Wrexham promoted: How Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney and Phil Parkinson steered the Red Dragons to back-to-back-to-back promotions

No club in the history of the Football League had ever before completed back-to-back-to-back promotions.

Until Saturday April 26 2025, that was.

With a 3-0 win over Charlton, Phil Parkinson’s side followed champions Birmingham in sealing automatic promotion from Sky Bet League One to the Championship with one game to spare.

Three of the club’s eight promotions in history have now come in the last three seasons; their rapid rise from the doldrums saw them crowned National League champions in 2022/23 and Sky Bet League Two runners-up in 2023/24.

Just over four years after Hollywood superstars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney completed their takeover of the Welsh club, the Premier League is in sight.

Here, Sky Sports takes a look at a journey that, to this point, has been nothing short of incredible.

Hollywood comes to North Wales as Rob and Ryan arrive

From 1921 to 2008, Wrexham were a Football League club. But after relegation from League Two under Brian Little, they disappeared from the minds of many.

More than a decade went by without them managing to find a way out of the notoriously challenging National League.

In both 2010/11 and 2011/12, they lost to Luton in the play-off semi-finals. They were beaten in the final by Newport in 2012/13 and in 2018/19, Eastleigh knocked them out at the quarter-finals.

Then, in late 2020 – almost unbelievably – a takeover by Reynolds – the man behind the mask of Marvel’s ‘Deadpool’ – and McElhenney – star of long-running sitcom ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ – was announced. In February 2021, it was completed, when 98.6 per cent of Wrexham Supporters Trust members voted in favour.

Though television cameras descended on The Racecourse Ground, as production began on FX’s documentary series ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ for the first time, the pair’s first few months were not hugely glamorous. There was a late dash for the play-offs under Dean Keates, but Wrexham finished one point short in the end.

But this was a project – and there is often failure along the road to success.

Equally as important as starting a rise up the divisions was wanting to engage the community. McElhenney spoke about visions of Wrexham’s home being full again, as it was in the 70s. “Our hope is that we can help Wrexham become a global force,” said Reynolds.

Failure and success as foundations for the historic rise are laid

The 2021/22 campaign was transformative for Wrexham. Phil Parkinson – a man with three managerial promotions on his CV – was installed as manager, social media platform TikTok became their main shirt sponsor and the signing of Paul Mullin on a free transfer from Cambridge proved to be a masterstroke, as he scored 26 goals in 38 league games.

Parkinson’s side finished second on 88 points, but that was six short of champions Stockport. Yet another unsuccessful play-off campaign followed, as Grimsby dumped them out by way of a thrilling 5-4 semi-final win after extra-time. That added insult to injury as, six days prior, they had lost the FA Trophy final to Bromley at Wembley.

They were promoted back to the EFL after 15 long years in 2022/23 having been engaged in a title battle for the ages with Notts County. A near-perfect home record of 22 wins, one draw and zero defeats was undoubtedly the key factor in pipping the Magpies to the title by 111 points to 107.

Last season, there was simply no let-up.

The signings of vastly experienced pair – at domestic and international level – James McClean and Steven Fletcher, in addition to Ben Foster signing a new deal, brought much-needed nous and know-how. Otherwise, the bulk of the squad that was there in the National League was there in League Two.

From October 21 to the final day of the season, Wrexham did not drop below fifth. And five straight wins to close the season saw them finish only four points behind champions Stockport. The haul of 88 points was their best EFL return in history.

“A few years ago, if you told me I would be crying tears of joy over a football match taking place in North Wales, you would be Rob McElhenney,” Reynolds posted on X after promotion was confirmed. “Congrats to Wrexham and my co-chairman in crime. Double up the town! This is the ride of our lives.”

No room for sentiment in plotting a route to the next level

In order to then be competitive in League One, sentiment had to go out of the window. Players with experience of playing in the third tier or above, as well as youngsters with high potential, were brought in. Promotion-winners, including Anthony Forde, James Jones and Jacob Mendy, were either let go or had to settle for a reduced role.

The same can be said for Mullin. In his first three seasons, he became the club’s poster boy, spearheading two straight promotions with 105 goals in just 140 games in all competitions. He has managed just nine starts and three goals in the league this time around, however, and has not played since the 3-2 defeat to Stevenage on January 28.

“We’ve had to fast-track the quality of the squad,” said Parkinson, speaking to Sky Sports in the lead-up to the Easter weekend.

“For years and years, through no one’s fault but just the club not having any money and having really difficult times, the squad quality-wise and depth was a long way off where it needed to be to mount the kind of challenge we’ve done in the last few years.

“So we’ve had to fast-track the quality level within the group, while also looking at the sustainable model for a football club going forward.

“The academy is a great example. In the National League, we didn’t really have a youth structure. We were unable to and gradually, year on year, we’re getting stronger in that department because Rob and Ryan listen to the advice of everybody. They’ve understood putting the infrastructure in place.

“In years to come, we need to produce our own players because when it gets to a level that you can’t always compete in the transfer market with teams in and around you, it’s nice to have players coming through. We’ve got a few at the moment, which has been brilliant for us and there’s nothing supporters like more than their own grown players.”

Momentum never dies at the Racecourse

This term, it has simply been a case of rinse and repeat. Four wins and a draw in the first five – keeping four clean sheets along the way – would have looked like beginner’s luck for most teams. But Wrexham aren’t most teams.

Barring the 3-1 loss at Birmingham on September 16, each of their seven other defeats have come by a one-goal margin. Only five teams – Burnley (13), Arsenal (27), Birmingham (29), Leeds (29) and Liverpool (31) – have conceded fewer goals across the top four divisions of English football. Goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo has the most clean sheets in League One, with 17.

That is not to say it has been smooth sailing. Ten of their 24 wins to date have come by a 1-0 scoreline and five of those 24 have been won by goals scored on or beyond the 80th minute. But with two Hollywood actors at the helm, what would this story be without a touch of drama?

“I just said to the lads today that we don’t go into any game expecting favours from anyone else, it’s just about concentrating on our own job,” said Parkinson.

“We’ve been in this situation before in the National League with Notts County where we went toe to toe with them. All you can do is control what you can control – and that’s your own performance level.

“There’s certain things that are out of our control and one of those is the other team’s performances and results, so we know what we’ve got to do.”

And that’s exactly what they did.

Wycombe pushed hard, but Wrexham prevailed to make history in the end. Their incredible feat will stand out on its own in the history books for many years to come.

Now comes the Championship, where they have never played before.

There were four Second Division seasons after they won the Third in 1977/78, but since 1982, every league game they have played has been in the third, fourth and fifth tier football. This is uncharted territory for large sections of the fanbase.

To have achieved what Wrexham have over the last three seasons takes some doing. Potential hurdles and heartbreak will have been factored into their plans, yet, remarkably, very little has slowed their momentum.

The work will not stop there. Why would it? Granted, promotion from the Championship to the Premier League will be another mammoth task altogether. But Rob and Ryan did not come here to settle for anything less.

And now they’ve achieved the improbably, what’s to stop Wrexham believing they can achieve the impossible?