Sport Jim White
HOLLYWOOD FC
When news came through that Ryan Reynolds, the star of Deadpool, and his mate Rob Mcelhenney, the leading man in highly successful American TV sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, were about to buy Wrexham Football Club, the Telegraph’s James Ducker sent a tweet to Mcelhenney, asking the obvious question. ‘Why Wrexham, Rob?’ he wrote. ‘Why not, James?’ he replied. ‘Why not?’ is the only explanation. Because nobody would take a controlling interest in Wrexham for logical reasons. If the old saw about how you make a small fortune in football (start with a large fortune and buy a lower-league football club) ever held sway, it is right now. COVID restrictions mean clubs like Wrexham are almost devoid of income. So this is the perfect time for a takeover.
That can be the only reason Reynolds and Mcelhenney have become involved. After decades of maladministration, Wrexham has since 2011 been a supporterowned club. But even the diehard fans on the board recognised they could not sustain the place without help. So the Hollywood stars have agreed to buy the club for a nominal fee, but with a guarantee that they will invest £2 million immediately to keep it afloat.
For Reynolds, this is small beer. Last year, he is said to have been the secondhighest-paid star in Hollywood, thanks to Deadpool. If you are worth £40 million, forking out £1 million for a slice of romance is not a bad way to spend your money.
Because that is what the pair are doing: they are buying the chance to make a difference. And what a difference they might make. Founded in 1864, Wrexham is not merely the oldest football club in Wales; it is the thirdmost-senior in the world. At the moment, as it enters its 12th season in the National League, this is an institution on its uppers. So the new owners could be the men responsible for its revival.
In Britain, the worlds of showbiz and sport rarely intersect. True, every football club boasts its celebrity supporter. But, beyond Elton John owning Watford, Eric Morecambe serving on the Luton Town board and Tommy Cannon of Cannon and Ball having a short-lived spell as chairman of Rochdale, few entertainers have entered the board room.
For a Hollywood model owner, Reynolds and Mcelhenney should divert their gaze to Australia. There, Russell Crowe has transformed the fortunes of the rugby league club the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Unlike Wrexham’s new investors, who both admit they have never even visited the town, Crowe is a lifelong fan of the club. When he made it in Hollywood, he secured shirt sponsorship for one of his films, The Cinderella Man. In the 1990s, he sprinkled the place with movie glamour when he took Pamela Anderson along to a match. And when the team were facing financial implosion in 2006, he became co-owner.
His investment – and his close interest – transformed the place. In 2014, they won the National League Championship for the first time in 43 years. The following year, with Crowe watching from the stands, they won the world title. It would never have happened without him. And as a result he has become a hero among the club’s supporters.
That is what awaits Reynolds and Mcelhenney. All they have to do now is co-ordinate some success and the freedom of Wrexham is theirs. Why not indeed?