Wrexham takeover--Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney

InstaFace

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Sounds cheap for buying a team, but getting into the Football League from the National League is really freaking hard, as they only promote two teams per year. Is it really that cheap to buy the league, on top of the team? I mean, that would still only get them to League Two, but at least they'd kinda be on TV somewhere then.

Either way, Wrexham is a sweet name, just in general. I'm sure that's what got Ryan Reynolds excited.

edit: 7 matchdays into the National League season, Wrexham is in 14th with 7 points, 12 behind the leaders. Unless they're planning on immediately shelling out for some lower-EFL loanees and making the whole roster full-time professional (reported wages in the National League even among full-time professionals is like £500 / week), this might not even be their season to ramp up a promotion challenge.
 
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DJnVa

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They're only 4 points from playoff spot though and it looks like they've only played 6 games. They have 38 games to go, so there's time, even if new owners only pump in modest amount.
 

luckiestman

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This is really fun. I love Welsh Dragon iconography.
What’s the best way to follow this? Wait for the tv show. Do they even sell apparel in the USA?

years back, the Freakonomics podcast guys sponsored a very low level team but I don’t think they had an ownership stake.
 

67YAZ

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They’re definitely shortening the name to Wrexham AF, right?
 

DJnVa

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Question---do fans in these small towns still have a BIG CLUB they root for? How do those loyalties run when, in rare cases, they matchup?
 

SoxFanInCali

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I remember when Wrexham were in administration in the mid-2000s, Liverpool would schedule pre-season friendlies against them at the Racecourse Ground every season and make sure they received all the proceeds. I've always kept an eye on them since then. It's cool they're getting this kind of publicity.
 

shaggydog2000

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It must be weird to be a professional athlete and have the owners of your club both have better abs than you. Unless Mac got fat again. Or normal.
 

Snedds

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Question---do fans in these small towns still have a BIG CLUB they root for? How do those loyalties run when, in rare cases, they matchup?
If you're an actual supporter of your local club, especially someone who attends games on a regular basis, then there'd be no conflict when playing a big team.

In my experience, most kids in school supported a Prem team when we were younger, but if they then started supporting the local team as they got a bit older, then they'd want the local club to win if the two ever met.
 

DJnVa

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If you're an actual supporter of your local club, especially someone who attends games on a regular basis, then there'd be no conflict when playing a big team.

In my experience, most kids in school supported a Prem team when we were younger, but if they then started supporting the local team as they got a bit older, then they'd want the local club to win if the two ever met.
Got it, thanks.
 

canderson

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Bump. Episode 1 and 2 of the doc premiered last night on FX. Did anyone catch it?

I know next to nothing about this story and enjoyed it (although it was weird having commercials in a doc like this). This seems like a model that can work for a myriad of pro leagues.
 

Bunt4aTriple

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Bump. Episode 1 and 2 of the doc premiered last night on FX. Did anyone catch it?

I know next to nothing about this story and enjoyed it (although it was weird having commercials in a doc like this). This seems like a model that can work for a myriad of pro leagues.
How was the language? I'm interested in watching with my kids.
 

BostonJack42

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I loved the first two episodes. Ryan and Rob actually looked really nervous at certain points and I liked their emotional investment.
 

Huntington Avenue Grounds

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I'm up to episode 3 and fully in on the Wrexham experience. Following them in the this season, while the doc is covering last, makes it a bit anticlimactic but the story is great and I'm enjoying it on several levels. The focus on a downtrodden fanbase ("it's like Rudy" the HAG-ette says), business savvy investment (Reynolds has made some good business decisions and this looks like a winner already), and an underdog story whose ending is very much a work in progress.

Should we break out the show in Omar for the progression of the series and keep the thread here for current events? If not, cool, just want to know what and where to spoiler things, which seems strange here.
 

Ted Cox 4 president

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I’m watching this and enjoying it a lot. So far, there’s a strong resemblance to Sunderland ‘Til I Die. Hoping for a better outcome.

Question: Was the signing of Paul Mullin as much of a last-minute thing as it’s presented? It would’ve been interesting to know what other offers he was considering, since they make it sound as if he was very much in demand.

