Wrexham have made a remarkable start to the League One campaign, after last season’s promotion from League Two.
The Red Dragons’ 1-0 win over Mansfield Town on Saturday was enough to leave them in third place in the table going into the November international break, just two points behind Birmingham City in the automatic promotion places.
Whilst Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney would’ve hoped for yet another promotion battle, this start to the season amongst high-profile opposition like Birmingham will leave them immensely impressed with Phil Parkinson.
However, recent weeks have seen cracks beginning to emerge at the Racecourse Ground. Three games without a win preceded the Mansfield result, whilst Paul Mullin has struggled for form in League One.
Pundit Carlton Palmer urged Wrexham to sign a replacement for Mullin in January. In the meantime, though, three crucial statistics are showing that Parkinson’s side are struggling in comparison to their promotion rivals.
Shots on target per match
Starting with the most important aspect of the game: scoring goals. Wrexham have scored 22 goals in the league this season, which is comparable to their promotion rivals, but Parkinson’s side are struggling when comparing the top six’s shots on target per match.
| Team | Shots on target per match |
| Barnsley | 5.2 |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 5.0 |
| Stockport County | 5.0 |
| Birmingham City | 4.5 |
| Lincoln City | 3.9 |
| Wrexham | 3.8 |
Wrexham’s 3.8 shots on target per match is the lowest in the top six, alarmingly lower than Barnsley, Stockport County and Lincoln City who sit below the Red Dragons in the table.
This may suggest that the Wrexham Squad is attacking efficiently, but the form of Mullin alongside the low shots on target per match may suggest that goals may dry up at the Racecourse Ground.
Touches in the opposition box
To help increase the shots on target, Wrexham would ideally find themselves with more touches in their opponent’s box to create the shooting chances. Unfortunately, Parkinson’s side are also struggling in this department.
| Team | Touches in opposition box |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 351 |
| Birmingham City | 341 |
| Stockport County | 340 |
| Barnsley | 322 |
| Lincoln City | 292 |
| Wrexham | 252 |
So far this season, Wrexham have managed 252 touches in the opposition box, nearly 100 touches less than league-leaders Wycombe Wanderers.
Lincoln City are the only other top-six team to have less than 300 touches in the opposition box, leaving the Red Dragons trailing the majority of their promotion rivals by some distance.
Ryan Barnett’s excellent strike from outside the box against Mansfield showed that Wrexham don’t need to dominate the opposition box to win games so far, but the pressure of the promotion race may lead to Parkinson’s side rueing their lack of presence in more advantageous goalscoring positions.
Corners won
Speaking of advantageous positions, attacking corners can provide teams with crucial opportunities to score. Last season, Wrexham led League Two for corners won, but this season has been a vastly different story so far.
| Team | Corners won |
| Barnsley | 101 |
| Birmingham City | 81 |
| Lincoln City | 78 |
| Stockport County | 69 |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 64 |
| Wrexham | 54 |
Wrexham have won only 54 corners this season, ranking 22nd in the overall across League One. With the Red Dragons struggling for shots on target and touches in the opposition box, winning corners would be an ideal alternative to ensure they keep up attacking momentum in games.
However, Parkinson’s side once again rank bottom compared to their promotion rivals, with Barnsley nearly doubling their total despite being below Wrexham in the league table.
If Wrexham are to continue to fight for promotion this season, Parkinson and his Red Dragons coaching staff will need to find a way to improve on these attacking statistics to ensure that their rivals don’t leave them behind.