Wrexham’s Rob McElhenney sends message to Chelsea after his team lose
Wrexham’s Rob McElhenney sends message to Chelsea after his team lose
Chelsea have given Wrexham a reality check in the USA but Rob McElhenney is looking at the bigger picture.
High-flying Wrexham have been brought back down to earth with a crash after they were drubbed 5-0 by Chelsea on Wednesday evening, but co-owner Rob McElhenney has set an interesting timeframe for a more serious rematch.
The two sides went head-to-head in North Carolina as part of their respective US tours, but it was the Premier League side, who simply had too much quality for their League Two opponents, that prevailed.
Emerging full-back Ian Maatsen scored twice in the first half before Conor Gallagher, Christopher Nkunku and Ben Chillwell completed the rout late on.
With three divisions between the two teams, few would have expected anything but a Chelsea win, but Hollywood actor McElhenney sent a message to the Blues after the match that clearly signalled just how much ambition he holds for his recently-promoted Red Dragons.
McElhenney tweeted: “Thank you @ChelseaFC !!!! Hopefully we’ll see you again in 5 years or so
The US star’s words indicated that he expects the two clubs to meet again in a few years’ time but with Wrexham competing as a Premier League team. That is music to the ears of the club’s loyal fanbase, who have been watching their side play in the wilderness of non-league football for the past 15 seasons.
But all that has changed since the arrival McElhenney and co-owner Ryan Reynolds. The pair have pumped over £10m into the club and brought in players from higher divisions. The result was automatic promotion back to the EFL at the end of last season after Wrexham won the National League with a record 111 points.
But while McElhenney and Reynolds cannot win football matches for the club on the pitch, the work they have been doing off it is arguably even more impressive. Following the international success of the Disney Plus TV series ‘Welcome to Wrexham’, the club has benefited from a huge surge in popularity, both at home and in America.
Most League Two clubs fulfil their pre-season schedule with fixtures against local clubs but thanks to McElhenney and Reynolds, Wrexham are instead touring the States with headline matches against Chelsea and Manchester United.
Such is the increased exposure of the Red Dragons Stateside that sales of replica shirts have been outselling some Premier League clubs.
The result against Mauricio Pochettino’s side, however, shows that there is much to do before Wrexham can truly hold their own against English football’s big boys in a competitive sense, not that their growing legion of international fans seem to mind.
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