Welcome to Wrexham 1x2

1. Is Ryan here?

2. Not yet.

3. Typical.

4. The power dynamic begins.

5. Ryan and I have never met in person,

6. but we did buy a football team together.

7. Maybe not the smartest thing to do.

8. Yeah.

9. - Looks fine. - Oh, guys,

10. you're gonna need a bigger crew for this.

11. - Oh, hi. - Oh, God.

12. - There he is. - Oh, my.

13. It's so weird to see you

14. without the Disney princess filter.

15. - Yes, on your Zoom. - I know.

16. - What do you think?

17. Oh, my God.

18. - How's it going? - Good. How about you?

19. This—I think we're wearing— this is similar colors.

20. Right, see, this is why it was just meant to be.

21. I'm going with the Clubber Lang body.

22. He's not that tall.

23. - No. - Wow.

24. No, not with your 6-inch lifts.

25. - What? Well, yeah. - No.

26. Hello, my name is Rob McElhenney.

27. And my name is Ryan Reynolds.

28. And earlier this year, we became owners

29. of a football club in Wrexham,

30. and we thought it was only appropriate

31. for our Welsh fans to have a translator.

32. - Wow.

33. - It's a beautiful language. - Lengthy.

34. Getting Wrexham out of the National League

35. and into the EFL is— is the goal.

36. Then it really is about putting Wrexham

37. on a world stage should build this team,

38. and it's an underdog story, and that's something I love.

39. - What the fuck was that? - I don't know, man.

40. Did you hire—who hired her? I don't...

41. - She's looking at you like... - Looking at me?

42. Not sure what to get your special someone this holiday?

43. Tired of them opening the same old scarf or sweater?

44. Try Ifor Williams Trailers.

45. Ifor Williams Trailers

46. has been Britain's leading trailer manufacturer

47. for over 60 years.

48. Nothing says "I'm thinking about you"

49. and your horse like Ifor Williams Trailer.

50. Tilt bed, Beavertail, tipper, horse box,

51. livestock, you name it.

52. So if you're looking to really wow them this year...

53. And you own livestock...

54. - Visit... - Ifor Williams.

55. Why are Rob and I pitching

56. a North Walian trailer manufacturer?

57. Well, because we just became owners

58. of Wrexham Association Football Club,

59. and they're our team sponsor.

60. You may have never heard of Wrexham,

61. the Racecourse Ground or...

62. - Ifor Williams. - But you will.

63. So to the Wrexham Supporters Trust,

64. thank you for your faith and trust in us.

65. We are humbled

66. and we're already getting to work.

67. Holy.

68. This is really happening.

69. Thanks for gathering.

70. Um...

71. your employment by the football club

72. is not affected by this sale.

73. You will remain employed by Wrexham AFC.

74. Okay? So there's no change to your terms of conditions

75. of employment, but I fully understand

76. that in any change people do feel,

77. um, a little bit, uh, nervous about change,

78. and that is fully understandable.

79. It was quite emotional actually, talking to the staff

80. 'cause most of these people have been with us

81. for a long time.

82. Yeah.

83. I trust Humphrey with lots of things.

84. - Hey. - How are you?

85. Yeah, I'm Humphrey.

86. Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Dan.

87. - Hi, Dan. - Hi, are you all right?

88. - Nice to meet you. - Yeah, it's nice to meet you.

89. Because I didn't know anybody at first,

90. I wanted to make sure I had somebody

91. that I could trust on the inside.

92. Hello.

93. I'm Humphrey. I'm—I'm, uh, I'm over from—

94. I'm like Rob and Ryan's guy.

95. That's how I'm describing myself for now.

96. It's nice to work out what we can do to help.

97. Yeah, basically. Yeah, yeah.

98. That said, he admittedly doesn't know fuck all

99. about operating a football club either.

100. Old Christmas decorations.

101. So we needed somebody with a vision

102. of what it is to run a football club.

103. And Shaun Harvey was way overqualified

104. for this particular position, but...

105. I said, "Let's just give it a shot."

106. I worked in the football industry

107. for 26 years,

108. and every day, there was a different problem.

109. By the time I was 29,

110. I was the managing director

111. of Bradford City Football Club,

112. making decisions at the Premier League table

113. along with Chelsea, Manchester United,

114. Liverpool, and all the household names of today.

115. From there, I moved to Leeds United till 2013

116. and then became the CEO

117. of the English Football League.

118. I remember my first conversation with Rob.

119. It was more about how can we benefit the community

120. and make a positive difference

121. than it was "Do you think we could be playing

122. in the championship in three years?"

