Wrexham suffered a shocking 2-0 defeat at the hands of Reading on Tuesday and it’s clear what changes Phil Parkinson now needs to make.
Wrexham were aiming to make it five away wins in a row when they made the trip to the south of England on March 11th.
However, the Red Dragons have an unwanted record against Reading and, unfortunately, it has continued this season.
A drab first 45 played out with Sam Smith and Ryan Barnett the only players to create anything of note.
Wrexham then fell behind six minutes into the second half after Eoghan O’Connell gave away a penalty, which The Royals converted.
Former Middlesbrough midfielder Lewis Wing doubled the home side’s advantage 55 minutes into the match.
Reading did go down to 10 men with 15 minutes of normal time to play, but it still wasn’t enough to help Phil Parkinson and co. mount a comeback, seeing Wrexham lose 2-0.
Phil Parkinson must drop Jay Rodriguez after Reading
Wrexham went into the 2025 winter transfer window aiming to improve their forward line amid a lack of goals.
Jay Rodriguez and Sam Smith both arrived on January 31st, bringing with them a history of goalscoring and plenty of experience.
Smith has two goals to his name since making the switch to Wales, but the back of the net has continued to elude the ex-Burnley man.
Wrexham fans have criticised Rodriguez since his move in January, and he was once again poor on Tuesday.
| Jay Rodriguez | Stats vs Reading |
| Minutes | 7 |
| Shots on target | 0 |
| Dribble attempts | 0 |
| Touches | 20 |
| Accurate passes | 4/14 (29%) |
| Duels (won) | 9 (3) |
With a huge meeting against second-place Wycombe Wanderers now on the horizon, it’s clear Parkinson needs to drop Rodriguez, and there are two potential options who can replace the striker following a run of zero goals in nine as a Wrexham player.
Paul Mullin or Jack Marriott can partner Sam Smith for Wrexham
As already mentioned, the meeting with Wycombe is now an even bigger match than it was 24 hours ago.
Defeat at the hands of The Chairboys would almost certainly confirm that Wrexham will not go up with Birmingham City via the automatic spots.
In turn, it’s imperative that after another anonymous showing, Rodriguez is replaced in the front line.
Smith should keep his starting berth as, while he didn’t score against his former club, the 27-year-old showed moments of quality.
As a result, Parkinson will need to deploy one of Paul Mullin or Jack Marriott next to the ex-Reading man.
Neither player has been in great form recently, but at least they have scored a few goals this season and offer a bit more attacking intent than the sluggish, slow Rodriguez.