all on tenterhooks to hear the outcome of the bid and are keeping our collective fingers tightly crossed. We are as confident as we can be that the bid that Wrexham County Borough Council and local MP Sarah Atherton submitted to the UK Government was very compelling and that no stone was left unturned in giving ourselves the best chance of success.
More certain are the cold, hard matters of public record this past weekend, a visit from His Majesty King Charles III and the Queen Consort and a very impressive 2-0 win away at Eastleigh , in what was one of our best performances of the season.
It was bitterly cold on the South Coast, which I think only added to the satisfaction of the 813 traveling Reds who were treated to a very accomplished and controlled display punctuated by two cracking goals in the first half. Tom O'Connor shone in the defensive midfield role in the centre of the park, but he was a first among equals as everybody played their role brilliantly.
Whether the presence of the King and Queen Consort were a source of inspiration or not is hard to say, we will have to wait for Solihull Away, in the New Year to get a sense of where our away form truly lies.
We welcomed a new player, Andy Cannon, to the Club last week; the first to be signed outside a transfer window in a good long while. Andy played against Wrexham at the end of last season for Stockport and we hope very much that he can enjoy back-to-back promotions in consecutive seasons.
Competition in midfield is heating up, but that ultimately has to be a good thing as it drives the players forward. I have no idea when Andy will getting game time, but as the fixtures pile up through the winter, the ability to rotate and retain the level of quality is going to be a massive boon for us.
Shame about Chesterfield getting called off, though at least we have the delights of the FA Trophy back on Saturday. Bring it on.