I’d also like more coverage of actual game action.
 

dirtynine

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I have not yet watched the series; I certainly will. Something’s bothering me about this whole endeavor, though. I really like both Rob Mac and RR as actors and personalities. I fully get what they’re doing - it’s probably very close to what I’d want to do with disposable income, a passion for soccer, a love of storytelling, and an interest in building something special (if not lucrative).

But: it strikes me as off-note that a couple of very famous foreign guys come in to a very simple, self-contained thing and just start blowing it up and preparing it to be a big media property. There must be Wrexham supporters who like their club being a modest, local, community thing that isn’t a commodity. It’s one thing to have new owners that “save” your club. Ok, and they’re famous, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But it’s another if they start using your club to promote their own story (which is now your club’s identity). And it’s yet another when they start publicly bickering with the league about the way it’s run.

The whole project strikes me as cloaking “shrewd investment” in a sentiment that looks like “pure love of the game”, with a healthy dose of savior complex thrown in.

Not quite the same, but the club I support was once given a lot of help in a time of need by a famous fan. (Brighton/Fatboy Slim) It was a different era, but it seemed very chill and good-hearted. Help at a time in need, here’s a few bucks, we’ll sponsor the shirt, no questions asked. This seems like a project with other motives.

I’ll probably watch the series and take everything I just said back. And when Wrexham is in the PL, selling tons of gear and making them look really smart, I’m sure I’ll concede the genius of this entire thing. It’s probably mostly envy that they can just parachute in and do this. Ugh. I’ll shut up until I watch.
 

Huntington Avenue Grounds

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I have not yet watched the series; I certainly will. Something’s bothering me about this whole endeavor, though. I really like both Rob Mac and RR as actors and personalities. I fully get what they’re doing - it’s probably very close to what I’d want to do with disposable income, a passion for soccer, a love of storytelling, and an interest in building something special (if not lucrative).

But: it strikes me as off-note that a couple of very famous foreign guys come in to a very simple, self-contained thing and just start blowing it up and preparing it to be a big media property. There must be Wrexham supporters who like their club being a modest, local, community thing that isn’t a commodity. It’s one thing to have new owners that “save” your club. Ok, and they’re famous, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But it’s another if they start using your club to promote their own story (which is now your club’s identity). And it’s yet another when they start publicly bickering with the league about the way it’s run.

The whole project strikes me as cloaking “shrewd investment” in a sentiment that looks like “pure love of the game”, with a healthy dose of savior complex thrown in.

Not quite the same, but the club I support was once given a lot of help in a time of need by a famous fan. (Brighton/Fatboy Slim) It was a different era, but it seemed very chill and good-hearted. Help at a time in need, here’s a few bucks, we’ll sponsor the shirt, no questions asked. This seems like a project with other motives.

I’ll probably watch the series and take everything I just said back. And when Wrexham is in the PL, selling tons of gear and making them look really smart, I’m sure I’ll concede the genius of this entire thing. It’s probably mostly envy that they can just parachute in and do this. Ugh. I’ll shut up until I watch.
I hear your concerns and think they did a good job handling that (with the caveat that they have creative control over the show as well) but the story of the city and team didn't leave one to believe there was a local savior riding into town. In fact, the local owners seem to have been a primary factor leading the club to where it found itself.

Question I have is: where does Wrexham naturally sit in the English Football system? Seems they fell for a variety of factors and are lower than were they *should* be, but this doesn't seem it would ever be a Premier League club. League 1? Championship?
 

DJnVa

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But: it strikes me as off-note that a couple of very famous foreign guys come in to a very simple, self-contained thing and just start blowing it up and preparing it to be a big media property. There must be Wrexham supporters who like their club being a modest, local, community thing that isn’t a commodity. It’s one thing to have new owners that “save” your club. Ok, and they’re famous, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But it’s another if they start using your club to promote their own story (which is now your club’s identity). And it’s yet another when they start publicly bickering with the league about the way it’s run.
The supporters trust voted like 98% for the move, so...
 

dirtynine

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The supporters trust voted like 98% for the move, so...
Yep, it’s probably on balance very cool and welcome for the fanbase. All in all, the more fans on this side of the pond that discover the excitement of an open pyramid structure, the better. And Reynolds has every right to push back against entrenched “that’s not how we do things” style thinking. There’s enough publicity on the project now that my (healthy?) skepticism kicked in for a minute there. Now to actually watch the show.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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Not sure if this is more Omar territory, but I'm enjoying the show.

