Wrexham and Norwich City are set to face off in the Championship this Saturday, with the Red Dragons looking to kickstart their campaign, as they have only collected four points in their opening five games.
To achieve this, they will have to secure their first win in the league ever against the Canaries and their first victory over Norwich in 55 years.
While the history and stats seem to be indicating a victory for Norwich, Wrexham will not simply go to make up the numbers, and this demonstrates the new-look Red Dragons under Phil Parkinson.
Wrexham have been on a long journey since Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac assumed ownership of the club, and this has seen the club and their fans injected with a new belief that they can compete with anyone.
Steve Weaver believes Wrexham have undergone an ‘incredible’ transformation for local fans.
Former Norwich City academy manager Steve Weaver spent over 20 years working with Wrexham behind the scenes in several roles.
Weaver was at the club for the tough years in the lower divisions of the National League and still lives in North Wales and believes the new ownership has been incredible for Wrexham.
Speaking to Pink Un, he said: “The rise of the club, it’s extraordinary, really.
“In terms of what the owners have done and what they’ve been able to do commercially, and the revenue that they’ve generated during that time has just given them a real platform to go and get to the level they’re at now.
“Wrexham’s probably like a lot of smaller lower league clubs for a long time, whereas you have a hardcore fan base of around about 4,000, and up until the stand went down in the summer, they’ve been playing in front of 12 and a half.
“To their credit, they’ve taken maybe some of the people I know who were going to Liverpool and Man United but have now started to go to Wrexham because they can go and have a breakfast somewhere, go and meet their mates at lunchtime for a few pints, get to the game and then sort of be back in their local by six o’clock.”
Steve Weaver explains why Wrexham are struggling in the Championship this campaign
The former Wrexham assistant manager has given an insight as to why the Red Dragons may be struggling in the Championship this campaign.
That is despite the club spending £33 million in the transfer window this summer.
He said: “They’re at a level now where everyone has money and is owned by a billionaire – whether they can spend it or not. I feel a little bit for Wrexham because I think, probably out of most of the clubs, they’ve done the most trading.
“I’ve seen a couple of quotes from Phil as well, just to say, ‘listen, it’s been difficult because of the turnover’. They’ve probably lost some players from the dressing room who have gone to different clubs now, who’ve served them brilliantly. I don’t know the dressing room personally, but you just get the sense that they were big characters in that dressing room.
“They’re probably just finding their feet. But I think once they get established, they’ve got enough good players that would expect to be at the top end of the league to do well. They’re just going through that spell at the moment, really, where it can happen.
“No disrespect, the level of expectation, Wrexham are expected, same as Birmingham, to challenge or certainly be comfortable in the league.”