Before the arrival of the two Hollywood stars and the NFL legend, the only major story shared between Wrexham and Birmingham was the £1m Blues paid for Brian Hughes in 1997, which remains Wales’ record transfer fee.
Wrexham, owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, are now locked in a promotion battle with leaders Birmingham, fueled by the funds of American businessman Tom Wagner and seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady.
A brace from Jay Stansfield helped Birmingham to victory over Wrexham at St Andrews in September. but with five points separating the two sides, the second leg carries more weight.
Celebrities are expected to be back in the stands at the racecourse live on Thursday night Sky Sportsand well-paid stars will also be on the pitch for the most expensive Ligue 1 match in history.
Thursday, January 23 at 7:00 p.m
Start at 20:00
Wrexham promotion-planning recruitment
Wrexham have won back-to-back promotions from the National League with expensive but smart recruitment and since Reynolds and McElhaney took over in 2021, their squad value has increased nearly six-fold, according to Transfer market.
Their success came from signing players from the higher divisions, laying the foundations in 2021-22 when they were still a non-league club by adding 10 players from the EFL.The following summer, after missing out on promotion in the National League play-offs, they signed another with seven.
“We have brought in players who are used to the expectation of winning,” said Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson. Sky Sports. “There are expectations at Wrexham and you have to be able to handle that.
“This is another club where you should be.”
Paul Mullin’s influence as one of those signings is well documented, but striker Ollie Palmer, who reportedly joined for £300,000, and Elliott Lee, who moved up three divisions from Championship Luton, continue to play key roles. get up
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Paul Mullin talks to Sky Sports about the changes in his life since playing for Wrexham in the last few years.
Palmer has scored just 11 league goals in his last 64 games but there is a reason why Parkinson continues to play him. The 33-year-old is a brutal battering ram who wears down opposition defences, plays link-ups and is the team’s best player. This season, he only lasted 90 minutes twice.
Lee, a diminutive midfielder who started his career at West Ham, has a knack for scoring important goals, scoring 15 in his first season and 16 last season.
Then there’s ex-Derby striker Jack Marriott and ex-Premier League duo Steven Fletcher and James McClean, who all signed before Wrexham kicked a ball in League Two.
Wrexham invested again last summer, paying fees for five players who have won five EFL promotions between them, a total of £2m, including an alleged club record £500,000 for West Brom’s Mo Faal, who has just seven league titles. has become: performances this season.
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Mullin smashed the ‘top bins’ on the volley with a sensational equalizer against Wrexham’s Blackpool last month.
Success did not come cheap…
Wrexham lost £5.1m in the 2022-23 season, which ended when the club was promoted to League Two.That means the club lost more than £8m in their first two full seasons in charge until 2024 June bills will be released this spring.
The wage bill increased from £4.05m to £6.9m in the 2021-22 season as they won the National League title, while total turnover rose from £5.97m to £10.47m.
the influence of Welcome to Wrexham! A documentary on the club’s global profile saw retail sales rise from £1.3m to £3.4m, with the club taking in £2.58m in total overseas revenue.
However, the outstanding losses are expected to reduce now that the new ownership is in its fourth year. Turnover has reportedly increased significantly over the past 12 months as the club expects total revenue to exceed £20m. and after signing lucrative sponsorship deals with SToK Coffee Brew.
Wrexham also welcomed the Allyn family, who made their fortune through global medical equipment maker Welch Allyn, as new minority investors in October.
Wrexham Stadium is big enough for the Championship.
Wrexham Racecourse
The racetrack, where Thursday will be held, has a capacity of 13,341.
Wrexham’s average attendance this season is 12,869, the fifth highest in League One, and almost every game is a sell-out.
The club plans to redevelop the 5,500-capacity Kop, which was demolished in January 2023, unused and abandoned since 2007, and replaced with 3,000 temporary seats.
New architect Populous, who have worked on Wembley, Tottenham Hotspur and the Principality Stadium, have been appointed to redesign the stand, which was originally due to open in time for this season.
It will include safe standing, hospitality and accessible seating and will be fully compliant with UEFA’s Category Four stadium, with a target completion date of 2026. McElhenny has spoken of increasing the capacity to 50,000.
A new era for Birmingham begins
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David Beckham, Tom Brady, Rob McElnaney and Gary Neville attended the Birmingham v Wrexham match in September.
While Wrexham have been building, Birmingham are rebuilding after relegation from the Championship, their takeover in the summer of 2023 led to an unexpected setback that didn’t dent their ambitions.
Along with £58m of cash, the new owners plan to build a new stadium after buying around 60 acres of land in St Andrew’s.
Birmingham also showed their intent last summer, signing 13 first-team players for a total of £20m and breaking the League One transfer record by signing striker Stansfield from Fulham for over £15m.
The 21-year-old forward joined the club on loan in the 2023/24 season, scoring 13 goals and providing 3 assists in all competitions and has scored 12 goals in 21 games this season.
Last season’s League One Golden Boot winner Alfie May arrived from Charlton for an undisclosed fee and scored 10 goals, along with goalkeepers Ryan Allsop and Bailey Peacock-Farrell and one each from Celtic, Hearts and Rangers. player.
The Blues have cashed in on academy product Jordan James, selling him for £8m, and manager Chris Davies has warned Wrexham that his side are more relaxed now than when they first met.
“We were a fledgling team at the time,” Davis said Sky Sports. “We’ve come a long way since then.”
Birmingham are unbeaten in their last 14 games in all competitions, winning 12 since their shock league defeat to Shrewsbury.
But Davies has ruled out Sen Ho Peik and Willum Willumsson for the Wrexham clash, and they are also expected to be without midfielder Tomoki Iwata.The trio have all been regulars.
Meanwhile, Wrexham could be without McClean after he was involved in a car crash on his way to training on Wednesday morning.
The home side won at Shrewsbury last time out and have lost two of their last three, which sees them lose ground at both Wycombe and Birmingham.
Something has to give.
Watch Wrexham v Birmingham live on Sky Sports Main Event and Football from 7pm on Thursday, kick off at 8pm
