New fans. New critics. Same lovely old town.
Not sure if you’ve heard - but a new documentary was released on Disney + last week.
It’s the heart-warming story of a club on its knees being lifted up by a charming duo trying to reward a fanbase for its fierce loyalty… or it’s a sports series that “fetishises” working-class culture and portrays a foolish group of supporters willingly relinquishing control for a Hollywood experiment. Depends on what you’ve read.
As the promotional racket of the Welcome to Wrexham premiere clattered over news desks, Fearless in Devotion issued a sage warning that the first screening would give rise to new allies and antagonists in equal measure. We’re already seeing that prediction play out.
Welcome to Wrexham has already been viewed far and wide, creating an unprecedented content churn about the Red Dragons’ history, culture, and aspirations. Much of this coverage has oozed excitement (the series has received some glowing reviews from TV critics, with the first two episodes proving a compelling watch) but some has expressed concern and dismay.
Ruffling most feathers was a piece titled Selling Wrexham’s Welshness, which was impressively written but perhaps missed the point in arguing the documentary was “about Wrexham – the club and the town – but never for them”, and suggesting we would lose our true identity by embracing outside investment.
Visiting Wrexham on match day serves up all the proof you need that the region is united and thriving - with bigger, prouder, louder crowds packing into local pubs and restaurants amid intoxicating displays of civic pride. Every Saturday brings unbridled excitement. It feels like this is for us as much as anyone.
A few other critics haven’t bothered to tackle the takeover in the same style as Selling Wrexham’s Welshness, instead electing to bellow from the sidelines that Wrexham fans are now just a gaggle of corn dog-munching plastics supporting a club that’s sold its soul.
I dunno. Should Reds have to apologise for choosing the lure of a promise of a better life - where slurping Bovril on rain-lashed terraces at Alfreton and Guiseley seemed to be an eternal destiny? Or should they have to say sorry for refusing to instantly dismiss a well-meaning wealthy party simply because it would be too different to the way things have been done before?
It’s a thorny debate and everyone will have their own opinion. Nor is there any right or wrong answer. It should never be forgotten that the fan model was our salvation, but it’s also difficult to ignore how it culminated in a stress-inducingly divided supporter base after too many seasons banging our heads against the non-league trap door. Yet today, the tight-knit Red community - which we have supposedly sacrificed for a shot with the prettiest girl at the dance - actually feels closer than it’s been for some time.
It’s going to be an adjustment, this fame malarkey. But we got on this ride together, and we’ll clamber off together, too. Worth enjoying whilst we’re here, wouldn’t you say?
The jiggly journey to ending jinxes
Amid the hullabaloo surrounding Wrexham’s big popcorn and bucket o’ Coca-Cola moment, it’s worth reminding everyone there’s been a game of football over the weekend.
The Reds were on the box again for the first bank holiday fixture as Parky’s gang schlepped to Woking in a televised late kick-off.
In the preamble, it seemed destined to end 2-0 - The Cards’ first four games of the season ended with this result - but which way it would swing was less certain, with Darren Sarll’s squad winning two and losing two.
Wrexham’s scorelines have been far more erratic. The start to the 22/23 season has been as bumpy as trip down the distractingly jiggly A483, with the good vibes of that Elliot Lee-inspired opening day victory being burnt to a crisp in sun-scorched Yeovil and then washed out at a stormy Chesterfield (where the Reds’ performance was even wetter than the weather).
Walloping five past Kent’s largest town the following weekend was a sorely-needed morale-booster - breaking the Jinx of Robbie Mac in the process. After witnessing five games in the flesh without a win, even our chairman himself must’ve been wondering whether it would just be better off hiding in the dressing rooms for two hours with his snapback pulled over his eyes whilst the Red Army upstairs did all the shouting for him.
But a Pele Mullin hat-trick spelled the end of that torrid run and gave Mac the win that he - and indeed all of us - had been craving: A victory swiftly followed by another at Woking on Saturday.
An early red card for the home side seemed to make the task of clocking up our first set of consecutive wins considerably easier, but the Reds had to dig in to defeat the dogged ten men of Woking on their own patch - surviving James Daly morphing into Robin Van Persie for a second-half volley plus a late penalty to triumph 3-2: Aaron “I’ll head anything” Hayden doing the business in both boxes whilst The Billionaire Bulldozer’s tap-in secured the points.
72 hours after leaving Surrey, the Reds are back at home playing Newcastle’s brother aka the newly-promoted Gateshead - who are still winless since climbing back into the fifth tier.
It’s a perfect opportunity to get the season momentum really going with three wins on the bounce: Putting us in the driving seat to steer off this wobbly stretch of road and shift through into the higher gears.
The sooner we find our feet, the better. There’s a hell of a lot more people paying attention now…
Great piece again..thanks.