It seems pretty clear that this is more a McElhenney project than a Reynolds project. You really feel as though McElhenney is in it for love of the game and wanting to be part of this interesting little place in the world that could use a compelling football club right now. Reynolds brings more cash and cachet, but you also get the vibe that he's seeing the angles in a slightly more cynical way. They actually are a good partnership in that respect. I have not followed Wrexham so probably will avoid this thread through the series to avoid spoilers if I can -- though it likely will be hard. But so far I'm enjoying it.
 
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SoxFanInCali

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Question I have is: where does Wrexham naturally sit in the English Football system? Seems they fell for a variety of factors and are lower than were they *should* be, but this doesn't seem it would ever be a Premier League club. League 1? Championship?
For most of their history they've bounced between what are now known as League One and League Two. They've spent the last decade and a half in the top non-league tier.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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Wrexham knocked off Championship side Coventry in the FA Cup today:
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5_dEnpoZV6E
Before the game there were some quotes about how their main focus was the league and how the FA cup was less than desirable unless you drew a premier league side or a home game. But here they are.

Not sure if we are spoilering league results.

Problem for Wrexham is that Notts County keep winning and now have two games in hand five points up, and Wrexham’s schedule is going to get congested. Would be kind of screwed up if they end up getting distracted by a deep FA cup run.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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Wrexham get another Championship side for the fourth round, but a much better one — Sheffield United. I think they get them at the racecourse though. Should be fun for the documentary. Hope they are competitive.
 

deconstruction

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Before the game there were some quotes about how their main focus was the league and how the FA cup was less than desirable unless you drew a premier league side or a home game. But here they are.

Not sure if we are spoilering league results.

Problem for Wrexham is that Notts County keep winning and now have two games in hand five points up, and Wrexham’s schedule is going to get congested. Would be kind of screwed up if they end up getting distracted by a deep FA cup run.
Looks like you got it backward; Wrexham have the two games in hand.

https://www.skysports.com/football/competitions/vanarama-national-league/table
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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Looks like you got it backward; Wrexham have the two games in hand.

https://www.skysports.com/football/competitions/vanarama-national-league/table
Right — sorry, that is what I meant. My poorly made point was that at this point in current form Wrexham would prefer not to have the games in hand. They have to keep postponing league games to accommodate the FA cup and FA trophy while

Notts County keep winning. If Wrexham convert their games in hand they would be one point ahead, but at this point they are going to have to play two games a week just to keep up and continue moving league games. Unlike the big clubs they don’t exactly have the depth to play these auxiliary games and the league games every week. Obviously, playing Sheffield United at the racecourse is going to be one of the biggest things that has happened at that club in years and is going to be a huge distraction from league play, while Notts County just plugs along. They really need Notts County to drop a game or two. They play Notts County in like the 35th match day or something. That should be a big game for the single auto promotion spot.
 

Zososoxfan

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Right — sorry, that is what I meant. My poorly made point was that at this point in current form Wrexham would prefer not to have the games in hand. They have to keep postponing league games to accommodate the FA cup and FA trophy while

Notts County keep winning. If Wrexham convert their games in hand they would be one point ahead, but at this point they are going to have to play two games a week just to keep up and continue moving league games. Unlike the big clubs they don’t exactly have the depth to play these auxiliary games and the league games every week. Obviously, playing Sheffield United at the racecourse is going to be one of the biggest things that has happened at that club in years and is going to be a huge distraction from league play, while Notts County just plugs along. They really need Notts County to drop a game or two. They play Notts County in like the 35th match day or something. That should be a big game for the single auto promotion spot.
Somewhat surprisingly, the FA Cup prize money is not that impressive. If they get by SHU, it will net them a whopping 120K quid.

https://www.thefa.com/competitions/thefacup/prize-fund

Then again, I looked at EFL League 2 vs. League 1 prize money and it's 675K vs. 450K, although I think that's per season for all clubs in the table, not for winning it. I'd be interested to know how the EFL and EPL structure payments to incentivize competition. I know we had a discussion some time ago about how clubs who get promoted to EPL then drop back down actually make a windfall due to the parachute and solidarity payments.
 

shaggydog2000

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Somewhat surprisingly, the FA Cup prize money is not that impressive. If they get by SHU, it will net them a whopping 120K quid.

