By Paul Jones
Every successful Hollywood movie deserves a sequel – so get ready for Wrexham 2 or, more specifically, Wrexham League Two.
The club that recorded every cough and spit of their near miss last season through the “Welcome To Wrexham” documentary series spent this season filming series two.
They got their Hollywood ending.
But they also have the reality of Wrexham in League Two next season after they ended their 15-year absence from the Football League by clinching the National League title with a 3-1 win over Boreham Wood on Saturday.
Move stars and producers Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have already sprinkled than £10million worth of stardust on the club to get them this far.
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In the fifth tier, that buys you the quality of leading man Paul Mullin, whose 38 goals in 45 matches paved the way for his team’s blockbuster of a season.
They have amassed a league record 110 points with one game still to go.
They have scored a league record 115 goals, with one game still to go.
They spent a club record £300,000 on buying Ollie Palmer from AFC Wimbledon.
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But thoughts are already turning to next season and how to get up through League Two as quickly as possible.
Then, League One, then the Championship . . . and then?
“We feel that the sky’s the limit for Wrexham,” says club executive director Humphrey Ker.
“You look at the crowds we had in the stadium all season, the crowds that were outside the stadium (on Saturday), people couldn’t get a ticket.
“They just wanted to be in town, close to the stadium, close to the action.
“The last time I checked our full-time announcement (video) had 15 million views on Twitter. The interest in this club is astronomical and we believe with the squad we have right now we have a very strong chance of going up again next year.
“It gets more challenging further up the pyramid we go, but we have real faith and confidence in the people we have got in the football club to take us in the right direction.
“We want to do this again. We want to be having these parties next year and as many summers after that as we can possibly manage.”
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EFL salary caps for Leagues One and Two were agreed by third and fourth-tier clubs in August 2020 following the pressure placed on revenues by the coronavirus pandemic.
But the salary caps – set at £2.5m per club in League One and £1.5m per club in League Two – were withdrawn following a decision by an independent arbitration panel the following February.
The EFL returned to the previous salary cost management protocols, a control mechanism linked to the turnover of each individual club.
League Two clubs can spend up to 50 per cent of their turnover on player-related expenditure for players aged 21 and over and Wrexham, who have blue chip sponsors such as TikTok, Expedia and Aviation American Gin, are in a strong position to benefit from that situation.
“What you can’t have is rich owners coming in and paying massively over the odds and operating at gigantic losses,” says Ker.
“We actually generate an extraordinary amount of revenue because of the interest in the team, merchandising, and other things.
“We’re not losing too much sleep about that (spending caps). I think we’ll fall well within the boundaries of what we are permitted to spend.”
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On strengthening manager Phil Parkinson’s squad this summer, Ker added: “This is a team that has beaten Coventry and ran Sheffield United close over two games in the FA Cup.
“We’ve accrued a record number of points in the National League and we think we’re ready to go again with some minor changes.
“Our mission will always be to try and get the best players we possibly can for each situation.
“Previously we’ve had to pay a bit of a premium to get people to come down to the National League because of the stigma that exists over non-league or Conference football. As we go up, I think we’ll have less of a challenge attracting people.
Wrexham finish their season on Saturday, when they visit Torquay.
Another win would give them 39 for the league season and move their points tally up to a new record of 113.
I know it’s like 48 hours after this happened, but has anyone else watched this a hundred times? This is what it means… to those who it means a lot. ❤️@Wrexham_AFC pic.twitter.com/UkhHEz8eEA
— Ben Foster (@BenFoster) April 24, 2023
