The Red Dragons' star striker has returned from injury, but he's received plenty of help in the goalscoring department from his team-mates
Wrexham's 2-0 victory away at Notts County on Saturday felt like a seismic moment in their season. After the game, Phil Parkinson ranked it among his best-ever days as a manager – and it's easy to see why.
Backed by a raucous, packed-out away end, his side secured a vital three points against one of their principle League Two promotion rivals, with whom they enjoyed a historic title race with in the National League last season.
Parkinson wasn't the only one who enjoyed himself either. Striker Paul Mullin was a very happy man too, describing the trip as the "perfect away day". Mullin made a telling contribution at Meadow Lane, providing the assist for Ollie Palmer's 76th-minute goal which sealed the result for Wrexham, after Elliot Lee opened the scoring just a few moments earlier.
It marked Mullin's fourth goal contribution in as many games, as his campaign gets back on track following an extremely difficult start to the season which forced his attacking team-mates to step up to the plate.
Getty ImagesMullin carried Wrexham to the title
When Wrexham romped to the National League title, no player had a bigger role than Mullin. The Liverpool-born striker finished with a quite remarkable 46 goals in all competitions, with his closest challenger for the club's Golden Boot, Ollie Palmer, lagging behind on 16.
It wasn't just the sheer volume of goals that was so astounding. Mullin brought plenty more to the table too, in terms of his link-up play, pressing and creativity – as former team-mate Jake Hyde reflected on recently.
"He’d drop short, create chances and I thought ‘this lad is a proper player’," Hyde recalled. "Then he went on to prove how good he is in front of goal. When he first came in, the thing I remember is thinking ‘I’m going to like playing with this lad because he’s got that creative side’. He was better than I thought he would be."
In other words, he was Wrexham's undisputed main man and was all set to continue in this pivotal role as the team made their long-awaited return to the Football League.
AdvertisementGetty/GOAL/IG-paulmullin12Disaster in the United States
Before that, though, Mullin and Co. had to navigate a pre-season tour to the United States. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the squad, most of whom were lower-league plodders for whom a training camp in Cornwall would've been considered exotic.
Wrexham made the most of their trip to America, taking in the adulation from their adoring Stateside fanbase and playing against some of the biggest teams in the world.
It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, though. During the Red Dragons' penultimate pre-season game against Manchester United, Mullin suffered a horrific injury, colliding with opposing goalkeeper Nathan Bishop and coming away with a punctured lung.
Parkinson was left seething at full-time, with his star striker forced to stay behind in the States to recover, while the rest of his team-mates flew home. Mullin would end up missing the first six games of the League Two season.
Getty ImagesAnd Wrexham seemed to miss him
As one might expect, it took a little while for Parkinson's charges to adjust to losing their best player. On the opening day of the season, they suffered a shock 5-3 defeat to MK Dons, a result that on the surface may seem to suggest more about the team's poor defence than their lack of firepower.
However, on that day, Wrexham had 12 shots from inside the box, but only scored three times. Had Mullin been spearheading the Red Dragons' frontline, surely they would've converted a few more of these chances?
A clinical edge was also lacking the following week against AFC Wimbledon, as well as in Carabao Cup ties against Wigan Athletic and Bradford City, and in a 1-1 draw with Barrow. Wrexham only gained nine points from the six league games Mullin was injured for, which speaks volumes about the impact of his absence.
GettyMullin returned – but Lee outshone him
Mullin made his return against Doncaster Rovers in early September, receiving rapturous applause from the Racecourse faithful after being introduced as a second-half sub in a 2-1 win. However, Mullin did not find the scoresheet that afternoon, and also failed to make the net bulge in subsequent appearances against Grimsby Town and high-flying Stockport County.
Fortunately for Wrexham, a new hero emerged: Elliot Lee. Lee had picked up the goalscoring slack when Mullin was out, netting five times during his team-mate's spell on the sidelines. And he came up trumps again when Mullin was getting himself back up to speed, scoring an 88th-minute winner in the Doncaster game before registering a goal and an assist as Parkinson's side secured a comfortable 3-0 victory over Grimsby.
Lee's contributions – from an attacking midfield role – were absolutely vital in keeping Wrexham in touch with the top three, with his excellent form earning plaudits from fans and his manager.
"He's a little magician, Elliot," Parkinson said after his match-winning display against Doncaster. "He's got real magic in his boots and you see that time and time again with him. There won't too many that's got as many goals as Elliot, basically from a deeper position, which he's played for us, but you always feel that when he gets in and around the box something's going to happen."
