Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac have achieved huge success as co-owners of Wrexham, but have been told their biggest dream could be very difficult to realise
Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac have big ambitions for their club, but it won’t be easy to achieve them(Image: Cameron Smith/Getty Images)
Wrexham’s Hollywood co-owners have been warned they may need to temper their expectations over their goal of taking the club into the Premier League.
Actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac have achieved unprecedented success since buying the North Wales outfit in February 2021. However, despite registering three successive promotions under manager Phil Parkinson, Wrexham have experienced a challenging start to life in the Championship this season.
The Red Dragons are currently 16th in the table and face a tough test in their next match as they host Frank Lampard’s league leaders Coventry City on Friday night. Reynolds and Mac have repeatedly made their aim of propelling Wrexham into the top flight clear, with the goal displayed boldly in their mission statement on the club’s website.
Reports even emerged during the summer that they had set a target to make the final jump by 2027. However, former Wales striker Sam Vokes believes they need to calm their expectations regarding their side’s prospects this term.
Despite Wrexham forking out £33million on new players during the summer transfer window, the 36-year-old suggested simply surviving in the second tier would represent good progress this season.
Speaking on the the BBC’s Feast of Football podcast, Vokes said: “For a newly promoted team, I don’t think they’re doing that badly if I’m being totally honest. I think they’re ticking along okay, if I look at it personally from an outside view.
Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson has come under fire in some quarters, but Vokes believes survival should be the main aim this season(Image: Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
“But there is a narrative and an expectation with Wrexham now that they should be in the play-offs, they should be pushing for another promotion with the money around it and everything.
“We talked at the start of the season about what would be a good season for Wrexham and for me, it was safety and staying up in the league, because the Championship is a whole different beast.”
Wrexham have so far recorded three wins, five draws and four defeats from their opening 12 games. Last weekend, they came away with a point from their trip to second-placed Middlesbrough after holding ex-Wales international Rob Edwards’ team to a 1-1 draw at the Riverside.
The result was seen as a creditable achievement for Wrexham after their manager came under pressure early in the season. A series of poor performances saw director Shaun Harvey forced to quash rumours that Parkinson’s job was at risk.
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While the waters have calmed in recent weeks, the Red Dragons were booed off the pitch by some of their supporters after crashing out of the Carabao Cup at home against Cardiff City on Tuesday evening.
Parkinson was criticised for his team selection in some quarters after naming a much-changed starting XI to the one that faced Middlesbrough, but the former Bolton and Sunderland boss has stood by his decision.
“It was absolutely the sensible thing to do, to use the cup games to freshen up the team,” he told The Leader newspaper. “I felt the team we picked was good enough to perform a lot better than we did in the first half.
“It’s not me criticising the players, we all take responsibility together as a collective. We’ve had lots of praise over the years and lots of plaudits for the way we’ve played and what we’ve achieved here, now we’ll regroup, we’ll batten down the hatches and we’ll come out ready to respond on Friday.”
