At last! After a Summer of non-stop sport, we can finally get on with the serious stuff!

Once again we must start the season without our main source of goals. Paul Mullin isn’t easy to replace, but we must remember that it isn’t a simple case of finding a player to take his place.

Elliot Lee stepped up to the plate with a prolific first half of the season, which was a massive help, and sometimes it’s a subtle reshuffle of the team which bears fruit.

When Gary Bennett left in 1995, there was natural concern that we would struggle to find the net, and initially that proved to be the case. Brian Flynn didn’t opt to replace the goal-hungry Scouser, presumably because he wanted Bennett’s understudy to step up to the plate.

However, after 14 games we’d scored 12 goals and managed just one in our first 5 games. Steve Watkin’s goal in the season opener against Notts County was the only goal we scored in the opening 532 minutes.

The solution wasn’t finding another 40 plus goals a season forward – that can often prove to be a touch tricky. Instead he tweaked the shape of his team, bringing Karl Connolly into a more narrow position to support Watkin in a lop-sided 4-3-3, having played an orthodox 4-4-2 when Bennett was in the building.

The result was spectacular: in our15th match it all came together, Connolly scoring a hat trick in a scintillating 4-3 win over table-topping Swindon Town.

I suspect that Parkinson will start with Sam Dalby and Jack Marriott as his front two on Saturday, unless he feels any striker he might bring in this week is ready to go.

They have combined well in pre-season and were very impressive last Saturday against Fleetwood Town. Obviously, there was one problem with that match: neither of them scored! However, saving the goals for when they matter isn’t the worst idea in the world.

Their link-up play was impressive on Saturday, though. Fleetwood offered an interesting challenge, often settling into a deep block and challenging us to somehow get through them.

Against a team playing with wing backs, our wide men were obviously going to be crucial, but the forwards played a massive role in breaking down a well-organised defence.

Their one-touch pass exchanged in crowded central areas around the edge of the box were excellent, the most notable being when Dalby teed Marriott up for a shot which he ripped just wide of the top right corner from outside the area.

Also, Marriott’s excellent movement and pace allowed him to make a series of darting runs around the outside of the centre backs, especially Zach Medley, who he clearly picked out as the slowest of the three.

He ran clear of the defence twice in the first half, and although he failed to beat the keeper on either occasion, his ability to constantly get into terrific positions was extremely promising.

Marriott has played his part in a promotion campaign already, yet his Wrexham career has hardly felt like it has started. Eleven of his 17 appearances for us were substitute appearances in the last 10 minutes of the match.

His last 7 seasons were spent at League One or the Championship, and he has scored over 50 goals at those levels. He might get a chance to really show what he can do now, and he’ll be eager to grasp it.

On the opening day of last season we opted for a partnership of Sam Dalby and Billy Waters, but they weren’t able to make much of an impact on a day when the whole side were undercooked. They were replaced after an hour by Ollie Palmer and Jake Bickerstaff, who made an impact although the game was beyond us by then.

They were our regular partnership for a while, although it shouldn’t be forgotten that Dalby enjoyed good form in Mullin’s absence and made a series of positive cameos off the bench. Indeed, for a long time he had the best rate of assists per 90 minutes in the division.

Dalby would become a scapegoat for some fans in the second half of last season, but I simply can’t see why. He didn’t have the best time in front of goal, but his work rate is exceptional and while he doesn’t have the hulking physique of Ollie Palmer, who can dominate centre backs by overpowering them, he times his jumps well and on a few occasions last season he was unplayable in the air.

His finest hour came at Mansfield in the FA Cup, when his combination play with Mullin was dazzling. They both scored, Dalby’s rasping strike being particularly memorable, and he also set up Mullin’s goal.

He was also dominant at Swindon, stepping up to the plate when injuries and illness led to us playing James McClean in an unfamiliar role up front. The Irishman scored the only goal and, of course, Dalby came up with the assist.

Young, eager and quick, Dalby has scope to improve further, and impatient fans ought to bear that in mind. Compensating for Mullin’s absence will be a team effort: Marriott and Dalby are going to be a crucial part of that.