Humphrey Ker claims Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds were met with a ‘huge hurdle’ after buying Wrexham.
Wrexham are gearing up for a campaign in League One after achieving back-to-back promotions under Phil Parkinson.
The Reds cruised to a second-place finish in the end by winning all of their final five matches.
It was an exceptional campaign from the club, and once again highlighted the incredible job Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds have done in Wales.
Since their arrival in February 2021, the Hollywood superstars have dragged Wrexham from the doldrums of the National League to the third tier of English football.
Supporters love watching their team rise the leagues and while they’ve made owning a football club look easy, executive director Humphrey Ker explains there was a ‘huge hurdle’ at first.
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The ‘huge hurdle’ Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds faced at Wrexham
Wrexham were once a cash-strapped club owned by the fans, so there was a mixed response when they found out two Hollywood superstars wanted to buy the Welsh side.
Whilst many were shocked and in disbelief over this news, others were sceptical as McElhenney and Reynolds had never stepped into this industry previously.
Speaking on Dermot O’Leary’s show, Ker explains how some supporters were wary about two famous actors taking over their club, claiming it was a ‘huge hurdle’ to get over at first.
“That was a huge hurdle for us to get over I think; people were rightly wary,” Ker said. ‘Why do two famous people and this posh wally from down South want to come and mess with our football club’.
“But I think very quickly people realised how enthusiastic we were, how genuine we were. We were very clear from the start that we wanted to respect the traditions and the community of this place because that really was Rob and Ryan were interested in.
“Football was still quite new to them but what they recognised was that football clubs are these incredible buying agents for any community they’re in.”
An everlasting impact on Wrexham
Watching Wrexham skyrocket up the leagues is enough to see the outstanding role McElhenney and Reynolds have played in their rise.
But as depicted in the Welcome to Wrexham documentary, it isn’t just on-field success that has gripped the nation into following their story as their impact on the town has been everlasting.
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Wrexham is a community club; the core of their fanbase comes from a working-class background. This is something that is honoured by McElhenney and Reynolds, who regularly communicate with the supporters, either in person or on social media.
They’ve also shown their appetite for donating thousands of pounds to charities in the local area, which demonstrates how much they care about the town and its people.
The Welsh side have developed so much as a football club in the space of three years whilst the improvement of their community makes their rise up the pyramid all the more special.