Wrexham have done it! The story of Ryan Reynolds-owned side's dramatic National League title win

As we've come to expect from Reynolds and McElhenney, Wrexham pushed the boat out financially this summer to secure several top players.

The flagship arrival was Elliot Lee, tempted away from a number of Football League offers by Wrexham's project. Veteran goalkeeper Mark Howard, handy centre-back Ryan Tunnicliffe and wideman Anthony Forde were also plucked from EFL clubs.

Wrexham also hoovered up some of the best National League talent, signing young striker Sam Dalby from Southend and attacking left-back Jacob Mendy from Boreham Wood.

There were one or two departures of note, including Kwame Thomas to Sutton United, but overall Wrexham's squad was definitely stronger after the summer transfer window slammed shut.

Wrexham kicked off the season with a dramatic victory over Eastleigh, a result which hinted at the positive chaos that was to come on and off the pitch throughout the campaign.

New arrival Lee immediately endeared himself to the Racehorse Ground faithful in that game, netting a late brace to down the Spitfires 2-1.

After this positive start, Parkinson's side experienced a wobble. A 1-1 draw against a far from vintage Yeovil Town side was followed up with a damaging 2-0 defeat to Chesterfield.

This disappointment clearly lit a fire though, as the Paul Mullin goal bonanza started the very next week against Maidstone United. Mullin grabbed a hat-trick in a resounding 5-0 win, the first of three victories to see out the month of August.

All in all, it had been a solid if not quite flawless start to the season on the pitch, but off the field everything changed.

At the end of August, the first series of the now-famous 'Welcome to Wrexham' documentary dropped, catapulting the club into mainstream popular consciousness. With interests piqued, the whole world was now watching the Robins' 2022-23 season. No pressure then!

As the kids headed back to school in September, Wrexham were busy handing out some footballing education of their own.

Doe-eyed, newly-promoted Dorking Wanderers were their first victims, suffering a 5-0 defeat in their own backyard at the beginning of the month. Wrexham were in a similarly rampant mood when Dagenham & Redbridge came to town the following week, when a brace each from Ollie Palmer and Mullin helped them to a 4-1 victory.

More of the same might have been expected against Southend in their next game, but the Shrimpers were made of sterner stuff and picked up a point.

Not to be deterred, Wrexham ended the month in the same rampant mood that they started it, with six different scorers netting against lowly Torquay.

Despite their record-breaking points haul, there have been several bumps on the road for Wrexham this season. Several of these came in October, when a few chinks in their armour began to appear.

To kick off the month, Wrexham came very close to dropping points against Oldham Athletic. With just five minutes left to play, the Latics were 1-0 up - only for goals from Ben Tozer and Mullin to save their skin. Mullin couldn't have left it later too, firing home a 96th-minute penalty to secure victory.

There would be no escapology against Notts County in their next game, with Macaulay Longstaff - the only man to outscore Mullin this season - grabbing the only goal of the match inside 13 minutes.

Next up was a quite remarkable 12-goal thriller against Barnet, which Wrexham edged 7-5. It was an astonishing spectacle for the neutral, but manager Parkinson was not happy, accusing his side of "switching off defensively".

The boss was similarly underwhelmed by his players' display in a 1-1 FA Cup draw against Blyth Spartans, who operate in the league below. And although Wrexham would eventually progress by triumphing in the replay, it had to go down as another unconvincing performance.

Below-par displays on the pitch were twinned with controversy off of it. Star man Mullin caused a stir with a provocative political message on his boots, forcing the club to issue a statement clarifying their position.

A 1-1 draw with defensively-sound Boreham Wood a few days prior to the incident did little to restore confidence, but the Red Dragons did finish the month strongly, earning comfortable wins over Halifax Town and Altrincham.

After earning a third successive win against Maidenhead United on the first day of the month, Wrexham enacted revenge on Oldham for their defeat in the league by beating them in the FA Cup first round.

Quite remarkably, Wrexham managed to log the highest attendance of the entire round, despite fourth and third-tier sides entering the fray, testament to the club's quite astounding growth in fanbase this season.

They were watched by considerably less fans when they beat lowly Scunthorpe United the following weekend, and even fewer people turned up for a goalless draw with Wealdstone that saw them relinquish top spot.

Victory over Aldershot in their very next match put them back at the summit, and they continued to trade places with Notts County over the following weeks and months.

November ended on a real high, as they beat National League South side Farnborough to reach the third round of the FA Cup. A potential tie against a Premier League team awaited, as more and more people began to sit up and take notice of the Hollywood-owned club's exploits.

December is always a critical month in the National League title race. The table has properly taken shape, the pitches get heavy and those at the top have to scrap for every point amid a busy schedule.

Wrexham handled the festive period pretty seamlessly though, earning seven league points from a possible nine and also progressing in the FA Trophy at the expense of Scunthorpe.

There would have been a tinge of frustration as Wrexham were reflecting on their 5-0 victory over Solihull Moors on Boxing Day, though. Had they not conceded a 92nd-minute equaliser to York City at the beginning of the month, they could have been toasting a perfect December.

Wrexham ended 2022 locked in a two-horse race with Notts County for the sole automatic promotion spot. The Magpies were narrowly in front, possessing a one-point advantage, and Reynolds and McElhenney responded with some more blockbuster signings.

