Wrexham came from behind to seal the National League title and secure their place in the Football League with a 3-1 win over Boreham Wood. A movie-worthy moment for the Hollywood stars-owned club in front of 10,000 fans at the Racecourse Ground, who waited 15 years for the promotion from non-league football.
The Welsh outfit’s manager Phil Parkinson chanted “We are going up” after the full-time whistle from a game that secured Paul Mullin’s status as the club’s legend. The striker scored a brace after Elliot Lee’s equaliser in the 15th minute. Before Wrexham got their grip on the affairs, it was Boreham Wood’s Lee Ndlovu who stunned the home section with a goal in the first minute.
Wrexham, the oldest club in Wales, will now return to the football league for the first time since their relegation in 2007/08. For the majority of English football followers, Wrexham only came into the spotlight because of their famous owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
The Hollywood duo completed the takeover of the club in February 2021. Their stardom means, when Wrexham is talked about in the mainstream media, they get mentioned more than any of their players.
A similar thing happened before Saturday’s big game. In their pre-match post on social media, BT Sport tweeted about Wrexham’s opportunity to seal promotion back to the English Football League. In the shared edit, they included the side’s goalkeeper Ben Foster, striker Mullin, and the Hollywood duo.
However, McElhenney shared an edited pic with the faces of midfielder Luke Young and striker Ollie Palmer over his and Reynolds’ body. His tweet read: “Fixed it for you. Their names are @8Lukeyoung, Ollie Palmer, @BenFoster, and @PMullin7.”
This was a thoughtful gesture from McElhenney, co-creator of the comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and fans of Wrexham showed their love for this in the reply section. But the reality is, the faces of Hollywood stars will regularly be heavily linked with the club, irrespective of what they do on the pitch. The Red Dragons came into the spotlight in the United States after Disney+ We Are Wrexham documentary featuring Reynolds and McElhenney.
After Wrexham’s win, fans stormed onto the pitch and Reynolds and McElhenney were visibly emotional. Yesterday, the star power was at its peak, as Ant-Man actor Paul Rudd was also in town to cheer them. He was seen drinking beer and singing songs with fans at the Turf pub ahead of the kick-off.
“People said at the beginning ‘why Wrexham?’, this is exactly why Wrexham happening right now,” Reynolds told BT Sport after the historic win – which like a movie – came on the back of a disappointing first season, where the side missed out on promotion. A year later, the atmosphere was completely different as Wrexham sealed their fate with a record points tally in the league.
Things are only going to get better and more ‘famous’ for the Wrexham faithful, with the club scheduled to face England’s most popular team, Manchester United in San Diego on Tuesday 25 July. In the announcement video of the game, United were represented by their legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson, while Wrexham was by Reynolds and McElhenney, as the duo hilariously tried to speak with the retired manager via video call.
For the time being, McElhenney and Reynolds will remain at the center stage. And to be fair, Wrexham supporters are unlikely to give this too much thought as long as their beloved club keeps taking huge strides. A second trophy in their history after a 45-year wait is more important for the town than the debate of whose face should attract the most interest from mainstream media.
Once the owners start signing bigger names in League Two, that will also steadily and slowly change, a bit like Salford City, a club owned by the likes of Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, and David Beckham – the former players of Wrexham’s pre-season friendly opponent, Manchester United.
