Can Wrexham continue their fairytale ascent?

Founded in 1864, Wrexham are the third-oldest professional association football club, but it’s fair to say that their international fame is more of a newfound phenomenon.

After five unsuccessful play-off campaigns in the National League, things started to turn around for Wrexham following the 2020 takeover by actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.

With these two Hollywood stars pouring their wealth into the club, and with the FX documentary series Welcome to Wrexham spreading the club’s name, Wrexham have been able to achieve a meteoric rise through the ranks. They’ve pulled off an unprecedented feat of three promotions in three straight seasons, going from the National League all the way to the Championship.

But whilst there have been various protagonists behind the club’s ascent like Reynolds and McElhenney, one of the most essential figures has been Les Reed. After engineering Southampton’s rise from League One to the Premier League, Reed has proven indispensable in Wrexham’s rise from a consultancy basis.

He was appointed to Wrexham’s board as a football strategy advisor on June 1, 2021, and since then, he’s helped the Red Dragons get the most bang from their buck and enjoy a seismic journey in the English football pyramid.

After being hired, Reed was immediately entrusted with making important decisions – like figuring out which players to retain and which to allow to depart upon the expiry of their contract. He was also tasked with finding a new coach and went with Phil Parkinson, who has helped oversee their rapid progression through the ranks.

Boasting four decades of experience, Reed’s wisdom has proven indispensable for Wrexham to overtake their rivals and move through the footballing divisions. And he looks set to play a pivotal role for Wrexham as they seek a fourth consecutive promotion.

“It’s a huge step going from League One to the Championship because you encounter more clubs who've been in the Premier League and more players who've played in the Premier League, they’re more robust and more competitive in terms of technical quality,” stated Reed in an exclusive RG interview.

“You have to get the balance right between experience and youth, whereas our journey so far has been based on experience – we've brought players down from leagues above us, but generally in the late twenties and early thirties.”

“A successful Championship team needs to bring that average age down and have more robust, youthful athletes in the team. We’re trying to become the profile of a strongly competitive Championship club, and whilst we will do our best to keep expectations under control, it’s inevitable that attention is going to be on Wrexham.”

With Reed pulling the strings from his office in Spain, Wrexham have made some drastic changes to their squad this summer. They’ve added players with Premier League and Championship pedigree like Lewis O'Brien, Conor Coady and Kieffer Moore, paying a total of €12.8 million for new signings, whilst they’ve also parted ways with club icons like Paul Mullin.

But whilst Wrexham have taken ample steps to prepare for the step up to the second tier, Reed is under no illusions about the work that’s needed to get them up to standard in terms of off-the-pitch matters.

“The team, and the results on the pitch, have far outstripped the speed at which we've been able to build the infrastructure. There’s still an awful lot to do in terms of rebuilding parts of the stadium and potentially even a new stadium. The academy had to be built, we’re the only team in the Championship without a training ground and instead use the FA of Wales’ national center.”

It has been a half-century since Reed was suiting up for Watford, back when they were owned by perhaps the first major celebrity owner (Elton John). Fast-forward to today, and Reed is now working diligently to help celebrity owners McElhenney and Reynolds spend their money wisely and achieve a remarkable ascent.

“Elton bought the club he supported as a local boy when they were struggling and saved it, but Ryan and Rob are just as crazily passionate about the people, the fans, the community.

They want people to be having fun and enjoying good football, they want to win, they want to be excited, and they want to be the best. Just like Elton, they understand that they may be the driving force behind it, but they don't necessarily know the landscape, know the game, know the intricacies of the industry, and therefore get good people around them who do know.

They’ve been similar experiences for me – at one end, I was on the pitch, running around, but playing in the reserves as Watford were getting promoted, whereas at Wrexham, I’m working closely with the Chief Executive on football strategy matters like appointing a new women's head coach and building out the infrastructure at the club for the future.” 

Can Wrexham continue their upward momentum and take the Championship by storm? Only time will tell, but one thing’s certain: Reed is going to be front and center in Wrexham’s odyssey for greatness.