IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES, IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES
The good times have continued to roll at The Racecourse, and the club's record books have been extensively rewritten. Here's a taste of what Phil Parkinson's side achieved in 2022.
TEAM RECORDS
To begin with, here are three club records, a couple of which we achieved by quite a margin!
Most points won in a calendar year if three points are awarded for a win.
Most league wins in a calendar year.
Most league goals scored in a calendar year.
Of course, the club's history means lots of records were set before we joined the Football League in 1921, so there are a number of figures which would take some beating. After all, before 1921 we were playing in regional leagues, and the level of competition sometimes wasn't the most demanding.
However, in 2022 we have set some club records for the years since joining the pyramid of leagues:
Best goal difference in a calendar year since 1921; second best league goal difference in club history.
Sixth most points per league game in a calendar year (if converted to 3 points for a win.) Second best since 1921.
Eleventh least league defeats in a calendar year; second least league defeats since joining the Football League.
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS
Paul Mullin scored 43 goals in 2022, just one goal behind the record, set by Tommy Bamford in 1931.
He's not the only one to have enjoyed a prolific year: Ollie Palmer's 29 goals in 2022 puts him in 13th place in the list. Not bad, considering he only signed for us after we'd already played 3 games in January!
Tommy Bamford dominates the table, having enjoyed 5 of Wrexham's 8 most prolific years.
Mullin also scored the third-highest amount of league goals in a calendar year for us. Once again, Bamford dominates: Mullin is the only other player to score more than 30 league goals in a year for Wrexham.
AND HERE'S ONE I MISSED EARLIER
Aaron Hayden scored his tenth goal of the campaign last Saturday, which is a remarkable figure for a centre back to achieve in an entire season, never mind by December. Lots of you asked whether this is the most prolific season a Wrexham defender has ever had: the answer is a resounding yes!
Hayden is the first Wrexham player to score 10 goals in a season as a defender. Previously the record was held by Eddie May: the legendary skipper actually hit 10 goals in 1971-2, but one of them came when he was playing as a centre forward.
There was one other obvious name to consider: Ron Wynn was a tough defender from the 1947 to 1956, who managed 15 goals in his time with us. However, all but one of the goals came when he was playing as a stand-in centre forward. As he didn't play up front particularly often, he had a rather good strike rate when he had to play in attack; 14 goals in 28 games is almost a rate Mullin and Palmer would be pleased with!
May, of course, enjoyed a long spell at The Racecourse, and scored 42 goals across the 8 seasons he played for us, meaning he scored more goals than any other Wrexham defender. With 18 goals under his belt, Hayden still has a fair way to go to catch his total, but he's made a remarkably good start!