The biggest games of the Hollywood era... so far
Which was the most important? Which was the best?
And it will be cinematic…
It took a worldwide pandemic to stop Wrexham AFC getting relegated to the regional divisions of football and sharing a division with Chester Flintshire Seals. That’s just how bad we were.
The premature end of the 2019/20 football season left many fans around the country in a funk - with tables decided on points-per-game ratios and champions crowned in front of empty seats. But for the Red Army, it felt like some kind of divine intervention.
Dean Keates’ hapless group were just two points above the drop-zone to the National League North when the campaign was cut short. It was an act of mercy, really. Somewhere in a parallel universe, we’re playing out a 0-0 with Route One Rovers in the North West Counties right about now. But here - in what is surely the best possible timeline - Wrexham are members of The Championship.
From the brink of sixth tier footy to one rung below the Prem. It’s the sort of trajectory that only ever happens on Football Manager saves where players smash up their bedrooms and reboot the game when any match isn’t going their way.
If this Wrexham script had been put in front of a Hollywood exec, he’d have tossed it into his high-powered ceiling fan and screamed through the shredded paper about how a movie had to have some semblance of reality in order to be greenlit.
It has all been ridiculous. But it did happen. And here’s the proof.
Listed below are all the most important scenes of the movie so far…
‘It was nice knowing you’: Wrexham 0-1 AFC Telford, 23 September 2020
On 23 September 2020 - deep in midweek, deep in lockdown - Wrexham AFC were participating in a pre-season friendly against AFC Telford in front of 10,000 empty seats under the floodlights. The score was 0-0. Not even the players seemed to be taking much interest.
Then, the clock struck 8pm. Anyone half-heartedly following the friendly on social media saw a new tweet pop into view. Strangely, it wasn’t anything to do with what was happening on the pitch. It was a club statement with a link revealing the identities of our two potential investors.
It was pointedly quiet, too. No coy remarks or GIFs. Just the link. As if to say - this content will speak for itself.
At 7.59pm, Wrexham players were booting a ball around a muddy field in front of an empty Racecourse stadium. One minute later, the whole world was talking about them.
When the final whistle blew, Wrexham had lost 1-0 to a team a division below. But nobody remembers that. Everyone just recalls how they reacted when they saw the names Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds in that Wrexham AFC statement. From that moment, everything changed.
“It was nice knowing you,” one Woking fan wrote to the Wrexham club account admin.
“Enjoy the Prem…”
‘We’re gonna have to rebuild’: Dagenham & Redbridge 1-1 Wrexham, 29 May 2021
Poor Paul Rutherford.
The pint-sized Scouser ran as hard as any man who has ever pulled on a red shirt. He must have covered more than 1,000 miles in nearly 200 games for Wrexham. And he didn’t deserve what happened at Dagenham in 2021. The guy had earned every right to go on out on a high.
Alas, football can be cruel, and the last time we ever saw Ruthers was in the changing rooms at Victoria Road, screaming at the top of his lungs, hurling a water bottle across an empty room, and burying his face in his hands before erupting in a flood of tears.
The cameras had arrived by 2021, but the Hollywood Effect had not seeped into the club just yet, with a bumpy season played almost entirely behind closed doors. We watched Ruthers turn out for the final time on TV screens against Dagenham, a late challenge led to him being red-carded, and we could only manage a 1-1 draw that was not enough to make the play-offs.
That game was the tipping point. Reynolds admitted it was time to rebuild and Ruthers was let go. Keates, his staff, and nine players would also be shown the door.
“Not everyone can come on this journey with us,” Humphrey Ker confessed.
“What was previously an acceptable level of performance is now no longer that.”
Wrexham 2.0 was officially under construction.
Good to be back: Solihull 2-2 Wrexham, 21 August 2021
It was a long time to be away.
Solihull vs Wrexham was the first competitive fixture for over a year in which supporters were allowed back into grounds due to COVID, and it served up everything we’d come to expect from decades on the terraces supporting the Reds: Anticipation, excitement, and disappointment.
