Buckley&District Reds

New signing Kyle Critchell and club secretary Geraint Parry were the special guests at the Buckley & District Reds supporters group meeting on Wednesday 13th August 2008.

The Buckley Reds are sponsoring Kyle this season and it was an early opportunity for fans to quiz, and get to know, one of the new boys in a little bit more depth.

 

Kyle began by giving a brief summary of his career to date. He explained how he started out at Southampton (initially as a striker in his early years), and was on the verge of a first-team breakthrough when a bad injury put him on the sidelines for a long period.

 

When he returned he had loan spells in the lower reaches of the Football League with Torquay and Chesterfield, not helped by some of the off-field distractions at those clubs, the sort familiar to Wrexham fans as well in recent years.

 

Despite impressing at that level Kyle opted out of staying in the League so he could move closer to home for family reasons. He joined Weymouth and has a full season of BSP experience behind him. He felt he was able to move away again this summer and joined Wrexham after Martin Foyle, Brian Carey and Joey Jones had scouted him while playing for the Wales semi-pro side.

 

The Wales Under-21 international explained that his Welsh qualification is via his mother who is from Abergavenny.

 

Asked how he was settling into the area having come from down South, he said he was enjoying it and had just moved into a place with fellow new signing and ex-Weymouth team-mate Jefferson Louis.
Quizzed about Louis and the new signings in general Kyle and Geraint were very positive. Louis seems to typify a new spirit within the squad, Geraint being impressed with the way he is already encouraging his fellow team-mates on the field and from the sidelines, lifting their confidence. Kyle described him as a good guy, and that all the new signings have fitted in well with the players already here.

 

On the topic of his favoured position Kyle said that he would play anywhere he was asked to:
“I prefer central midfield as I like to get forward a lot but I do that at right-back too”.

 

He stressed that any rivalry between himself and Simon Spender for the right-back position was friendly and the competition healthy, which is what Brian Little wants throughout the squad.
Questioned about what we could expect from the BSP Kyle revealed that we’ll probably be surprised at how many teams like to get the ball down and play football.

 

Discussing who at the club had impressed him so far, Kyle described the ability of Wes Baynes as “mind-blowing”. He went on to say that Baynes would probably not look out of place alongside players he trained with at Southampton who have gone on to play in the Premiership and at international level.

 

Interestingly he said that the ‘jokers’ at the club are Aiston & Proctor, that you always have to watch yourself when they’re around!

Kyle went on to describe the training facilities as being of a standard far higher than the level we’re at currently.

 

Following discussion about last Saturday’s Stevenage game he was asked his thoughts on the season ahead. Obviously he thinks we have a good chance of promotion adding:
“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t really believe it”.

 

Geraint also fielded many questions throughout the evening over a range of subjects including; Chief Exec. Anthony Fairclough’s shock resignation that afternoon, the closure of the Kop, ticket prices, the policing of games, TV money and the decision to pull the reserves out of the Pontin’s league.

 

Overall the evening was a positive insight into how things are progressing on and off the field under the Brian Little regime. Kyle came across as honest, polite, intelligent and level-headed. Both he and Geraint spoke very well and were fine ambassadors for Wrexham FC.