Wrexham AFC

Game changer

Robert H. Griffiths’ family have been supporting Wrexham AFC for nigh on 100 years. As the club enters an exciting new era, he looks back on its fascinating history…

The glory years for Wrexham Association Football Club –

founded in 1864, the third oldest professional football club in the

world – have until very recently appeared to have gone forever, never to return. The halcyon days of exciting excursions into

European cup competitions playing the likes of F.C. Porto, A.S.

Roma, and even Manchester United lie in the past, remembered only by ‘those of a certain age’. Then there were the great F.A.

Cup runs of yesteryear, the stand-out result being the thirdround beating 2-1 of the mighty Arsenal at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, on 4th January 1992. Arsenal the previous

season had easily won the old First Division. Wrexham stunned

the football world with goals from Mochdre born Mickey Thomas, and Wrexham born Steve Watkin, in front of a crowd of

13,343. Whenever ‘giant killing’ F.A Cup victories are shown this

Wrexham one is very much to the fore. The Racecourse Ground, Wrexham (In Welsh: Y Cae Ras) is the oldest football stadium

in the world still hosting international football matches, and is officially recognised as such by Guinness World Records. But

sadly, gone are the days of ‘competitive matches’ taking place at the Racecourse against the likes of England, Scotland, Denmark, Switzerland and Austria.

The highest ever attendance at the iconic Racecourse was the 34,445 who witnessed the 4th Round F.A. Cup tie on 26th

January 1957, Wrexham versus the gifted ‘Busby Babes’ of

Manchester United. Tragically, just over one year later, on 6th February 1958 in the Munich Air Disaster, seven of those

‘Busby Babes’ who had graced the Racecourse turf a year earlier in their 5-0 victory were dead, including Duncan Edwards, regarded as one of the very finest players to put

on an England shirt. Incidentally, the second highest ever attendance was against ‘the old enemy’ Chester City, when 29,261 turned up on Boxing Day 1936, and watched Wrexham At the start of the 21st Century Wrexham AFC was beset

with financial problems, emerging from administration in

May 2006, and supporters had to fight-off some unwelcome

attempts to own the club primarily to sell off the Racecourse for property development.

Disaster on the pitch struck Wrexham AFC at the end of

Season 2007/2008 when they were relegated from the

English Football League into non-league football, these days

known as the National League – the ignominy of it! Here Wrexham AFC have languished for 13 painful seasons. They

almost got to return to the EFL in Season 2012/13, but lost the

play-off final against Newport County, much to the lingering

bitter disappointment of my son Barry who was at Wembley that day.

Wales. They could have gone down the path taken by David Beckham of co-founding a brand-new football club, as he has done with the United States’ Major Soccer League club of Inter Miami. But to Rob and Ryan the heritage aspect has great appeal. Under their co-ownership for this season of 2021/22

Wrexham have a new manager in Phil Parkinson, who has

successfully managed at a higher level, plus the marquee

signings of Paul Mullin and Aaron Hayden. In Paul Mullin they have signed a genuine goal scorer who netted 32 goals

last season for League Two runners-up Cambridge United. Mullin’s total is a record for League Two, and he was voted Player of the Season for League Two.

Then, out of the blue during Summer 2020 it was mooted that two ‘Hollywood types’ were keen on purchasing the club, promising decent monetary backing, a rare commodity in the fifth tier in which Wrexham AFC now play. It transpired that

Philadelphia born Rob McElhenney, the writer, producer and actor of the hit American sitcom series, ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ was one of the prospective purchasers. ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ which also stars Danny DeVito, has now run for fourteen seasons, with a total of 154 episodes. The other ‘Hollywood type’ was Vancouver born Ryan Reynolds, a genuine Hollywood ‘A List’ actor, who is perhaps best known for playing the Marvel Comics’ wisecracking, sardonic superhero Wade Wilson in the mega-successful ‘Deadpool’ and ‘Deadpool 2’ films, with a third of this franchise,

‘Deadpool 3’ in the pipeline.

On 16 November 2020, after receiving 98.6% backing of the

members of the Wrexham Supporters Trust, Rob and Ryan

through their newly formed RR McReynolds Company LLC took over ownership of Wrexham AFC.

Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds have enthusiastically bought into the rich history of Wrexham Football Club,

the town of Wrexham, and our wonderful region of North Fleur Robinson on 1 June 2021, a passionate football fan,

became Wrexham AFC’s new chief executive officer. She has

expressed her commitment to place the club at the centre of

the community, fully in keeping with the ‘Mission Statement’ promises of owners Rob and Ryan. Wrexham AFC have had a

successful Women’s team since 2018, and this season they will compete in the new F.A.W. Women’s League structure.

A two season ‘access-all-areas’ documentary series on the club entitled ‘Welcome To Wrexham’ is being produced by

award-winning Boardwalk Pictures, Santa Monica, California, for the FX Network.

A new exciting chapter has opened for Wrexham AFC, and

those of us who support the club await Season 2021/22

with a renewed sense of hope, and also with quite high

expectations! n

Robert H. Griffiths was ‘born and bred’ in Wrexham, and is a best-selling author, military historian and genealogist who now lives in Denbigh

Spook Wood

Magical shows Spellbinding activities 23rd

31st October

Super crafts Forest monster hunt