Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson will not want to replicate the way Wayne Rooney utilised Ryan Hardie at Plymouth Argyle.
Wrexham have confirmed the signing of Ryan Hardie from Plymouth Argyle, the first of what will likely be several recruits coming through the doors at the Racecourse Ground.
Unfortunately, this means that departures will likely be sanctioned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney as they look to equip Phil Parkinson with the best side possible to compete in the Championship. As a result, Wrexham look set to move on Paul Mullin to Wigan Athletic, with the Dragons’ hero joining the League One side on loan.
It is clear that with this approach utilised by the club, there will be no room for sentiment with the current players in the squad, which is why Wrexham have turned towards Hardie to add Championship quality to the ranks. Whilst Hardie has shown to be a top-level player in the second tier, Parkinson must ensure that he doesn’t replicate how Wayne Rooney used him.
Wrexham signing Ryan Hardie on former boss Wayne Rooney
Last season was quite a strange one for Wrexham’s blockbuster signing. On the surface, bagging 10 Championship goals despite suffering relegation down to League One is not a bad return for the player, but looking further into the stats shows one clear correlation.
Plymouth Argyle went on an improved run in the back end of the season under boss Miron Muslic. Whilst he was unable to keep the Pilgrims in the Championship, he certainly got the best out of Hardie, who bagged a brilliant nine in 17.
The contrast between his spell under Muslic and Wayne Rooney is mesmerising; Hardie simply wasn’t utilised well enough under the Man United legend, leading to him scoring just one Championship goal in 20 at the start of the season.
Hardie was fully aware of his deficiencies when working for Rooney, suggesting that, when speaking to PLZ Soccer, it was ‘unfortunate that it never worked out and we never got the results that were required’ during that spell.
What Phil Parkinson must do to get the best out of Ryan Hardie
Looking at the set-ups that both Rooney and Muslic utilised shows that Hardie thrives when he has support in attack. Starting up front for Rooney, the Plymouth striker was often isolated up top, struggling to get hold of the ball as defences swarmed.
Muslic’s slightly more attacking style, however, benefitted Hardie. Being able to link up with fleety attackers who he could hold the ball up for, then send on their way, saw the striker turn creator often. Even Muslic said that Hardie was not best used as a solitary striker.
If Parkinson wants to prioritise ensuring that Hardie can transform this side at Championship level, he will either need to utilise a front-two, which would make sense because of Wrexham’s wealth of options, or alternatively instruct the wingers to stay as high as possible and give options for the striker to play off.