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Wrexham have seldom faltered in their new era. Supercharged by investment and ambition, the Red Dragons are unrecognisable from the club of just five years ago.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, the club’s enthusiastic co-owners, ignited and accelerated the rise of Wrexham through the divisions.
A historic three successive promotions from the National League took Wrexham to the Championship. It’s the doorstep of the Premier League, their ultimate goal, but also represents a big jump in terms of competition and cost.
Wrexham’s EFL story isn’t over yet but there’s a new tale to tell in the FA Cup
The progress of the Red Dragons through the divisions has been committed to virtual celluloid thanks to the Welcome to Wrexham documentary series, the basis and beneficiary of Phil Parkinson’s success on the pitch.
Wrexham’s lightning ascent to the Championship poses questions about the future. The formula has worked up to this point but the project is in the midst of inevitable and necessary change.
Instead of hitting their limits and stagnating or walking away, Reynolds and McElhenney have embraced buy-in from new partners and outside investment.
They’re gearing up for the Premier League, or at least sustainability in the second tier, and even celebrity and documentary cash only stretches so far.
At the same time, the very story whose buoyancy has floated Wrexham up three levels in three years is facing its own threat.
Wrexham have won three in a row in a condensed Championship and are suddenly right in the promotion mix, but Welcome to Wrexham needs fresh narrative impetus. Even constant success can take the friction out of a story.
Parkinson has an opportunity to tear open a new seam on Friday night when the Red Dragons face Premier League opposition in the third round of the FA Cup. If there are documentary viewers experiencing promotion fatigue, the world’s oldest national football competition could be the perfect antidote.
Welcome to Wrexham needs a cup run. Reynolds and McElhenney took over the club during the 2020-21 season, days after a 4-0 loss at Solihull Moors in the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup.
Since then, they’ve twice been knocked out in the first round away at Harrogate Town, first as underdogs and last season as favourites. They reached the fourth round twice before being eliminated by first Sheffield United and then Blackburn Rovers.
Wrexham have FA Cup heritage to inspire them against Premier League opposition
The FA Cup is the richest source of drama and fairytales in football but the new Wrexham haven’t had their moment yet. A thrilling win at Coventry City and a pair of spicy games against the Blades are all they really have to show for it.
Unsurprisingly, Welcome to Wrexham has focused on league football but Wrexham have history in the FA Cup.
The Red Dragons have reached the quarter-finals on three occasions and produced one of the cup’s most famous giant-killings, winning 2-1 against reigning league champions Arsenal at the Racecourse Ground in January 1992.
Their first hurdle in 2025-26 is the visit of Nottingham Forest. Sean Dyche’s Premier League side are in the middle of a turbulent season and are struggling for Premier League form under their third manager.
An away tie at an upwardly mobile Championship team was the last FA Cup draw Forest would have wanted. Parkinson must be licking his lips.
Wrexham have performed relatively well in the FA Cup since the takeover but, in FourFourTwo’s opinion, they owe Welcome to Wrexham some emotional drama, some headlines.
They need to knock out a Premier League or two with some help from the luck of the draw. They need Old Trafford. They need Anfield. They need Arsenal at the Racecourse.
They need another quarter-final. With a return to Wembley on the line, that game would be a story worth an episode all of its own.
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