Eoghan O'Connell arrived from Charlton, accompanied by a hilarious announcement video starring the co-owners, while Andy Cannon and Ryan Barnett were also signed to bolster the squad.

Before all this though, Parkinson's side entertained the world by playing out a quite startling FA Cup third-round tie with Championship side Coventry City.

Wrexham incredibly raced into a 4-1 lead inside an hour in the east Midlands, before two quickfire goals set up a grandstand final 14 minutes. Fortunately for Reynolds, his team held on, but he found the entire ordeal incredibly stressful.

"What. The. F*ck. Is. Happening," was how he delicately put in on social media at the time.

Things would only get more dramatic in the fourth round, where Wrexham were pitted against another Championship side, this time Sheffield United - definitely not Sheffield FC.

It was another historic night at the Racecourse Ground, and the roof was nearly blown off when the irrepressible Mullin put his side 3-2 up with just four minutes of normal time to play. Tragically for the minnows, John Egan forced a replay, turning home from a corner in the 95th minute.

A replay at Bramall Lane proved to be a bridge too far for Wrexham, meaning they missed out on a dream FA Cup fifth-round tie with Tottenham. The game is likely best remembered for Sheffield United striker Billy Sharp's post-match rant where he criticised the fifth-tier side's apparent arrogance.

"I think they've been disrespectful with a few things before the game, thinking they were already through," he said. "I'm glad we've beaten them."

The task at hand now, was to ensure they did not allow this disappointment to detract from their main objective for the season: promotion. And refocus they did.

Buoyed by their winter signings, Wrexham went unbeaten in February, winning six of their seven National League games in what was a remarkably busy schedule. One victory over Aldershot stood out, a seven-goal barnstormer that their opponents made very interesting by netting in second-half stoppage time. Afterwards, McElhenney reflected: "I very may well die of a cardiac event this season. Football is magic/hell."

Notts County weren't blinking either though, and incredibly the Red Dragons entered March sat in the runners-up position.

As they entered the home stretch, Wrexham knew that any slip-ups would almost certainly be punished by Notts County, so they might have been worried when lower mid-table Maidenhead snapped their four-game winning streak by earning a 2-2 draw with a 90th-minute leveller.

After this blow, the Robins took no prisoners for the rest of March. Mullin continued his incredible campaign, notching goals 30 and 31 for the season in a 2-1 victory over Bromley. His form even saw him linked with a Wales call-up - not bad for a non-league striker.

Mullin was soon to no longer be the highest-profile player at the Racecourse Ground, however, as Wrexham made a shock move for former Premier League goalkeeper turned YouTube sensation Ben Foster.

The Cycling GK, as he is also known, kept a clean sheet on his debut - a 3-0 win over York City - but he would go on to have an even bigger influence on the promotion run-in just a few weeks later.

April began with the National League title in Wrexham's hands, and they took a major step towards that objective by demolishing Oldham Athletic 5-1 in their opening game of the month.

Then, there was a monumental jolt on the promotion track, as Halifax shocked the league leaders by beating them 3-1. This result opened the door for Notts County to steal the title away and, in a Hollywood-style script that Reynolds would be proud to put his name to, they happened to be Wrexham's very next opponents.

It was, quite simply, the biggest game in National League history, with media outlets across the globe turning their eye to the division for the first time ever.

Longstaff, Notts County's star striker, exclusively told GOAL before the blockbuster clash: "People always ask me about Wrexham. But we have played to that narrative, because we’ve pushed them all the way. Both teams are going to get over 100 points, which is unbelievable. It’s been a mad season but a really enjoyable one."

Madness was again the order of the day when the two promotion hopefuls eventually squared off. A capacity crowd was in attendance, with almost 20,000 people said to have missed out on tickets, and they watched John Bostock open the scoring for Notts County with a pinpoint free-kick on the stroke of half time.

Mullin levelled things up with a typically-clinical finish, before summer signing Mendy blasted home a cross at the back post. Fifteen minutes from time, Kyle Cameron's diving header levelled for the Magpies, but Wrexham would go ahead again soon after through Lee.

That wasn't enough drama for the footballing gods, though. Deep into second-half stoppage time, Notts County were awarded a penalty for handball. Cedwyn Scott was entrusted to keep the title race alive by tucking it away, but he was thwarted by the experienced Foster.

It was a season-defining victory for Wrexham, and after the game Reynolds threatened to hug his goalkeeper "so hard he'll break his ribs!"

After getting the best of their long-term sparring partners in the title race, it essentially became a question of when, not if Wrexham would be crowned champions.

In typical fashion, though, they kept it interesting, slipping to a goalless draw against Barnet immediately after that Notts County victory, which re-opened the door for the Magpies in the title race.

A few days later, the Robins relieved their supporters' fears of a slip-up by confidently dispatching Yeovil Town - sending them down in the process.

McElhenney's Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-stars added some glamour to the occasion, joining fellow acting royalty Will Ferrell and Blake Lively - Reynolds' wife - on the list of celebrities to take in a game at the Racehorse Ground this season.

The result left them one win away from securing top spot as they hosted Boreham Wood. And in that game on Saturday, with celebrity Paul Rudd joining Wrexham's co-owners at the stadium, they went down a goal early before turning on the style to rocket into League Two with a 3-1 victory.

It's bound to be one hell of a promotion party!