One small step ForWard, one giant scream for Wrexham
A loud homecoming that fell on deaf ears. Will Wardy prove a good addition?
‘Wrexham in his veins’
Football clubs absolutely love a homecoming. It doesn’t matter if the returnee is Cristiano Ronaldo or Chris in Recruitment: Big reunions are greeted with more nutty delight across footy social media than in WWE stadia when The Rock’s theme tune rings out.
We can turn to our old pals Notts County for a good recent(ish) example. Their social media admin (the official one, not the unhinged teenager who piloted NottsCountyZone) gushed at the return of their academy graduate David McGoldrick. He was a striker who only played ten times for the Magpies as a kid, never scored, and ended up at arch-rivals Nottingham Forest before returning to Meadow Lane by the time he’d lost all his hair and probably needed a cane to walk in the cold. Nonetheless, County rolled out the red carpet and roared with pride that their boy was back home.
Now, something similar is happening here on Planet Hollywood. New signing Danny Ward is a born and bred Wrexham la: A talented young ‘keeper who was on the first train to Liverpool Lime Street before most of us ever got to see him play. He made a grand total of zero professional Wrexham appearances in the league before going on to become Wales No. 1 and spend a career diving across stadiums around the world.
13 years on, he’s back where he began - and the club are utterly thrilled. “Wrexham in his veins and ice in his cold brew,” read the caption alongside Wardy, who posed with slowly decreasing enthusiasm for the obligatory 1,000 photos required for new signings.
The announcement was a giddy one. But clubs do get like this when One Of Their Own turns up on the doorstep after more than a decade away. Every signing has to seem Super Exciting - or what’s the point? The club’s social media team were never going to post: “Say hello to our third-choice goalie, up the town etc 🤝”, were they?
Still, Wrexham’s Big Danny Ward Promo hasn’t gone down quite as well as the club might have hoped. Efforts to rekindle the delirium that danced around the World Wide Red Web when we last pinched a ‘keeper from the Prem in Ben Foster haven’t really worked: With Ward’s return largely greeted by a shrug and a nod.
It looked a slam dunk on paper: Signing a local lad from the top division - a keeper with more Wales caps than David Brooks, Joe Morrell, or Robbie Savage. But the reaction has been deafeningly muted.
There are a few reasons for this. First - we already have a great goalkeeper. Two, actually. This means that Ward potentially may spend the season warming the bench and cheerleading from the sidelines, so it’s hard to get too enthusiastic about a player you might never actually get to see. Most of us didn’t clap eyes on him the last time he was here.
Second, we have bigger holes to fill and fish to fry than the GK position. Weren’t we supposed to have Gareth Bale and Jamie Vardy in by now? And whatever happened to Tom Cairney? When you reach a point where you’re linked with every ageing star under the sun, a goalie who averaged around four league matches a season for his last club isn’t exactly going to get the juices flowing.
Nonetheless, whilst the club and fanbase aren’t quite in sync on their enthusiasm levels for Wardy’s return right now, this could potentially be a shrewd piece of business. Parky will rotate his gloves throughout the season: If Arthur has a wobble or Burton doesn’t survive the step up to the Champo, Ward will probably be needed a handful of times and it’s good to have some quality to fall back on.
Ward has also spent a lot of his football career waiting in the wings before stepping up promptly when called upon. He was a peculiar case in that he seemed to play more games internationally than at club level, but throughout his career he has shown the traits - resilience and patience - that Parky seems to rate.
Sure, we could try to buy all the Billy Big Bollocks available on the market. But that won’t get us very far. We need a team. Building a side that will survive in the Champo is a puzzle - and Wardy might prove to be a useful piece in that respect.
Exactly where he will fit, right now, remains to be seen.
I don't see a problem with a Chomp upgrade. Lots of experience and still able to do a job. He will be a great mentor for Arthur- and likely a great locker room presence. Welcome to the circus Wardy.
Another great read and I love the addition to the goalkeeper squad. His experience should be very helpful to a still developing Arthur and there will be opportunities for all, I would expect in what could be a loooong first season in the Championship for this Parky side. Plus we've got the money. Quality upgrade as long as everyone gets along as expected.