Lockstep appears to be the latest buzzword, having been used a great deal in government circles recently.
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss described herself as being “in lockstep” with her Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, although not long before she sacked him, and a quick Google search shows that lockstep means:
“a way of marching with each person as close as possible to the one in front” or “close adherence to and emulation of another’s actions”.
Lockstep also appears to be a good description for the situation developing at the top of the National League, where league leaders Notts County and second-placed Wrexham show signs of matching one another step-for-step.
Over the past week or so, both have emulated the results achieved by the other, with both winning in midweek and then brushing aside their weekend opponents by the same score, each winning 4-0 at home over Torquay United and Altrincham respectively.
On this week’s podcast, we asked BT Sport pundit Scott Doe, the former Weymouth and Dagenham and Redbridge defender, what he thought of the developing battle at the top of the table, and he had this to say about Wrexham:
“I can’t see them (Wrexham) dropping too many points at home, and I think the one thing I’ve been a bit more impressed with this season is that they seem to be keeping more clean sheets. We all know with the players they’ve got, the likes of Mullin, Lee and Palmer all chipping in, they’ve got so much talent, but the test is when they go on the road because, with the owners they’ve got, everyone wants to beat them. That’ll be when it’s tougher, rather than when they’re playing in front of their big crowds at home.”
The point made by Scott, about Wrexham being the team everyone else wants to beat, was as good as confirmed when they became the ‘money’ team of the Vanarama National League, backed by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Although well-resourced Notts County is not in the same ballpark as Wrexham, a contrast to last season’s title battle, when Stockport County matched the Red Dragons point for point but perhaps as importantly pound for pound, ultimately triumphing by 6 points.
Does Wrexham’s level of investment make them favourites, or does the level of expectation it creates sometimes add to the yoke that Mullin, Palmer and co have to carry? Notts County, under manager Luke Williams, may benefit from being the underdog in this fight, but there’s every indication that the two will continue to match each other.
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