Hankering for their first taste of live league football for nearly a year-and-a-half, an enormous Red Army rushed into the away end for that Solihull curtain-raiser in 21/22 - a day that also ushered in the first full season of The Hollywood Age.
We got to see Paul Mullin’s first goal, David Jones’ last goal, and, of course, a 90th minute calamity - conceding a last-gasp equaliser and having to settle for 2-2.
It was all new and all familiar, all at once. But it was good to be back.
‘I love the fight’: Wrexham 1-1 Torquay, 30 October 2021
During the initial portion of their Wrexham reign, RR McReynolds felt unreal: Distant, mythical figures watching over us from afar.
Against all odds they popped up in person at Maidenhead in October 2021, sending the internet into meltdown, before visiting Wales for the first time to watch us at Y Cae Ras.
For so long they were nowhere, and then they were everywhere. At training. Inside Mad4Movies. Strolling past Chequers. Nowhere was off-limits. If you were in the right place at the right time, you’d grab a glimpse of them in person. People popping out for lunch in Wrexham centre occasionally found themselves in the midst of an excited scrum as RR McReynolds were escorted through the streets by agitated security members.
On the day of the tie against Torquay United, the pair addressed the rocking stadium by thanking the town for “opening its heart”. Gulls fans, unconcerned with Reynolds’ warm words for Wales, continued singing over his speech. “That must be the away squad,” Reynolds smirked, handing over the mic to McElhenney whose brief bilingual address ended in a rousing: “COME ON YOU REDS!”.
Reynolds quietly plucked some grass from the turf and stashed it away in his coat pocket; a memento of his first visit and reminder of what he was part of. As the duo walked off the field, they seized one another in a firm embrace. The occasion had definitely got to them.
It wasn’t quite the grand welcome they deserved in the end, though. After an explosive start with a goal from A&E loyalty card holder Harry Lennon, we conceded late again and it ended 1-1.
“There’s lots of work to do but we’re all in this for the long haul,” promised Rob.
“I love the fight in this club and this town.”
We’ve got Mullin: Halifax 1-2 Wrexham, 23 November 2021
A bit of momentum was behind us by the time we headed to Yorkshire in November 2021.
The season had already served up some satisfying victories: A battering of King’s Lynn - the football club Steve Cleeve chose to spend his money on when he should have really just bought an iron for his wrinkled suits - and thumping Aldershot, which was sweet revenge for their tinpot antics during Mopgate.
That was all well and good. But Halifax (A) was the Statement Win we’d been waiting for. It revealed that we knew how to beat the bigger teams after all, and that we had a player who could score at any moment.
Paul Mullin’s cool finish in the dying embers sent the Red side of The Shay absolutely potty, with the sense that this victory would be the catalyst we needed to kick on.
And so it proved. Mullin’s shirt-off-and-leap-into-the-fans winner set in motion a run of form that shot us up the table. By February we were firmly in the play-off picture.
In Mulls, we obviously had a star. All that was missing was a strike partner for him…
Enter Ollie…: Chesterfield 0-2 Wrexham, 22 February 2022
Ollie Palmer arrived in Wrexham like one of those guys who barges in through the door of a party with a crate under his arm and a boombox over his shoulder. As soon as he turned up, you just knew things were about to crank up a notch.
Not many Reds have made such a huge impact, so quickly. The Billionaire Bulldozer was signed for “oil money” prices and became the highest-paid player in the division according to those ITK accounts on Football Twitter that use phrases like “inject it!” and “cry more!”. But whatever he cost in reality, it was worth every penny. Adding Ollie to the team took us out of the play-off picture and into the title race.
Whenever the big games came around, Ollie was there. He started as he intended to go on with a debut goal, bagging the winner against Grimsby - but two of his most important strikes in a red shirt came at Chesterfield a few weeks later.
Our visit to The Technique stadium was a test of mettle: It would ultimately prove whether we had the ability - and the bottle - for a title fight. Palmer bundled in two scabby goals in the 58th and 68th minute to spark absolute limbs - and we wouldn’t budge after that.
The players’ full-time victory lap was the most impassioned of the season, with Parky producing his first BIG fist-pump celebration that would accompany all future victories of note.
