- Hollywood co-owners at the helm
- Reynolds & McElhenney raise profile
- Players have earned new legion of fans
WHAT HAPPENED? Few outside of North Wales will have known much about goings on at the Racecourse Ground prior to the arrival of Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney as co-owners in February 2021. They have helped to raise the profile of the club, while the ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ documentary series has opened a window to the world. Phil Parkinson’s side are currently in America as part of their pre-season preparations for 2023-24, and Foster says certain members of that travelling party are as well known as the Premier League players they are coming up against in friendly meetings with Chelsea and Manchester United.
WHAT THEY SAID: The ex-England international goalkeeper, who has committed to a new one-year contract at Wrexham, has told Leader Live: “You are going to get mobbed if you are Manchester United but nobody else gets that much fan-fare in America. But some of the lads here are household names in America, they are proper famous. We know that when we go into these games, there are going to be fans cheering for us. I have played in America with Manchester United and West Brom - with West Brom we didn't get any fans. We might have taken 100 travelling fans but the rest are all just American fans. It will be interesting to see the support and it will be a nice experience for us.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE:Wrexham suffered a 5-0 defeat to Chelsea in the Florida Cup, but Foster says little should be read into results at this stage of the summer. He added: “I don't really read too much into pre-season friendlies. I have had that many pre-seasons where the lads are so tired. You might have a game at night but you have already done a session in the morning. But that is what it is about, just getting the fitness back and being used to playing 90 minutes. It is great to win but it is all about fitness.”
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WHAT NEXT? Wrexham have more friendly outings against LA Galaxy II, Manchester United and Philadelphia Union II to come before opening their League Two campaign at home to MK Dons on August 5 – with the Dragons looking to secure back-to-back promotions after claiming the National League title in record-breaking style last season.