Wrexham fortunes turned in the most unlikely fashion following the takeover by Hollywood pair Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, and former Red Dragons boss Dean Saunders has revealed he believes they can take the club to its full potential.
Reynolds and McElhenney completed their unlikely purchase of the Welsh side back in February 2021, and in the almost three years since have taken the club from strength to strength.
Last season they achieved promotion to League Two after a blockbuster battle in the National League with ultimate play-off winners Notts County, and are now flying high in their first season back in the football league.
The Wrexham owners have lofty ambitions for the club they took over when they were in the fifth tier of English football; to one day reach the Premier League.
Former Wrexham boss thinks new owners have spotted potential
Saunders was manager of the Red Dragons from 2008 until 2011, taking charge of their first steps in what would be a 15-year stay outside the football league.
Despite the perilous position of the club at that time, Saunders always believed in the potential of the Welsh side, and he feels that the new ownership duo are perfectly placed to realise that full potential, despite initially having his suspicions of the pair.
Speaking to Instant Casino, he said: “When I was managing Wrexham, I always believed that I could get them into the Championship. I remember thinking that we’d get 15,000 fans in for games in that league, but you’d have to double that now.
“I thought it was a joke when I heard Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney were taking over Wrexham. A lot of people tried to buy the club during my time there. I think the owner of Direct Line was interested, and I thought even that was a joke.”
Like many, Saunders initially had his reservations as to why the two A-listers were interested in the side, “I wondered what Reynolds and McElhenney’s intentions were and why they chose Wrexham,” he said. “I knew the catchment area between Wrexham, Newport County, and Cardiff, and it’s a three-hour journey with no English Football League clubs in between. There’s a massive catchment area between the cities, and they also have Chester, Liverpool, the Manchester clubs, and Stoke poaching the best Wrexham players from the satellite academies.
“I thought the owners chose the club because they could see the potential – and they’ve done so much for both the town and the football team. I think they’ve been brilliant.
“Reynolds and McElhenney also seem like good men. They’ve pumped money into the local community and the club. They’ve also managed to get out of the National League without having to go through the playoffs.”
Reaching the Premier League is a monumental task
Reynolds and McElhenney have not set themselves an easily achievable goal for their first steps into football management, to take the Welsh side from the fifth tier all the way to the Premier League.
As they have shown last year, with the money that they have at this level, they are more than capable of achieving promotions, having won the National League last year and currently sitting in second place in their first year back in League Two.
They may even find the next couple of promotions with relative ease, being able to tempt players way above the level to transfer over the Welsh border, both with money and the global exposure that the Hollywood pair have brought to the STōK Cae Ras, with their documentary series on Disney+ attracting fans from all over the world.
But the Championship is where they could come unstuck, where their financial power may be no greater than any of their competitors, where ticket sales will be comparable to those in the league around them and where additional investment may have to be sought.
It is a feat that has only been completed by one team, Luton Town, who over the space of nine years became the first club to rise from the fifth tier and into the Premier League, achieving promotion last season.
It will take some repeating, but the Hollywood pair have shown how much they care about this club through the time, money and energy they have invested in it.
A tough task no doubt, but Luton before them have proved that anything is possible in football.
