Dixie - The Autobiography of Dixie McNeil: The Story of a Wrexham Legend

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The majority of pages are undamaged with some creasing or tearing, and pencil underlining of text, but this is minimal.

John Sillet was a great maanager but would come down on you if he felt it was the right thing to do. He then played non-league football at Corby Town as a part-timer, before being signed by neighbouring Northampton Town, where he played for three seasons and scored against the mighty Manchester United in a cup match. So did Wrexham for whom McNeil is one of a number of links with the Sky Blues, who lifted the FA Cup under Sillett in 1987. The Foxes were a capable first division side at the time and the strength and raw boned talents of McNeil were deemed unworthy of the top flight.The Wrexham public took McNeil to their hearts both on and off the pitch and their affection for him has never wavered. It was one of those games as a player we thought it might be an easy job, but in reality, it was never going to be easy, especially in the FA Cup which is a competition everybody wants to win. Solidly built and almost impossible to stop once into his stride Dixie McNeil had the natural goalscorers instinct. At the end of the day as well with us being non-league, I’m sure the players will want to get to the third round proper and face a Premier League club. Without setting the world on fire, as few do at Exeter, McNeil made a solid start with the Grecians and top scored for the club with 11 goals from 31 games.

Phil Parkinson’s men go into tomorrow’s game in a strong vein of form, winning eight of the last ten matches. McNeil spent two and a half seasons at Northampton, scoring in the FA Cup match against Manchester United in which George Best scored six times. His passion for the game shines through and his love affair for all things Wrexham is there for all to see. During this period the club enjoyed many notable cup triumphs, both in domestic and European competitions, and Dixie McNeil was key to those achievements, making his 500th league appearance during his last season with the club. Making his debut against Wrexham, where he was later a great success, on 20 August 1966 he went on to score eleven goals in his only season at St James' Park.Since the photos are old press photographs they may have scratches, lines, or other wears of time, which just underlines the authenticity and age of the photos. It was great being at a First Division club but it was not me in charge and it was not my home town club. Hereford were a super club, the players gelled brilliantly together which is also a great advantage.

It’s been 44 years since Wrexham last played Spartans in the competition, with goals from Graham Whittle and McNeil proving to be the difference in the replay. He said: “It’s one of those games that doesn’t matter who you play against, you have to get the job done and get the result. Dixie McNeil had to sit out the clubs excellent march to the 5th round of the League Cup and eventual defeat by Liverpool as he was cup tied after playing in the competition for Hereford. By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. I’ve got to say everything at the moment is hunky-dory and everybody has the same ambition of getting promoted.In the third year of managing we were still the lowest paid club in the Football League and at the start of the 4th season, I decided to go to Coventry in First Division. There were also a couple of brief, though praiseworthy, excursions into Europe and McNeil managed to score in the narrow defeats against NK Rijeka and FC Magdeburg. McNeil’s final club, and for a second spell there, was Hereford United, signing for them in October 1982.

He was awarded a testimonial by Wrexham, against Kevin Keegan's Premier League side, Newcastle United in 1994. John told Wrexham I was on 50 per cent more than I was actually getting at Hereford so money-wise, I did pretty well out of the move! Les went to take the corner, the flag fell and the linesman told him that he’d have to take it again. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local community.

Graham kept in touch after he went to Watford and Aston Villa and then being the England manager showed how good he was as a manager. The supporters have come back in droves to watch the games; the players are doing a brilliant job on the pitch and the manager is thriving. McNeil is very much Mr Wrexham, and the present stability of the club, now in community ownership after a period of great uncertainty, and ably guided by player-manager Andy Morrell, who has continued the current success on the field of the previous manager Dean Saunders, gives McNeil enormous pleasure and real hope that Wales’s oldest league club can once again regain its rightful status.