WREXHAM, Wales (AP) — Wrexham continued its squad reconstruction ahead of a season in the second-tier Championship by releasing one of its most renowned players — against his will.
Steven Fletcher, a former Premier League player who scored some crucial goals to help Wrexham earn a third straight promotion, took to social media to say he'd be leaving the ambitious Welsh club.
“It’s with a heavy heart, and not by choice, that I unfortunately have to announce my departure from what I can only describe as the most magical club I have ever played at!” Fletcher posted on Instagram.
The 38-year-old striker said he fell back in love with soccer by joining Wrexham, a club whose notoriety has rocketed since being bought by Hollywood celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and becoming the subject of a fly-on-the-wall documentary — “Welcome to Wrexham.”
“In my 22 years of stepping onto a pitch, I have never experienced anything like this club,” the former Scotland international wrote.
“To my teammates — you are family!” he added. "I have never experienced a dressing room like it in my career, and I can’t believe I don’t get to walk in there every day next season."
Fletcher finished a long message by thanking Reynolds and McElhenney for the opportunity to play for Wrexham.
Reynolds responded on Instagram, saying: "I don’t really know what a co-chairman is supposed to do or say in these moments and I don’t much care. I’m gonna miss you. I’ll miss your your leadership and wit and the way you remind everyone — including me — that this is also FUN.
“Like the first day we met, I’m here for you any time and any place. Always.”
Wrexham will need to improve the quality of its squad after rising to the second tier, a level the club hasn't played since the 1980s and just one more promotion away from the Premier League.
Another striker who might be leaving is Paul Mullin, a star player in previous promotion campaigns but who was overlooked by Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson for much of the second half of the season.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE -Stoke's Steven Fletcher during the English League Cup 4th round soccer match between Aston Villa and Stoke City at Villa Park, Birmingham, England, Oct. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira), File)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.
Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.
“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.
"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.
Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.
Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.
Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.
At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.
Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.
Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.
After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.
“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”
Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.
Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.
His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.
“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”
Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.
FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
