Very few clubs outside of the Premier League in England get talked about as much as Wrexham have been lately.
Ever since their takeover by celebrity owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in 2020, the club has been thrust into the limelight for multiple reasons.
The club was subject to a documentary called Welcome to Wrexham, which was aired on FX, thus resulting in an increase in fans over the Atlantic.
The gains have been very real for the Welsh club, who almost achieved promotion in 2021-22 but failed in the play-offs semi-finals, losing to Grimsby Town.
In the 2022-23 season, the club again made headlines, almost pulling off a major upset in the FA Cup against Championship side Sheffield United, who scored in the 5th minute of added time to force a replay.
The positives are not just in the real world, but in the virtual as well, with Wrexham becoming the first non-league team to be featured in the popular video game series FIFA. In fact, the owners also make a surprise appearance in the game, such is the charm of the new regime at the club.
What Mark Goldbridge said
While there is no shortage of admirers of Wrexham, there are plenty of detractors as well.
The latest of them is Mark Goldbridge, a popular YouTuber and Manchester United fan. After the FA Cup-almost victory, Goldbridge took it upon himself to put the Wrexham fans in their place.
Controversial take! I see nothing admirable or likeable about Wrexham. They're just a National League side with a cheat code and a Disney Documentary
The “cheat code” he is talking about here is the financial backing the club gets from the owners.
What he is forgetting about, though, is that Wrexham is one of the oldest clubs in history. Factually speaking, they were formed in 1864, and are the oldest in Wales and the third oldest professional association football team in the world. Wrexham also has a rich history, winning or finishing second in multiple cup and league competitions, domestic and international.
So, to negate everything and attribute the current stature of the club to only a three-year-old regime was always going to attract a lot of hate on social media.
Reynolds > Glazers
Tut tut Mr Goldbridge, green is not a good colour on you! Wrexham ARE admirable and ARE likeable and our following prove that week in week out. Another non comment from yet another jealous opposing team fan
— Me, the Wife and Wrexham AFC Podcast (@MeTheWifeWxm) January 29, 2023
I don't know who you are Mr Goldbridge, but you clearly don't know about football. The best football clubs are an amalgam of passionate fans, intelligent owners and skilful players – all interwoven into the club's history and culture to make one great team. This is @Wrexham_AFC
His comments also take away the great job that Rob and Ryan are doing, unlike some other club owners.
Very rare Goldbridge L
What Ryan and Rob have done with Wrexham is brilliant for the entire community and the football club. In an ideal world every club would have these opportunities to potentially transform into something that they would never dream of. Reynolds > Glazer's 👍 https://t.co/CPZrQcF7lq
Totally disagree. Owners have completely embedded themselves into the community. Bought they're stadium back. Built a team fit for promotion. Used they're own fame to enhance Wrexham as a club. These things most fans would want of owners NO? Goldbridge open your eyes.
Goldbridge also went on to write another tweet about the club, claiming how everyone is now a Wrexham fan and how the supposed fairy tale is fake, with a predictable response.
Never tweet that you're not a fan of Wrexham lol! Seriously though, I don't see the fairytale in having a budget bigger than most Championship sides in the National League? It's guaranteed success
One user even brought out a tweet that Mark had made about another club with a similar storyline, Salford City FC.
Salford was acquired by former United players Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, the Neville brothers and Paul Scholes in 2014.
A similar storyline of celebrity owners and cash injection, but Mark was at that time supportive and even in awe of the club, possibly because the owners were the revered Class of ’92 and not some USA star.
Craig Jones, a Twitter user, brought back that tweet to compare the different responses and how Wrexham is actually much superior to Salford and how two-faced and hypocritical the YouTuber is.
This you?
The ever so slight difference though is that we have 160 years of history, have been to European quarter finals and take more fans away than Salford have at home. https://t.co/IxAVIWlXeupic.twitter.com/Nx9qVMYKbP
While we could have assumed that this was just another attempt at a social media star trying to stir up some controversy and likes, the reason revealed itself yesterday, thanks to another Goldbridge tweet.
New United Stand Tour date announced! Tickets on sale for Wrexham out at 10am today…
He was mentioning and slandering Wrexham just to stir up some interest and get his name across in the town, as he had a tour coming up and wanted to sell tickets.
From a business and marketing standpoint, well done. From a football standpoint, have some shame.
