Wrexham continue to focus on the EFL Trophy this week with a quarter-final clash against Bolton Wanderers coming up on Tuesday night.
After overcoming Port Vale in the third round last week, Wrexham will be looking to secure their place in the semi-final by beating fellow League One outfit Bolton this week.
While some see the cup run as a distraction for Wrexham, the momentum gained could be very beneficial to the Red Dragons’ promotion push, and it gives Phil Parkinson the chance to give fringe players valuable game time, too.
As he prepares to take down Bolton on Tuesday, Parkinson may well find he has the perfect player in the Wrexham squad to secure the win, but it’s up for debate whether he wants to use him at this juncture.
- READ MORE: How to watch Wrexham vs Bolton Wanderers as Phil Parkinson’s side target EFL Trophy semi-final slot
Sam Smith’s ability to play on the ground can disrupt Bolton
In the past, after Bolton and Wrexham played out a 0-0 draw at the start of the season, Ian Evatt suggested his team dealt with Wrexham’s attacking approach really well, namely the Red Dragons’ propensity to play the long ball and throw set-pieces into the box.
With this in mind, target men like Steven Fletcher and Ollie Palmer would surely be rendered useless against the physically-dominant Bolton defence.
But, in new signing Sam Smith, Parkinson has a player who is more than capable of keeping the ball on the ground on his route to goal. The former Reading man is great with the ball at his feet, and has a real knack for getting on the end of lower, driven crosses.
That’s not to say Smith isn’t effective in the air — he’s scored his fair share of headed goals, too — but Wrexham can succeed against Bolton by avoiding the aerial approach, feeding their new striker with the ball into his feet.
Will Phil Parkinson gamble on Sam Smith’s game time?
The only problem is, when putting together our predicted Wrexham lineup versus Bolton, we simply cannot see Parkinson giving Smith the start, especially with a league game against Northampton coming up at the weekend, too.
The Wrexham manager is far more likely to stick with his B-team — relying on the likes of Mo Faal — than put unnecessary pressure on his number one striker for a cup game.
There are benefits to starting Smith, of course. The 26-year-old could do with extra time on the pitch to connect with his new teammates, and it would certainly keep him feeling sharp.
Still, the risk of throwing the club’s record-signing into the fray for a cup match, when the priority has to be chasing promotion from League One, is a gamble we just cannot see Parkinson taking.