Latest news with #TheRacecourse
Leader Live
2 days ago
- Sport
- Leader Live
Wrexham coach hails Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney impact
Former Premier League midfielder and now first team coach at The Racecourse, Jones is looking forward to the next chapter on the Reds' amazing progress since the Hollywood movie stars became owners. 'Rob and Ryan have been superb from the beginning,' said Jones, who has just returned from America after taking charge of the Red Dragons' sevens team in a $1m North Carolina TST tournament. 'Their enthusiasm, drive and commitment to the club has inspired everyone connected with Wrexham. 'On the footballing side, they have brought in a quality manager in Phil Parkinson, who has now been promoted six times in his career, as well as the experienced Steve Parkin and Aidan Davison, who have great knowledge of the game. 'The players that have been integrated into the squad over the last few seasons have been a mix of youth and experience, which has proved very successful.' Jones, who was promoted to the Premier League four times as a player, says another key factor of the success is how the owners have always fully embraced Wrexham's proud history. 'Off the pitch Shaun Harvey and Michael Williamson have both used their areas of expertise to take the club forward while strengthening the link between the fans, players and staff. Humphrey Ker, who has been here since the takeover, has been a very calming and consistently supportive influence around the place as the football club has grown. 'There are people who have been at the club for many years still working here including the head groundsman Paul Chaloner, kit man Iwan Pugh-Jones and Cledwyn Ashford in youth development not to mention the support and wisdom on offer from Brian Flynn, Joey Jones and Mickey Thomas,' added Jones. 'These colleagues and Wrexham legends are the fabric of the club and the owners recognise the importance of these people'. A former pupil at Darland High School in Rossett, where Wrexham's Academy graduates now hang out, Jones began his footballing journey at Wrexham as a nine year old before being signed by Manchester United a year later. He went onto make four first team appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson before being bought by Derby County for £1.5 million in 2007. He made over 400 career appearances during spells at Wolves, Blackburn, Burnley, Wigan and Sheffield Wednesday before heading to Wrexham where he volleyed in a debut goal in Parkinson's first match in charge - a 2-2 draw at Solihull Moors in 2021.
Leader Live
04-06-2025
- Business
- Leader Live
Wrexham transfer news: Reds boss has 'really good side'
Wrexham finished runners-up in League One this season, securing an historic third successive promotion. With The Racecourse outfit back in the second tier for the first time since the 1981-82 campaign, Parkinson wants new signings to make the Reds competitive in a division that will include the likes of Leicester City, Southampton and Ipswich Town. With positions he wants to fill already pinpointed, talks are underway with potential transfer targets and that means some of the 27 players under contract at Wrexham are likely to move on as Parkinson attempts to make the numbers add up. But the Reds' boss insists he has good players at the club who will make the step-up with Wrexham while the winning mentality in the group and momentum following success is something he wants to continue. "Me and Steve Parkin know the qualities we like in players and it is about identifying the positions we feel we need to strengthen, which we have done," said Parkinson. "Then it is looking at the players available and having meetings with them, analysing what they bring and trying to bring the lads in which we feel can fit into the group we have already got because we have got a really good side. "We want to add to that. It is about improving the quality level with the right people. "We are a club which has got a winning mentality, and we want to keep that. MORE WREXHAM AFC NEWS "The momentum of getting promotion three years on the bounce, we want to keep that. "That will be working with the players we have got in their off-season programmes and making sure everybody comes back in the best physical shape. "Planning the pre-season out to get the maximum we can out of every player, and of course adding players to the squad to help the existing ones we have got."
Leader Live
07-05-2025
- Business
- Leader Live
Ryan Reynolds' and Rob McElhenney's Wrexham worth £50m
Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney completed their takeover at The Racecourse in February 2021 and the club has become a global sensation due to the hit documentary series 'Welcome to Wrexham'. There has been success on the pitch with the Reds finishing runners-up in League One this season to secure an historic third successive promotion. Phil Parkinson's side will compete in the Championship next term and Wilson, Director of Executive Education at University Campus of Football Business, discussed the club's rise in value after reaching the second tier for the first time in 43 years. Speaking exclusively with OLBG, Wilson said: 'What is the current value of Wrexham? I think it's important to say that the Reynolds-McElhenny factor has really kind of turbocharged, super boosted, Wrexham's brand in a way that we've not seen certainly at this level of football ever. 'From that £2.5 million purchase, I'd probably conservatively peg in a current valuation at around 40 to 50 million. I think you need to factor in the activations, commercial development, stadium size, the league that they're playing in and so on. 'Conservatively, a valuation around the 40 to 50 million mark is probably fair. That reflects their now global fan base, which naturally rivals many Championship clubs, if not most of them, but also some of the Premier League clubs as well. 'If they reach the Premier League, this is where it gets really interesting, then the valuation would probably stretch into the 250 to 300 million plus bracket. They would obviously need to invest very, very heavily. 'Competing with the Big Six is a different ballgame entirely. If you're going to do that, you need some really deep-pocketed investors and long-term infrastructure, which is what we have seen at Manchester City. We're starting to see at Newcastle United. 'We've got Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and so on. So it's really tough to break into that bracket. 'The other thing we need to remember with Wrexham's current valuation ceiling is we do at some point need to decouple the value that Reynolds and McElhenny bring to Wrexham and look at Wrexham in its own right. 'That's why I think my valuation is probably a little bit lower than some of those that have been previously stated. But, they've got some great fundamentals in place. 'They've made a record turnover this year, 24 million. The Finance Director seems to be doing a really good job with regard to keeping costs under control and helping to work with the commercial team to leverage additional revenue and next year will be a fascinating story to see unfold.'
Leader Live
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Leader Live
Dixie says 'it's brilliant' what's happening at Wrexham AFC
Wrexham host Charlton on Saturday where a win could secure a record-breaking third promotion on the trot for Phil Parkinson's side. McNeil, now club president after making his name as a player and then manager at The Racecourse, was the Reds' go-to-man when Wrexham went up against Charlton at home during their four-year stay in the old Division Two. Last October's 2-2 draw at The Valley was only the 19th game between the two clubs but they did clash regularly in the Seventies and early Eighties when goal-getter McNeil was in his pomp. McNeil scored the winner from the penalty spot in the last Racecourse meeting between the two clubs in September 1981 - Wrexham's last season in the second division where only 3,076 bothered to show up. He also scored in the 3-2 home win the season before and grabbed a double as the Reds stuffed Charlton 6-0 in the FA Cup third round. 'I remember that one,' said McNeil. 'Mick Vinter scored a hat-trick and I think we got knocked out at Everton in the fifth round that season.' Fast-forward 45 years and McNeil, now 78, will continue his ever-present home record for Saturday's big match. 'I get just as excited going to games now as I did in those days,' added McNeil. 'It's brilliant what's happened at the club after all those years in the doldrums. We're so close to another promotion and it would be great to clinch it at home on Saturday.' Wrexham's only home defeat in their six league games against Charlton was a 3-0 loss in 1974 - just nine months after Billy Ashcroft (2), Dave Smallman and Graham Whittle had scored in a 4-0 victory.
