Meet the Wrexham manager who keeps driving a fairytale success story

Four years ago, Phil Parkinson was appointed by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to lead their impossible dream – to drag a team from the fifth tier of the English competition towards the Premier League.

Behind the Hollywood A-listers stands the man who has masterminded the Wrexham fairytale and helped make the little Welsh town the most unlikely focal point in world football.

Phil Parkinson was appointed four years ago by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to lead their impossible dream – to drag a team from the fifth tier of the English competition towards the Premier League while charting the journey through a TV documentary.

The Disney series “Welcome to Wrexham” has been a global phenomenon, winning eight Emmys and raising the club’s value from $4 million to $200 million as the one time battlers walked the talk of their acting owners and earned three successive promotions.

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson and midfielder Matty James ahead of the game against Sydney FC on Tuesday. Picture: Damian Shaw

This coming season they will play in the Championship, just one step away from the big dance – a spot in the EPL – with Parkinson still there as the silent strategist ensuring on-field success drives the off-field commercial behemoth.

“It’s surreal, it really is,” Parkinson, 57, said of the club’s fairytale rise as Wrexham prepares to play Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on Tuesday night.

“I remember when we went to the USA the first year. That’s when it really hit us how popular the documentary was over there and how the story of Wrexham had captured so many people’s imagination.

“It is an amazing story, and it’s very authentic.”

Parkinson credits Reynolds, of Deadpool superhero fame, and McElhenney, creator of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, for laying the foundations, and not just with the dollars they have brought to the club.

Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, co-owners of Wrexham AFC, pose for a photo with the trophy following the club's promotion to the Championship. Picture: Getty Images

“They’ve been great to work for because they’ve let me manage, let us get on with the job,” he said.

“People think ‘well isn’t that just the norm’, but it’s not in football. You get people who buy clubs who want to sign the players, they want to pick the team.

“But from day one Rob and Ryan have said ‘look Phil we’re bringing you in and we’re going to back you’ and they’ve done that across the board.

“It’s been very refreshing to work in that environment. Yes we’ve been competitive in the transfer market but we’ve also created a great culture on the pitch and an incredible work ethic.

“One thing we’ve always stressed is that the Hollywood side of the story is great but the humbleness and the desire to have people keep their feet on the ground has been very important to all of us. I like to think we’ve represented the town of Wrexham in the right way.”

Sydney FC defender Alexandar Popovic with Wrexham midfielder Matty James in the countdown to their clash at Allianz Stadium on Tuesday night. Picture: Damian Shaw

While the documentary series has given the manager an additional issue to balance, ensuring the cameras and crew for Welcome to Wrexham do not become a distraction for players, there are also the “pinch me” moments like filming Superbowl ads and taking celebratory overseas trips.

A week after the club sealed promotion across each of the past three years, the players were gifted all-expenses paid four-day stays in Las Vegas. McElhenney spent a couple of days with them in May. Parkinson and his staff were treated to a holiday in Dubai.

Midfielder Matty James, who has previously played with Leicester City in the EPL, joined Wrexham for the season just gone.

“I didn’t really know what to expect from (Ryan and Rob) really, being such superstars,” he said. “But they’re both just very normal guys. You can have good conversations with them and when they do come over or you get a message from them it’s really genuine.”

As for the Vegas experience, James smiles: “It has become like a thing for some of the lads. They’ve been there for three years. For me it’s one trip and it was very good. It was let your hair down time and go as hard as you possibly can for as long as you can.”

Wrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds with Blake Lively in New York. Picture: GC Images

The big question now is: can Wrexham take the club, and their docuseries, to unprecedented heights by winning promotion this season?

“When you manage Wrexham you’ve got to aim high,” said Parkinson.

“We’re never getting carried away with ourselves. But why wouldn’t you dream? When Rob and Ryan came in and said we want to get into the Premiership, I think people laughed at that.

“But it can be achieved. You’ve got to aim high. Why wouldn’t you? Let’s see where that takes us.”

Originally published as Meet the Wrexham manager who keeps driving a fairytale success story