Before the arrival of two Hollywood stars and an NFL legend, the only significant history shared between Wrexham and Birmingham was the Blues paying £1 million for Brian Hughes in 1997, which remains the record transfer fee received by the Welsh side.
The Wrexham company, owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is now locked in a promotional tussle with leaders Birmingham, who are backed by the money of American businessman Tom Wagner and seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady.
A Jay Stansfield brace helped Birmingham secure a complete win over Wrexham at St Andrews in September, but with five points separating the two sides, there is greater importance to the second leg.
Celebrities are expected to be in the stands again at the racetrack on Thursday evening live Sky SportsThere will be well-paid stars on the field as well in the most expensive Premier League match in history.
Recruitment and promotional planning Wrexham
Wrexham won successive promotions from the National League through expensive but intelligent recruitment. Since 2021, when Reynolds and McElhenney took over, the value of their team has increased nearly six-fold according to Transfermarkt.
Their success stems from signing players from the top divisions, laying the foundations in the 2021-2022 season when they were still a non-league club by adding 10 players from the Premier League. The following summer, after missing out on promotion in the National League play-offs, they signed seven more.
“We have brought in players who are used to expecting to win,” Wrexham coach Phil Parkinson said. Sky Sports. “There are expectations at Wrexham and you have to be able to deal with that.
“This is a different club.”
Paul Mullen’s impact as one of those signings has been well documented, but it is the likes of striker Ollie Palmer, who reportedly joined for £300,000, and Elliot Lee, who left three divisions from the Luton Championship side, who continue to play a pivotal role in their career. It rises.
Palmer has scored just 11 league goals in his last 64 games, but there is a reason Parkinson continues to play for him. The 33-year-old is a hitter who wears down the opposition defence, links up play and is the team’s ultimate player. Only twice this season has it lasted 90 minutes.
Lee, a diminutive midfielder who started his career at West Ham, has a knack for scoring important goals, scoring 15 goals in his first season and then 16 goals last season. He has six this season and five have come in wins.
Then there are the likes of former Derby striker Jack Marriott and former Premier League duo Steven Fletcher and James McClean who all signed before Wrexham even kicked a ball in League Two.
Wrexham invested again last summer in paying fees for five players, who collected five Premier League promotions between them, bringing the total to £2m, including a club record £500,000 for West Brom’s Mo Vale. Who played only seven league matches. His appearance this season.
Success does not come cheap…
Wrexham lost £5.1m during the 2022-23 season which ended with the club returning to League Two. This means that in the first two full seasons under Reynolds and McIlhenny, the club lost more than £8 million. Accounts through June 2024 will be released this spring.
The wage bill increased from £4.05m in the 2021-22 season to £6.9m as they clinched the National League title while total turnover rose from £5.97m to £10.47m.
The effect of Welcome to Wrexham The documentary on the club’s global profile saw retail sales rise from £1.3 million to £3.4 million with the club taking in £2.58 million in total revenue from overseas.
However, the significant losses are expected to reduce now that the new ownership is in its fourth year. Turnover is said to have increased significantly in the last 12 months, with the club said to expect total revenues to exceed £20m after securing lucrative sponsorship deals with United Airlines and SToK Coffee Brew.
Wrexham also welcomed the Allen family, which made its fortune through Welsh Allen, a global medical equipment manufacturer, as new minority investors in October.
Is Wrexham Stadium big enough to host the tournament?
The capacity of the racing arena, where the showdown will be held on Thursday, is 13,341 spectators.
Wrexham’s average attendance this season was 12,869 – the fifth highest in League One – with tickets sold out at almost every match. Their average total would place them third in the tournament attendance table.
The club plans to redevelop the 5,500-seat Kop Stadium which was demolished in January 2023, having been unused and derelict since 2007, and replace it with 3,000 temporary seats.
A new architect – Populos – who has worked on stadiums such as Wembley, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the Principality Stadium, was appointed to redesign the stand which was due to open in time for this season.
It will include safe parking, hospitality and accessible seating and be fully compliant with requirements for UEFA Category 4 stadiums with a target completion date of 2026. McIlhenny spoke of raising capacity to 50,000 spectators.
Birmingham’s new era begins
While Wrexham were building, Birmingham were rebuilding after relegation from the Championship. Their takeover of the club in the summer of 2023 led to an unexpected setback that did not affect their ambition.
Along with a £58m cash injection, the new owners plan to build a new stadium after purchasing 60 acres of land a mile from St Andrews.
Birmingham showed their intent last summer too, signing 13 first-team players for a total of £20m and breaking the Championship transfer record by signing striker Stansfield for more than £15m from Fulham.
The 21-year-old striker was on loan at the club in 2023/24 and has scored 13 goals and provided three assists in all competitions, scoring 12 league goals in 21 appearances this season.
Alfie May, winner of the League One Golden Boot last season, comes from Charlton for an undisclosed fee and has 10 goals, as do goalkeepers Ryan Allsop and Bailey Peacock-Farrell and a player from each of Celtic, Hearts and Rangers.
The Blues have cashed in on academy product Jordan James, selling him for £8m, with manager Chris Davies warning Wrexham that his side are more settled now than when they first met.
“We were a team that was just being formed at the time,” Davis said. Sky Sports. “We’ve come a long way since then.”
Birmingham are unbeaten in their last 14 matches in all competitions, winning 12, since suffering a shock defeat to Shrewsbury in the league.
But Davies has ruled out Seung Ho Baik and Willum Willumson for the Wrexham encounter and they are also expected to be without midfielder Tomoki Iwata. The trio have all been regulars.
Meanwhile, Wrexham could be without McLean after he was involved in a car accident on his way to training on Wednesday morning.
The hosts were beaten by Shrewsbury last time out and have lost two of their last three games, seeing them lose at home to both Wycombe and Birmingham.
Something has to give.
Watch Wrexham vs Birmingham live on Sky Sports Main Event and Football from 7pm on Thursday; Kick-off at 8pm
https://e0.365dm.com/25/01/1600×900/skysports-league-one-efl-wrexham_6806139.jpg?20250121103151