Johnny Phillips: There’s substance to go with the Hollywood style at Wrexham
Wrexham will attract more than a few envious glances this season on their return to the league. A home game against MK Dons this afternoon marks their membership of the Football League for the first time since the 2007/08 season.
The Town – as they are still known despite city status being granted last year - have been at the centre of huge publicity since actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought the club in November 2020. Two documentary series screened by Disney and one promotion later, the pair have completed the fairy tale and insist there are plenty more storylines to come.
Last season’s National League title triumph came thanks in part to huge investment in the playing squad, so it was no great surprise. Having missed out by a whisker the previous season the North Wales club edged Notts County in a thrilling title battle, totting up 111 points – a record for the top five divisions of English football.
For other clubs in the division, the media circus around Wrexham became a source of irritation and that will likely continue in League Two this season. But what Reynolds and McElhenney cannot be accused of is being attention-seekers for the sake of it. The project they have undertaken has substance at its heart, even if it comes with the celebrity bells and whistles.
Right from day one, the pair insisted that they wanted to put the community at the heart of everything they did. They have been a visible presence around the town and there have been countless donations in the community supporting causes such as the children’s ward at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, Wrexham Foodbank and supporters in need, including one with cerebral palsy who needed major works done to refit his home.
