Incredible stuff

deadbq03 said:

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You're wrong.

The club just paid back a 15M pound loan to the owners… if that same 15M pounds is put into payroll next year, they're a playoff-capable squad. That assumes no new income (which there will be) and that Rob-Ryan don't give another loan (which they might).

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That puts them midtable on payroll.

They pay nearly 11 now. There's only 3 teams in Championship over 25.

He’s a class act. Hoping he can stay on with wrexham, but if not, he’s a legend with the club.

— Jordan- Osasuna and Basque Enthusiast (@JCox9892) April 26, 2025

There is a reason they say the EFL Championship is the hardest league in the world to play in. It's a ton of teams so it's a ton of games. And the teams relegated from EPL have massive parachute payments so the salaries are very unbalanced. This is about to get very expensive.

It would be a great story to get promoted but it's a big hill to climb.

I think this club has financial advantages that no other Championship side can match. Rob-Ryan are re-writing the playbook on club ownership.

And it's not like we're talking about Champions League money here… the wage bills aren't crazy, even for the recently relegated.

https://www.capology.com/uk/championship/payrolls/

That said, I'd be absolutely stunned if they'll go up again, because they're going to take a major continuity hit this year. There will be huge turnover like they've never seen before and I think it will bite them.

But who knows? I've also said the same thing every year after they get promoted… and they've proved me wrong. I certainly wouldn't bet against them now.

I was casually following the club for the first 2 or 3 seasons but kinda fell off.....but this is just amazing!

I hope we can watch them weekly now

CBS/Paramount+ picked up the US rights to all EFL leagues last year, so nothing will really change. They don't show all the games, but they are obligated to show way more Championship games than the lower tiers.

Wrexham were on there a lot this year… probably more than anyone else in League 1. I expect they'll be shown even more next year but it still won't be 100% of the games.

Their wage bill is estimated to be ~10m GBP which would put them about 3rd in League One behind Birmingham and Huddersfield. Keeping the current wage bill, they would be 23rd in the championship.

To be mid table in wages, it would take another ~5m GBP which seems doable given the massive increase in sponsorship revenue over the past few years. They've also brought in a 3rd investor. They also have massive capital needs though to build out the stadium as well as some of the backroom/youth infrastructure.

Below is a link to Wrexham's financial statements in League Two. ~27m GBP in revenue, with a little over half coming from sponsorships, is incredible for League Two.

2023-2024 Financial Statements

Infrastructure is really a good point. They are woefully behind there in lots of ways. Everyone knows about their planned stadium renovations, but they also need to spend a lot on training facilities. This article is behind a paywall I think, but has a lot of good info:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6252975/2025/04/26/wrexham-are-heading-to-the-championship-this-is-the-story-of-their-third-straight-promotion-season

Quote:

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A new training ground is also badly needed. Wrexham's rapid rise through the leagues has left the off-field operation scrambling to keep up and nowhere is this more keenly felt than in the lack of a permanent base.

In recent years, the club has rented facilities, primarily Colliers Park from the Welsh Football Association. The players then change at The Racecourse Ground before making the six-mile round trip by car.

This is fine in non-League and even League Two, where many clubs still have to make do and mend. A third promotion, however, means Wrexham are moving to a level where players are used to a lot better than piling into the back of a team-mate's motor, often caked in mud, before driving back to the ground for a shower

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I have little doubt they'll be competitive next year on the field, but they're realistically years away from being ready for EPL in terms of all the things that go unseen (infrastructure, admin, etc). If they managed to pull off the impossible next year, they'd likely be in the boat that Luton was in this year, where they had to make emergency fixes to their stadium in order to comply with EPL standards. There's no doubt they could find the money if such a "problem" occurred, but they'd end up paying a lot more to get things done quickly than if they grow organically. I bet behind closed doors, everyone in the organization knows they really need at least a year or two to play catch-up at a reasonable pace.

Agreed.

I think the goal next year is stay in the Championship.

I'm not super surprised at the quick successive promotions, but yeah they'll need some consolidation now at this level.