https://www.thefa.com/competitions/thefacup/prize-fund

Then again, I looked at EFL League 2 vs. League 1 prize money and it's 675K vs. 450K, although I think that's per season for all clubs in the table, not for winning it. I'd be interested to know how the EFL and EPL structure payments to incentivize competition. I know we had a discussion some time ago about how clubs who get promoted to EPL then drop back down actually make a windfall due to the parachute and solidarity payments.
Selling out the stadium might be the big benefit for them if it is a home game, and I don't know if those tickets would be more or less than they usually charge.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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Selling out the stadium might be the big benefit for them if it is a home game, and I don't know if those tickets would be more or less than they usually charge.
I have to think that right now, Wrexham has some real opportunity to capitalize on interest in their club in a way that could be quite lucrative if existing contracts allow it. I saw some stuff on twitter where Reynolds was extremely frustrated with the national league for not trying to capitalize on interest in Wrexham. It sounds like he was even willing to agree to nearly complete revenue sharing to lift up all the National league clubs but that they were being stodgy and not particularly forward looking. I would assume that ESPN owns the streaming rights for the upcoming match so there's no real way to monetize directly, but Reynolds is really savvy. One of the things that's interesting about the doc of the first season is how quick Reynolds seems to understand the business side (even with his "aw shucks" demeanor) and Rob is more about the love of the game and community.
 

shaggydog2000

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I have to think that right now, Wrexham has some real opportunity to capitalize on interest in their club in a way that could be quite lucrative if existing contracts allow it. I saw some stuff on twitter where Reynolds was extremely frustrated with the national league for not trying to capitalize on interest in Wrexham. It sounds like he was even willing to agree to nearly complete revenue sharing to lift up all the National league clubs but that they were being stodgy and not particularly forward looking. I would assume that ESPN owns the streaming rights for the upcoming match so there's no real way to monetize directly, but Reynolds is really savvy. One of the things that's interesting about the doc of the first season is how quick Reynolds seems to understand the business side (even with his "aw shucks" demeanor) and Rob is more about the love of the game and community.
I'd agree that their different approaches were pretty evident on the show. Rob is a writer and a sports fan at heart, he wants the good story. Ryan is a businessman. He gets caught up in the moments too, but you can see why he's got so many successful companies, he understands the basics well. The sponsorships are where they are going to make their money, I doubt other National league clubs are sponsored by companies the size of TikTok. All of the stands at the race course have new sponsored names. I'm sure they have a better jersey deal than any other National league club as well. They're the only non-league club in FIFA, so there must have been a deal there. It feels like that is where they're making their money, probably a lot more than selling 10k tickets a home game, with a realistic limit on how much you can increase ticket costs in an economically depressed area.
 

Investor 11

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Wrexham, and I believe the National League as a whole, just started offering a streaming option of all matches live to international customers. So it looks like they are trying to monetize some new avenues.

I’m also wonderingWrexham would have preferred these FA matches to be away from a monetary standpoint. A Championship or PL stadium holds a lot more that the gate split might make up for any concessions at an home match? All their home matches have been sold out for at least the last month. I’d been looking in to going to a a match in February so I’ve been so I’ve been keeping an eye on tickets.
 

reggiecleveland

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I actually listened to this online. Game was tied on a corner on what was literally the last play of the game. I did not know that means they replay the whole game. If you don't like British football radio broadcasts you may not like sports.
 

Preacher

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I actually listened to this online. Game was tied on a corner on what was literally the last play of the game. I did not know that means they replay the whole game. If you don't like British football radio broadcasts you may not like sports.
It wasn't the last play of the game. They had a few more minutes after that and Wrexham had a few more chances with some plays in the box but couldn't get a quality shot off.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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I think you've made a mistake...I checked their schedule and they were NOT playing Wrexham.
Too many fucking Sheffields!

(For those not in the know, Sheffield F.C. and Sheffield United are different clubs. Sheff U plays in the Championship -- the second best league -- and Wrexham came a minute away from one of the most famous wins in club history.)
 

HowBoutDemSox

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Too many fucking Sheffields!

(For those not in the know, Sheffield F.C. and Sheffield United are different clubs. Sheff U plays in the Championship -- the second best league -- and Wrexham came a minute away from one of the most famous wins in club history.)
And then there’s also Sheffield Wednesday, currently in League One - too many Sheffields indeed!