Wrexham could land another promotion under Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds as the club’s incredible journey continues.
Wrexham now have just eight games left, with the League One season entering its final stretch.
Phil Parkinson watched on as Wrexham beat Stockport County 1-0 on Saturday afternoon, securing another vital victory.
Wrexham occupy second place in the League One table, three points ahead of Wycombe Wanderers.
Wycombe hold a game in hand, but the Chairboys have a much trickier fixture list on paper.
Parkinson should feel confident of another promotion, which would only cause more joy around Wrexham – but maybe some split opinions elsewhere.
Gary Neville’s past verdict on Wrexham takeover
The Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds experience has been incredible for Wrexham fans.
After so many years of being stuck in the National League, Wrexham may be just a handful of games away from the Championship.
This meteoric rise has been backed by the Hollywood duo, but that has only annoyed many other fanbases.
It’s easy for rival fans to hope for Wrexham’s downfall, pointing to McElhenney and Reynolds providing funding that many other clubs can’t match.
The term ‘buying success’ is often thrown at Wrexham, but money doesn’t always guarantee progress; just look at Manchester United.
Gary Neville knows that all too well and spoke to The Guardian about Wrexham’s rise back in 2023.
Wrexham had just joined Neville’s Salford City in League Two at that point, but the United legend showed no ill will towards McElhenney and Reynolds.
Neville suggested that Wrexham – alongside Luton Town and Stockport County – were showing the ‘special’ side of football.
Neville rallied strongly against the European Super League and believes that the dream of rising from the lower leagues to the Premier League must be protected.
Wrexham could take another step towards that ultimate goal and Neville seemingly has absolutely no qualms with McElhenney and Reynolds spending to try and get there.
“The dream of the pyramid in English football is that you can rise from the lower tiers and play in the Premier League,” said Neville.
“Once we lose that, we lose everything. What clubs like Luton, Wrexham and Stockport have done is what makes football special. We’re not franchise football. The Super League was an attack on those principles and it’ll never happen again,” he added.
Salford City are stalling as Wrexham rise
Parallels have been drawn between Wrexham and Salford City over the years.
Whereas Wrexham have Hollywood stars driving the club forward, Salford had Manchester United’s ‘Class of 92’.
Salford were on an incredible rise from the Northern Premier League Division One North to League Two, racking up four promotions in five seasons between 2014-15 and 2018-19.
The progress has been halted, though; this is Salford’s sixth consecutive season in League Two, finishing in the play-off places just once.
Neville has taken more of a back seat recently, but it’s unclear how Salford can take that next step.
Paul Scholes pointed to Wrexham as a club Salford simply couldn’t compete with in League Two, highlighting that there is ‘a lot of money floating about’ at that level.
Neville’s dream is no doubt to reach the Premier League too, but Salford City are yet to find the magic formula.
Many expected Wrexham to settle in League One just as Salford have in League Two, but another promotion may be on the cards to keep the journey moving forward at pace.