Wrexham

Wrexham buyer eyeing final step
Prospective owner Neville Dickens is confident the sale of Wrexham is imminent and the football club can soon move out of administration. A consortium headed by Dickens exchanged contracts with administrators Begbies Traynor on Friday night. "It's been a long, long rocky road so it's a big relief as I'm a Wrexham lad through-and-through," Dickens said. "When I saw what was happening at the club I felt, like all the fans did, that somebody needed to come forward." Dickens, a millionaire car dealer, was a club director in the 1980s and one of his garages is on land adjoining the Racecourse Ground stadium. "I was fortunate enough to be approached because of the circumstances I found myself in with the land," Dickens added. "So I accepted along with Geoff Moss to head up a consortium that would do that." The League Two club went into administration in 2004 with £4m debts. A club runs the risk of being expelled from the League if it has been in administration for more than 18 months - with Wrexham's deadline on 3 June. The only remaining potential stumbling block is that any sale must be approved by creditors and shareholders of the club and be ratified by the Football League. Former owner Alex Hamilton is one of those creditors and there is a possibility that he could again resort to legal action to block the sale. Hamilton has previously lost a Court of Appeal decision to retain ownership of the club's Racecourse Ground.

Wrexham 1-1 Oxford United
Oxford United dropped into the League Two relegation zone after only managing a draw at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground. Oxford must now beat Leyton Orient on the last day of the season to stand any chance of staying up. Wrexham took a first-half lead after Oxford keeper Andreas Guatelli made a blunder, dropping the ball at the feet of Matt Cromwell who took advantage. Oxford levelled when Shaun Pejic impeded Eric Sabin in the box and Tcham N'Toya scored the penalty. Wrexham were bolstered by news the club could soon come out of administration after the sale of the club was agreed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wrexham: Michael Jones, Pejic, Danny Williams, Mike Williams, Roche, Crowell, Ferguson (Done 56), Mark Jones (Bennett 45), Holt, Walters (Lawrence 85), Derbyshire. Subs Not Used: Ingham, Smith. Goals: Crowell 28. Oxford Utd: Guatelli (Tardif 32), Mansell, Dempster, Willmott, Robinson, Quinn, Hargreaves (Smith 45), Burgess, Basham (Sills 62), N'Toya, Sabin. Subs Not Used: Odubade, Brooks. Booked: Willmott. Goals: N'Toya 64 pen. Att: 4,575 Ref: S Tanner (Somerset).

Contract delays frustrate Smith
Wrexham manager Denis Smith admits that the wait for prospective owner Neville Dickens to buy the club and take it out of administration is causing problems. "I'm in the same spot as last year, having 14 players out of contract is too many," said Smith, whose club need to end their administration by 3 June. "When we are taken over I expect things to be run correctly. If not, then I won't be here next summer." Only four of Smith's squad are in contracts beyond the summer. They are Michael Ingham, Dennis Lawrence, Darren Ferguson and Mark Jones. Smith is confident of holding on to highly rated midfielder Jones, who is recovering from knee surgery and should be fit for pre-season training. Mike and Marc Williams, Matt Done and Michael Jones have all been offered professional contracts by Wrexham, and they could be joined at the club by TNS defender Steve Evans. Smith also hopes to find room in next season's squad for striker Jamie Reed, who has spent the second half of the campaign on loan at Glentoran in Northern Ireland. But Mark Harris and Gareth Evans have been released after failing to make their mark. "I've had conversations with all the players," said Smith. "Some have got a definite yes, some have got maybes, and some have got in-betweens."

Darlington 1-1 Wrexham
Andy Cooke's injury-time strike rescued a draw for Darlington against Wrexham but was not enough for a play-off spot. Darlington needed to beat Wrexham by a large margin, although Lincoln's draw against Rochdale ultimately meant even a win would not have been enough. The home side appeared to be heading for defeat after Danny Williams' long-range effort put Wrexham ahead. But in the last moments of the game Cooke headed home from close range after a scramble from a corner kick. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Darlington: Russell, Valentine, Martis, McGurk, Duke, Simon Johnson, Keltie, Dickman (McLeod 63), Carlos Logan (Wainwright 63), Bates (Cooke 63), Sodje. Subs Not Used: Wright, Maddison. Goals: Cooke 90. Wrexham: Ingham, Roche, Danny Williams, Pejic, Mike Williams, Bennett, Crowell, Done (Ferguson 82), Holt, Walters (Marc Williams 87), Derbyshire. Subs Not Used: Michael Jones, Spender, Evans. Booked: Mike Williams. Goals: Danny Williams 31. Att: 4,648 Ref: K Friend (Leicestershire).

