sport news Rob McElhenney hails the latest chapter in Wrexham's fairytale after 4-3 FA Cup ... trends now
For once, Ryan Reynolds had no words. ‘I’m completely and totally speechless. What a club. What a town. What a win,’ he tweeted in the aftermath of a triumph which restored Wrexham’s giantkilling touch.
‘Wow. Just… wow,’ was Rob McElhenney’s more succinct take. This strand of the club’s rich history is certainly not lost on the Hollywood co-owners.
Footage of young match-winner Steve Watkin being shouldered from the field after what will always be known as the Mickey Thomas match, against Arsenal in the 1992 third round, features in the opening credits of their hit Welcome to Wrexham documentary.
Rob McElhenney was taken aback by his side's win over Coventry, tweeting 'Wow. Just... wow'
Wrexham beat Championship side Coventry City 4-3 to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup
That tie was part of a highlights reel consisting of five games from their Racecourse ground, sent to the pair before their takeover.
But the old competition takes the club, its place and its people to places even beyond the imagination of Reynolds and co-chairman McElhenney, whose vision for football club ownership has been extraordinary.
The 4,500 Wrexham fans who out-sang and outnumbered the locals as rain swept across the stadium before kick-off referenced McElhenney, who features in the lyrics of an anthem about the rescue of the club and their ‘famous old stadium crumbling down’.
But it was broadly the same repertoire that has been sung right through the difficult years, during which the songs grew a little fainter. The anthems feature Wales, promotion and fluffy sheep — the latter sung ironically, not appreciatively.
It has taken McElhenney and Reynolds to bring back the volume, of course. The £2million they have invested allowed the team to go head-to-head with a Coventry side who are standing precisely where Wrexham were 20 years ago — wondering who their next owner will be and whether they will have a home next season.
In some ways, this felt like Championship v League One, given that two of the biggest threats in Wrexham’s starting line-up — Paul Mullin and Elliot Lee — arrived from that level and Ollie Palmer, signed from AFC
