Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds have been the faces of Wrexham’s rise, but they have received fantastic support along the way.
Wrexham have already achieved one of Rob Mac’s early targets in rapid fashion.
Mac wanted to see Wrexham in the Championship within five years of his takeover alongside Ryan Reynolds.
Wrexham needed just four years to reach the second tier, and are now just one promotion away from the Premier League.
That next step will be a big one, but advisors around Mac and Reynolds should keep Wrexham on the right path.
Les Reed’s crucial role in Wrexham rise
There are many crucial people around the Hollywood duo, and we can’t overlook Humphrey Ker.
Ker was the man who told Mac to watch ‘Sunderland ’Til I Die’ and then helped him pick out Wrexham as a club to purchase.
There are two other key figures around Mac and Reynolds, and both offer extensive experience in football.
Former EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey now serves as a director at the STōK Cae Ras, and we see him in a prominent role on ‘Welcome to Wrexham’.
Les Reed isn’t in the spotlight quite as much, but he still serves as a key part of Wrexham’s structure.
Reed joined the Wrexham board as an advisor to Mac and Reynolds in 2021, just a couple of months after the Hollywood takeover was rubber-stamped.
Formerly the technical director of the Football Association, Reed was quickly snapped up to offer strategic advice at Wrexham.
Speaking to The Independent in August, Reed highlighted how Shaun Harvey lured him to Wrexham and put him straight to work.
“It was the strangest conversation I’ve ever had in terms of getting a job and starting overnight,” said Reed
“I got a call from Shaun Harvey, who said, ‘They want you to look after the business and the football strategy.’ I’d worked with Shaun before when he was the CEO at the EFL, so I said, ‘Why not?’
“There was one game left in the season after the completion of the buyout, away at Dagenham, and then we had 10 days to come up with the released and retained list of players. He asked, ‘Can you get to the game and work on the list?’ I’d never seen Wrexham play in the current era, and I didn’t know any of their players … I went to the game undercover, and I wasn’t impressed,” he added.
Mac and Reynolds have always trusted the experienced football decision-makers at the club, and Reed’s role is a significant one.
Reed identified Phil Parkinson as Wrexham’s top managerial target in 2021, a decision which put the club on an incredible path to success.
Parkinson has orchestrated Wrexham’s rise to the Championship, and Reed’s move to bring him in has proven to be an absolute masterstroke.
Reed may not be a big Hollywood name, and he may not be in front of the ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ cameras, but he has certainly been one of the unsung heroes from Wrexham’s rise.
Harvey and Reed have been there, seen it all and done it all in football, and their experience has been absolutely vital alongside Mac and Reynolds.
Without that know-how, Wrexham’s project would not have accelerated at such a rapid pace, and both Harvey and Reed deserve just as much praise as the Hollywood duo.
Les Reed still holds unwanted Premier League record
Reed has been a key man on Wrexham’s journey, but he still holds an unwanted Premier League record.
Charlton Athletic sacked Iain Dowie in 2006 and turned to assistant manager Reed as his replacement.
Reed was given just eight games in charge, winning just once and losing six times as Charlton boss.
Charlton sacked Reed after just 40 days in the hot seat, meaning he holds the record for the shortest managerial reign in Premier League history.
Rene Meulensteen is in second place on 75 days at Fulham, with Frank de Boer’s reign at Crystal Palace coming in on 77 days.
Reed’s record hasn’t come close to being broken, though the hire-and-fire nature of modern football means it could be taken in the near future.
Almost 20 years on since Reed’s Charlton exit, he is now serving as a key cog in the Wrexham machine – and he will hope to make a Premier League return alongside Mac and Reynolds one day soon.
We would love to see success at Wrexham become Reed’s lasting legacy rather than his spell at Charlton, and you can certainly argue that his four excellent years at Wrexham should already outweigh his 40 days at The Valley.