Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds may be left scratching their head after what has been a frustrating January transfer window.
Since taking over the club in 2021, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds have largely taken a back seat when it comes to the footballing side of things.
Given their lack of knowledge and experience in the game, it was a wise move from the Americans and Wrexham have benefited greatly.
Shaun Harvey has largely headed things up behind the scenes, while Phil Parkinson, of course, has taken care of things on the pitch and in the transfer market since his arrival as a replacement for Dean Keates.
Speaking in December, Parkinson revealed the role Reynolds and McElhenney play in Wrexham’s transfer strategy.
He said: “We’ve had a chat and we’ve got another one about that [transfer window]. Rob and Ryan only get involved when we’re closing in on somebody.”
In turn, while leaving the deals up to Parkinson does make sense, Rob and Ryan must be confused about the club’s, or rather the manager’s, insistence on trying to get one signing done in the winter window.
Phil Parkinson stance on Michael Smith could cost Wrexham
Wrexham had a largely successful summer transfer window yet they came up short in their search for a striker.
Michael Smith was Parkinson’s main transfer target in 2024 but he ended up staying put at Sheffield Wednesday.
After failing to land him in the summer, Wrexham tried to sign Smith once more this month but a deal did not come to pass, yet again.
Sam Smith is now expected to join the Red Dragons from Reading in a club-record deal but he was clearly a backup option, much like Modou Faal was when he joined on deadline day in August after Wrexham didn’t land their main target.
Sam Smith should be a good addition to the club, but Wrexham have already wasted basically all of the 2025 winter window on another player and their promotion hopes have been dented as a result.
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Wrexham promotion hopes dented by Phil Parkinson
It’s obvious Parkinson is a big fan of Michael Smith but why he continues to focus all his efforts on the Owls forward is pretty baffling.
Instead of waiting for Wednesday, a famously difficult club to negotiate with, Wrexham should have had another number nine through the door weeks ago.
That didn’t happen, of course, and the Welsh outfit instead endured a frustrating month that saw them drop points in three games.
A deal for Sam Smith is unlikely to be done in time for the meeting with Crawley Town on Saturday either and if Wrexham’s current strikers underperform in that match, which seems likely, Parkinson will have a lot to answer for.
A six-point gap is already open between his side and second place but that may not have been the case had he dropped his interest in Michael Smith and moved onto other centre-forward targets much sooner.