Burkina Faso
Chinese Taipei
Nigeria
San Marino

Wrexham's owners have bought the National League, but clubs will miss them

talksport.com, 4 May 2023, 06:58
Wrexham will enter the EFL for the first time in 15 years with what is basically a League One team.

The Welsh side clinched the National League title, losing just three out of their 46 matches to end their exile from the Football League and secure a place in League Two for the 2023/24 season.

Advertisement

Since being bought by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in 2021, the pair have invested heavily in the team.

Failure to secure promotion to League Two would have cost the pair £1million.

Advertisement

As well as luring England international Ben Foster out of retirement, Wrexham have managed to prise plenty of players away from the EFL to the fifth-tier of English football.

Star striker Paul Mullin was nabbed from Cambridge after firing them into League One, while centre-back Ben Tozer was signed from Cheltenham after winning the League Two title.

And Ollie Palmer was brought in for a club-record £300,000 fee in January 2022 from AFC Wimbledon, who were two divisions above Wrexham at the time.

Plenty of other players have been happy to move down the pyramid to join Wrexham's exciting project, which has seen some fans hit out at the club's A-list owners over their spending power.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Though many other supporters have praised the duo for bringing attention to the National League.

Tottenham's former Head of Elite Identification and Development David Webb, who was most recently the manager of National League outfit York City, can see both sides of the argument.

Webb, who got the York job a day prior to their 1-1 draw against Wrexham in December, knows the Red Dragons boast more financial backing than any other side in the division.

Advertisement

But he conceded there will always be one club richer than the rest, while he stressed that teams will miss Wrexham's absence next season.

Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT.com, Webb was asked whether Reynolds and McElhenney have been good for the National League.

To which the 43-year-old said: "Listen, in terms of players, they've got the best players by a mile. They have League One players.

Advertisement

"I think a lot of clubs will miss them from a financial point of view because their travelling fans pack grounds out.

"So I think from an impact from that point of view, they've been good.

"Obviously, it's good PR. For me, it was, they're going to pump loads of money in.

Advertisement

"In each of the leagues, there is always an anomaly team that has got significantly more money than the rest.

"And in this league it just happened to be Wrexham."

Wrexham's ambitious owners have also set their sights on their next marquee signing - Real Madrid legend Gareth Bale.

But the ex-Spurs winger has insisted he is happy in retirement at the moment after hanging up his boots in January at the age of 33.

Top News

26 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea are reportedly interested in signing Burnley's James Trafford during the summer transfer window. 26 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Xavi is reportedly set to hold talks with a Premier League team following his imminent departure from Barcelona. 26 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Leeds United and Southampton have announced their teams for Sunday's Championship playoff final at Wembley Stadium. 26 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City's Ederson has reportedly attracted interest from the Saudi Pro League ahead of this summer's transfer window. 26 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has supposedly been left unhappy with the performances of one of his out-of-favour attackers in training. 26 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aiming to progress into the qualification rounds of the Conference League for a second straight season, Austria Vienna will meet Hartberg for the second leg of the European playoff in the Austrian Bundesliga on Tuesday night. 26 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly prepared to decide Erik ten Hag's future at the club next week, following a review into the season. 26 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal's Aaron Ramsdale has reportedly ruled out a move to Newcastle United during this summer's transfer window. 26 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Already assured of a place in the Copa Libertadores knockout rounds, Atletico Mineiro welcome Caracas to Arena MRV for their closing Group G fixture on Tuesday evening. 26 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk AIK Fotboll are set to host IFK Goteborg at the Friends Arena in Sweden's Allsvenskan on Monday. 26 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly prepared to let Christian Eriksen leave this summer, although the player will wait until the club's managerial situation is sorted to make his own decision. 26 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk IFK Norrkoping are set to host Varnamo at Nya Parken on Monday in Sweden's Allsvenskan as both hope to avoid a battle for top-flight survival. 26 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk The season is over and while the transfer window doesn't technically open until June 14, clubs across the UK and Europe are free to get deals in place ahead of next season. 26 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Fenerbahce vs. Istanbulspor (Sunday, 5.00pm) Fenerbahce cling onto their dream of lifting the Turkish Super Lig title as they host Istanbulspor at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on Sunday. 26 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Getafe vs. Mallorca (Sunday, 1.00pm) Getafe and Mallorca conclude their respective La Liga campaigns with a showdown at Coliseum Alfonso Perez on Sunday. 26 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Atalanta vs. Torino (Sunday, 5.00pm) After enjoying their finest hour in Europe, Atalanta BC play the penultimate game of their league season on Sunday, when Torino pay a visit to Bergamo. 26 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Al Shabab and Al Fateh bring their 2023-24 Saudi Professional League campaign to an end when they go head to head at the Al Shabab FC Stadium on Monday. 25 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool are reportedly set to be rival Bayer Leverkusen for the signature of Mainz 05 youngster Brajan Gruda. 25 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Erik ten Hag has insisted he will go "somewhere else" to win trophies if he is relieved of his duties as Manchester United manager. 25 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Damac and Al Raed draw the curtain on their respective 2023-24 Saudi Pro League campaigns with a meeting at Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium on Monday. 25 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal reportedly hold the upper hand in the race to sign Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise. 25 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Brendan Rodgers has waxed lyrical about Celtic striker Adam Idah after he scored a last-minute winner in the Hoops' 1-0 Scottish Cup final triumph over Old Firm rivals Rangers on Saturday. 25 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Kylian Mbappe closed his Paris Saint-Germain chapter with another Coupe de France winners' medal as Luis Enrique's side beat Lyon 2-1 at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy to complete a domestic treble. 25 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Toni Kroos waved goodbye to the Santiago Bernabeu in his last appearance at the club's home ground as his 10-year-long stay at Real Madrid draws to a close with a goalless draw against Real Betis. 25 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk England Under-17s will attempt to seal a top-two spot in Group D when they face Spain Under-17s in Monday's European Under-17 Championship. 25 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted that he got his tactics wrong in his side's 2-1 defeat to rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final on Saturday. 25 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Portugal Under-17s and France Under-17s will both be looking to secure a place in the European Under-17 Championship knockout rounds when they go head-to-head in Monday's clash in Larnaca. 25 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bayer Leverkusen became just the sixth team in history to complete a German domestic double thanks to a gritty 1-0 win over Kaiserslautern in the final of the DFB-Pokal at the Olympiastadion. 25 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea are reportedly preparing to open talks with Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca as a potential replacement for Mauricio Pochettino this summer. 25 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk The 2023-24 La Liga season concludes at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Sunday night, as bottom-half strugglers Sevilla host silver medallists Barcelona.