123. I said, "Have you got that in writing?"

124. For when all this potentially pans out

125. and they genuinely don't make any money.

126. In a moment of weakness,

127. I've committed to look after the club until such time

128. as they are able to find a CEO

129. and effectively to look after their investment

130. going forward.

131. - Oh. Shit.

132. It feels like you're standing in front

133. of all the coolest bad boys at school.

134. And, if like me, you spent much of your schooltime

135. pretending to be a dinosaur,

136. it feels like a real reversion to "Hi, I'm the dork."

137. - You got it. - Morning, gents.

138. - You all right? - Yeah.

139. Quick introduction. This is Humphrey.

140. He's coming in as chief executive director, is it?

141. - Just executive director. - Executive director.

142. I don't wanna build myself up too much.

143. - Okay. - Just want—yeah, hi.

144. Hi, everybody.

145. Um, my name's Humphrey Ker.

146. I am gonna be working with you guys.

147. Basically, my role is I'm gonna be Rob and Ryan's

148. kind of representative.

149. I've worked for Rob for a couple of years now

150. as a writer on one of his TV shows.

151. So that— I'm not gonna lie to you,

152. that is my principal qualification

153. for becoming involved with the club.

154. But my role is not gonna have really anything to do

155. with what goes on on the field, right?

156. I'm not the CEO.

157. Uh, I'm not the Director of Football.

158. I'm nothing like that.

159. I'm just basically here to represent their interests,

160. uh, and the club's interests going the other way.

161. So I'm gonna be a conduit between what you guys need

162. and what Dean needs, uh,

163. and what the incoming CEO needs from them,

164. uh, and you know, what it is that they want to achieve here,

165. which is the same thing that you guys wanna achieve,

166. which is to win games, win promotion,

167. uh, and to, you know, get the best out of this club

168. for the club and for the town as well, so yeah, that's me.

169. I'll leave you in Dean's very capable hands

170. and get out of your hair.

171. All right, cheers, everybody. Thanks.

172. Bye-bye.

173. I see.

174. You nearly fell over, did ya?

175. - Oh! Get that off me head, you.

176. No, no, no. None of that, lad.

177. Go on.

178. You're a little madman, aren't you?

179. Right, come on now.

180. Let's get you ready, kid.

181. This is all of the, um, clips

182. from when Jordan's been growing up,

183. different photos of— well, not just his football.

184. There is—he did other things like go to school

185. and Christmas concerts and— and this isn't even all of it

186. because there's another cupboard full.

187. I grew up in Wrexham.

188. It's a great experience to play for your hometown

189. 'cause I know what it means to the fans.

190. It's my club. It's my town.

191. It's what my life has been, so when they get frustrated,

192. I'm just as equally as frustrated, so yeah.

193. Chanting along with all my mates.

194. We used to get the bus down and we used to go to the games.

195. It was great.

196. For me for playing for Wrexham,

197. it's—it's more than going out there

198. and for myself, for the team.

199. It's doing it for all my friends, my family,

200. and the people of the town. It's—

201. to me it's more than the football club

202. 'cause it's been my life for many, many years now.

203. Wrexham's a sleeping giant.

204. With the new owners, it's a massive thing for us.

205. So I can't wait for that on a personal note.

206. Under 11s.

207. Look how tiny you are compared to everybody else.

208. - Gents. - Moving out!

209. - How are you? - Can't complain.

210. The football season is still ongoing

211. and we are hoping to get to the playoffs.

212. Anything being said about the tenure of the manager

213. and the personnel here?

214. There's been no discussion about people's futures.

215. We're going to support the manager

216. and the playing staff to give them every incentive

217. because that's how we get this club promoted

218. to the Football League

219. at the earliest possible opportunity.

220. It's interesting coming in mid-season

221. because I have received messages telling me

222. to fire these people and furlough everybody

223. and play the kids or sack x, y, and zed.

224. And it's not just the management structure.

225. It's not just the players. I mean, there are—

226. there are people who have beef with almost every element

227. of this club in some level.

228. I just hope that in God knows

229. how many months' time we can get some of these players out.

230. Look at the management team. It's not good enough.

231. Positive in what you do.

232. Mistakes will happen.

233. Get your teammates out of the shit.

234. Yeah.

235. The sooner we can get out of this bloody league, the better.

236. At the moment, it feels like

237. the heart's been ripped out of our club.

238. We keep seeing this. We keep—we keep seeing

239. these little unbeaten runs with too many draws,

240. not enough wins.

