Hooray for
OUR CHIEF SPORTS WRITER TAKES AIM AT ALL THE
A quick search on Tripadvisor rates a walk across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct as the No. 1 thing to do in the North Wales town.
This might be a pleasant experience, but safe to assume it doesn’t compare with a stroll down Sunset Strip.
There is no ‘ Walk of Fame’ down Mold Road, where Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground can be found.
Considering the long and gradual decline of the National League club, a ‘ Walk of Shame’ might be more appropriate.
Like most places in the UK, the closest Wrexham comes to tinseltown is in December, when the Christmas decorations go up.
But like a bolt from the blue, Santa Claus has decreed that this year Wrexham AFC will be granted a very special gift – new owners from Hollywood.
A- listers Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mcelhenney have taken charge, promising significant investment and a rise through the league ranks.
The journey will be documented and sold to Netflix, who pay up to £ 800,000 per episode. Ho- ho- how the hell has this happened?
Cynics have questioned the motives of Reynolds and Mcelhenney, who have a combined wealth of £ 150m and Twitter following in excess of 17.4 million.
Reynolds is the second highest- paid actor in 2020 with his star on the ‘ Walk of Fame’, so what would these two want with a club flirting with relegation from the National League, whose sponsor is a local trailer firm? Who knows, but seriously, who cares? For millions of people, this year has been the grimmest on record. More than 50,000 people have died of Covid- 19, unemployment has rocketed and lives and families have been ripped apart. So has football. Clubs like Wrexham face going to the wall, the game’s rulers continue to kick lumps out of each other and players fall like flies with injurie. Legends like Jack Charlton, Nobby Stiles, Norman Hunter and Ray Clemence have passed away, the issue of dementia has never been so concerning and racism remains rife.
So let’s celebrate and enjoy the limelight shining on Wrexham – and the reasons why.
It’s a story that should make people smile because the man from the ‘ Deadpool’ movie franchise is, along with his superstar mate, wanting to breathe new life into the ailing club. Earlier this week Mcelhenney donated £ 6,000 to the fundraising page of disabled Wrexham fan Aiden Stott to help him buy a specially adapted bath for his new flat. Bookies, meanwhile, are offering odds of 33- 1 for Wrexham to win the FA Cup in the next decade and 100- 1 on them becoming Premier League champions by 2035. Reynolds and Mcelhenney have provided us with a truly remarkable tale in remarkable times – only this one is heartwarming instead of heartbreaking.