+18 | Commercial Content | T&C's Apply | Play Responsibly | Publishing Principles
Rob McElhenney Birmingham 2024Getty

Rob McElhenney explains what he and Ryan Reynolds 'never' do as Wrexham co-owner gives NFL legend Tom Brady advice despite rivalry with Birmingham

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

  • McElhenney explains what he 'never' does
  • Offers advice about ownership role
  • Brady's Birmingham recently beat Wrexham 3-1
  • WHAT HAPPENED?

    In a mini-documentary centred around Tom Brady's trip to Birmingham for the club's crunch League One match against AFC Wrexham, the Red Dragons' co-owner offered some useful advice about when to involve yourself with football operations and when to simply take a back seat.

  • Advertisement
  • Birmingham City FC v Wrexham AFC - Sky Bet League OneGetty Images Sport

    THE BIGGER PICTURE

    McElhenney, along with co-owner Ryan Reynolds, has helped transform the fortunes of the Welsh club, catapulting them up to League One from the fifth tier. Meanwhile, since buying a minority stake at Birmingham City Brady has witnessed a downward trajectory with relegation from the Championship last season. As the club looks to bounce back, perhaps their boardroom should listen to what Wrexham's owners have to say.

  • WHAT MCELHENNEY SAID

    Offering advice about the ownership role, McElhenney said: "Listen more than you talk. Ryan and I, who talk for a living, recognise that this is all about the community, it’s all about the people that come to the stadiums and have filled these stadiums for 100 years. “The NFL was founded in what the 1920s and these teams [have been around] 150 years. Wrexham was founded in 1864, while the US was in the middle of a civil war, they founded a football club. “Ryan and I very specifically stay out of the locker room. I mean we go in and we talk to the guys but we never have pep talks, we try to stay away from all football operations.”

  • Birmingham City FC v Wrexham AFC - Sky Bet League OneGetty Images Sport

    WHAT NEXT FOR BIRMINGHAM CITY?

    After a hugely significant win over Wrexham last Monday, Birmingham City will be full of confidence as they go into this weekend's fixture, another home match against Peterborough. They'll be riding high, and having spent big in the transfer market over the summer, the club will be keen to push on and challenge for the title against Wrexham.