‘Wrexham’s rise is no fairy tale’ – Notts County’s Jodi Jones rattles fans with a comparison on the two clubs’ success last season.
Jones, who is on international duty with Malta, getting set to play against England on Friday, spoke with i news reflecting on last season.
He scored a winner in the 120th minute of the National League playoff semi final against Boreham Wood, then set up Aiden Baldwin to get the leveller in the 97th minute while also converting his penalty in the 4-3 shootout victory over Chesterfield in the playoff final.
Jones questioned the “fairytale” tag given to Wrexham, who are owned by Hollywood’s very own Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
“Not to take any credit from Wrexham, they’re a quality team, they are a great side with a fantastic manager but people were saying it’s this mad fairy tale… they have literally got League One players, you expect them to be up there,” Jodi Jones said.
“You could say the same for Notts because we’re a massive club. But coming down to the football played this season I think we deserved it more than anybody. I feel like a lot of people had their eyes on Wrexham because of Ryan Reynolds. Next season I cannot wait to play against them.”
Jones spoke about scoring the winner against Boreham Wood, after seeing his spell at Coventry disrupted by injury before signing Notts County in January after a short stint with Oxford United.
He adds: “It was like all the hard times I’ve had just got wiped away in that one moment. It was perfect.”
THE NATIONAL LEAGUE DELIVERS AGAIN! ❤️
Jodi Jones scores in the 120th minute to send @Official_NCFC to @TheVanaramaNL play-off final. pic.twitter.com/4DYlT5h9Sm
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 7, 2023
— Jodi Jones (@JodsJones) June 15, 2023
“Notts are not a National League side and they’re not a League Two side so I believe we’ll go up next season,” Jones said. “It’s one of the reasons I’ve stayed because I have massive belief in the manager and coaches we have. It’s the same for Wrexham. I think we’ll both be up there next season competing.”
He turned his attention to the international stage, saying: “Luke Gambin [Malta and Sutton United] dropped me a message on Insta and said they were asking about me out there and to let him know if I’d be up for it and passed on my number to the president. I had the opportunity to play here and I thought ‘Why not?’
“I know Eberechi Eze from my time at Arsenal and I played with James Maddison at Coventry so it will be very exciting if they play as well.
“It will be nice to see James. We haven’t seen each other for quite a long time. He was probably one of my closest mates when I was there.
“We used to stay out together all the time and practice free-kicks. We used to take turns to ask the manager who should stay out and practice because sometimes they would want us to rest!”
He said on Eze: “I still remember clearly my dad – he’s got a good eye for a player – saying to me that Ebere would definitely go and have a good career. At the time, Ebere was a striker so a different player to what he is now but my dad was right.”
Jones knows he’s probably going to be in for a difficult night when his Malta side take on England.
“Even when you get a free-kick your eyes light up ‘Oh my God, I’ve got a chance!’
“If anyone says they haven’t dreamt of doing something like that they’re lying. I’ve pictured it loads of times. My son is 16 months old and does a little dance every day so if I do score I might try and do that as a celebration.
“Obviously nobody expects us to win, if we did it would be absolutely amazing. But there’s no point playing football if you’re not going to enjoy it.”
“People were saying it’s this mad fairy tale… they have literally got League One players!”
Notts County’s Jodi Jones not buying into @Wrexham_AFC‘s Hollywood hype https://t.co/7fsdMGTTfj
— Evan Bartlett (@ev_bartlett) June 15, 2023
“The third time it happened my mentality was strong from the first two,” he said, as per BBC Sport, after hurting his right knee, and suffered this injury twice before but on his left.
“When I watch the video back I should have been screaming in agony, rolling around, because it was worse than the first two.
“My mind was telling me I was OK, I was jumping around in the kitchen telling my partner I was fine, that it might be a tiny bit different. My agent then rang me in tears to say I’d done it again.
“I just couldn’t believe it, I shook my head. I couldn’t even cry. The two years before I cried so much, I’d run out of tears.
“I could feel the same feeling as crying but nothing would come out. It was like turning the tap on but no water came out.”
“What haunted me the most was seeing people who would say stuff like ‘he was going to be the next big thing’ or people themselves saying that they were good but this or that let them down,” he said.
“I thought, no, I don’t want to be another one of them. With all due respect, I don’t want to be one of those people who say I could have done this, or I didn’t because of this.
“It was a tough time for me. All I ever wanted to be was a footballer, so to see my dream nearly come to an end was obviously the hardest period of my life.”
In total, after three operations, he spent a total of 897 days sidelined, which meant he missed 130 games, between November 2017 and August 2021.
As mentioned, Notts County’s Jodi Jones rattles fans with the comparison between his side and Wrexham…
@GazTrow: Says the League 1 player playing for Notts County 🤔
@msth_19: Hahaha. Does he realise what club he came from? 😂😂
@welshy1000: We’re gonna need all those league one players though in 12 Months Jodi la. 😎
@higginswxm93: League one player on-loan from Oxford at Notts County moans about Wrexham signing League one players. Couldn’t write this stuff… 🤡
@Paskins_tache: Notts county still crying over our record breaking season and them not going up as champions. And all this from a league one player who was there on loan. What a bunch of fucking abject, cryarsing, runners up wankers.
@Shaunwrexham: I personally think mullin and elliot lee are championship players……..eh look after yourself.
@Gary_Poynton: A player who was quite literally in League One until he joined Notts btw
@keevs_89: Should probably concentrate on making the starting 11, rather than talking about Wrexham 😅
@higginswxm93: Wasn’t he a league one player ? What a weapon 🤣
@partypirate: Jodi, do we really have to explain why it’s a “fairy tale” again? Stay classy knobhead.
@CPDWXM1864: “But coming down to the football played this season I think we deserved it more than anybody. I feel like a lot of people had their eyes on Wrexham because of Ryan Reynolds. Next season I cannot wait to play against them.” Is he saying they deserved to win the league?
@RetroWrexham: The obsession and jealousy continues. The Pies have spent £ millions in the past
@MikeWXM_: Cry more 🤣😂 @JodsJones
@TomWrNCFCx: Thought I couldn’t like him any more 🥰
@brynsbarn: The irony of it must be lost on international ex-league one player Jodi Jones
@NCFCFan1862: Hahahahaha good lad Jodi
@LJ1862: What a boy
@adam1862_: JJ has them on strings 🤣
@andyj198383: Says he can’t wait to play against Wrexham next season. Well he best get in the starting eleven first. Wrexham fans can’t wait to give him a warm reception when he comes to the racecourse. His antics on the touchline were embarrassing last season @JodsJones
@camjuko: Got some taff cry babies on strings in these comments 🤣
@DanDempsey93: Exactly what I’ve been saying 🤷🏼♂️
@NottsCountyZone: Jodi Jones is better at rattling Wrexham fans than I was last season, what a boy. 😭
@JoeEdws: Surprised he didn’t tear his crucial ligament during the interview, blokes made of paper mache.
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