Wrexham owner Ryan Reynolds has responded to yesterday’s news about his club potentially playing a League One game in the United States.
It was widely reported that Birmingham City’s American owners had suggested taking their game with the Red Dragons stateside. No English football league game has been played outside of England and Wales, but it was believed that was exactly what the Blues wanted to do.
The move apparently got ‘short shrift’ from the EFL, although it later emerged that no official approach was made but that Birmingham had discussed the possibility and been told it wouldn’t pass the EFL.
Of course, this drew strong criticism from across the football world, with many supporters of both the Blues and Red Dragons taking to social media to express their anger.
One supporter, @DanWrexham on X, said, “Goes against every single one of the “guiding principles” you stated publicly before even buying the club. Let’s not start getting too greedy and breaking promises.”
That was picked up on by Wrexham co-owner Reynolds, star of the Deadpool films. He replied, confirming that the news wasn’t accurate. “I agree,” he tweeted. “And that’s why there’s been no talks.”
Reynolds has killed off the talk, which means the two clubs will meet in competitive action this season on UK pitches. They’ve not played each other in league action since 1995, the last time the Blues were in the third tier. They’re back after three decades, while Wrexham will play in League One for the first time in 20 years, having dropped out in 2005.
Both sides are expected to challenge at the top of the table, and the Tom Brady / Ryan Reynolds angle is sure to dominate the headlines when they do, both in the US, Canada (Reynolds’ home country), and the UK.
Writer’s View
Oh, how the mainstream media love a headline. It was all over the news yesterday that Birmingham wanted to go abroad and play, and Wrexham were dragged into the conversation without, seemingly, ever truly being involved.
Was this just another headline looking to latch onto fan’s fears? Possibly. It’s topical right now, with the Premier League ‘Game 39‘ capturing headlines. However, the Americanisation of the EFL is not something fans will accept, and Reynolds has sensibly shut down the chatter quickly to avoid being tarnished by the tacky idea.