Rudyjax said:

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Agreed.

I think the goal next year is stay in the Championship.

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I think they can set the bar higher than that. It's hard to know without seeing how the transfer window shakes out, but I suspect that they have enough money to get at least a comfortably mid-table squad.

But I hope they tap the brakes somewhere around that level and then pump whatever other money they have into doing the boring things that'll pay off long term.

deadbq03 said:

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Rudyjax said:

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Agreed.

I think the goal next year is stay in the Championship.

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I think they can set the bar higher than that. It's hard to know without seeing how the transfer window shakes out, but I suspect that they have enough money to get at least a comfortably mid-table squad.

But I hope they tap the brakes somewhere around that level and then pump whatever other money they have into doing the boring things that'll pay off long term.

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Is there a difference between mid table and not getting relegated?

Not much.

I dunno. Ask an Everton fan.

Seriously though… I expect there's a big difference in "locker room" atmosphere at a club that's 13th and enjoying some successes vs a club that's 19th and hoping to just survive.

deadbq03 said:

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Seriously though… I expect there's a big difference in "locker room" atmosphere at a club that's 13th and enjoying some successes vs a club that's 19th and hoping to just survive.

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19th will get you relegated. Maybe I should've been more precise. Goal should be to comfortably avoid relegation.

Rudyjax said:

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deadbq03 said:

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Seriously though… I expect there's a big difference in "locker room" atmosphere at a club that's 13th and enjoying some successes vs a club that's 19th and hoping to just survive.

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19th will get you relegated. Maybe I should've been more precise. Goal should be to comfortably avoid relegation.

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You clearly don't know Championship then.

But semantics aside, we're probably on the same page.

I said I want their goal to be mid-table, not necessarily because there's a massive difference between that result and survival, but because if they pay for a squad that is solidly mid-table, it's far less likely that they'll get relegated than if they just merely pay for a squad that's better than bottom 5.

But I don't want to see them shoot the moon either (unless their finances are better than we think and they're also investing in far more than just players).

deadbq03 said:

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Rudyjax said:

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deadbq03 said:

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Seriously though… I expect there's a big difference in "locker room" atmosphere at a club that's 13th and enjoying some successes vs a club that's 19th and hoping to just survive.

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19th will get you relegated. Maybe I should've been more precise. Goal should be to comfortably avoid relegation.

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You clearly don't know Championship then.

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Explain.

Edit: 24 teams. Still not comfortable position.

In the old friend category Notts County made the playoff in League 2. Given the all the sappy things the R's said about them in the moment that's kind of fun.

I hope they get promoted.

deadbq03 said:

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I dunno. Ask an Everton fan.

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it sucks but we're past it. Hail Friedkin and gulf states Toyota

deadbq03 said:

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Infrastructure is really a good point. They are woefully behind there in lots of ways. Everyone knows about their planned stadium renovations, but they also need to spend a lot on training facilities. This article is behind a paywall I think, but has a lot of good info:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6252975/2025/04/26/wrexham-are-heading-to-the-championship-this-is-the-story-of-their-third-straight-promotion-season

Quote:

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A new training ground is also badly needed. Wrexham's rapid rise through the leagues has left the off-field operation scrambling to keep up and nowhere is this more keenly felt than in the lack of a permanent base.

In recent years, the club has rented facilities, primarily Colliers Park from the Welsh Football Association. The players then change at The Racecourse Ground before making the six-mile round trip by car.

This is fine in non-League and even League Two, where many clubs still have to make do and mend. A third promotion, however, means Wrexham are moving to a level where players are used to a lot better than piling into the back of a team-mate's motor, often caked in mud, before driving back to the ground for a shower

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I have little doubt they'll be competitive next year on the field, but they're realistically years away from being ready for EPL in terms of all the things that go unseen (infrastructure, admin, etc). If they managed to pull off the impossible next year, they'd likely be in the boat that Luton was in this year, where they had to make emergency fixes to their stadium in order to comply with EPL standards. There's no doubt they could find the money if such a "problem" occurred, but they'd end up paying a lot more to get things done quickly than if they grow organically. I bet behind closed doors, everyone in the organization knows they really need at least a year or two to play catch-up at a reasonable pace.

