Sam Smith celebrates with teammates after scoring for Wrexham, taking the lead to make it 1-0 against Northampton Town, during the first half of the Sky Bet League 1 match between Northampton Town and Wrexham at the PTS Academy Stadium in Northampton, England, on February 15, 2025. (Photo by John Cripps | MI News) (Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Phil Parkinson is making a major blunder when it comes to Sam Smith, one sacrifice could transform Wrexham striker
Wrexham got back to winning ways in the league this weekend with a 2-1 win over Mansfield Town, but there are still some niggling issues plaguing the Red Dragons.
Phil Parkinson’s men claimed all three points with a fairly professional performance away at Mansfield, and the result helps them close the gap on Wycombe Wanderers in second place, too.
Wrexham had Max Cleworth to thank for the win, with the defender driving home his eighth goal of the season to give the Red Dragons the lead on the hour-mark.
It’s yet another game where new signings Sam Smith and Jay Rodriguez failed to find the net, though, and Wrexham may be starting to worry about that.
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Putting Sam Smith and Jay Rodriguez together is unfair and unhelpful
Yes, Smith has got off the mark for Wrexham already, with a fine goal in the win over Northampton earlier this month. He’s also looked really lively in every game he’s played, and the promise of more goals to come is certainly there.
For Rodriguez, however, there has been far less of a goal threat. Of course, the veteran forward offers more than just goals, and his link-up play has been fairly decent.
But, Parkinson pairing the two new signings together is simply not working, and the reason is obvious. Both players are settling into a new club, finding their feet with new teammates, and both have a pretty large amount of pressure and expectations on their shoulders.
Getting one new signing to gel with the team and make an impact is a massive ask of any player, but to demand it of two at the same time — particularly in a strike partnership — is just unrealistic and unfair.
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Jack Marriott could be the ideal partner for Sam Smith
What Smith needs — working on the assumption that he is now Wrexham’s first-choice striker — is an already established member of the Wrexham squad to partner him up front.
We’ve seen glimpses of what Steven Fletcher has to offer, but the fact of the matter is, the 37-year-old is far better-suited to being an impact substitute rather than starting a game.
With Ollie Palmer far down the Wrexham pecking order, and Paul Mullin looking out-of-sorts this season, the opportunity to work alongside Smith and bring out the best in the record signing must surely fall to Jack Marriott.
The 30-year-old has a great goalscoring record this season, having bagged a goal every 168 minutes on average, and offers the perfect blend of dynamism, physicality, and vision that Smith needs alongside him.
The truth is, Fletcher, Rodriguez, and Palmer are all too rigid and don’t quite have the sharpness needed to unlock Smith’s best attributes. They’re always going to be one second behind the 26-year-old, while Marriott has done enough already to suggest he is on a similar wavelength.
Wrexham have invested heavily in Jay Rodriguez, if our assumptions about his contract are correct, but they have far more to lose by not maximising Smith’s potential, and it’s time for Parkinson to make the necessary sacrifice.
