Mickey Thomas: FA Cup clash is too close to call
Former Wrexham legend Mickey Thomas says anything can happen in the FA Cup as his two former clubs prepare to face off on Sunday.
Thomas made 264 appearances for Wrexham during two stints with the North Welsh side, scoring 35 goals between 1972/78 before going back from 1991 to 1993.
In between, he also played for Shrewsbury where he spent one season in Shropshire appearing 40 times in the 1988/89 campaign, and turned down the chance to move into management.
And ahead of the game this weekend at the Croud Meadow, which be the first time Salop take on Wrexham for almost 16 years, he says there are no favourites when it comes to this stage of the FA Cup.
“I do not think anyone is the favourite,” Thomas said.
“Shrewsbury have picked up a couple of results at times but have had an indifferent season so far. It is Wrexham who will most likely be lifted as they are the underdogs from a lower league.
“Come third round, I believe that goes out the window anyway. I don’t believe anyone is favourite.
“Wrexham have a player at this level who has been prolific, in Paul Mullin. He has already done it at that level. If he is on his game, it is going to be difficult for Shrewsbury, but it is hard to predict.
“They played Coventry last year, and they got a result. They should have beat Sheffield United so they won’t be in fear of going to Shrewsbury.”
“It is unpredictable, isn’t it? You don’t know which way it is going to go. That is the thing about the FA Cup, it gives you a different style of belief before an FA Cup game.
“It gives you everything, it gives you that adrenaline, it lifts your performance, it makes you a yard quicker. And I don’t know why it does, but it does.”
As a player who played for both Wrexham and Shrews, he said when he first played in blue and amber he was booed due to his connections with the Welsh side. But he revealed he went on to win the fans over with his performances on the pitch.
He said: “In my friendly games for Shrewsbury I was booed because I played for Wrexham, didn’t I?
“I missed one game in that season and near the end of it, they were singing for me to be manager.
“I picked up a few player of the year awards that year and I was offered a job by the chairman.
“I couldn’t take that opportunity, but moving to Shrewsbury initially was a very good deal as it gave me the chance to play in a very good division at the time as Leeds United, Man City and Chelsea were in that division – the Second Division at the time it was called.”
“I won the fans over after the first game – got man-of-the-match and that was it then, I only missed one game.
“I enjoyed it, it was a very good level. The last game we played was Leeds at home and they wanted to sign me. So rather than going into management with Shrewsbury, I decided to carry on my footballing career.”
