Wrexham continue to progress under Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds but have secured vital additional investment in recent weeks.
Wrexham continued a strong start to life in League One by beating Mansfield Town 1-0 on Saturday afternoon.
Ryan Barnett scored the only goal of the game as Wrexham produced a vital victory.
Rob McElhenney celebrated a ‘tough’ Wrexham victory as Phil Parkinson bounced back from losing 1-0 to Harrogate Town in the FA Cup.
Wrexham sit third in League One with dreams of reaching the Championship this term; after all, Ryan Reynolds has admitted wanting another promotion this term.
That may be a rather lofty goal but Wrexham have started well – and now have new investment arriving to aid the journey.
Darragh MacAnthony on Wrexham investment
Wrexham have been able to outspend most clubs on the journey from National League to League One.
In fact, few League One clubs could have realistically rivalled Wrexham for signings like Arthur Okonkwo and George Dobson.
Wrexham have now added new investment though as the McElhenney and Reynolds project continues to advance.
Wrexham have confirmed investment from the Allyn family, a New York-based family who have built their wealth through medical devices.
It’s unclear just what stake the Allyn family have purchased but TBR’s Head of Football Finance and Governance Content Adam Williams has told The Wrexham Insider that the Allyn family may have taken a ‘significant minority stake’ in Wrexham.
Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony has now offered his verdict whilst speaking on his podcast, The Hard Truth.
MacAnthony believes that this is a ‘sensible move’ for Wrexham and believes that this can only help McElhenney and Reynolds in terms of the financial burden.
MacAnthony added that this may be a case of McElhenney and Reynolds planning for life in the Championship, highlighting that Wrexham will need to compete against some ‘big hitters’ in the second tier.
“Fair play to them. At the end of the day… look, they probably realise the Championship is at a different level to League One when they finally get there,” said MacAnthony.
“We always said this, we always said that they’ll get to the Champ. The Champ is the test because you got some big hitters, you’ve got some wealthy clubs there. Your seven and eight grand a week ain’t going to get you out of the Champ. Yes, Luton pulled off a miracle to do it, but it doesn’t always happen so maybe they’re just gearing up for that, preparing for that.
“They have to build a new stand, they’ve got a lot of things they’ve got to spend money on. It’s sensible, it’s a sensible move and the more good people you can put around you with money, the better,” he added.
Phil Parkinson has backed Wrexham investors
McElhenney and Reynolds have already praised Wrexham’s new investors and their excitement is matched by Phil Parkinson.
Parkinson has hailed the Allyn family having already spoken to them after their investment in Wrexham.
Parkinson found a ‘complete buy-in’ from Eric and Kaleen Allyn, branding them ‘great people’ and seeing similarities to McElhenney and Reynolds in terms of their interest in the Wrexham team and the community as a whole.
“I’ve met Eric and his daughter Kaleen, and they’re just great people. A fantastic fit for the club,” said Parkinson. “They came down to the training ground last week and we had a great chat with them. They’re so enthusiastic about coming on this journey with the club and the impact they can hopefully make.
“We talked about the club, the team, the area in general and all the things they’re interested in. Like Rob and Ryan, they’ve got a great interest in not just the team on a Saturday afternoon but also the area and the impact on the area.
“Anyone in and around Wrexham can see that what Rob and Ryan set out to do was build a football club that could have a knock-on effect for the whole area, and Eric and Kaleen have got a complete buy-in with that,” he added.
Whether the Allyn family help with the January transfer window is unclear, but their impact should be felt in due time – possibly in the Championship if Wrexham continue to shine in League One.