Wrexham were dealt a pre-season blow on Tuesday when they lost 2-1 against Sydney FC, in a game that they really should be winning.
Pre-season or not, Wrexham didn’t look all that impressive on Tuesday. Wrexham lost 2-1 against Sydney FC who fielded many younger players, and whilst Wrexham weren’t full strength themselves, defeat in Sydney certainly leaves a few fans fearing for the start of the new season.
It comes after Wrexham beat Melbourne Victory 3-0 in their pre-season opener, though there were some notable absentees for the game in Sydney including Ryan Hardie, Arthur Okonkwo, and Sam Smith who also missed the Melbourne game too.
Next up, Phil Parkinson’s side head to New Zealand where they play Wellington Phoenix before returning to Wales to inevitably play more friendlies, before Wrexham start their Championship campaign against Southampton on August 9th.
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Sydney FC boss won’t compare his team with Wrexham’s
Speaking after his side’s impressive win, Sydney FC manager Ufuk Talay spoke positively about Wrexham. He said: “Very fortunate to play against a very good opposition in pre-season,” before he was then asked to draw comparisons between his side and Wrexham.
Tulay gave a rather stern response to the question, playing down any comparisons between the two whatsoever. He told the press: “I personally don’t like this comparison. They [Wrexham] play in their own competition, we play in our own competition. I don’t think we’re comparing apples with apples at the same time, it’s apples with oranges. Their budgets compared to our budgets are totally different.”
Last season, Wrexham won promotion from League One after securing a 2nd place finish. Meanwhile, Sydney FC finished in 7th place of the A-League, out of 13 teams who compete in the league.
Wrexham’s record transfer vs Sydney FC’s
It’s true that the English game has infinitely more money than the Australian for example. And that’s evident when we compare Wrexham’s record signing with that of Sydney FC’s.
Last January, Wrexham signed Sam Smith for £2million from Reading, and he became the club’s record signing. Sydney FC’s record signing is that of Benjamin Vidaic from Sydney United back in the 2007/08 season, for a reported fee of £173,000.
Already this summer Wrexham have signed Ryan Hardie for £700,000 and they look set to spend more, too, with reports that Wrexham have a £25million transfer budget for the remainder of the window.
Those kinds of numbers may never reach the Australian game. But Sydney FC more than held their own on Tuesday and they certainly did themselves proud against a sorry-looking Wrexham side.