Accrington Stanley owner Andy Holt has admitted he ‘probably shouldn’t’ have tweeted after his side beat Wrexham 2-0 this weekend, amid controversy around ticket prices.
Stanley ended Wrexham’s 11-game unbeaten run with two second-half goals, but the game was marred by a controversial argument around ticket prices. Accrington raised the entrance fee by £5 for the game, reportedly to cover additional costs. In reaction, Wrexham tweeted that they would reduce prices by £5 for the return fixture.
Following the 2-0 win for his team, a seemingly bitter Holt tweeted, “Accrington 2 Hollywood nil. I think @VancityReynolds should cut prices by a tenner @Wrexham_AFC Safe journey home, folks. Get that on Netflix, Ryan lad”. It caused a significant reaction, and at the time of writing, the tweet has accrued 2.6m views.
In the cold light of Monday morning, Holt has been reflecting on the controversy and has admitted he perhaps shouldn’t have been on social media following the game. In a thread on the social media site X, previously known as Twitter, the outspoken owner said:
“I have nothing against Wrexham, Wales or any other corner of the UK. I don’t expect Wrexham FC or @VancityReynolds to correct the record.
“The damage was done. Our club was seen as rip-off merchants, which is patently incorrect. I didn’t match his views but got a reasonable reaction.
“It’s done for me, I think what is happening at Wrexham is great. If we could find someone of the same standing our club, community and town would fly.
“I probably shouldn’t have done the tweet, but that applies to a lot of things I’ve done in my life. But they definitely should not have started the fire. I wish Ryan, his buddies and his club a great future. It’s good for football.”
Holt does have form for taking to social media to air his views. Earlier this season, he announced he was selling Accrington on Twitter (or X, whatever) after what he perceived to be negative comments from his management team in a post-match reaction.
The latest controversy comes amidst a good spell for Stanley, who climbed into the top seven in League Two with their victory. and took them to within four points of Wrexham, who sit just outside the top three in their quest for back-to-back promotions.
Writer’s View
There’s always something interesting to come out of Andy Holt’s social media. He’s solid gold for the likes of us because not only does he make newsworthy statements, but he backs it up with reasoned arguments. He’s always willing to reconsider a view as well and correct himself if it is ever needed.
In this instance, he did go off quite quickly, and Wrexham are every neutral’s favourite punchbag because of the Hollywood money and international focus. Accrington and Wrexham are at opposite ends of the scale, the haves and the have-nots, the fashionable and the unfashionable, which made the debate even more interesting.
Today’s tweets only serve to drag the story out for a little longer. It’s likely to be the last shot fired in this battle for a while – at least until March 2nd when the reverse fixture is scheduled to take place.
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