This was the point where we knew this side was going to give it a bloody good go.
The comeback: Wrexham 6-5 Dover Athletic, 26 March 2022
Fans were only talking about one thing going into Wrexham vs Dover Athletic: A 1Password advert. Instead of focusing on the opposition or speculating on the scoreline, supporters were distracted by the comedic antics of our chairman - who managed to write a cybersecurity commercial that involved threatening to shove a red card up Mullin’s arse.
What was there even to say about this match? Aside from a few self-confessed grumps warning it would be “typical bloody Wrexham” to lose to the division’s bottom side who were already relegated as early as March, it didn’t seem likely. The odds were overwhelmingly in our favour.
Dover turned up at The Racecourse with just one win and 22 fans. And within 20 minutes they were 2-0 down. It was all going as expected. But then something weird happened. They pulled one back. Then equalised. Then went in front. Then got another. And another.
Some red-faced fans flooded towards the exits. Others stood catching flies. With just 27 minutes left on the clock, and three goals down, there was seemingly no way back.
But we didn’t know this Wrexham side like we know them now. There’s always a way back.
The Billionaire Bulldozer barrelled one home then curled in another to make it 4-5, before a Coedy Assassin free-kick levelled the scores in injury time with nine minutes still to play (added on for some theatrical Dover time-wasting). When a late, late, late, late, late, late corner pinged off Jordan Davies’ head, the comeback was complete.
The winning goal sent shirts twirling in the air and commentators squealing at a higher pitch than a mosquito alarm. It was mayhem. And one of the greatest comebacks in Wrexham history.
‘F*** you Wrexham we’re gonna win the league’: Wrexham 3-0 Stockport, 8 May 2022
When did all this fisticuffs with Stockport even start?
There have been plenty of tasty ties between Wrexham and County over the years - games where we’d slug it out and then just get on with our lives when the final whistle blew.
But in 2021, the Wrexham-Stockport relationship turned sour, and fans went feral.
12 points clear at the top of the table going into spring, the Hatters were seemingly destined to end their non-league nightmare unopposed. But they must have sensed us breathing down their necks. Results slipped, and by the time Stockport came to Wales for a crunch tie, they were visibly unnerved.
Wrexham walloped the Hatters 3-0 at a rambunctious Cae Ras that day: Having the audacity to turn a one-horse race into a photo finish.
You could see the cartoon lines quivering around the convoy of Stockport buses as they sheepishly trembled down Crispin Lane and back across the border. Most of Noel Gallagher’s neighbours on board assumed a grim complexion. For one brief moment, the relentless chorus of “F*** you Wrexham we’re gonna win the league!” - which had been bellowed out across Stockport on repeat for weeks on end - was silenced.
All the momentum was with Wrexham, and Stockport knew it.
Maybe, just maybe, it was going to be our year instead…
The worst thriller in the world: Wrexham 4-5 Grimsby, 28 May 2022
Or not.
A week is a long time in football, and one of the best days of the season was swiftly followed by one of the worst.
The final weekend saw us capitulate at Dagenham whilst Stockport won their own game, ending any hopes we had of snatching the title. The blue parades set in motion and the Reds returned home facing a grim reality: If we were going to go up, we’d have to do it via the play-offs.
Sadly, that was never going to happen. Our play-off record stinks.
Grimsby in 2022 was our fifth failed attempt to make it through the non-league eliminators. But it was the most memorable of the bunch: A semi-final unlike anything most of us had ever experienced. We danced like wedding guests one moment and sat in sickened silence like funeral attendees the next. We prayed and we mourned. We praised and we criticised. We laughed and we cried. All during the same two hours.
None of it made any sense. And ultimately, there was no reward. The Reds went out.
In the space of two-and-a-half weeks, Wrexham lost the title, the FA Trophy Final to Bromley, the play-offs and - if you’re being fussy - the City of Culture bid.
It was not the Hollywood ending we all hoped for.
