While Wrexham fans have been so focused on who the club brings in this month, one player slipped through the exit door and has become a sensation at his new club.
It’s clear that Wrexham are hopeful of signing a new striker this month, with Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer’s struggles continuing in front of goal.
Phil Parkinson has only managed to bring in winger Ryan Longman from Hull City thus far, a signing which is certainly a boost, but not exactly what the doctor ordered.
It would seem Parkinson is intent on facilitating more exits this month, too, but fans are starting to think that letting one player go was a mistake.
Jon Dadi Bodvarsson is on fire at Burton Albion
One of Wrexham’s confirmed transfers this month was the departure of Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, who joined Burton Albion on a free transfer.
Since joining the League One strugglers, Bodvarsson has netted three goals in three games, and looks a completely different player in his new surroundings.
This has prompted Wrexham supporters to question why things didn’t work out for the Icelandic forward at the Racecourse Ground, prompted by the RobRyanRed podcast on Twitter/X.
One fan suggested: “Is it a pressure thing? Playing for a team in a promotion chase vs bottom of the table [with lower expectations]?”
Another added: “Maybe its like Man Utd with him. Good player but needs to be able to play at CaeRas – although to be fair I don’t think he had much chance, but few were calling for him to play.”
In a rather extreme opinion, one Wrexham supporter even pondered whether Phil Parkinson could be the issue, saying, “Bodvarsson and [Sam] Dalby are both proving that it’s not the players who are the problem; it’s Parkinson who needs replacing.”
The real answer to Bodvarsson’s uptick in form is fairly obvious, though. “It helps when you get minutes,” one fan said. “Never got the chance to shine,” another added. “Was he not given a chance or is it our system? Probably both,” chimed another.
He was never going to work in Phil Parkinson’s Wrexham system
That last point is an interesting one, and a fairly common theme among the consensus of the Wrexham fans. The fact is, the Red Dragons simply do not play the kind of football that brings out the best in a player like Bodvarsson.
Indeed, Wrexham spend a lot of time building up play down the channels, and generally like to play the long ball up in the air to the target man rather than playing into feet. That approach certainly doesn’t suit Bodvarsson, who is far better with the ball at his feet.
While the partnership of Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer has served Wrexham well over the years, the system that suits those two strikers clearly doesn’t translate for most of the other forwards Parkinson has tried out.
So, the question is, does Parkinson adapt his system to suit new players, or does he hope to find lightning in a bottle once more with a direct replica of Mullin and/or Palmer? Surely, the former is far more likely to work if the Wrexham manager can bear to change his ways.