The 2022–23 season was the 158th season in the existence of Wrexham A.F.C. and their 15th consecutive season in the National League. Wrexham were one of the five Welsh football clubs in the English football league system. The season was unusual in that the fixture dates of domestic and European competitions were consistently postponed to accommodate the coverage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup played in November and December 2022 in Qatar.
Wrexham kicked off the season by beating Eastleigh 2–1 in the National League. Wrexham has traded the top spot back and forth with Notts County throughout the season. On 7 April, leading up to their second match against one another, Wrexham was second in the league, tied with Notts County at 100 points, behind on goal difference but with a game in hand. The season saw a persistent rise in popularity of their matches, with attendance close to stadium capacity at every match. The Red Dragons successfully gained promotion to the EFL League Two title for the first time in 15 years, in a closely fought title race with Notts County. They won the league by 4 points on the penultimate matchday, coming back from a first minute goal by Boreham Wood, to score three goals in the remainder of the match, with goals from talisman Paul Mullin and Elliot Lee.
Wrexham also participated in the FA Trophy and the FA Cup. In the FA Trophy, they were knocked out in the fourth round by Altrincham, on penalties. In the FA Cup, they were knocked out in a fourth round replay against EFL Championship side Sheffield United.
The season was chronicled in Season 2 of the documentary series Welcome to Wrexham.
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First-team squad
Player Date of birth (age) Signed from Signed in Contract ends Goals Goalkeepers 1 Rob Lainton GK Port Vale 2018 2024 143 0 12 Ben Foster GK Free agent 2023 2023 31 0 21 Mark Howard GK Carlisle United 2022 2023 39 0 23 Kai Calderbank-Park GK Connah's Quay Nomads 2022 2023 0 0 31 Rory Watson GK Scunthorpe United 2022 2023 0 0 Defenders 2 Reece Hall-Johnson DF Northampton Town 2020 2023 77 13 3 Callum McFadzean DF Crewe Alexandra 2022 2024 52 0 4 Ben Tozer (vice-captain) DF Cheltenham Town 2021 2024 106 6 5 Aaron Hayden DF Carlisle United 2021 2024 77 19 6 Jordan Tunnicliffe DF Crawley Town 2022 2024 31 2 15 Eoghan O'Connell DF Charlton Athletic 2023 2025 15 2 17 Bryce Hosannah DF Leeds United 2021 2024 43 2 19 Jacob Mendy DF Boreham Wood 2022 2025 32 4 24 Scott Butler DF Swansea City 2022 2023 1 0 25 Ryan Austin DF Academy 2021 2023 1 0 26 Harry Lennon DF Southend United 2021 2023 23 2 32 Max Cleworth DF Academy 2021 2025 68 1 34 Aaron James DF Academy 2021 2023 1 0 39 Dan Davies DF Academy 2022 2023 0 0 Midfielders 7 Jordan Davies MF Brighton & Hove Albion 2020 2025 117 33 8 Luke Young (captain) MF Torquay United 2018 2024 226 20 14 Anthony Forde MF Oxford United 2022 2024 39 3 20 Andy Cannon MF Hull City 2022 2025 19 0 22 Thomas O'Connor MF Burton Albion 2022 2025 41 7 29 Ryan Barnett MF Solihull Moors 2023 2025 12 0 30 James Jones MF Lincoln City 2021 2024 100 12 36 Will Mountfield MF Academy 2021 2023 0 0 37 Kai Evans MF Academy 2022 2023 2 0 38 Elliot Lee MF Luton Town 2022 2025 52 15 41 David Jones MF Oldham Athletic 2021 2023 5 1 Forwards 9 Ollie Palmer FW AFC Wimbledon 2022 2025 78 33 10 Paul Mullin FW Cambridge United 2021 2025 97 79 11 Liam McAlinden FW Morecambe 2021 2023 58 1 16 Billy Waters FW Barrow 2023 2025 1 0 18 Sam Dalby FW Southend United 2022 2024 49 8 27 Jake Bickerstaff FW Academy 2021 2024 13 3 33 Daniel Jones FW Academy 2021 2023 0 0 40 Louis Lloyd FW Shrewsbury Town 2022 2023 0 0 Out on loan – Jake Hyde FW Halifax Town 2021 2023 17 3 35 Tom Jenkins MF Academy 2021 2023 0 0
