It’s been over four decades since Wrexham were last in the second tier of English football and a lot has changed in that time. (A lot has changed in four years, never mind four decades.) Four years ago, Wales’ oldest soccer club were at a non-league nadir. Now, they are preparing for life in the Championship, propelled to three straight promotions by the stardust (and money) ofRyan Reynoldsand Ryan McElhenney.
Birmingham City’s second tier exile was much shorter – just a single season – but like Wrexham their promotion had the spotlight of celebrity on it. While Wrexham have Reynolds and McElhenney, Birmingham haveTom Brady(albeit it in a far smaller profile). The English lower leagues have never been so glamorous, what with Wrexham playersappearing in Marvel moviesand David Beckham attending matches.
And yet both clubs’ ownership have defied the cynics. Birmingham andWrexhamhave spent big – really big in the case of the former, who splurged £25m on transfers last summer – but something meaningful is happening at the Racecourse Ground and St Andrew’s. Two historic clubs have been revitalised.
Here’s a five-step plan for other North American owners on how to run a British club successfully.
Reynolds and McElhenney deliberately bought a club that couldn’t sink much lower. That was their plan from the start and explains why they also looked at Hartlepool United, similarly down on their luck in the National League, before buying Wrexham in November 2020. Brady and Tom Wagner did something similar by buyingBirmingham Cityin May 2023 after years of financial uncertainty.
Birmingham and Wrexham both had large, passionate fanbases desperate to be re-energised. On size and stature alone, both should have been more successful. The upside was clear for the new owners who both see the Premier League as a realistic target. If the likes of Bournemouth and Brentford can do it, why not these two? Promotion to theChampionshipputs them just one step away.
“It’s been hard to buy into the North American optimism, but they have gradually eroded the generational pessimism ingrained in cynical Wrexham fans, who have rightfully been cautious given how the club so nearly went out of business,” says Rich Fay of the RobRyanRed podcast. “This Wrexham team is a winning machine.”
Wrexham impressed on the field as they surged to League Two promotion last season, but that’s not why over 80,000 fans came to watch Phil Parkinson’s team in Santa Barbara, Santa Clara and Vancouver last summer. They came to see Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer and all the other characters from soccer’s most popular reality TV show.
Anyone who has watched Welcome to Wrexham knows it’s a series that’s only so much about the actual soccer. It’s actually about the lifelong fan who owns the pub next door. And the club’s powerchair team. And the town which has struggled in the post-industrial era. Wales itself is a character.
A Birmingham City documentary series is also coming. That the new Amazon show is to be directed by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight suggests Blues will follow the formula established by Wrexham in telling a story beyond soccer. Star players used to be enough for a club to shift some jerseys around the world. That was before Welcome to Wrexham changed everything. It might not be a fairytale, but Wrexham in particular has been a hugely compelling story to tell.
Less than a year after arriving, Birmingham City’s new owners bought 48 acres of land for a new stadium. It was a statement of intent that highlighted Wagner’s ambition with the ‘Sports Quarter’ development on an under-utilised site near the city centre estimated to cost £2-3bn ($2.6-$4m). Money has also been spent to renovate St Andrew’s and the training ground.
Fans see Wagner as an honorary Brummie. Outsiders might consider his team talks and fist pumping cringey, but Birmingham fans see someone whose passion for the club can’t be questioned. “On away days, Tom regularly puts his credit card behind the bar for fans to have a beer,” said Chris Goulding of the We Are Birmingham podcast and blog.
Wrexham have their own stadium plans. The club hopes to start construction of a new 5,500-capacity Kop stand soon, recently unveiling an updated design inspired by Wrexham’s red brick traditions. This is a town nicknamed ‘Terracottapolis,’ after all. It’s also a town where nearly 8,000 children live in poverty, something the recently revamped Wrexham AFC Foundation wants to tackle.
Parkinson’s conservative style of play has drawn criticism even as his team have risen through the divisions, but his approach has given Wrexham a clear framework to build around. Only Birmingham have conceded fewer league goals than The Red Dragons this season while goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo has kept 18 clean sheets, second inLeague Onebehind … Birmingham’s Ryan Allsop.
The pragmatism of Parkinson-ball might be even more valuable in the Championship when Wrexham will regularly face opponents with better players and bigger budgets. While other nouveau riche clubs might have grown restless and changed managers, Wrexham stayed consistent with Parkinson who doesn’t always get the credit he deserves. “I feel the entire process has distracted from what a good job Phil Parkinson has done,” says Fay.
Chris Davies has similarly given his team an identifiable playing style. Under Brendan Rodgers and Ange Postecoglou’s former assistant, Blues have thrived as an aggressive possession-oriented side capable of magic in the attacking third. Wayne Rooney’s appointment last season was a misstep, but Birmingham quickly corrected that mistake.
Season by season, Wrexham have shown a willingness to change. Mullin and Palmer were the stars of the seasons in the National League and League Two. This time around, the pair have been part of the attacking rotation along with Steven Fletcher and Jay Rodriguez, two forwards with genuine pedigree at a high level.
Okonkwo came in from Arsenal to replace Mark Howard as Wrexham’s No 1. Forward Sam Smith arrived from Reading for a club-record fee. Parkinson also changed formation midway through the campaign, moving away from the dual striker system that had worked so well for him until that point.
“With two up front, it was making us … I won’t say predictable, but we needed to adapt, particularly in possession,” said Parkinson. A home defeat to Stevenage in late January prompted a rethink and was the catalyst for a run that saw Wrexham lose just two out of 17 games to clinch promotion.
Birmingham’s evolution has been far less gradual, with the signing of 17 new players last summer giving Davies the talent he needed to point the club in the right direction. Jay Stansfield was the most expensive addition, costing a league-record £15m. However, the 22-year-old justified such an eye-watering fee by netting 19 goals in 34 league appearances.
Backed by Knighthead, a New York investment fund valued at close to $10bn, Birmingham will spend more. “With these owners I think the Premier League is just their first target,” says Goulding.
Wrexham, on the other hand, might be more like a dog catching a car now that they are up to the Championship. This could be why New York’s Allyn family,whose wealth dwarfs that of Reynolds and McElhenney, joined as board members last autumn. Further evolution will be required, as will more money. Reynolds only has so much Mint Mobile cash to plough in.