241. We definitely need some signs.

242. Uh, we're going nowhere.

243. We need a major change in direction in this club.

244. They seem to be like rabbits caught in a—

245. caught in a headlight. They don't know what to do.

246. Nobody knows what to do.

247. Hopefully that money

248. is gonna pay the manager off,

249. fuck him off and get someone else in,

250. but listen, if it happens, it happens.

251. If it doesn't, it doesn't.

252. It fucking needs to be changed

253. from top to bottom.

254. Take your fucking staff with ya.

255. None of you don't wanna do it anymore.

256. It really is trying times at the moment.

257. You're going into each game almost defeated as you start.

258. Please give us hope. All we want is hope.

259. Do I believe in this group?

260. 100%. 100%.

261. They'll find a level of consistency

262. that I feel will get us to where we want to be,

263. coming into season.

264. Yes!

265. Fucking get it!

266. Get it!

267. Well done!

268. It's not about the start. It's about how we finish.

269. After the takeover, the decision was made

270. that whilst ever we had a realistic chance

271. of getting to the playoffs,

272. there would be no change of manager.

273. But if we do not get to the playoffs,

274. Dean Keates was going to have to be relieved of his duties.

275. You know, truth be told,

276. a lot of these players

277. are probably thinking,

278. "I'm not gonna be here next season."

279. They either don't feel like they're good enough

280. or feel that we're likely to just go around

281. splashing the cash or— or whatever it may be.

282. And just life at this level of football

283. is one-year contracts.

284. We got a bunch of people's contracts

285. that are ending in two months. - Mm-hmm.

286. One of the things I was really impressed by—Shaun Pearson,

287. when I first spoke to him was him saying,

288. "This takeover is great for the town,

289. "and it's great for my kids 'cause I live in this town,

290. "but I don't know if it's great for my football career

291. "because you guys are gonna want

292. to probably get different players in."

293. There is—there's a lot of that sentiment through the squads.

294. You know, they're like, you know,

295. "I could've been here for three to five years and"--

296. - Well, they still could be.

297. - Absolutely. - They perform and they—

298. and they get in the playoffs and make a run, I mean...

299. Right.

300. It's hard to argue with people who are winning.

301. Right.

302. The whole town waits with bated breath

303. as we enter the final match of the season away

304. to Dagenham and Redbridge.

305. Is that Pete Jones, a table of six?

306. - Yeah. - Underneath the window.

307. Opposite that, is that Pete Finchit?

308. - Yeah. - If Wrexham win,

309. they're in the playoffs.

310. Anything less, and the season,

311. and perhaps Dean Keates, are over.

312. Um, you can open up, Rich, if you want.

313. Jan, open, please.

314. - Let's go. - What are we doing here?

315. 113 in today, guys.

316. Come on, Wrexham.

317. When there's a lot of change about to happen,

318. continuity gives you the best chance of success.

319. After the takeover,

320. there was a conscious decision made

321. to try and provide Dean Keates and the players

322. with as much support

323. for the balance of the season as possible.

324. Dean and the team went on a great run.

325. All that built to this last game of the season.

326. A win, and we are in the playoffs.

327. Every single team's trying to do their best

328. to get to these playoffs with the rewards

329. of possibly going into the Football League.

330. But this is a huge game for Wrexham

331. in terms of the season they've had

332. with the buys that have come in.

333. In their hands, if they win,

334. they will be heading to the playoffs.

335. We've got 4:20.

336. We got 10 minutes till kickoff.

337. It's a little early.

338. But I'm glad we got up early enough to have breakfast.

339. Jordan Davies, I think,

340. probably worth a mention— creative player,

341. young talent, 22 years old.

342. Seven in his last nine he's scored.

343. Come good at the right time.

344. Definitely, and that's exactly

345. what Wrexham need.

346. He's been a massive part of everything that they do.

347. All together, come on!

348. No current National League club

349. has been in this division longer than Wrexham,

350. their 13th season in a row at this level.

351. Their whole season is on the line in this final.

352. They'll hope it's still a top-seven finish this time.

353. I gotta put on my white jersey.

354. Wrexham is in the green.

355. Okay, here we go.

356. Come on, boys.

357. It'll be a compelling couple of hours

358. in the race for the playoffs.

359. - And Johnson to—

360. To the middle.

361. Okay, now here's our— we have a corner kick.

362. So it's Young to take the corner.

363. It's a deeper one this time, towards Omotayo.

364. Netting where the captain up from the back.

365. Well, it's tense.

366. It's nervous. It's edgy on this final day

367. of the campaign for Wrexham.

368. And it's the Daggers nil, Wrexham nil.

369. - We know we come. - Yeah.