Not yet, anyway…
Coventry 3-4 Wrexham, 7 January 2023
The FA Cup - not Hollywood - is the main reason why Wrexham are known to football fans around the country. The grubby clip of Mickey Thomas slamming the ball into the net against Arsenal means that most UK supporters knew who we were long before RR McReynolds turned up with their 100 watt smiles.
That famous win in 1992 bestowed upon us the proud label of “giant-killers” - and we spent the rest of the decade upsetting the apple cart by beating Birmingham, Middlesborough and West Ham United. But dark times were looming, and our tagline was looking deeply outdated by 2023, as we were repeatedly knocked out of the competition by the likes of Alfreton, Harrogate and Rochdale. The closest we’d come to living up to our old rep was when we pushed Stoke City to within an inch of their lives, but there had been no famous upsets to dine out on for many years.
Then came Coventry City (A): A game that didn’t just produce a giant-killing, but something beyond our wildest imagination. This was a 4-3 thriller that left North East Wales with no voices and no fingernails come Sunday morning. We were spectacular from start to finish.
“That's the loudest I've ever heard the stadium,” admitted Cov manager Mark Robins in his post-match interview.
“There was a lot of noise.”
A bonafide classic.
Wrexham 3-3 Sheffield United, 29 January 2023
There are some sporting occasions that everyone seems to watch. They’re talked about all week on group chats, at the office, on the radio, and even at your nan’s when she invites you round for tea.
These are usually finals at the FIFA World Cup or Wimbledon or The Six Nations. But the 2023 FA Cup fourth round fixture of Wrexham vs Sheff Utd also fell into that category.
It was impossible to find someone who hadn’t watched this game. Screened on the BBC with Ryan Reynolds starring as a guest pundit, thousands tuned in - and they all saw Wrexham come within seconds of a famous scalp.
What a game it was. We had, somehow, managed to lead 3-2 against a team 70 league places above us the pyramid - despite losing two defenders to injury within the first ten minutes. And we came so close. A replay at Bramall Lane was a decent consolation prize, but it wasn’t quite as satisfying when we knew we’d missed out on a home tie with Spurs by failing to hang on.
Sheff Utd were classless in the aftermath of their equaliser, with Blades fans trying to pick fights on the Mold Road with people simply trying to walk home. When they did find a Red contingent who were up for a scrap, they bundled into a van and tore through a red light back to Yorkshire. They proved to be similarly antagonistic in the replay defeat - with bluberry Billy Sharp adding fuel to the fire.
As unpleasant as it all turned out, these games proved that Wrexham were a big draw now - and that we could rattle one of the biggest sides in the country.
We’ll see them again next season. Not sure whether to feel happy about that or not…
‘Super Ben Foster in goal!’: Wrexham 3-2 Notts County, 10 April 2023
There is a theory that Ben Foster only ever had one truly great game in his second spell at Wrexham. It’s not an opinion that most Reds are willing to entertain, given the goalkeeper’s enormous popularity here in Wales. But is there something to it?
Well, the stats don’t look brilliant. Foster conceded 21 goals in 12 appearances for the Reds across two seasons: Not what you’d expect from one of the most talented goalkeepers in the whole country. He knew it, too. After just four games in L2, Fozz held up his hands and retired on the spot, admitting he couldn’t hack it anymore.
But data alone rarely tells the full story. The Ben Foster narrative is the perfect case in point. These numbers don’t account for what the man did against Notts County on 10th April 2023: Producing a save that effectively made us champions.
What’s also worth remembering is that Foster was retired by this stage. He had turned down an offer from Newcastle United and wanted to focus on his podcast. But when Rob Lainton got injured again, Foster’s name came up - and it was a deal that seemed to suit everyone. We needed a new man between the posts for our title push, and Foster wanted to boost the profile of his pod.
The goalkeeper called Wrexham’s wage offer “peanuts”, but he did value the fresh traffic that would come flooding to his channel as a result of the transfer. Foster seized the opportunity to boost his subscriber numbers, bringing his GoPro to games and stuffing it in the corner of his net. But, crucially, he still had a visible passion to win and saw himself as part of a wider team.
That performance in the Notts County game eclipsed any wobbles that came before or after. His last-gasp save from Cedwyn Scott’s spot kick was astonishing - and it immortalised Foster as a Wrexham Hero twice over.
