Wrexham continue to make great progress under Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds with the Premier League the ultimate goal.
Wrexham head into a huge clash on Thursday night with Birmingham City arriving at the STōK Cae Ras.
Imagine being told just a few years ago that Wrexham would be hosting Birmingham in a promotion clash with Championship football on the line.
That would have sounded bonkers, but even more so if Hollywood owners were involved in that scenario.
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds purchased Wrexham in 2021, paying just £2million for the club.
Now one of the most talked-about clubs in the game, Wrexham have made incredible progress – and there may be more to come.
Ryan Reynolds on Premier League dreams with Wrexham
Wrexham have achieved back-to-back promotions under Phil Parkinson and a third in a row is not out of the question.
Sitting third in the League One table, Wrexham have genuine aspirations of playing Championship football next season.
That would be an astonishing achievement and Wrexham would then be just one promotion away from the Premier League.
That is still a huge challenge given the money being spent in the Championship, but one dream season could make it happen.
Reynolds has now spoken to Men In Blazers about his dreams for Wrexham and where he sees the club being in 10 years.
Reynolds admitted that the ultimate dream right now is to eventually become a Premier League club.
However, Reynolds admitted that he doesn’t want to change too much about Wrexham and wants to keep the ‘underdog nature’ around the club and the city.
McElhenney’s Premier League dream has rubbed off on Reynolds, believing that Wrexham can ‘kind of see’ the top flight right now.
“I mean, 10 years from now… we would be morons to not want to see this club in the Premier League but to also be unique in that everything about the place has stayed true to what it originally was – I mean, that’s kind of the perfect scenario,” said Reynolds.
“It should be unexpected and kind of a wild adventure and ride. If it was all predictable and we knew exactly what was going to happen, boy, this would be miserable I think.
“You can’t understand happiness and joy and elation unless you understand what it feels like to fail and to be miserable and, thankfully, this sport offers all of those emotions inside each and every minute of a match, so you get to kind of go on that ride.
“So, 10 years, I hope Wrexham is Wrexham and I hope the change that has taken place is for the better and that people are proud of it, and that the change doesn’t feel like it was too big, too soon because there’s an underdog nature to the town.
“I remember Rob early on, he was like ‘of course we want to go to the Premier League’, and it eventually got into my cells… hell yes we want that, why wouldn’t we want that? Who wouldn’t want that? And we can kind of see it, you know?” he added.
Ryan Reynolds on Humphrey Ker ideas
Aiming for the Premier League is great and Reynolds is right; why not dream?
Troy Deeney claims Wrexham will never be in the Premier League but many people would have said that about so many clubs.
Bournemouth, Brentford and Brighton and Hove Albion are now Premier League regulars and we saw Luton Town in the top flight just last season.
Wrexham may well go on that journey and reach the summit but there are some major improvements needed off the pitch.
Moving from the National League to League One so quickly means Wrexham’s infrastructure needs to be improved; the training ground, the academy, the stadium, the recruitment team.
Humphrey Ker suggested consolidation for Wrexham; settling in League One for a while, building up the rest of the club and then going again.
Wrexham may well be a Championship club next season though, with now-community director Ker possibly feeling that things could move a little too quickly.
Reynolds noted that he would love to see Ker’s points come to fruition ‘sooner rather than later’.
Reynolds placed a focus on the STōK Cae Ras, admitting that he loves the intimacy and wants to keep more demand than supply at Wrexham.
The Deadpool star doesn’t want Wrexham to become too big, noting that he and McElhenney are adamant about keeping that intimate feel.
“I would like to see some of those things that Humphrey discussed happen sooner rather than later – certainly before I pass away,” said Reynolds.
“It’s sustainability. I don’t mean to be a broken record but it’s trying to always make sure that there’s just maybe a skosh less supply than there is demand.
“We always want to to feel intimate because, again, that’s what we love about it. The thing that I want to hold on to, selfishly – and I think Rob does too, and I hope Humphrey does too, I don’t know what the hell he’s talking about… I’m joking – it’s that we love the intimacy,” he added.
The STōK Cae Ras holds around 13,000 right now but McElhenney and Reynolds previously suggested a 55,000-seater stadium.
That would, frankly, be a little ridiculous and keeping that close feel at the STōK Cae Ras would be much better than building an enormous stadium which may not be full every week.
The demise of Darlington springs to mind here and we are much more encouraged hearing this stance from Reynolds.