After missing out in dramatic style in the play-offs last season, promotion to the Football League remains the ultimate goal for Wrexham AFC this term. They’re on track too, as Phil Parkinson’s side currently sit second in the National League, just two points behind leaders Notts County with a game in hand to boot.
But this weekend, the pressure that surrounds each game in the relentless fifth tier is lifted as Wrexham travel to Coventry to face the Sky Blues in the Third Round of the FA Cup. The lines about a ‘Hollywood’ script have already been written as the Welsh side face their highest ranked opposition since the famous duo of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over the club in February 2021.
The Disney+ documentary Welcome To Wrexham showed the North Americans getting stuck into football ownership and now it finally seems they understand the sport and how much the club means to the local area. With their new found fame, it’s easy to forget just how dire the situation was around the club. Former chairman Alex Hamilton attempted to evict the team from the Racecourse Ground so he could develop the land into flats, and although the fans rallied to save the club, they were in desperate need of a financial boost.
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As the famous Declan Swans song goes from Welcome to Wrexham - “Less than a mile from the centre of town, a famous old stadium’s crumbling down, no one's invested so much as a penny - bring on the Deadpool, and Rob McElhenney!”
Their bid was voted through by the Supporter’s Trust and they instantly injected £2m into the club’s coffers, to help with everyday running costs. Since then, they’ve been on a mission to recruit some of the finest talent from League One and League Two in an attempt to reach the EFL.
Last season they managed to convince League Two’s then top scorer Paul Mullin, who had scored 34 goals in 50 games as Cambridge United secured promotion, to swap League One football for life in the fifth tier. He was a free signing, but clearly the Hollywood boys were not afraid of spending big on wages. They also tempted Cheltenham Town’s Ben Tozer and Port Vale’s Liam McAlinden to join from higher division, but their biggest signing came in January 2022.
Ollie Palmer was AFC Wimbledon’s main forward at 6ft 5in, and a regular goalscorer in the League One. Wrexham paid a club record fee of £300k for his services in an attempt to guarantee promotion. For Wimbledon, it sealed relegation to the fourth tier, as they failed to win another game that season, but unfortunately for Wrexham, the investment wasn’t enough.
They lost to Grimsby Town, 5-4 in that crazy play-off semi-final and all their hard work went down the drain. Now they are out to secure top spot in the league and avoid the uncertainty of the play-offs again. But their FA Cup meeting against Coventry comes at a perfect time.
Parkinson has now got a settled squad, and his side are currently on an unbeaten run that stretches 17 games in all competitions. With the game live on S4C, the Red Dragons will want to make a big impression in the FA Cup.
Meanwhile, the Sky Blues aren’t in great shape by comparison. Coventry were on top form before the World Cup break, but since then, Mark Robins has had to deal with key injuries, and his threadbare squad are looking short in several areas.
Attacking midfielder Callum O’Hare has been ruled out for the season with an ACL injury, Kyle McFadzean - whose brother Callum plays for Wrexham - is out with a calf issue and Matty Godden has had surgery on ruptured ligaments.
This leaves little room for rotation, with only three fit senior centre-backs, two of which are on loan from Premier League clubs in Jonathan Panzo and Callum Doyle. Until proposed new owner Doug King’s takeover is ratified by the EFL, they are unable to bring in any reinforcements of any kind. Hardly the best preparation for an FA Cup match after a hectic league schedule has seen them win just once in the last six.
So as Wrexham travel to the Midlands, they do so with more than a hope of reaching the Fourth Round, and making some new FA Cup memories. That win over Arsenal in 1992 is still one of the most famous moments in the club’s history, but now it is time for new heroes. The Third Round could just be the start for Wrexham, but there’s no need for the Hollywood puns, this is a story based completely in reality.
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