Few games successfully live up to the kind of hyperbolic frothing that engulfed the National League’s “biggest ever” fixture, but Wrexham vs Notts County somehow managed to meet the lofty expectations set by a duo of sides who amassed more than a century of points in a single season. It had the lot - and was horrible and amazing in equal measure.
All year, everyone wondered what the difference might be between Wrexham and Notts County. Turns out it was Ben Foster.
The Big Day: Wrexham 3-1 Boreham Wood, 22 April 2023
The photos of Joey Jones pumping a fist at the camera and a bustling Kop sizzling in the sunshine against Boston Utd are close candidates, but there is perhaps no greater image in Wrexham AFC history than the one of Paul Mullin stood on the side of Y Cae Ras pitch when the full-time whistle rang out on Saturday 22nd April 2023.
It was only fitting that it was Mulls who had the last say in our Champions Season. Not only had he emerged as one of the best finishers to wear the Wrexham badge, he had proven himself to be a proper fighter. He busted a gut to get to every ball and no matter how many times he hit the net, he wasn’t satisfied. He always wanted another.
Promotion 1 was a night we barely remember and will never forget - with hordes of wild-eyed fans packing out pubs, scaling lampposts, and leaping into bushes in delight. The roar of Wrexham anthems splashed up Pen-Y-Bryn and Madeira Hill and Holt Street and Rhosddu Road all night long. It was carnage.
The one silver lining about it taking us so long to go up was that the anticipation for the party just got bigger. 15 years of tension came out in a single evening. Beautiful chaos.
Remember us?: Wrexham 4-2 Walsall, 15 August 2023
After a few months sitting on the sofa with cold flannels on our foreheads, trying to recuperate after the night of Boreham Wood, we were all giddy again by the time our fixture with MK Dons rolled around.
5th August 2023 marked our first EFL game for many years. But it turned out to be an absolute disaster. The Franchise were a class above, going 4-1 up at Y Cae Ras until a frantic flurry of late goals saw the scoreline end up at 5-3.
We weren’t quite ready yet.
So, for our next home tie - a game against Walsall - more effort went into the prep. Flat Carling was replaced by bubbly Cruzcampo in pub bars. The drone of the pub teles was drowned out by live acoustic sets in the Maesgwyn. Turnstile workers swapped rusty change tins for barcode scanners.
The result was a summer night dancing with excitement, and the game - played in the beam of new spacecraft-style floodlights - was wonderful to watch. One victory, two ambitious teams, three man of the match contenders and four home goals - including a Cantona lob from The Billionaire Bulldozer and a cool celebration the Frenchman would’ve been proud of.
It was our first win in the EFL since 2008. And there’d be plenty more to come.
Long time coming: Shrewsbury 0-1 Wrexham, 7 January 2024
You reap what you sow.
Karma took its time to come for Shrewsbury. But in January 2024, this cosmic force finally caught up with them.
After years spent hurling insults at us from above, Slops endured a torrid afternoon against their most hated enemy in the FA Cup - missing sitters, hanging flags upside-down, and getting knocked out by a deflection.
There were so many rub-it-in-in-your-face moments that day, you almost felt sorry for them. But then you remember Slops’ mirth in the aftermath of our relegation, and any sympathy quickly evaporated.
We gave it back to them and then some. Even the Wrexham admin on social media couldn’t resist getting involved.
It was a long time coming, that one. And it felt bloody good.
B2B: Wrexham 6-0 Forest Green Rovers, 13 April 2024
“Mansfield are winning!” one Red squeaked in delight as news fizzled around the Tech End that results were going our way.
Another fan nearby was unimpressed.
“The only game that matters is this one,” he scowled, pointing at the pitch in front of him.
Ok, the sentiment was right. Wrexham had to beat Forest Green Rovers for any chance of a B2B promotion becoming a reality. But it simply wasn’t true that it was the only match of the day we should be worrying about. So many different things had to happen for Wrexham to go up on 13th April 2023.
