The Best And Worst Of Wrexham’s Hollywood Roller Coaster

It has been a rollercoaster of emotions for fans since Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over ownership of National League side Wrexham. The club saw some astounding form this season and waged an epic battle with Notts County for the league title and promotion to the Football League. The club finally ended 15 years of heartbreak this season, finally earning themselves promotion. The ownership of Reynolds and McElhenney seemed to be a breath of fresh air for fans of the Dragons and it has appeared to prove correct so far, as fans get excited 

The Welsh side spent much of their time in the Football League, however, in 2008, their 87-year stay came to an end following a 2-0 loss to Hereford. Heartbreak had struck, the club was relegated with two games to spare, as they finished 24th in the table, taking 40 points from 46 games. Since then, the club has spent 15 seasons playing in the fifth division and it is safe to say heartbreak has stuck around for them, as they missed out on promotion five times through the playoffs during that time, their most recent coming last season.

With that in mind, Chris of TheRealEFL takes a look at some of the best and the worst moments for the club since the Hollywood duo took charge.

The Return Of Ben Foster

Ben Foster had high praise when he signed for Stoke City in 2001, he would never make an appearance for the club, however, as he would go on to spend four seasons out on loan. One of those loan spells would be with Wrexham, where he made 17 appearances. During that time, he was spotted by Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who was watching both his son Darren Ferguson and Foster in the Football League Trophy final. Manchester United would move quickly, signing Foster for £1 million and that praise of his talent grew even higher, with the expectation he would surpass United’s number one at the time Edwin Van Der Sar.

As Wrexham completed their season, there was one scene which was discussed around the world as the celebrations began and that was the footage seen of owner Ryan Reynolds asking the veteran goalkeeper for one more season. Foster only stepped in to help the club as their number-one keeper was injured, but his return and his form saw fans fall in love with the Englishman and while many wanted to see him stay, the Hollywood duo also wanted to see him stay in Wales and the club put an offer on the table to retain his services.

Grimsby Town Playoff Loss

It was not an easy task to return to the Football League for the side as they learned the hard way and it took more than one attempt for the side to see promotion. In the season before winning promotion, they would finish second to Stockport County and faced a task even more daunting as they entered the playoffs. 

And at that attempt, they would fall short, but it would not be short of entertainment as they played out a nine-goal thriller in their semi-final encounter with Grimsby Town, who would eventually go on to achieve promotion through the playoffs. The heartbreak was felt as the game was extended to extra time following a 4-4 draw and as fans prepared themselves for the penalty shootout which loomed imminent, former Wrexham defender Luke Waterfall would haunt his former club by scoring moments before the final whistle.

The result was heartbreaking for plenty of fans, a feeling they had begun to develop familiarity with in recent years since their relegation and of course looking back now, fans will realise it paid off in the end as they begin their climb up the English football pyramid.

15 Years Of Heartbreak Finally Ended

The battle between Wrexham and Notts County was looking to be tight and many were beginning to wonder how these two teams could be separated. And their encounter in April proved to be just as close as the league table showed the teams were, the two sides appeared to be in a deadlock in the first half but John Bostock broke that deadlock in injury time.

And that goal left manager Phil Parkinson with some wisdom to impart to his team at half time and clearly, it worked as three minutes into the second half, their prolific goal scorer Paul Mullin levelled the game for the Dragons. Jacob Mandy would put them in front with just over 20 minutes left to play before Kyle Cameron brought the game level once again with fifteen minutes left. 

Once again, it did not take long for the Dragons to respond as Elliot Lee fired them back into the lead three minutes later and the Dragons looked to see out the last 10 minutes and come out winners of what was so far a five-goal thriller. Notts County were given a lifeline in the 95th minute, as the referee pointed to the spot and a game that was already a tense affair was given a fitting end of yet more tension as the fate of both teams looked to be decided from 12 yards.

The Football League was in touching distance for Wrexham, three points here would see them move three clear of Notts County with a game in hand over them, all that was needed was Ben Foster to keep this penalty out. And the former Watford keeper was able to do so, as he pulled off a remarkable acrobatic save to deny Notts from the spot and promotion looked to be all but sealed for the Dragons.

FA Trophy Defeat

In the 2021/22 season, it was not just the National League playoffs which would break the hearts of Wrexham fans as they went on an impressive run in the FA Trophy, even managing to see off their title rivals that season in the semi-finals, beating Stockport County 2-0. They would beat this season’s title rivals in that run also, as they beat Notts County 2-1 in the quarter-final. Had they won the cup that season, they would be looking back now with even fonder memories, seeing off two teams that became their closest rivals across those two seasons.

Wrexham would meet Bromley in that final at Wembley and with over 20 points separating the two teams in the table at the end of the season many would have thought the Dragons would see this season end with some silverware. It had been almost nine years without a trophy for the club, last winning the FA Trophy in the 2012/13 season and they had not had much luck since then, finishing runners-up in the 2014/15 season, which would be their last final appearance before this one.

It would not be the memorable day out at Wembley many fans of the Welsh side hoped it would be, as over 46,000 fans of both teams would watch on as Bromley would lift the trophy, following their 1-0 victory over the Dragons. That loss would begin a week of heartbreak for fans, as the playoff defeat to Grimsby would follow six days after.

 

 

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