Four wins to the Premier League
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As part of their pre-season preparation, AFC Wrexham will play against Liverpool FC on their USA tour in the summer. It is quite possible that the Red Dragons will soon host the big names in their own stadium. A good five years after the spectacular takeover by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, the club is aiming for something historic.
Wrexham is in a playoff place two games before the end of the season in the second-tier Championship and wants to make it into the Premier League. Four games separate the club from north-east Wales from their historic fourth promotion in a row. Wrexham must win them all.
In the final spurt of the season, the club is in a close, exciting race with Hull City. As sixth in the table with 70 points, Wrexham is level on points with seventh, but has the better goal difference. Only two goals separate the two competitors in the table. Wrexham already has secured the highest position in the club’s history. But that’s not enough for anyone there.
“Of course it would be better if we were promoted,” emphasized striker Josh Windass (32), who played a key role in the success with 14 goals. “But I guess when I look back next year and we didn’t make it, I’ll still say it was a good season. I’m not thinking about that at the moment, though.”
Wrexham: A small town gets a Hollywood feel
Since Reynolds and Mac took over – because no one could pronounce his original surname McElhenney, he recently changed it – things have been almost steadily improving for Wrexham. In the first year after that, the Red Dragons missed promotion in the playoffs. But then Wrexham became the only professional club on the island to achieve three promotions in a row – from the fifth-tier National League to the Championship.
Just a few years ago, what it said was the third-oldest professional football club in the world was languishing insignificant. Now Wrexham is a global brand with fans all over the world, including many of the owners’ celebrity friends. In The Turf, the pub next to the stadium, you occasionally meet film stars like Hugh Jackman, Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd before home games.
Reynold’s role Deadpool cannot be missed at The Turf
The rapid rise of AFC Wrexham is closely linked to the documentary series “Welcome to Wrexham”. Even before the takeover, Reynolds and Mac had the cameras rolling and documented everything. In Germany, the five seasons so far can be seen on the Disney+ streaming service. The series has just been extended for a full three seasons until at least 2029.
Thanks to the participation of the two owners, who bring a lot of humor, the series quickly found a large audience. The players and coach Phil Parkinson, who has been in office since 2021 and, according to Mac, the “architect of success”, are now known far beyond the small town with its 45,000 inhabitants.
Wrexham owners are investing in the future
AFC Wrexham is obviously not – or not just an – image project for the two owners. Hollywood millionaires are considered passionate, real fans. Anyone who doubts this just needs to look at Reynold’s Instagram channel. By far most of the posts there are about Wrexham, not his film career.
What is also well received by the fans is that the duo is investing specifically in the squad and infrastructure. The stadium, the Racecourse Ground, which currently has 13,500 seats, is being expanded. The new Kop Stand, the standing stand, should be ready by summer. Reynolds and Mac have further plans. On the anniversary, Reynolds wrote on social media: “Five years, it feels like we’re just getting started.”
Before the start of the season, promotion again was not considered a must. Still, it was no secret that the Premier League was the goal for everyone at AFC Wrexham. After a setback with two defeats – including the heavy 1:5 defeat against the in-form FC Southampton led by German coach Tonda Eckert – they now believe again that it could work in the playoff final at Wembley on May 23rd. When Wrexham play Liverpool at New York’s Yankee Stadium in July, two Premier League teams may meet.
