For one reason or another, Paul Mullin is not in Phil Parkinson’s plans at Wrexham right now. But, that decision to exclude the club legend could backfire, in more ways than one.
For the last four years, Paul Mullin has been the superhero Wrexham needed to lift them out of the doldrums of the National League and fire them to promotion all the way to League One.
His goalscoring record over the glory days with the Red Dragons has been phenomenal, and that’s underselling it.
Mullin is now on 105 goals for the club in just 165 appearances, but at the moment, he can’t even make the matchday squad let alone get on the pitch.
It’s prompted a strong reaction from Wrexham fans, who want to see Mullin recalled, and they’re right to feel that way, as Phil Parkinson is making a very risky and very unpopular decision that could weigh heavy if the club fails to get promoted now.
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Paul Mullin’s exclusion at Wrexham is unfair
Mullin has now missed the last eight league games, making the bench just once for the game against Mansfield at the end of February. He did get 23 minutes in the EFL Trophy semi-final defeat to Peterborough, but that’s simply not enough.
The 30-year-old has suffered with injuries all season and admittedly hasn’t looked anywhere near his best. But, at the same time, he’s hardly been given a chance to find any consistency.
In the past, Mullin has spoken about his frustration when he doesn’t play and how he falls out of love with football in those moments.
| Stats | Paul Mullin 2024/25 |
| Games | 32 |
| Minutes | 1,465 |
| Goals | 5 |
| Assists | 1 |
Parkinson is killing the confidence of a player who has served Wrexham impeccably over the years, and it’s no way to treat a Wrexham legend.
Of course, sentimentality should never come before sensible team selection choices, but this doesn’t feel all that sensible, especially considering the inconsistency of Wrexham’s forward line this year.
When you look at the opportunities given to someone like Jack Marriott, who has also endured an injury-ravaged season, it’s odd that he has been welcome back into the team with open arms, while Mullin has been left in the cold.
That’s not to say that Marriott is undeserving of his minutes, but surely Mullin should be afforded a similar opportunity to prove his worth again?
Wrexham are missing Paul Mullin’s magic, and it could cost them promotion
After the dismal defeat against Reading on Tuesday night, there are major question marks around Parkinson’s decisions.
Something is clearly not clicking in the attacking areas, and while there’s no doubting the talent of Sam Smith, Jay Rodriguez, Steven Fletcher, and even Mo Faal, who made the bench for the Reading game, there is just something missing.
| Rank | Name | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1= | Max Cleworth | 7 |
| 1= | Elliott Lee | 7 |
| 1= | Steven Fletcher | 7 |
| 4= | Ollie Rathbone | 5 |
| 4= | Jack Marriott | 5 |
| 6= | James McClean | 3 |
| 6= | Ollie Palmer | 3 |
| 6= | Paul Mullin | 3 |
Wrexham have lacked that spark and that magic that they’ve possessed in recent years, and it’s hard to look past Paul Mullin as the main ingredient missing in the formula right now.
Not only are goals hard to find at the moment, but the team just doesn’t look like it’s got the same spirit and fight and tenacity about it. Mullin brings all of that in bucketloads, even if he’s not hitting the back of the net.
The promotion race is going to go down to the wire, it seems, and Wrexham may well end up regretting not utilising Mullin in this final run-in. He knows what it means to be the hero for the Red Dragons, and you just know he would give everything to be the player they need again over these next ten games.