It’s great to be back in the League! Although we’re obviously extremely happy to be back where we believe we belong, but I have noticed a lot of fans of other clubs, and certain ‘reporters’ taking time out to criticise our success. Most of these people are obviously VERY jealous of us, that is impossible for them to hide, but a lot of their criticism is because of ignorance of what we’ve been through to get to this point, and also the reality of modern club football. Whether this ignorance is deliberate so they have a reason to spout off, that is debatable, but here are just a few points and observations around Wrexham AFC, its finances, and its future.
Undoubtedly, having famous owners has boosted the club well beyond anything that could have been achieved under fan ownership, which has a glass ceiling in modern football which is dictated by finance as to how high you can aspire to. Ethics are great ( and I’m a ‘traditional football’ fan), but if you want to progress and grow you have to have cash.
- The new owners have already stated that they intend to be around for decades, not just TV ‘seasons’ ( still hate that, another creeping Americanism, it’s a series!), but have also stated that the eventual aim is to have a self sustaining club and are constructing a commercial plan to ensure that, with 25,000 replica shirts sold last year and 35,000 already ordered for this year as an example, and every other aspect of the Club becoming fully monetarised. This will undoubtedly cause friction amongst the older generations not used to having to pay extra for things they got for free or cheaply in the past, but the focus is firmly on the future, and the children of today have a completely different mind set to paying for things than past generations. It’s now part of society that we pay for everything ( most of the time two or three times for the same thing!).
- Attendance at every match for the past season have been sold out, and close to 100k streaming watchers on literally a global basis tuning in to those matches. The income from streaming platforms will increase enormouslyover coming seasons. The focus on growing the American market will ensure a lucrative source of income for many years to come. Well, until the next big thing comes around, but by that time the Club will be financially secure and undoubtedly with further, richer partners in the Wrexham AFC family.
- The Racecourse is being completely redeveloped, starting with a new Kop stand to be open for the season 2024/25 (possibly, can’t see it being ready for the start of that season), new floodlights, and plans in place for the other 3 sides of the ground to increase attendance. The catchment area for the club includes North and Mid Wales, and the Marches, and is estimated at around 750,000. We’ve always known that Wrexham could be the focus for these araes to attract football fans who can’t get to see their ‘big’ teams, and eventually replace any loyalties people had to those teams with one closer to home, and more representative of them.
Finally ( I know this is all boring to anyone who isn’t a Wrexham fan) like many teams, we’ve been though the wringer, falling down the leagues due in no small part from having a selection of ‘dubious’ owners who’s only intention for the club was to kill it off and build on the Racecourse. The fans managed to wrest control of our Club from the vultures, but by that time all that was left was the players, and debts of nearly £750k and running costs of £1 million per year. No ground, no infrastructure, nothing. We should have been dead, but we wouldn’t let the Club die, and over the subsequent 12 years eliminated the debt, rebuilt the club, got us in to the black and obtained a 99 year lease on the ground. This in no small part influeneced the current owners to look at Wrexham as a viable vehicle for their plans and investments.
The subsequent takeover basically allowed us to move on up. To get out of the National League costs around £8-10 million on average, we couldn’t afford that, hence the sale of the Club. However, we were extremely fortunate to finally find owners such as the ones we now have, previous attempts to get hold of the club, and there were a good few, were exactly the same types as the previous ones, only wanting to take.Patience and foresight is a virtue little appreciated in the modern world, but we stood firm, and are now reaping the rewards.
The reason for this long story? Pretty simple. Cut us a bit of slack when we come across as over enthusiastic, its been a long time since we had hope and success, and we’re enjoying, finally, our moment in the sun. And I’m personally looking forward to visiting some old stamping ground, its been a while!
