Taylor is up for a game of snap Hollywood style
MATT TAYLOR aims to wreck Wrexham’s day – and then ask their Hollywood owner Ryan Reynolds for a selfie or two.
Shrewsbury boss Taylor reckons Reynolds (below) and co-chairman Rob Mcelhenney have been superb for the Welsh club and lower league football in general since they took over at the Racecourse Ground three years ago.
Now the rival clubs, separated by just 30 miles across the border, are one division apart since Wrexham got promoted into League Two last year following a cash injection from their glamorous owners.
Taylor, 42, is clueless about the Deadpool movie franchise, which Reynolds stars in, as he is not much of a film fan. But he is full of admiration for the American after seeing the Welcome to Wrexham TV show.
Taylor said: “I’ve never seen Deadpool, I couldn’t tell you anything about it, but I have watched parts of the Wrexham series.
“I don’t know if they are coming to the match but if Ryan is, I would like to get a selfie with him.
“Watching any sort of football is a pleasure for me, and their series is a different perspective.
“They have rejuvenated an area of the country that probably needed it and brought belief back.
“That is the power we have with football. It hasn’t happened instantly for Wrexham, it has taken time and they have built.
“Who would have thought two Hollywood A-listers would have bought a Welsh football club?
“It is a fairytale story but I hope we beat them anyway. My focus is on us.”
The local rivals haven’t met since April 2008 when Shrewsbury won 3-0 in a League Two clash.
Taylor predicts that the 10,000 sell-out at Croud Meadow will generate a superb atmosphere but has urged his players to keep cool amid cross-border rivalries.
The former defender and midfielder, who hung up his boots in 2019, said: “I am looking forward to the game and am a bit gutted I can’t play, to be honest. It is a football rivalry which is what I used to love as a player and gives an added edge.
“I know our fans will be desperate for us to win at home – and it is going to be a loud one.”