Ingham facing surgery on hernia
Wrexham goalkeeper Michael Ingham will have a hernia operation in a bid to clear up a problem that has hampered him this season. However, the 25-year-old is expected to be available for pre-season training at the beginning of July. Meanwhile, team-mate Lee McEvilly, 24, is still recovering from his foot stress fracture. The striker will have further X-rays on the injury to find out the extent of the problem.

Creditors back £3m Wrexham deal
People owed money by Wrexham FC have unanimously backed plans for a consortium led by businessman Neville Dickens to take over the club. The £3.25m deal will give creditors an estimated 28p in the pound. The club owes more than £5.4m in total, but lottery fund Sportlot and the Football Foundation are unlikely to demand repayment of £1m each, provided football continues at the Racecourse. The deal was agreed at a meeting in Wrexham on Tuesday morning. A second meeting of shareholders will be held on Tuesday afternoon. It is not known whether former club owner Alex Hamilton - the major shareholder - will attend the meeting, or whether he will agree to the deal. Wrexham went into administration at the end of 2004 with debts of more than £4m. The club ran the risk of expulsion from the Football League if it did not find a buyer by 3 June, meaning it would have been in administration for more than 18 months. The Football League imposed a 10-point penalty on the club and in May 2005 the Dragons were relegated to League Two - English football's bottom tier. After several court cases, the Appeal Court London's appeal court ruled earlier this year that the administrators and not Mr Hamilton should retain ownership of the Racecourse. Millionaire car dealer Mr Dickens is now confident he can complete the sale and has vowed to plough all future profits back into the club. Mr Dickens was a club director in the 1980s and one of his garages is on land adjoining the Racecourse. He made a bid to buy the club in April 2005 - a move welcomed at the time by the Wrexham Supporters' Trust. Mr Dickens and his business partner Geoff Moss have already submitted a planning application to develop the club's stadium. The plans include a new stand, along with private apartments and student accommodation.

Ugarte poised to rejoin Wrexham
Manager Denis Smith expects striker Juan Ugarte to re-sign at the Racecourse after training with Wrexham. The Basque front man, 25, quit Wrexham for Crewe last year, but left Gresty Road by mutual consent and has since been recovering from injury. \"Juan should be joining us fairly soon, but I don't expect him to be fit until possibly September,\" Smith said. \"I had a long chat with him and his agent this week, although I might also be looking at another striker on loan.\" Ugarte has been a prolific goalscorer for the Dragons, but endured an unhappy year at Gresty Road after joining Crewe last July when Wrexham entered administration and were relegated to League Two. He only started one Carling Cup game for Dario Gradi's side, while also making two substitute appearances in the Championship. Ugarte did rejoin Wrexham for two loan spells, but both were cut short after one game because of injury problems. Wrexham have appointed Anthony Fairclough as their new chief executive. Fairclough joins Wrexham from his present position with Burnley Football Club and has also worked in the commercial department of the Burnley Express newspaper. Wrexham hope to announce they have come out of administration this week.

Speed takes Wrexham coaching role
Bolton midfielder Gary Speed has taken a part-time role at Wrexham's academy. The ex-Wales captain, 36, has expressed an interest in a managerial future and - having completed his Uefa A coaching licence - this is a first step. \"I'm not sure if I want to be a coach or a manager, so I've agreed to this part-time role to dip my toe in the water,\" Speed told the Wales on Sunday. \"It's only one night a week and I live in Chester so it's not far for me to travel, I've got some ideas to try.\" Speed is Wales' most-capped outfield player, his 85th and final appearance coming against Poland in October 2004. He also holds the record for most Premiership appearances, and plans to keep playing for at least the year that is left on his Bolton contract. His brief at Wrexham is to nurture the club's Under-15 squad.

Johnson cleared to join Wrexham
Trinidad & Tobago Under-21 player Josh Johnson can play for Wrexham after being granted a settlement visa. The right-side midfielder, 24, went to Trinidad last week to sort out paper work and was cleared by the UK High Commission on the island on Thursday. He will return on Sunday and could feature in Wrexham's first home game of the season with Grimsby on Tuesday. Former Wrexham wing-back Carlos Edwards kept Johnson out of the Soca Warriors' World Cup squad. But he is seen as Edwards' heir apparent, having top-scored last season for the San Juan Jabloteh club - a team that produced former Dragons striker Hector Sam. T&T World Cup star Dennis Lawrence is also on the books at the Racecourse.

Wycombe 1-1 Wrexham
A stunning strike from midfielder Mark Jones earned Wrexham a share of the points at the Causeway Stadium. Wycombe enjoyed a dominant opening and took the lead when Tommy Mooney slotted home Chris Palmer's cross. The visitors gradually got their share of possession, then benefited from an odd 31st-minute Ricardo Batista slip. The keeper fluffed a clearance under Neil Roberts' challenge, then chased the ball to allow Jones a 40-yard curling strike into the deserted net. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wycombe: Batista, Stockley, Martin, Antwi, Williamson, Grant (Oakes 69), Palmer, Bloomfield, Betsy, Mooney, Easter (Dixon 78). Subs Not Used: Young, Christon, Torres. Goals: Mooney 6. Wrexham: Ingham, Valentine, Steve Evans, Roberts, Lawrence, Ferguson, Danny Williams, Mark Jones, Llewellyn, Done, Spender. Subs Not Used: Crowell, Michael Jones, Mackin, Gareth Evans, Reed. Booked: Valentine, Danny Williams, Done. Goals: Mark Jones 32. Att: 4,763 Ref: P Miller (Bedfordshire).

