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Wrexham mural Phil ParkinsonGetty/Pencil Craftsman

Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney’s right-hand man irked by manager jibes as Wrexham’s Hollywood co-owners stick with 'why not us' mantra

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Article continues below

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  • Parkinson has overseen meteoric rise
  • Brand of football not to everybody's taste
  • Co-chairmen still daring to dream big
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  • Phil Parkinson Wrexham 2024-25Getty

    WHAT HAPPENED?

    Phil Parkinson has been at the helm throughout the Red Dragons’ meteoric rise from the National League to within touching distance of automatic promotion into the Championship. His methods are not, however, always to everybody’s taste.

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  • THE BIGGER PICTURE

    Wrexham have grown accustomed to winning, providing plenty of drama for their award-winning documentary, so any supposed wobble can be blown out of proportion. Their Hollywood co-owners are, though, continuing to dream big.

  • Rob McElhenney Ryan Reynolds WrexhamGetty/GOAL

    WHAT HUMPHREY KER SAID

    Ker has told The Athletic of wild swings in emotion at SToK Racecourse: “Phil isn’t a manager who is happy with stability,” he says. “Same for Rob and Ryan as well. If Rob has a philosophy that can be condensed into one sentence then it would be, ‘Why not us?’.

    “He doesn’t care for conventional wisdom. He likes to break the mould. Phil, (assistant) Steve Parkin and this group of players are all the same. They want to win. It’s why when people bag on them, it gets my goat.

    “Being more removed from things, it’s been fascinating to watch expectations evolve as the season has gone on. Back in August at the Wycombe game, I was telling everyone, ‘Anything above 12th, we should build a statue of Phil’.

    “Fans were saying the same to me. But we’ve gone from that to now, where we’ve been right up at the top of the table all season and massively outperformed all expectations, and yet I’m reading comments such as, ‘Can’t believe we scraped past Mansfield’. Or, ‘The manager is sh*t’.”

  • WHAT NEXT?

    Wrexham did see their bid for major silverware and a day out at Wembley come to a close in the EFL Trophy semi-finals, as they suffered a penalty shootout defeat to Peterborough, but have gone unbeaten through their last four League One fixtures – picking up 10 points – to draw level with second-placed Wycombe in the third-tier table.