After a particularly long, lively and liquid-filled evening celebrating Wrexham’s promotion from non-League to the EFL in 2023, some staff awoke to texts from the club’s owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. The messages from the Hollywood actors reflected on what a great night it had been and hope the hangovers weren’t too bad. The texts were personalized, named to the individual, thanking them for their particular contribution in Wrexham’s rise. The recipients were truly touched. These big stars have big hearts.
The impact of Reynolds and Rob Mac (as he is now known) on Wrexham since they bought the distressed club and dilapidated stadium in 2020 is so much more than squad strengthening, lifting them three tiers from non-League to one rung below the Premier League and stadium redevelopment so that more than 10,000 watched Friday’s epic FA Cup third-round victory over elite-level Nottingham Forest. Reynolds and Rob Mac have done so much for Wrexham but what has won fans over is that they have done it with thought, enthusiasm and care.
It’s not simply for show, or “The Show,” the wildly successful, access all areas “Welcome to Wrexham” docuseries, although that cannot be escaped. When I went to interview their striker Paul Mullin, recently returned after a loan spell at Wigan Athletic, we were filmed talking at the stadium, the Racecourse Ground, and the cameras followed us around.
Cameras are a way of life for Reynolds and McElhenney and now for the people of Wrexham. But it’s not done in an intrusive way. That’s not Reynolds’s and Rob Mac’s style. When they sold a minority stake to Apollo Sports Capital in December, the pair spoke of their aim to make Wrexham “sustainable” and “to do it with a little heart and humor.”
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Love and laughter have definitely been seen and heard. The pair have embraced the town and invested in community initiatives, helping the disadvantaged. They care. When Mullin was celebrating on the pitch after one game in 2023, Reynolds noticed the striker pause to attend to his son, Albi, who was momentarily overwhelmed by the noise. Reynolds was aware that Albi had recently been diagnosed with autism. He walked across to join Mullin and help comfort Albi. He rubbed Albi’s back and the boy’s anxiety eventually passed. Later, Mullin received a text from Reynolds.“How’s Albi doing?” it read.
Mullin knew how busy Reynolds was with his acting career and assorted business interests. He was already impressed with how many games Reynolds and Rob Mac attended—a 10,000-mile round trip from LA. So he was touched that Reynolds thought to message. These are A-listers with empathy.
In an era when supporters at more than 10 of the 92 clubs in the Premier League and EFL protest loudly against their owners, it is worth celebrating the popularity of Reynolds and Rob Mac at Wrexham. There was initial skepticism locally about two actors’ intentions. Wrexham is as far from Hollywood as you can imagine, and not only in distance. Fans of other clubs mocked Wrexham and claimed they were simply another vehicle to drive the pair’s careers.
Now this Canada-U.S. double act are the model for good owners, loved by Wrexham fans and respected by rivals because they bring dreams to life. They also look to be having fun with it, enjoying games, with Reynolds spending time before kick-off against Forest encouraging the players as they emerged from the tunnel. He knows them all by name. He was also talking to fans and knows some of them by name, too.
Good ownership is rooted in good recruitment. Reynolds and Rob Mac, and those who advise them, have recruited well, and in one employee in particular. Their manager Phil Parkinson is as far removed from Hollywood as you could imagine. He’s straight-talking, and regularly drops the F-bomb all over filmed team-talks. But his appointment on July 1, 2021 has been inspired. Like the owner, Parkinson cares. He cares for the players and their families. He cares for the supporters. He cares about winning.
“Parky”, as he is fondly known, works in a fickle industry with coaches under supreme pressure, physical and emotional, with criticism multiplying especially on social media. His occasionally defensive tactics have triggered splenetic reactions but, overall, the 58-year-old is highly regarded. Parkinson has been given good players to work with but Wrexham still have to operate within a budget. He has achieved wonders. In post for four-and-a-half years, the Lancastrian is the seventh longest-serving manager in the 92-club pyramid. Management is such a precarious profession that 22 have been dismissed so far—this season alone.
He’s very driven. When Parkinson was in charge of Bradford City in 2015 he blanked Chelsea’s José Mourinho who was trying to shake his hand three minutes before full-time of their FA Cup tie. Bradford were leading 3-2, heading for a famous upset, and Mourinho was graciously accepting defeat. “The Special One” knew there would be mayhem at the final whistle, celebrations and frustrations, and he and Parkinson might not have the space or opportunity for a handshake, the traditional managerial post-match show of respect. Parkinson refused the early handshake, not out of any lack of respect for Mourinho. He just didn’t want to signal to his players that he felt the game was over.
Parkinson was also wary that Chelsea’s players might take it as triumphalism and would fight back in the remaining minutes. So he snubbed Mourinho, Bradford added a fourth and they were able to celebrate an emphatic victory. Mourinho came into the Bradford dressing room afterwards and shook the hands of Parkinson and all his players.
Parkinson’s shrewd. He thought swiftly about the ramifications of shaking hands with Mourinho too early. He’s also thought carefully about Wrexham’s signings. It’s worth looking at the journeys taken by their three best players against Forest. Reynolds and Rob Mac invested well in Parkinson and in his players. The defender Callum Doyle arrived last summer from Manchester City for £7.5 million. In only 17 games, including an outstanding performance against Forest, the 22-year-old Doyle’s already worth £20 million+. That’s down to getting games, which Doyle wouldn’t at City, and being developed by Parkinson and his coaches. Parkinson improves players. Doyle was decent when he came but looks fitter, stronger, more tactically aware and technically better.
Some of the signings suffered rejection early in their career—as Parkinson himself did at Southampton—and that adds to their drive to achieve. George Dobson, the midfielder recruited on a free transfer from Charlton Athletic in 2024, started out at Arsenal at eight, never made the first team and was moved on at 17. Dobson has a point to prove and is showing that at Wrexham. He’s also developed his passing range under Parkinson, shown in one superb switch to launch a counter against Forest.
The headlines belonged to goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo, another whose first steps as a professional began at Arsenal in the same generation as Bukayo Saka. Unai Emery rated Okonkwo highly enough at the Emirates that he had him on the bench against Napoli in the Europa League in 2019. Petr Čech, the legendary keeper then at Arsenal, gave the teenager advice.
Okonkwo worked to develop his footwork by trying to chip the ball on to the crossbar from the penalty spot, 12 yards away, moving further back each time. The aim was to improve his distribution, lifting the ball over pressing opponents to his team-mates. Okonkwo’s shot-stopping was developed facing the thunderbolts of Granit Xhaka in Arsenal training. He showed his worth saving two penalties in the shootout to take Wrexham through to the fourth round of the Cup.
Their priority is promotion to the Premier League. Wrexham aim to pull off what most predicted was Mission Impossible when Reynolds and Rob Mac took over. Climbing up the tiers of English football is a game of snakes and ladders, scrambling up and sliding down. Clubs with far greater wealth struggle. Preston North End, one of the founding fathers of English football in 1888, have billionaire owners in the Hemmings family but not been at the top table of English football since 1961.
Wrexham keep defying gravity and defying accepted wisdom and all with a touch of class and care from Reynolds and Rob Mac.