A Wrexham victory only mattered if MK Dons dropped points at home to Mansfield Town and Barrow failed to overcome Gillingham. There were lots of “what ifs”. Too many, in fact, for our chairmen (and indeed some supporters) to justify the travel and ticket prices, believing that the big moment would come in the coming days.
But the stars aligned. Mansfield and Gillingham both won comfortably, although not as easily as us - with the rampant Reds smashing FGR 6-0.
At full-time, we were on the pitch again celebrating a second promotion in two years.
The big time: Bolton 0-0 Wrexham, 18 August 2024
Many people have probably already forgotten Bolton vs Wrexham on 18th August 2024. It was, on the face of it, just a goalless stalemate, with very little happening of note.
But Bolton (A) marked a noteworthy point in The Wrexham Story nonetheless.
Standing in that stadium of 26,000 people was a screaming wake-up call as to how far we’d come in such a short space of time. Just being there in itself felt like a victory.
It was a point to savour. The performance suggested we were clearly going to be tough to beat this season. But we never anticipated just how many better results would follow.
It’s only a game: Wycombe 0-1 Wrexham, 15 March 2025
Wycombe (A) will be remembered for what happened off the pitch rather than on it.
A gritty, gruelling promotion six-pointer at Adams Park was stuck at 0-0 when the action was brought to a halt in the 77th minute. News rippled through the crowd - and then online - that a supporter in the away end was in serious trouble.
The players left the field and the terraces had to face a long and nervous wait, with makeshift barriers placed up around the person taken ill as medical staff performed CPR. More than half an hour later, the supporter was declared as “breathing, conscious and in a stable condition” - being taken away from Adams Park in an ambulance.
The match continued, Sam Smith scored, and we won. But the best news of the day was when the club confirmed the supporter was “recovering well” in hospital.
It was a jolting reminder that this obsession of ours really is just a game.
Football in a circus: Wrexham 3-0 Charlton Athletic, 26 April 2025
The hours following Promotion III were fuzzy, at best. Had this all definitely, actually happened?
It seemed like it might have done. All the signs were there. Our ears were ringing, our throats were stinging, and our chins were carrying a stupid smile which wouldn’t seem to go away. We had blurry memories of players on shoulders, grown men sobbing in the concourse, and strangers hugging us on the high streets. We remembered watching Wycombe on the TV, trudging off the field with their heads in their hands, knowing they’d blown it. And we recalled the sight of the Charlton clown car - driven madly by Nathan Jones in full circus make-up - failing to tailgate our promotion parade.
It was all a bit wild. But too vivid to be a fever dream. When that first cup of coffee kicked in and the fog cleared, there was no denying the reality. Wrexham were Championship.
We flicked on the news, and sure enough, it was all there. Three gorgeous goals blowing the roof of Y Cae Ras.
It really was one of the great days to savour. Even more incredible still was the fact that others seemed to be enjoying it almost as much as us. Even the harshest critics were caught engaging in a unified slow clap to sound their acknowledgment that this was a job well done after all. Three straight promotions was apparently all it took for RR McReynolds to be taken seriously.
Turns out they just had to achieve something that nobody ever had before…
Party time: Lincoln City 0-2 Wrexham, 3 May 2025
With Championship football already sealed, nobody in the away end at Sincil Bank was taking the final game of the season very seriously - although it was hard to focus when you were surrounded by dancing horses, traffic cones, a Mariachi band, Mario & Luigi, and a talking dinosaur.
But as we spent the afternoon singing and staggering about in fancy dress like a stag do at the airport, Parky was behaving like the dad who turns up at the departure gate four hours before a flight and is first in line to board. The guy always wants to win, whatever the occasion. This was always going to be business as usual. Lincoln was the perfect way to finish another epic campaign.
Following Wrexham isn’t always simple: We’ve seen so many shuttered WH Smiths in service stations at 1am, heard countless platform announcements about cancelled trains back to North Wales, and sat through multiple Uber journeys where the driver has sped down A-roads explaining why the Earth is flat. But that’s a small price to pay for getting to witness magic moments.
There have been so many. And maybe - just maybe - many more to come.
B2B2B ole ole!