Wrexham have seen some big names pass through the club over the years but one major Welsh star slipped through the net.
Wrexham fans have found new heroes since Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds bought the club.
Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer will go down in folklore having helped Wrexham fly through the divisions.
Going back long before the McElhenney and Reynolds era, the likes of Joey Jones and Mickey Thomas were Wrexham heroes.
Ian Rush even had a stint at Wrexham towards the end of his career but one Welsh legend ended up being rejected by the club before becoming a Premier League star.
Neville Southall explained Wrexham snub
When you talk about the greatest Welsh players in the history of the game, Neville Southall deservedly has a spot near the top of the list.
The Llandudno-born goalkeeper became a star with Everton in both the old First Division and the Premier League, playing more than 750 games for the club in all competitions.
Southall racked up 92 caps for Wales too but Wrexham passed on the chance to sign him.
Speaking to current Wrexham goalkeeper Mark Howard on his podcast ‘Yours Mine Away’ in December 2024, Southall admitted that he had trials with Wrexham as a youngster.
Remarkably though, Wrexham snubbed him for a bizarre reason, deeming the stopper to be ‘too scruffy’ to make it as a professional footballer.
Southall proved himself with Llandudno Town, Bangor City, Conwy United and Winsford Town before his big break with Bury and then Everton.
Wrexham certainly got it wrong with Southall and his path to stardom could have seen him pass through the STōK Cae Ras.
Southall has no regrets though, believing that his rise in the game worked for him because he established himself at a lower level before making a huge rise.
“I went for loads of trials, I went for a trial, funnily enough, with Wrexham,” said Southall.
“I was told I was too scruffy to be a footballer, which is funny. I went to Bolton, we got beat 6-0 but they asked me back and then I went to Crewe with Harry Gregg.
“I just think the way I got into football was better for me because I didn’t have anybody telling me what to do all the time – I didn’t like that,” he added.
Neville Southall trophies won
Southall was a bin man and waiter before enjoying stardom at the highest level of the game.
Now 66, Southall can reflect on a quite remarkable career and one which should be an inspiration for anybody playing at a lower level.
Here is every trophy Southall won at Everton as he became one of the top goalkeepers around…
- Football League First Division: 1984/85, 1986/87
- FA Cup: 1983-84, 1994-95
- FA Charity Shield: 1984, 1985, 1995
- European Cup Winners’ Cup: 1984-85
Southall was also named FWA Footballer of the Year in 1985 and BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year 10 years later in 1995.
A true legend of the Welsh game, Southall will go down as one of the biggest names to have slipped through Wrexham’s net.