Running Out of Time in Hollywood: Phil Parkinson's Job on the Brink
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Running Out of Time in Hollywood: Phil Parkinson's Job on the Brink

Running Out of Time in Hollywood? Phil Parkinson's Job on the Brink

A heralded figure in southern Wales, Phil Parkinson was considered one of the only untouchable managers in the English game at the start of the season.

Having just chalked off three consecutive promotions - the first time any side has ever done so in England’s top five divisions - Parkinson was given free reign over the clubs budget this season, as Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny attempted to build him a squad capable of competing with the Championships’ very best.

With £30 million spent on proven second tier players such as Ben Sheaf, Conor Coady and Kieffer Moore, the Red Dragons harbored high hopes across pre-season, dreaming of perhaps another surprise promotion push. However, reality has sharply returned the high-flying dragons to ground level.

Six games into the league season, and Parkinson has just one league win to show for the club's record outlay over the summer. Defeats to Southampton, West Brom and QPR, as well as a disappointing draw against strugglers Sheffield Wednesday, have put Parkinson’s role as manager under intense scrutiny.

Rumours have started to circle that the A-list owners are considering other managerial candidates as they look to rebuild their side's credibility as a Championship side. But does Parkinson deserve more time?

Parkinson’s Credentials

If this does indeed prove to be the end of the line for Parkinson, then it must be said that even if he didn’t earn himself some more time to turn things around, he certainly earned the respect of the thousands in attendance each week at the Racecourse Ground, as well as the millions across the UK following their escapades week in week out.

The unheard of achievement of three straight promotions, combined with the longed-for identity he brought the club after almost 40 years of irrelevancy made him a cult hero amongst Dragons fans.

These factors alone should on the surface be enough to earn him more time to steady the ship; but recently, past success has shown to do anything but guarantee a manager's spot. Take Ange Postecoglou for example, sacked a week after ending Tottenham’s 17 year trophy drought.

Or the even more recent case of Nuno Espirito Santo, who despite leading Nottingham Forest to European football with their best domestic season in decades, was dismissed after various disagreements with club owner Evgenios Marinakis.

Such is management - you can build a club up from the very foundations, and still find yourself in the firing line when things are not going perfectly to plan. And this is the unfortunate predicament in which Parkinson finds himself.

Yes, he may have had more financial backing than most in the second tier things to their famed ownership, but even for the finest managers in the game, managing enough squad turnover and replacement signings to strengthen a team three seasons in a row to compete in three different leagues is nigh on impossible.

Parkinson has proved himself to be a more than capable squad manager - achieving three promotion campaigns back to back requires an immense amount of playing, careful rotations and man management, and it is a credit to the former Bolton coach that he has managed to do all of these so successfully for so long.

But the squad was always going to lag behind at some point, and it appears we are finally seeing that happen in the flesh - while their summer spending has certainly made them competitive, they are still missing the cutting edge that can take them up to the top flight.

Why Could Parkinson Leave?

While some may not like it, there is always another side to the coin, this particular coin has some suggesting that Wrexham cannot progress past the second tier with Parkinson at the helm.

His track record supports this claim - the Englishman has never managed higher than the second tier in stints with Bradford City, Bolton and Sunderland, and he never managed more than a 40% win rate and any of them.

While his win ratio of 61% at Wrexham is considerably more impressive, the huge majority of these came in the lower levels of the English football period, where the jump from one division to the next requires less recruitment than in the top two tiers.

The jump from League One football to the Championship is a different beast altogether, and a challenge that some Wrexham fans believe Parkinson is not equipped for - not speaking of the squad he has at his disposal, but instead of his managerial ability.

Whether this is fair or not, the fans' voice is powerful, and if an owner is to take responsibility at their club, listening to the loyal fans comes first. The owners are indeed listening, as reports emerged two days ago that Reynolds and McElhenny were seen arriving at the ground to discuss Parkinson’s future.

There are rumours he could also be offered a new deal as a show of support from the ownership, but this feels unlikely - instead they were likely discussing potential candidates who were suitable to come in should Parkinson’s spiral continue.

So can Parkinson rectify this situation?

What Can Parkinson Do to Save his Job?

There are a couple of positives that Parkinson can take from what has overall been an underwhelming start to the season. The first of these is Wrexham’s record in front of goal.

Despite three defeats and a draw in five games, the Red Dragons have already found the net eight times than any side below 14th, as well as six sides above that mark. Their attack has not been the problem - it is the backline that has been their downfall.

With 10 goals conceded, and just one clean sheet so far, Wrexham’s backline has a lot to answer four over the opening weeks of the season. So good at keeping goals out in League One last campaign, many individuals have not been able to successfully transition to the much higher intensity of the Championship, and they have been found out pretty quickly.

The first problem Parkinson needs to address is his backline, and maybe as an indirect result, the set up of the entire team. If the defensive structure needs tweaking, then the rest of the field needs to be adjusted accordingly.

The second positive that Parkinson can take is the form of Kieffer Moore. The Welshman, signed for £2 million from Sheffield United over the summer, has netted five times in his first six games for the club, the same number of goals he managed throughout the entirety of last season in a play-off competing side.

For context, Moore hasn’t managed a double figure scoring season since 2020/21, when he was at Cardiff City, with his numbers coming in as 5, 4, 4, 2, 7, and 6 since then. If he continues at his current scoring rate this season, he is on track for around 35.

Whilst this obviously won’t last, Parkinson must focus on attacking moves through the tall striker while his is in this rich vein of form - a “get the ball to the dangerman and see what happens” kind of strategy.

His current set up will still be available at all times as a back up approach, but a change of plan would surely be a welcome relief for both the players and the fans after a heavy start to the campaign.

The final positive Parkinson has managed to produce so far is their League Cup form. With just one win in the league so far, much of Wrexham’s success has come in England’s first domestic trophy of the season, and their cup run has so far seen them down fellow Championship sides Hull City and Preston North End.

A deep cup run always provides a huge morale boost in the dressing room, and even more so when that dressing room is on a poor run of form. If Parkinson can eke out a couple more victories from the competition, confidence will rise, and Wrexham may finally start to show some challenging form in the league.

Phil Parkinson has done a stellar job in south Wales. His personable demeanour, excellent squad management, and never say die attitude have been a huge success at the dog track, and very few would like to see him depart the club after so little time in the second tier.

While form may not be at the level the fans want at the moment, the season is long, and with so many games left to play, there is still plenty of time for him to turn it around. Whether Reynolds and McElhenny agree with us or not, we believe it is not time to say goodbye to Phil Parkinson just yet.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist

Harry Pascoe

Lead Writer

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