Wrexham have the toughest starting plan – and the opening games feature controversial rivals – The Athletic

If everything has felt like a dream for Wrexham since their remarkable promotion to the National League, then today arrived a first welcome dose of reality: the League Two 2023-24 fixture list.

Wrexham now have their way ahead and are no doubt hoping for a quick climb up two divisions, from the non-league to the third division of English football. Not that things always go so smoothly: more than half of the 23 teams they face next season have also played in the National League in their 15 years outside the English Football League (EFL).

The general rules for game boards are of course simple. You play each team in your division twice, once at home and once away, and it all evens out in the end. To the right? Not really. When and where you play against a team, as well as the order in which you play, can still affect the dynamics of a side at different points in a campaign.

Just as important as each point is the beginning. The Sounder. Grab a flyer and many of your fans’ pre-season hopes will be cheered beyond reality. Look lost and remain winless, and it’s easy to make big decisions before a transfer deadline after just a few hours of football.

So what about Wrexham’s start? The Athletic have analyzed the first ten league games to assess how tough it could be for Phil Parkinson’s men.

The system is relatively simple and ranks each opponent according to their final position in the second division last season.

In addition to the 18 teams that were neither promoted nor relegated, there are four who were relegated from League One, which we have also listed in their final ranking. Hence the toughest game of all for the Milton Keynes Dons, who finished 21st in the 24-club third division and missed out on a point last season, a year after reaching the promotion play-offs in the same division represent.

As the two National League teams came together, Wrexham were champions and are 23rd. With Notts County’s rise through the play-offs, Wrexham are the easiest team to target in the division.

Yes, this is far from an error-free calculation, but it will always be before the real fun begins and all those hasty judgments can be made.

And that’s six long weeks away, so let’s first take a look at the start in Wrexham.

If you know how we sorted this all out, you’ll quickly see where Wrexham’s opening game of next season stands.

The North Wales side will start at their racecourse ground, which is always better, but they will do it against MK Dons – their toughest home game of the whole season by our off-season calculations. There’s no denying that a resounding win in the opening weekend will only fuel dreams of back-to-back promotions.

A week later follows one of their easiest away games, with AFC Wimbledon in 21st place.

Of course, those first two opponents provide an interesting subplot.

MK Dons remain a controversial club in the eyes of many English football fans – Wimbledon fans in particular – having emerged from an FA-sanctioned decision to move Wimbledon from London’s south suburbs, 75 miles north, to Milton Keynes, a commuter town north, to be relocated west of the capital and rename it.

It’s the kind of franchise decision you see a lot in American sports. However, most English football clubs have emerged from their communities and have a history of over 100 years, while the long-established system of relegation and promotion across divisions means that clubs are expected to carve out their place in the pyramid earn instead of getting it. In this case, Wimbledon’s owners were given permission to disband a club founded in 1889 and relocate, rather than forming a club in Milton Keynes and working their way up from the depths of non-league football.

The new club was formed in 2002, ceding Wimbledon’s place in the football pyramid and being allowed to use Wimbledon’s nickname ‘Dons’. Rather than join the move north, some Wimbledon fans formed their own team. Formed from scratch, AFC Wimbledon started out in the ninth division of English football. Since then, they have been promoted six times and managed promotion in the first division for five years. Relegated in 2022, they are now back in the second division, back in their spiritual home of Plow Lane after years without their own stadium, and once again meet the despised Milton Keynes club and Wrexham.

Speaking of Welsh…

Three of their first five games are against teams ranked in the top 10, although neither Barrow nor Swindon Town finished in the top six last season. Three of the five are also at home.

Wrexham’s first 10 games

September brings the other five games we’re looking at, with a standout match against last season’s League Two play-off finalists Stockport County, who finished fourth (three teams advance automatically) and then at Wembley Stadium after penalties after a 1-1 draw against fifth-placed Carlisle United lost. This is another of Wrexham’s toughest trips of the entire season. However, the other four games in September will be against sides outside the top 10.

There are also some nearby neighbors. It is 32 miles (51 km) from Wrexham to the Liverpool suburb of Tranmere, whilst Crewe Alexandra’s travel support need only cover 24 miles to reach the racecourse.

Also of note is Wrexham’s 46th and final game of the regular season, taking place on the last weekend in April. They host Stockport that day, which could be a fitting occasion if both sides are yet to gain promotion or the play-offs.

Relegated MK Dons face off in the opening League Two game at Wrexham (Picture: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

This is where Notts County deserves a little love too.

With the two clubs’ remarkable National League title races and kind words from Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney following the win, one can imagine fans of both clubs will be keeping a keen eye on how the other is faring.

How does Notts’ start compare?

By our calculations, their first five games are easier than Wrexham’s – although they also play three of those away.

Notts County’s first 10 games

The next five games make September more difficult, however, as four of their opponents are placed in the top seven, including two of the teams relegated from the first division.

The Notts actually play six of their first ten games away at Meadow Lane Stadium, while Wrexham play six of their first ten games at home. But don’t get too caught up in it. At the end of the season, as we said above, everything evens out in terms of the game plan; The same cannot be said for refereeing and luck.

Then only October 28th and February 17th have to be kept free.

Then the two teams meet, the second of these games takes place on the Racecourse Ground.

(Top Photo: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)