Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney has been left saddened by a significant downside to the club’s rapid rise through the divisions as the Red Dragons prepare for the Championship
Rob McElhenney has pointed out a “tragic flaw” in Wrexham‘s stunning rise through the football pyramid. The Red Dragons have soared to three consecutive promotions under the stewardship of McElhenney and co-owner Ryan Reynolds.
Since taking over the club in February 2021, the Hollywood pair have poured in considerable funds, propelling them from the National League all the way to the Championship. Phil Parkinson’s squad have just concluded their partying after being whisked away to Las Vegas for an all-expenses-paid celebration following their latest promotion from League One.
As focus shifts to the next campaign, McElhenney has raised concerns about the downside of the Welsh side’s remarkable progress. Wrexham are anticipated to make some major signings this summer as they aim to recruit the right players to secure their status in the second tier.
It follows McElhenney reiterating his goal of taking Wrexham to Premier League glory. The creator of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia said that reaching that pinnacle could sadly involve parting ways with several players who were central to the club’s recent triumphs and confessed to feeling emotionally conflicted.
“It’s brutal and the system that I was celebrating, of promotion and relegation, there’s a tragic flaw in that,” McElhenney told the Men in Blazers podcast. “Very often, the players who are helping the club achieve that goal and winning are winning themselves out of a job.
“That’s tragic because they’re giving everything that they can to help you win, and then their reward for that is to be let go as someone else takes their place and we are very cognizant of that. Another thing that’s brutal, but I understand why, is how quickly Phil and every team has to make these decisions.
“It’s actually quite humane, though, because it gives people the opportunity to go and find other clubs. But we come back from Vegas, and I think within a couple of weeks, Phil will have made those calls and spoken to those guys being released.”
Wrexham supporters may feel a pang of sadness as they await the club’s retained list, having already said goodbye to several stalwarts last summer, such as Luke Young and Ben Tozer. It follows speculation about the future of star striker Paul Mullin, who has been conspicuously absent from the squad since January.
McElhenney first pledged to propel Wrexham into the top flight around four years ago, with his declaration initially met with scepticism. When asked about other people’s opinions on his high-flying aspirations, McElhenney stood firm and said: “I just don’t give a f***”.
“People would laugh when we would say that, especially members of the press,” he said. “But fans and lots of people would laugh and I always found that fascinating. I never got upset about it and I never got a chip on my shoulder about it.
“I was confused because I never understood why that would be funny – that’s the way that the system is set up. Somebody else set up the system so that you could theoretically take a team and bring them up to the top. Why would you set up the system if you didn’t believe that it could be done?
“Teams have proved that before, so I’ve always found it interesting and not offensive that people would laugh at that goal. I don’t hear them laughing as loud now as they did four years ago, but they probably still are somewhere in the world. I just don’t give a f***.”
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