Wrexham’s recruitment over the last few years has been pretty amazing.
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds took control of Wrexham in 2021 from the club’s Supporters’ trust.
McElhenney was inspired to buy Wrexham thanks to Sunderland, but it seemed clear and still does when watching the documentary, that the American owners don’t know too much about football.
However, to the actor’s credit, Rob and Ryan have largely left the footballing side of things to people actually in the know.
This has allowed the Red Dragons to thrive over the last three and a half years, climbing up two divisions with a third promotion now very much on the cards in 2024/25.
While the money brought into the club after the Hollywood investment has helped, no amount of cash will do anything if it’s not spent properly.
But, barring the odd flop here and there, Wrexham’s recruitment has been superb for several years now.
Ben Foster on Wrexham recruitment
Wrexham signed nine players during the 2024 summer transfer window, the majority of which are now excelling in Wales.
Just last week, meanwhile, the Red Dragons brought Brad Foster to the club to ease their goalkeeper injury crisis.
And that has already proven to be an excellent bit of business, with Wrexham fans praising Foster for his display in the 1-0 win over Crewe on December 10th.
Now, speaking to sports presenter Will Brazier, Ben Foster has shared an insight into why the club are so good at recruiting players, naming Phil Parkinson as a key factor and stating he is part of the reason the club are not ‘haemorrhaging cash’.
He said: “When you’ve got two massive A-list Hollywood stars running the football club, money could become a massive problem, and you could be haemorrhaging cash all over the place, but he [Parkinson] makes sure it doesn’t happen.
“He’s very calm, very considered and he finds out about every single player that he’s signing. He makes sure that they’re a really good human being, first and foremost, and there’s not many football clubs that do that.
“The manager nowadays is a coach, and they just get the players that the big dogs have brought in, and they have to work with them. But Phil Parkinson still maintains that he is the guy that brings every single player in.”
What Ben Foster said about Wrexham owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds
Foster joined Wrexham on a free transfer in March 2023, helping the club secure promotion from the National League.
He then retired and left Wales at the beginning of the 2023/4 season but has first-hand experience with the Wrexham owners.
And in the same interview, the former goalkeeper gave his verdict on what Reynolds and McElhenney are like.
Foster said: “It’s lovely because they’re so sound. It’s exactly what you see in the documentary. I think I’d have been a little bit disappointed if, when I got to meet them, they were completely different, or they were whoppers. But they’re not, they’re just like normal people.
“You can see Rob is very clever, and he’s very driven. Ryan is just so laid back and calm, and it’s almost like he gets embarrassed by the fame. He doesn’t really like the spotlight so much.
“They’re such nice people, and they really care about the club. They really care about the community, and it wouldn’t surprise me if you see them in the Premier League in five or six years’ time.”