The Hollywood takeover, followed by a fairytale script.
It's been just over two years since Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney completed their unlikely takeover of Wrexham FC. Two global movie stars, a non-league club in North Wales, a £2 million fee and a subsequent DVD series on the saga. Had the narrative been presented to an actual film director, he would have lamented its obscurity and discarded the paper.
But here with are, with Wrexham on the brink of promotion to League Two, with their story suddenly captivating a nation. And their new American messiahs are doing anything but simply orchestrating things from afar. Animated at games, conversing with the community, and well on the way to delivering the promises made upon their purchase.
Mirror Football reviews the surreal story so far, and assesses five of the pledges....
Why did the Hollywood duo make a move for Wrexham?
Speaking of narratives, two have emerged as to why Reynolds and McElhenney, never previously involved in professional football, opted to delve into a remote part of Wales. And both are as random as they are romantic.
Reynolds has previously told The Athletic that the inspiration came from watching the 13th season of 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia', the ruthlessly-offensive comedy sitcom McElhenney created and stars in. It concluded with a dance sequence, the fruition of seven months of intense training, prompting him to message his fellow celebrity over a potential sports project.
British comedian and writer Humphrey Ker though, now a director fo the club, had an alternative explanation that centred around his lunch break habits. Intrigued? You may well be. He was a writer on Mythic Quest with McElhenney and told the BBC: "I'm laying claim to the fact (Rob's) interest in football derives from several years of teasing me for watching football during our lunch breaks at work. Until eventually, just by pure osmosis, I got him interested in the game to the degree that he decides to buy a football team."
Rule the cross-border rivalry
Wrexham and Chester City. It might not be the most high profile anglo-welsh rivalry in British football, but it is among the most volatile. And in their initial mission statement, Reynolds and Rob McElhenney quickly adhered themselves to the fans by listing 'Always beat Chester' three times, with an asterisk that added 'if we play ever Chester again'.
Indeed, with the English side currently a tier below in National League North, the promise is yet to be tested. But the mere wording suggested the pair had, if nothing else, done their homework on local derbies.
Renovate The Racecourse
Perhaps a more practical vow was to: "Explore the renovation of the Racecourse Ground and improve the venue for the club, for International matches and perhaps, the occasional Tom Jones gig."
Whilst Jones is yet to belt out Delilah there whilst excitable women throw frilly knickers in his direction, and Wales remain based at the Cardiff City Stadium, redevelopment on the ground is officially underway. Work on The Kop Stand, inactive since 2008, began in January.
The plan is to increase the stadium's capacity to 15,500 - and to finally use the stand that has been dormant since 2008. And after posting the image of the work beginning, McElhenney further displayed again showed respect towards the history, writing: "Goodbye old girl. You will not be forgotten. Hopefully that’s promotion at the end of your rainbow."
Flash new training facilities
After a 3-0 win over Yeovil Town on Tuesday night, Wrexham lie just one win from the football league. But their owners had already planned facilities befitting of the EFL, irrespective of their final league position this season.
Another promise read: "Invest in a permanent training facility that is worthy of an EFL club" - and sure enough, provisions are in place for a new state of the art training ground to be built. In the meantime, a new high performance gym has been erected at The Racecourse, small wonder given McElhenney's initial bemused reaction to a few stray dumbbells in the 'Welcome to Wrexham' series.
Rebuild but no rebrand
The landscape has changed immensely at the club, but don't expect the expansion to extend to US styled names. The 'Wrexham Red Sox' or 'North Wales Nomads' won't be appearing on fixtures anytime soon, following the statement that read: "Guarantee the club cannot be relocated, renamed or rebranded."
In fact, Reynolds, 46, has reportedly been granted copyright protection in America and the UK for a number of names related to the club. The labels 'Wrexham FC' and 'Wrexham FC 1864' have been officially trademarked in the relevant countries, with 'Wrexham Is The Name' also copyrighted in the US - meaning new clothing and accessories will soon be available to the fans. Not to mention new funds for the club.
In it for the long haul
People may have laughed when Reynolds and McElhenney spoke about turning the club into a global force, while also vowing to honour the heritage of the club and the community. And there was also a promise to "reward the faith" of long standing, not to mention long suffering, club supporters.
Underpinning such idealisms is the initial promise to "Ensure that when the day comes that we leave the Club, it will be in a better position than it is today." By next week, Wrexham should be back in the football league for the first time since 2008. And all the pointers suggest they, or the cult heroes at the helm, won't be exiting it anytime soon.
Reynolds and McElhenney are here to stay. And by the time they do decide that flights across the Atlantic are no longer viable, Wrexham might just be that coveted global force.
This film story, has many sequels to come.