Upbeat Wrexham eye new front man
Wrexham manager Denis Smith said he is looking to bring in a Premiership striker on loan to the Racecourse. \"I've been talking to a young player who's thinking it over. We should have an answer on Monday,\" said Smith after the encouraging 1-1 draw at Wycombe. \"After Matt Derbyshire and Sam Williams did well here last year the bigger clubs see the benefit of such loans. \"With Josh Johnson, Juan Ugarte, Shaun Pejic, Lee Roche and Lee McEvilly to come in we'll be a strong squad.\" Dragons captain Neil Roberts felt that his side could have got all three points at League Two favourites Wycombe. \"We knew they'd start strongly and they got an early goal,\" Roberts told Sir Stanley. \"But we showed the character to come back. We've been working on our fitness levels and we were only getting stronger at the end. \"Mark Jones scored a great goal - we all know his ability and I just knew he would finish it - and it was disappointing not to be able to score from our second-half chances.\" Although disappointed not to collect all three points, Smith was delighted with the performance of his team. \"That bodes well for the future, Wycombe are rightly the bookies' favourites, but we handled them extremely well,\" said the Dragons boss. \"We went with 4-4-2 again and Darren Ferguson was superb in midfield. \"Dennis Lawrence has come on so well that I'm much happier with him as one of two centre-backs. \"He did well in that formation in the World Cup, so we'll see how it goes.\"

Wrexham endeavour delights Smith
Manager Denis Smith was delighted with Wrexham's first match at the Racecourse since coming out of administration. Steve Evans, Chris Llewellyn and Matty Done all scored as the Dragons beat Grimsby 3-0 on Tuesday night. \"Normally I'm scribbling away like mad at things which are upsetting, but it was difficult to find fault,\" he said. \"I'm delighted for big Stevie Evans to get on the score-sheet, he's had a very difficult pre-season but in the two games he's done tremendously well.\" Wrexham opened their campaign on Saturday with a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Wycombe, tipped to be one of the League Two pace-setters. \"We've changed our style of play, we've been looking pre-season which way we wanted to play,\" Smith added. \"It's high-tempo, hard-working, closing-down - whether we can do it for 46 games I don't know. \"But the whole team is doing the work and if we continue to play the same in every game this season we will do well.\"

We missed Ferguson admits Smith
Denis Smith felt Wrexham's lack of control in midfield cost them in the 0-0 home draw with Peterborough, with Darren Ferguson sorely missed. \"We possibly needed Darren to put his foot on the ball and slow things down,\" said the Wrexham manager. \"Also Danny Williams got a kick on the calf about 10 minutes in, so we were struggling a bit in midfield. \"The game needed someone to show a bit of magic and unfortunately Mark Jones wasn't able to do that this time.\"

Wrexham 0-0 Peterborough
Wrexham and Peterborough kept their unbeaten records in a stalemate at a blustery Racecourse Ground. The Dragons found the greater fluency after half-time as Chris Llewellyn hit the bar and Neil Roberts had a shot cleared off the line. Posh had their own chances and Dean Holden and Richard Butcher were just wide with good efforts. Matt Crowell nearly won it for Wrexham at the end, but his injury time free-kick hit the Peterborough bar. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wrexham: Ingham, Spender (Mike Williams 59), Steve Evans, Lawrence, Valentine, Mark Jones, Danny Williams (Mackin 59), Crowell, Done (Johnson 77), Roberts, Llewellyn. Subs Not Used: Michael Jones, Newby. Booked: Valentine. Peterborough: Tyler, Newton, Plummer, Arber, Branston, Day (Stirling 77), Holden, Butcher, Crow (Richards 55), Benjamin, Yeo. Subs Not Used: Carden, Bailey, Huke. Booked: Plummer, Branston. Att: 4,706 Ref: A Taylor (Cheshire).

Chester v Wrexham
Chester are likely to have wing-back Kevin Sandwith available after injury for Sunday's derby clash with Wrexham. Striker Drewe Broughton has recovered from a head injury and Phil Bolland (shoulder) is back in training. Wrexham defenders Shaun Pejic and Lee Roche are available for the first time this season as the Dragons begin life without centre-back Dennis Lawrence. Midfielder Darren Ferguson (toe) is set to return after missing last week's draw with Peterborough.

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