With just one game remaining this season, it's all still to play for when it comes to Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac’s beloved Wrexham AFC.
The Welsh club, which the Hollywood duo purchased in 2021 when they were in the fifth tier of English soccer, is now competing for a spot in the Championship playoffs, with the goal of gaining promotion to the Premier League.
Ahead of Wrexham’s regular season finale at home to fourth placed Middlesborough on Saturday, Phil Parkinson’s Red Dragons sit sixth in the table in the fourth and final playoff spot. Directly below them, but tied on 70 points, is Hull City, while Derby County is just a further point adrift in the play-off picture.
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As such, any of those three teams could yet compete alongside three of Ipswich, Millwall, Middlesbrough, and Southampton in the playoffs. Frank Lampard’s Coventry City has already won the league title and is therefore guaranteed promotion, along with the as-yet-undecided runner-up.
Speaking at SportsPro London, Wrexham director Shaun Harvey, who has played a major role in the club’s rapid rise up the English soccer pyramid over the past five years, said, “If we do make it to the playoffs on Saturday afternoon, we have the chance of going back-to-back-to-back-to-back promotions,” as per ESPN.
“If we achieve that, as others have said and I agree, it would be the greatest sports story ever. There's no script, just a story to tell.
“As it happens, it's authentic, and that's what makes Wrexham so relatable to many others who care to dream.”
Harvey, who has previously worked as the English Football League’s Chief Executive and has been a prominent figure in FX’s coverage of the Red Dragons’ rise under Reynolds/Mac in the ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ docuseries, went on to add simply, “The time is now.”
He said, “We've got one game to go of the league season. To use Alex Ferguson's favorite phrase, it definitely is squeaky bum time. Will we make it or won't we make it? Well, there's a story to be written either way.
“Because whatever happens, we've gone from being a non-league team to the best team in Wales by virtue of league position.
“We've finished in our highest league position ever, and the women's team have won the league and will compete in the Champions League.
“In all circumstances, our season should be viewed as 'we nearly made it,' rather than 'we just missed out.' And whilst that's a subtle difference, the reality is we have no right to actually achieve what we have done so far this season.”
Should Wrexham reach the playoffs, they would take on the third-placed team across in a two-legged semi-final, with the goal of reaching the final at Wembley Stadium on May 23.