Clubs that nearly got the Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney treatment revealed! Wrexham director explains how teams in England, Scotland & Ireland missed out on Hollywood co-owners

Humphrey Ker was charged with the task of helping Hollywood superstars to find a suitable sporting venture once they decided that a surprising foray in the world of football would be made. They eventually settled on Wrexham, and the rest is history.

The Red Dragons have enjoyed a meteoric rise under Reynolds and McElhenney, with a third successive promotion in the process of being chased down. Wrexham has also benefited from their presence as a city, while an award-winning documentary series has opened up a window to the world.

Things could have been very different had one of the other teams that were considered during the selection process leapt to the front of the queue ahead of Wrexham. Ker has explained why sides in England, Scotland and Ireland ultimately missed out.

Ker, who is now community director at SToK Racecourse, has told the Fozcast from ex-Wrexham goalkeeper Ben Foster: "We looked at Aldershot because they are alphabetically the first team in the National League. I told him [McElhenney] about the National League, and he was like ‘what is this Aldershot?’, and so I was like ‘we’ll look into Aldershot’. We looked at Hartlepool, I think lots of people know that, Carlisle United.

"I don’t think I’ve ever brought this up before, initially, he wanted to do it in Ireland or Scotland, because he’s from Ireland, so he was like ‘what about Shamrock Rovers?’ I was like, look… the League of Ireland has great clubs, historic clubs, it would be brilliant in many ways, but it would be like throwing a brick into a pond – if you put your time and energy and resources into a League of Ireland club, you win the League of Ireland instantaneously, no-one can come close to you and there’s no drama there.

"Scotland is interesting, you could start with like an Arbroath or Queen of the South, down near the bottom and then build them up, but you will always have this thing where you probably get them into the Premiership, but you’re going to run into Hearts, Hibs, Aberdeen and then, obviously, Celtic and Rangers, we’ll get hammered every time we play them, we might beat other people, it’s going to be a bit strange.

"The thing with the longest room for growth, I think, is English football. No offence Aldershot, but Aldershot is a bit of a rogue shout."

Reynolds and McElhenney completed their stunning takeover in 2021. They have now passed four years at the Wrexham helm, inviting several famous friends along for the ride, with vast amounts of money being pumped into the most ambitious of projects. More will be required as the Red Dragons take aim at a standing among the Premier League elite.