Some day, one day, there will be a week where this column doesn't start with me saying some variation on "What a week!", but it is not this day.
What a week! Tuesday night saw the last of three consecutive home league fixtures, as the scheduling Gods decided to do us a solid and make a very intense period of games very slightly less intense.
Whether or not Phil and the lads would agree with my "less intense" assessment remains to be seen, especially after Ollie Palmer and Ben Tozer both finished on Tuesday with bandaged heads and eight stitches between them and Jordan Tunnicliffe got such a mighty dead leg in just the wrong the spot that he had to be taken off.
After fairly straightforward wins against Halifax and Altrincham - highlighted by a couple of stunning goals, first from Paul Mullin's audacious overhead kick and then a sumptuous team move finished with aplomb by James Jones - Tuesday night was a gritty attritional battle in horrible conditions. I don't think I was alone in taking particular satisfaction in seeing us grind out the win. 6-0 wins are great and everything, but seeing off a bogey team who took four points off us last year feels particularly satisfying.
Our one goal came courtesy of another towering Aaron Hayden header. The Red Baron has now scored eight league goals this season, which puts him joint seventh in the chase for the National League Golden Boot. When he was first discussed as a potential transfer back in the Summer of 2021, Phil was confident Aaron would chip in with "the odd goal, here and there". This was nearly accurate. The benefit of hindsight means we can now say he will chip with the odd goal, here, there and everywhere. Getting goals from all over the pitch has to be a good thing and, even this early into the season, there are very few players that haven't yet grabbed one. Centre-backs, full-backs, midfielders and forwards have all bagged, with only the goalkeeping position, so far, letting us all down. Extra training will be laid on for the keepers to work on their finishing.
We heard this week that Rob, Ryan and the Club are in consideration to be granted the Freedom of the County Borough of Wrexham in December. It is a great honour for the Club and I know that both Rob and Ryan are very touched and humbled by this unexpected prospective award. I was delighted that the Club was recognised alongside the Chairman, as it was the efforts of all those that came before us that attracted us to Wrexham in the first place, from previous members of staff, volunteers and fans, to the players that gave Wrexham all those great moments that have made it such a storied and extraordinary Club.
In other fitness news, this week, I made my long-awaited return to the pitch, not so much from injury, but from eating too many Terry's Chocolate Oranges, turning out twice for the two eight-a-side teams I play for in LA. Regular readers of this column will know that I style myself as a rangy, Ollie Palmer-esque Target Man and something of a Paul Mulin-y Fox in the Box, with just a dash of the youthful vigour and boyish good looks of a Sam Dalby and that was precisely how I played on Monday.
A constant threat, I missed a hatful of gilt-edged chances - that bit came naturally to me - before netting in the second half and subbing myself off before I passed out. On Wednesday, I played in a very unfamiliar right wingback role, and immediately did my best to channel Anthony Forde, seeking to keep probing and prying away at the opposition defence, before clipping a perfect little cross to the far post. What actually happened was that I was perpetually caught out of position and ate a bunch of jelly babies at half time. The point is, I had a blast and I highly recommend, if you haven't played in a while, get your boots back on, or your trainers, and get out there for a kick about. The Wrexham AFC Community Trust run a few programs encouraging participation and there are many more in the local area. If I can drag my great carcass out there, so can you!
We are back in action in the FA Cup this Sunday. Let's get ourselves into the hat for the next round.