Transfers In Date Name Club Fee Ref.1 July 2022DFJordan Tunnicliffe Crawley TownFree5 July 2022GKMark Howard Carlisle UnitedFree8 July 2022MFElliot Lee Luton TownFree28 July 2022MFAnthony Forde Oxford UnitedUndisclosed1 August 2022FWSam Dalby Southend UnitedUndisclosed1 August 2022DFJacob Mendy Boreham WoodUndisclosed4 August 2022GKRory Watson Scunthorpe UnitedFree16 September 2022GKKai Calderbank-Park Connah's Quay NomadsFree30 November 2022FWLouis Lloyd Shrewsbury TownFree 9 December 2022MFAndy Cannon Hull CityUndisclosed 31 January 2023DFEoghan O'Connell Charlton AthleticUndisclosed24 February 2023MFRyan Barnett Solihull MoorsUndisclosed23 March 2023GKBen FosterUnattachedComing out of retirement; retired from Watford in September 2022.Free
Out Date Name Club Fee Ref.5 July 2022DFTyler French DundeeUndisclosed1 September 2022FWDior Angus Harrogate TownFree
Loans out Date Name Club Duration Ref.1 August 2022FWJake Hyde Southend UnitedEnd of season13 January 2023MFTom Jenkins Gresford AthleticEnd of season
Released Date Name Subsequent club Join date Ref. 1 July 2022 GKLee Camp RetiredGKDawid Szczepaniak Flint Town United4 August 2022DFCameron Green Bromley27 September 2022MFDan Jarvis Gateshead1 July 2022MFDavid JonesRetired MFDevonte Redmond Gulf United 4 December 2022FWKwame Thomas Sutton United1 July 2022 FWJordan Ponticelli King's Lynn Town14 July 20225 July 2022DFShaun Brisley Buxton7 July 2022 25 January 2023 GKChristian Dibble Kidderminster Harriers 27 January 2023
New contracts Date PlayerContract untilTeamRef. 23 June 2022MF Luke Young 2024 First team 23 June 2022DFHarry Lennon2023First team 7 July 2022FW Jake Bickerstaff 2024 Reserves 30 July 2022MF Bryce Hosannah 2024 First team 5 August 2022FW Paul Mullin 2025 First team 5 December 2022MF Max Cleworth 2025 First team 19 January 2023GK Kai Calderbank-Park 2023 Reserves GK Rory Watson 2023 First team 23 February 2023 GK Rob Lainton 2024 First team
Pre-season and friendlies On 22 June 2022, Wrexham announced plans for their pre-season campaign.
Competitions Overall record
National League
League table
Results summary
Results by round
Matches
On 6 July 2022, the National League fixtures were revealed.
FA Cup
On 3 October 2022, the Fourth qualifying round was drawn. On 17 October 2022, the First Round Proper was drawn. On 7 November 2022, the Second Round Proper was drawn. On 28 November 2022, the Third Round Proper was drawn. On 8 January 2023, the Fourth Round Proper was drawn.
FA Trophy
On 22 November 2022, the Third Round Proper was drawn. On 19 December 2022, the Fourth Round Proper was drawn.
Squad statistics
Appearances and goals
|colspan="14"|Players away on loan: |- |colspan="14"|Players who appeared for Wrexham but left during the season:
Goal scorers PlacePositionNationNumberNameNational LeagueFA CupFA TrophyTotal1 FW10Paul Mullin3890472 FW9 Ollie Palmer1610173 MF38Elliot Lee1221154 DF5 Aaron Hayden1100115 FW18Sam Dalby62086 MF22Thomas O'Connor43077 MF7 Jordan Davies32058 DF6 Ben Tozer4004DF19Jacob Mendy4004MF30James Jones400411FW27Jake Bickerstaff0033MF14Anthony Forde300313MF8 Luke Young2002DF6 Jordan Tunnicliffe2002DF15 Eoghan O'Connell200216DF2 Reece Hall-Johnson0011 Own goal(s) 5005 Total116195140
Clean sheets PlacePositionNationNumberNameNational LeagueFA CupFA TrophyTotal1 GK21Mark Howard1110122 GK12Ben Foster40043 GK1 Rob Lainton3003TOTALS181019
Hat-tricks PlayerAgainstResultDateCompetitionRef Paul Mullin Maidstone United (H)5–0 20 August 2022 National League Farnborough (H)4–1 26 November 2022 FA Cup Solihull Moors (H)5–0 26 December 2022 National League Oldham Athletic (H)5–1 1 April 2023 National League
Disciplinary record Number Nation Position Name National League FA Cup FA Trophy Total 3 DFCallum McFadzean3012000005014 DFBen Tozer2001000003005 DFAaron Hayden2000000002008 MFLuke Young80030000011009 FWOllie Palmer50000000050010FWPaul Mullin20010000030011FWLiam McAlinden00010000010014DFAnthony Forde10000000010015DFEoghan O'Connell30000000030018FWSam Dalby20010000030019DFJacob Mendy20000000020020MFAndy Cannon10000000010022MFThomas O'Connor40000000040026DFHarry Lennon00000010010030MFJames Jones40000000040032MFMax Cleworth10000000010038MFElliot Lee500100000600Players away on loan:Players who left Wrexham during the season: Total450110001005601
Home attendance
CompetitionTotal. att.Avg. att.National League229,3929,973FA Cup34,9858,746 FA Trophy5,0805,080Total269,4579,623
Sold season tickets: 6,820
References