Thanks to the support of actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, who purchased the team three years ago, Wrexham is poised to receive back-to-back promotions.
Rob McElhenney, according to Ben Foster, is the “brains” behind Wrexham’s success, as the Welsh team’s incredible ascent continues.
Three years have passed since McElhenney and fellow actor Ryan Reynolds purchased Wrexham. After that, the team won the National League championship to get back into the English Football League (EFL) and advanced to the FA Trophy final, where they were defeated by Bromley.
Furthermore, Wrexham’s ascent in the football hierarchy doesn’t appear to be slowing down. After a game, Phil Parkinson’s team is only three points behind leaders Stockport in third place in League Two, which is the final automatic promotion berth.
Reynolds, one of the most well-known actors in the world, has served as the face of Wrexham’s commercial success. However, McElhenney has played a significant, if not greater, role in Wrexham’s ascent and is a regular fixture at the Racecourse Ground, supporting the team.
Foster, who rejoined Wrexham last year after his retirement to help them win the National League title, says as much. Since then, the former England and Manchester United goalie has discussed McElhenney’s contribution to Wrexham’s victory with talkSPORT.
“Rob is the driving force behind it; he’s all in,” Foster remarked. “Don’t get me wrong they’re both fully in but Rob, you can tell this is his baby, genuinely it’s his baby, Wrexham is.”
Foster gave the following explanation about Reynolds: “I believe that initially Ryan just went along for the ride and said, ‘Yes, I will assist you.'” And he’s also thrown himself into it completely. Rob says, ‘No, we want to do something here.’ He’s a little more laid back.”
Foster further asserts that when Reynolds and McElhenney partnered together to purchase Wrexham, they were not the greatest of friends. “They didn’t even know each other,” he continued. Before they began their Wrexham adventure, Rob and Ryan had never even spoken. He asked, “Do you want to be part of this crazy thing I’m going to do?” in a sort of outreach manner.
Neither McElhenney nor Reynolds regret their choice, since Wrexham is set to advance farther in the Premier League this coming season. When they visit Gillingham, who are ranked eighth in the table, on Saturday, they’ll be hoping for another three points.
“There’s a lot of teams in the play-off mix, it’s a very tight division, and Gillingham are obviously still got a very good chance,” Parkinson stated in remarks prior to Saturday’s match. They have been playing 3-5-2 lately, and on Tuesday they defeated Notts County and had a successful outcome against Stockport County.
“They have some excellent players, and they had a great start to the season. After four games, they were leading the league. The boys have bounced back nicely from Tuesday’s 1-1 draw against MK Dons, and we are thrilled to have another fantastic opportunity for ourselves. As with every game, it will be competitive.”