Wrexham must avoid this tactical decision when they face Reading on Saturday afternoon.
Wrexham are looking to extend their unbeaten start to the 2024/25 League One season this weekend.
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds have helped guide the club into the third tier of English football for the first time in their history.
The American duo appointed Phil Parkinson as manager in July 2021 and he has since secured back-to-back promotions for the Welsh outfit.
The step up to League One was expected to prove a tough ask for the Red Dragons but they are handling the pressure well so far.
After beating Wycombe Wanderers on the opening weekend, Parkinson took his team to Bolton Wanderers on August 18th.
Wrexham drew 0-0 with Bolton, an impressive result given Ian Evatt’s side are among the favourites to win promotion to the Championship this season.
Phil Parkinson told to avoid one tactical decision in Wrexham vs Reading meeting
Several Wrexham players stood out in the 0-0 draw this past weekend, including their goalkeeper.
Bolton had eight shots on goal but were unable to find the net, with Arthur Okonkwo praised for his display between the sticks.
Parkinson praised Sebastian Revan as well after the wing-back dominated in both boxes for Wrexham.
However, one aspect of the club’s draw with Bolton did not please journalist Nathan Salt.
Speaking on the Rob. Ryan. Red. podcast, Salt made clear his disdain for Wrexham continuing to pass the ball between Okonkwo and Eoghan O’Connell and then kicking it long.
He said: “What on earth were we doing in terms of Okonkwo passing the ball to O’Connell, giving it straight back and booting it 60 yards, that made no sense.
“Almost like we wanted to play out from the back, we got pressed then just booted it long that was infuriating and didn’t make any sense. Just kick it long, get yourself up the pitch.”
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Wrexham may be forced to change style of play
Wrexham have dominated in the last two seasons, being one of the tops sides in both divisions they played in.
However, League One is a very different ball game, with sides like Bolton and Birmingham City having well-established squads that have seen plenty of money spent on them.
The quality of football in the third division is much higher than anything Wrexham are used to and Parkinson may need to adapt.
Last weekend’s game showed Wrexham do want to try and play ‘nice’ football, playing out from the back and trying to dominate teams.
But having never been in League One before, the reality remains that their squad is probably not good enough to play how Parkinson wants to in every game.
There will be times, especially against the top teams, when the Welsh outfit will need to sit back and deploy an uglier brand of football to try and get a result.