Wrexham’s return to League One after 19 years away brought Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney out to play as the co-owners flew in to watch the opening day clash with Wycombe Wanderers . It was the first time the Hollywood duo had been at the SToK Cae Ras together for almost exactly a year and they were rewarded with a 3-2 victory, courtesy of goals from Max Cleworth , Jack Marriott and Steven Fletcher . The Athletic casts an eye over some of the talking points from the club’s first game back in the third tier.
Home sweet home for the owners? A little under four years on from their first visit to north Wales, Reynolds and McElhenney being in town for a match is no longer the big event it once was. Nevertheless, there was a noticeable buzz in the pubs and clubs as news spread that the pair had flown in for the club’s 5,000th league match. Joining the pair was Eva Longoria, the former Desperate Housewives star who is a part owner of Mexican top-flight outfit Club Necaxa.
Advertisement Judging by the messages sent to her 10.2 million Instagram followers, the American clearly had a great time. A topic of discussion among the trio may well have been the planned documentary on the LigaMX side that hopes to emulate the success of Welcome to Wrexham .
Reynolds and McElhenney will join Longoria as executive producers on the series after reportedly purchasing a five per cent stake in the club earlier this year, reciprocating a deal that saw some of the Mexican club’s backers take a piece of the League One outfit. As for Saturday, Wrexham’s two co-owners were clearly delighted to be back, both popping into the home dressing room before the game to meet the new signings. McElhenney then hung around afterwards to catch up further.
Watching our win in style 😎 🔴⚪️ #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/NitJG57hAb — Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) August 10, 2024 “I’m still trying to figure out if it was a fun game,” said the co-creator of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, by way of a match verdict.
“Fun for periods of time, sure. We really looked like a League One team.” McElhenney flies back to the United States on Sunday to start writing season 39 of ‘Sunny’ the following day.
He plans to be back in Wrexham during the autumn, something manager Phil Parkinson will welcome. “I’ve always said when Rob and Ryan are here that there’s an electricity in the place,” he said. “They are great at relaxing everyone and the lads really enjoy seeing them.
” Fresh from joining the exclusive club to have scored in the top four divisions, former Scotland international Fletcher added: “It’s always a lift for the lads when they appear. They brighten up the changing room just by walking in and chatting away. “It’s infectious.
Everyone wants to talk to them. They go round the whole changing room, never missing anyone out.” GO DEEPER How two Wrexham stars ended up in the biggest movie of the year So how is Wrexham’s bid for global domination going? If the presence of Reynolds and McElhenney wasn’t enough to show how life has changed for this previously provincial club, then there was further evidence on the other side of the Atlantic.
As CBS Sports kicked off their new four-year deal to show the EFL in the U.S. with a dozen live matches across the opening weekend, Wrexham’s clash with Wycombe was one of only three shown from Leagues One and Two — alongside Birmingham City versus Reading and Milton Keynes Dons against Bradford City.
Advertisement Unlike that quartet of clubs, however, Wrexham will also be streamed live in midweek at Sheffield United in the Carabao Cup and then again next weekend when returning to league action at Bolton Wanderers . In fact, all nine of the club’s league and Carabao Cup fixtures until the end of September have been selected for broadcast, more than any of their EFL peers. Leeds United are the only other club to have every game shown by CBS, with next month’s international break meaning Daniel Farke’s side play seven times in the Championship.
Only the low-key EFL Trophy group-stage trip to Salford City on September 10 fails to make the cut — a remarkable testimony to America’s growing fascination with the Welsh club following the success of Welcome to Wrexham , the Emmy-award-winning documentary. Even the star appeal of Tom Brady can’t compete. Birmingham, where the NFL great is a part-owner , are only due to be shown live two more times before the end of September.
The same goes for the many EFL clubs now under majority American ownership, with Championship duo Portsmouth and Swansea City set to be featured live four times apiece and Millwall just once. What makes Wrexham’s near-constant presence on TV screens in those opening eight weeks all the more incredible is how skewed the new EFL deal in the U.S.
is towards the Championship, with CBS committing to broadcast a minimum 155 matches from the second tier this season, plus at least 38 across the bottom two divisions. The importance of the overseas market, and North America in particular, was underlined in Wrexham’s most recently published accounts for the 2022-23 National League title-winning season . Almost a quarter of Wrexham’s £10.
478m annual revenue came from outside the UK, at £2.58m, substantially up from £657,000 in the previous campaign. With two successful pre-season tours in the U.
S. and Canada under their belt since then and the continued popularity of Welcome to Wrexham, those numbers are certain to have grown significantly. What will be interesting is how the new CBS deal impacts on the club’s revenue from iFollow, the EFL’s streaming service that will continue to operate for overseas supporters this season.
Advertisement Wrexham earned a seven-figure sum from the international iFollow market last season. No doubt the club will be following closely the impact of being featured live nine times on Paramount+ in the opening week, as three of those games are also shown on pay-TV channel CBS Sports Network and another three on CBS Sports Golazo Network, which is a free ad-supported channel. GO DEEPER The story of Wrexham's 2024 U.
S. tour: More rest, more excitement, more progress Where will the goals come from in League One? When Ollie Rathbone became Wrexham’s new record signing on the eve of the season for a fee believed to be around £500,000, the groans were audible. That was nothing to do with the Rotherham United midfielder’s ability, we should stress.
He’ll be a fine addition to the squad. But supporters have spent all summer waiting for a striker to be signed, hence the rumblings among fans worried as to who was going to pose the goal threat against Wycombe. They need not have worried.
Jack Marriott and Palmer — a combined eight league goals in 56 appearances (half of which were from the bench) for the club last season — got the nod up front. Neither gave the visitors a moment’s rest either side of combining for what already has to be a leading contender for goal of the season, as Palmer deftly cushioned an Elliot Lee pass towards his partner. Having brought the ball down on his chest, Marriott then netted via a stunning volley with the outside of his right boot that left co-owner McElhenney purring: “A beautiful goal.
But, because we don’t have any replays here, we all had to rush back inside (to watch it again). “Then, though, we didn’t have enough on the TV, so we had to look at it on our phones.” This angle of Jack’s worldie ⚡️ 🔴⚪️ #WxmAFC pic.
twitter.com/fiwMhYLxzl — Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) August 10, 2024 Marriott was only denied a second by Bishop’s legs, while his pressing game was so strong that Tyreeq Bakinson had no option but to haul down the striker on halfway at the cost of a booking. Palmer, too, made a mockery of those who felt Wrexham’s attack might struggle with the step up as his passing graphic below shows, and then Fletcher rounded off the scoring with a typically composed finish.
Parkinson is still chasing a big frontman before the window closes, but the opening day proved that the current strike force still has plenty to offer, even in the absence of talisman Paul Mullin following back surgery . “I was so pleased for Jack,” says the Wrexham manager. “He had a great pre-season and was superb (in the 2-2 draw) against Chelsea .
I don’t think you’ll see many better goals in the EFL. It was really good link-up play between the two strikers and an outstanding finish. You could sense our supporters warming to him — not just because of the goal but his work for the team.
“He’s moved up to the area and we’ve got him settled. That’s great, as we can really work with him. He’s not travelling too much and the lads love him, as he’s a real team player.
” What next for Wrexham? Tuesday, August 13: Sheffield United (A), Carabao Cup, 8pm BST, 3pm ET Parkinson takes his side to Sheffield United, relegated from the Premier League earlier this year but off to a promising start in the Championship, for a Carabao Cup first-round tie at Bramall Lane. (Top photo: Barrington Coombs/PA Images via Getty Images).
