Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have overseen a huge transformation in north Wales but, as manager Phil Parkinson prepares the team for its first season in the Football League since 2008, rifts are beginning to appear among fans and questions around club’s finances remain unanswered
Welcome to Wrexham, a League club once again. From a distance the world’s third-oldest professional football team appears to be the planet’s happiest: they are the authors and viewers of a script befitting of the big screen, never mind the small.
Manager Phil Parkinson has a squad capable of securing consecutive promotions this season, those players will wear the logos of United Airlines, HP and Expedia on their shirts, and the global interest in a fourth-tier team has never been seen before.
Their ascent is likely to remain rapid and the credit, more often than not, goes to Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney â the stars of screen who raised eyebrows and suspicion when they bought the club from the supporters’ trust in early 2021.
These A-List backers, admittedly clueless when they rode into town, have enabled Wrexham’s return to the EFL for the first time since 2008 but also brought relentless media attention and a docuseries that has led to fans across America viewing a working-class patch of north Wales as a new tourist destination.