Wrexham: Three years on - the Hollywood takeover in numbers
- Published
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney make their visit to the Racecourse Ground
When Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney were confirmed as new owners, everyone knew things were about to change at Wrexham.
But, after the news filtered through at 10pm on 9 February 2021, few could have predicted just what was about to unfold at one of football's oldest clubs.
The unlikely marriage between Hollywood and historic Wrexham has seen a huge boom in success, support and social media profile.
And the promises made by the headline-grabbing pair have come to fruition - and then some - with more fulfilled dreams seemingly on the way.
Here, BBC Sport Wales takes a look at the story of Reynolds and McElhenney's time at the Racecourse through some of the key numbers of the past three years.
Votes - 98.6%
Before a ball was kicked in this fanciful script, the Hollywood pair had to win formal approval from the club's Supporters' Trust to proceed with the takeover.
In November 2020, one week after a video call presentation from the duo to fans, members backed the proposal with 1,809 in favour, 26 against and nine abstaining.
The deal would take three months to go through, with a mission statement promising to grow the club, improve the Racecourse and training facilities, protect Wrexham's history, return them to the Football League and "always beat Chester".
Wins - 104
Confirmation of the deal came just moments after a 2-1 win over Altrincham at FC United's Broadhurst Park home.
Since then, 'Hollywood' Wrexham have played 169 games in all competitions, winning more than 100 times. That's a win ratio of around 62%.
Points - 290
All those wins add up to 290 points in the table - 111 of them from last year's National League title success, a record for the top five divisions in English football.
Managers - 2
Dean Keates lasted little more than three months in the job after the takeover, when his contract was not renewed after Wrexham missed out on the play-offs on the final day of the 2020-21 season.
Phil Parkinson was appointed on 1 July. Some two years and seven months later, he is the longest-serving Wrexham manager since Dean Saunders (2008-2011).
Paul Mullin scored 38 goals in Wrexham's promotion-winning season
Signings - 41
The number of new faces through the door at the Racecourse averages at more than one a month since the takeover, although two of those signings actually preceded the official confirmation of the historic deal.
As the club waited for approval from the Financial Conduct Authority, Reynolds and McElhenney made a donation to allow then-manager Dean Keates to make signings before the transfer deadline.
One of them, Dior Angus, went on to score against Woking to ensure victory in the first official game under the new regime.
The deals include signing several full internationals - including Ben Foster, James McClean and Steven Fletcher - while at least one has been confirmed as breaking their transfer record: the £300,000 paid to Wimbledon for Ollie Palmer in January 2022 surpassing the amount it cost to sign Joey Jones from Liverpool 44 years earlier.
Goals - 366
With that Angus effort getting things rolling, Wrexham's goals have been celebrated by Ryan and Rob 366 times. That works out more than two goals a game on average.
Paul Mullin has scored more of those than any other player, with just under a quarter of the goals since the takeover being scored by the striker (91).
He is Wrexham's 11th leading scorer of all time.
Attendance - 557,555
More than half a million fans have come through the historic Racecourse turnstiles for league fixtures since the takeover.
That is an average of 9,613 fans a game - taking out the first half a season of ownership that saw games being played behind closed doors.
Aside from the growing interest in the club from all corners, as well as the excitement built by Parkinson's side, attendances have steadily increased because of ground improvements - including a new temporary stand erected earlier this season.
Wrexham are waiting for work to begin on a new 5,000-seater 'Kop'.
The 12,478 crowd for the most recent home fixture - a 2-0 win over Wimbledon - was the club's biggest league gate in 44 years.
Wrexham's last game before the takeover where fans were allowed, a goalless draw with Eastleigh in March 2020, saw just 3,436 watch a side who were four points off the fifth-tier relegation places.
More than double that number travelled to Blackburn for their recent FA Cup fourth-round tie.
The women's side also broke records with 9,511 people - a record for Welsh women's domestic football - watching as they were crowned Adran North champions last March.
Trophies - 1
That trophy was for the National League title. But there are another eight if you include Critics' Choice and Emmys for the documentary, plus the successful promotion to the top-flight of Welsh women's football.
It could have been more but an FA Trophy final trip to Wembley - with David Beckham in the Wrexham box - saw them beaten by Bromley in the same season they missed out in the National League play-offs.
Initial investment - £2m
That was the headline figure proposed during the takeover, with £50,000 immediately put towards firing up the women's set-up, which has since seen players given semi-pro contracts upon promotion to the Adran Premier.
With the most recent set of accounts only taking in the first full year of ownership, there was evidence of a £3.67m loan to help fund the purchase of the freehold to the Racecourse and a further £1.2m invested through shares.
The same accounts - which take in the season that Wrexham missed out on promotion to the Football League in the play-offs - show around £1.18m was spent on transfers, £2.4m on "property improvements" and the number of club staff more than doubled to 195.
A 404% increase in revenue to £5.972m - including £2.65m from matchday income - helped swell the coffers and ease a loss of £2.914m, but all these figures are before the boost in sponsorship deals and other earnings following the release of Welcome to Wrexham, two months after the period covered by the accounts.
Documentary episodes - 33
Two seasons of Welcome to Wrexham have aired since its premiere in August 2022, with the show proving a hit on both sides of the Atlantic. In total, 33 episodes have gone out with a third season being commissioned and due later this year.
For a snapshot of the impact of the TV series, Wrexham say they saw a £300,000 increase in retail sales during the screening of the first season.
Hollywood actor Hugh Jackman is one of Wrexham's many celebrity fans
Social media followers - 3.7m
The promise of a global brand is being delivered upon judging by the club's social media profile, with followers and subscribers more than doubling in the last year alone.
On the day of the takeover, there was a combined 165,000 accounts following Wrexham, the most being on the platform formerly known as Twitter, with 79,589. Almost half a million more accounts (568,000) now follow the club.
The largest subscriber base is on TikTok, the club's former shirt sponsors, with 1.5m followers, with Instagram on 1.2m - up from 41,000 on day zero and almost treble last year's figure of 434,316.
There's a further 333,000 followers on Facebook and 111,000 YouTube subscribers to throw into the mix too. All in all, a 2,142% increase in social media profile.
Celebrity fans - Countless
The co-chairmen have certainly sprinkled a bit of Hollywood magic around the Racecourse. As well as McElhenney's Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-stars Glenn Howerton, Charlie Day and wife Kaitlin Olson, plus Reynolds' actor wife Blake Lively, Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Kit Harington, Emma Corrin and Hugh Jackman have all been spotted at Wrexham games.
And that is not counting those - such as Jason Sudeikis, Will Arnett and Jason Bateman - who have shown their support on social media.
Crowd at promotion parade - 40,000
Around 15,000 to 20,000 had been expected to line the streets of Wrexham for the three-bus parade to celebrate the promotion of both the men's and women's sides last May.
By the end, North Wales Police confirmed around 40,0000 were present as the owners and playing staff toasted the triumphs with the Racecourse and the iconic Turf pub in the background, the images from which marked the final scenes of the documentary's second season.
TOURIST TRAP: Meet the team selling Wales to the world
FOR THE LOVE OF SPORT: The biggest names in Welsh sport and the stories behind them
