Wrexham’s story is absolutely incredible. Wrexham won their Promotion over the weekend and I am here to break down the 3 points that led to Wrexham getting here.
Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney Buy Club for 2.5 Million
For 14 years the Red Dragons of Wales have seen their franchise diminish to the depths of the lowest tier in the English Football League & have fought through hard times. They have had bad teams, a crooked owner, and a diminishing stadium with so much history they wanted to savor it but couldn’t since no one owned it.
That all changed when American Actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney came in and decided to buy the team and change the culture and way of thinking for the team to give the franchise back to the people in Wales. They hired a new coach, brought in advisors, brought in star power and finally got the stadium deed back to start renovating the stadium. Fans are invested again and the whole purpose of everything was to give back to the town what it was missing which was a competitive Futbol team. All it took was 2 years for these 2 to make a difference not just for the club but the whole city.
Hiring Phil Parkinson
The first tactical move the new owners made was to appoint Phil Parkinson as the new coach of the Club. He has had experience managing teams like Bradford City, Bolton Wanderers, & Sunderland. He is great with the players, knows how to manage a Club, and has that no-nonsense mentality when dealing with different talents. To this day he is the only Manager ever to lead a fourth-tier club to the Finals of a major cup competition.
He led then Bradford City to the 2013 League Cup finals at Wembley Stadium. He has been very savvy through the years in finding ways to get ahead of the curve when it comes to tactical preparation. With Wrexham, he has done more by trusting the talent on the pitch and having them play in the moment rather than sticking to long pass or short pass style playing. Having guys like Ollie Palmer to focus on defense and Paul Mullins to focus on offense has allowed him to focus on the rest of the team figuring out who fits where and what to do in the center of the pitch. It took a half-season of frustration in year 1 for him to figure things out and since then it’s been off to the races since. Even though this man has been the head of 4-5 different clubs over his time as a manager, this may be one of his best jobs, especially considering how the team was when he took over. And the job was done in two years, winning first place and being promoted out of the National and into the English League.
Signing Paul Mullins
“Super” Paul Mullins was the signing that defined the team’s direction when new ownership took over. A guy that would come in and be a scorer and threat at the top to alleviate the pressures of the team to make life easier for others on the pitch, the manager, and the fans. In 2 years with Wrexham, he has had 64 goals which top his mark over the past 7 years combined and has become a cult hero in the community.
Fans cheer Super Paul Mullins chants through pregame and during the match & everyone wants to wear his jersey. It’s the passion and the grit he showcases that make the team step up their game and gets the fans going crazy. He is a diamond in the rough that this team can rely on to keep trekking up the leagues to get to the goal of making it to the Premier League. For example this past Saturday in the 3-1 win over Boreham Wood, it was Mullins who netted the last 2 goals of the game to put the Red Dragons up for good to guarantee the move up to the League Two Division.
This Club has defied all the odds over a two-year stretch and continues to take the journey up the ladder. What are your thoughts on this team’s future and will they ever make it to the Premier League? Make your voices heard!!!