370. Come on, boys.

371. We fucking believe ya, Wrex. We have 'em!

372. After 13 seasons,

373. Wrexham have had as a club in the National League,

374. and as it stands, much can change

375. in the next 45 minutes.

376. A change being made as well by Dean Keates at halftime

377. and it's the experienced Paul Rutherford.

378. He's coming on here.

379. Somebody who's been with Wrexham

380. since the summer of 2016.

381. Would love to be in his fifth season with the club.

382. Come on!

383. The playoff places, but much can change

384. in the next 45 minutes.

385. The Wright over to take the shot,

386. and now Balanta.

387. And Wright.

388. - And it's in!

389. And on a day of such significance

390. for Wrexham, it's Dagenham and Redbridge here

391. who take the lead.

392. Five minutes into the second half.

393. Hey!

394. Fucking plenty of time.

395. - Just fucking relax!

396. Young looks primed and ready.

397. And it's...

398. Young with the ball into the box...

399. Oh, that was not a good challenge.

400. He could be in some real trouble here.

401. Rutherford, it's a red.

402. A little high.

403. A red card?

404. Yeah, he got a red card,

405. which means he's immediately ejected from the game

406. and we are down a man for the rest of the game.

407. And this is threatening

408. to get very messy indeed here

409. for Wrexham on the final day.

410. So now we're down a person, down a goal.

411. Experienced player at this level

412. doesn't need to do this.

413. It doesn't look good, Adam.

414. Fuck off!

415. That's yellow card shown here.

416. Davies.

417. One goal in the current circumstances

418. wouldn't be enough for Wrexham,

419. but it'd certainly be a big step in the right direction.

420. Wrexham here having to throw everything at this.

421. Get the ball! Get the fucking ball!

422. That's a great pass as well.

423. And then get the ball over towards Ponticelli.

424. Goal! No way.

425. And they've got the equalizer.

426. It's hope here for Wrexham.

427. Come on, boys. Come on, boys. Come on.

428. Fucking come on!

429. That goal on its own

430. won't be enough, but it's a glimmer—

431. a glimmer of hope here for Dean Keates and Wrexham.

432. See, this is— you know, never give up.

433. Never give up.

434. You're in. Right, right!

435. And now, of course, they still—

436. No way.

437. Here's Vilhete.

438. No way. No way.

439. - No way.

440. And Pearson's

441. and Ponticelli was there as well!

442. On the deflection, almost took it into the path of Pearson.

443. - God, we had a—we had a run. - Could this be?

444. Wrexham have to score

445. or their playoff hopes, their promotion hopes

446. are over.

447. - Come on! Come on!

448. Surely this will be the last chance

449. to get it forward.

450. - It's a hard time for this. - Yep.

451. Can they do it?

452. Pearson with the header.

453. Will it bounce here for Wrexham?

454. - No, it doesn't!

455. Their promotion dream is over.

456. Fuck off!

457. On the final day.

458. It will be a 14th straight season

459. in the National League for Wrexham.

460. And Wrexham's promotion hopes in tatters.

461. Well, it's gonna be a tough, tough day now

462. for Wrexham to recover from this.

463. Just this game, you look at not being good enough.

464. Big moments in the game that have cost you,

465. especially the red cards to Rutherford.

466. But you look over the course of the season,

467. that's when you look now— when you look

468. at the League table, have they been good enough?

469. We just got knocked out of the playoffs by one point.

470. Hi, Ryan.

471. Hello there.

472. I do not like losing.

473. This is true.

474. We—

475. We will aim to avoid losing as much as possible

476. for next season.

477. Yeah.

478. There's so much riding on a team's relegation

479. or promotion.

480. If we don't win, what are we gonna do?

481. Our goal is to get the fuck out of this league.

482. Like, that's it.

483. If you don't get promoted...

484. that's our fault.

485. Telling somebody that their services

486. are no longer required— that's really hard.

487. But that's the world of football.

488. That is the game. You know, we weren't

489. going into the season to finish seventh or eighth,

490. so the view was a new manager would give us that best chance

491. of success.

492. Not everybody can come on the journey with us.

493. Dean and Andy and Carl did a very solid job,

494. but what was previously an acceptable standard

495. of—of performance is now no longer that.

496. It makes it really challenging though

497. as a—as a co-chairman

498. when you're letting players go.

499. When you're in the fifth tier, it's—it's—

500. a lot of these players are playing for their lives.

501. They don't have these Premier League contracts

502. that they can, you know, fall back on and go,

503. "Oh, it's, you know, could retire tomorrow."