Rob McElhenney made an exciting Jack Marriott prediction in 2024 that seemed pretty far-fetched at the time.
Wrexham began the 2024/25 season on the back foot, missing record goalscorer Paul Mullin due to a long-term injury.
In Mullin’s absence, Phil Parkinson opted for a striking partnership of long-time servant Ollie Palmer and Jack Marriott.
Marriott arrived at the Racecourse Ground on February 1st, 2024, from Fleetwood Town for an undisclosed fee.
The 30-year-old did not have a great first six months with Wrexham, making 17 League Two appearances but only managing to score one goal – against Forest Green on April 13th.
This season, however, we have seen a completely different side to the former Derby County ace.
Rob McElhenney made Jack Marriott prediction that was spot-on
Wrexham kicked off their 2024/25 campaign at home to Wycombe Wanders on August 10th, securing a 3-2 win.
Marriott started the clash and scored a stunning goal as the Red Dragons picked up their first points of the season.
Following the game, Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney gave his verdict on Marriott and it’s proven to be so spot-on.
He said: “I was just really excited for Jack [Marriott].
“I just feel like he is going to shine.
“He was just looking for that goal that is going to give him the confidence to go out there and be the player that he is.
“It was beautiful. We don’t have any replay here so we had to run back in. We don’t have it up on TV so we had to look on our phones and find it.”
It was a bold prediction to make given Marriott had just one Wrexham goal to his name prior to facing Wycombe, but McElhenney was spot-on.
Jack Marriott can fix Wrexham striker woes
After netting against Wycombe, Marriott’s form continued to improve, scoring a further four goals in his next nine league appearances.
Unfortunately, the in-form striker then suffered a broken leg in October that kept him sidelined for three months.
Up until this week, the centre-forward was the Red Dragons’ top-scoring striker in the league, and judging by his form pre-injury, he will reclaim that spot in the very near future.
Wrexham fans were elated by Marriott’s return off the bench against Shrewsbury Town on January 16th – in part because of how bad their other number nines, except Steven Fletcher, have fared in 2024/25.