Wrexham have come a long way in the Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds era and have dreams of reaching the Premier League.
Wrexham fans may still be pinching themselves right now.
Second place in the League One table and with Hollywood owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds running the club, Wrexham are living the dream.
Phil Parkinson has the Premier League in his sights with Wrexham currently going strong in the League One table.
Ollie Rathbone believes that many players now want to join Wrexham but that hasn’t always been the case.
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Ex-Premier League striker on Wrexham snub
Back in the Brian Flynn days, Wrexham fans were adoring the likes of Neil Roberts, Karl Connolly and Kevin Russell.
The 1997-98 season saw Wrexham finish seventh in the old Second Division – now League One.
Wrexham narrowly missed out on a playoff spot, falling just short of Bristol Rovers and Fulham in the top six.
Even one more Wrexham win that season would have secured third place, so there were very fine margins that season.
Former striker Jon Macken has now told PNE Pod that he met with Brian Flynn over a move to Wrexham in the summer of 1997.
As quoted by the Lancashire Evening Post, Macken noted that he had offers from Wrexham and Bradford City as he decided to leave Manchester United.
Macken chose to join Preston North End instead, who finished below Wrexham in the 1997-98 season but finished in the playoffs the year after and then won the Second Division title in 2000.
“There were a couple of offers. I went and met Brian Flynn from Wrexham,” said Macken.
“I got a phone call from Bradford at the time, Paul Jewell it was. I just thought, when I got the opportunity – Colin Murdock had just signed as well – I was going to take it. We got things done and I was more than happy. The rest is history – I signed for Preston and that was it,” he added.
Jon Macken’s career analysed
Macken only scored six times in his debut season for PNE and eight in his second season, ironically scoring in a 5-0 thrashing of Wrexham at the STōK Cae Ras in 1999.
Macken eventually developed into a goal machine, smashing 22 league goals in the 1999-2000 season and another 19 a year later.
Manchester City came calling in 2002, paying £5million to sign Macken from North End – as noted by The Independent.
Flynn clearly saw potential in Macken and as he was making a multi-million pound move to City, Wrexham were heading for relegation.
Macken could have been a big difference maker in those years but it just wasn’t to be for Wrexham.
Macken turned out in the Premier League for City before heading back into the second tier with Crystal Palace, Ipswich Town, Derby County and Barnsley.
Now managing non-league side Stalybridge Celtic, Macken was certainly a hot property at PNE and he is still loved by North End fans to this day with Wrexham missing out on a potentially big signing some 17 years ago.