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The quoted part sounds like a "Careful what you wish for" situation. I don't follow Wrexham so had no idea what their facility situation was like so that's pretty eye-opening. Developing a training facility will be a costly investment.

Taking a different angle in terms of what bigger clubs have that Wrexham, as far as I know, does not, is an Academy system to develop their own talent. IF this is a long term commitment, like 10+ years, I would imagine there has to be a plan for that, which will also require investment. It can pay off over time if they are able to develop and sell players (see some of the lower-level EPL clubs) to offset the expense, but that will take further commitment and up-front money.

I think reality for Wrexham is an annual fight to stay in the Championship, if they are able to accomplish that next season. More likely they will bounce back and forth between League 1 and Championship, which isn't bad for a backwater like Wrexham.

Supposedly, they've been planning for months now that they're going to quadruple wages if they get promoted.

https://www.thewrexhaminsider.com/news/rob-mcelhenney-and-ryan-reynolds-already-have-40m-wrexham-plan-in-place-for-25-26-championship-season/

If true, that would absolutely give them a chance at yet another promotion.

P.S. the post above is a horrible take on how they'll perform (though I agree they need to invest in an academy). Some of y'all are acting like they're jumping straight to EPL. They're already way better off financially than most Championship sides. They're absolutely not ready for EPL (and I don't think they'll be ready next year either) but they're gonna be just fine in Championship.

Does Wrexham still have the same head coach that's been with them since they bought the team? If so, I doubt he ever imagined it would go like this?

jt2hunt said:

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Does Wrexham still have the same head coach that's been with them since they bought the team? If so, I doubt he ever imagined it would go like this?

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R&R hired Phil Parkinson when they took over and yes he is still the coach

Edited to correct his name

Yeah same guy, Phil Parkinson.

It's possible they could be reaching the Peter principle with him soon. His previous stints in the Championship were not good. Honestly I think he's one of the biggest "risks" for them at this next level.

But I'd bet a coke he hasn't ever had ownership support like this before either so I'm not worried about a total flop… but I do think there's a decent chance that they have to make a change to get promoted.

deadbq03 said:

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Supposedly, they've been planning for months now that they're going to quadruple wages if they get promoted.

https://www.thewrexhaminsider.com/news/rob-mcelhenney-and-ryan-reynolds-already-have-40m-wrexham-plan-in-place-for-25-26-championship-season/

If true, that would absolutely give them a chance at yet another promotion.

P.S. the post above is a horrible take on how they'll perform (though I agree they need to invest in an academy). Some of y'all are acting like they're jumping straight to EPL. They're already way better off financially than most Championship sides. They're absolutely not ready for EPL (and I don't think they'll be ready next year either) but they're gonna be just fine in Championship.

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They're going to go from being a big fish (financially in a small pond to definitely a smaller fish. Just looking st stadium sizes, most of the championship teams are in 25k-30k seat stadiums and the more First Division-y teams like Sunderland, Leeds and the Sheffield teams are 35-45k. Wrexham is 12k. That's not everything but it's something.

Ever since watching Sunderland 'Til I Die one of my favorite things as far as English soccer is rooting against Sunderland getting back to the PL. I like to root for Everton being relegated too, but that's been futile thus far.

I probably just jinxed the Championship playoffs in Sunderland's favor.

Careful. You might be chastised for pointing out an obstacle to Wrexham's per-ordained, guaranteed success.

Emotional reactions aside, Wrexham's is certainly a Cinderella story that has caught a lot of interest. It will be interesting to follow and watch the club's steps to address deficiencies in order to remain a competitive side against better competition.

deadbq03 said:

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Supposedly, they've been planning for months now that they're going to quadruple wages if they get promoted.

https://www.thewrexhaminsider.com/news/rob-mcelhenney-and-ryan-reynolds-already-have-40m-wrexham-plan-in-place-for-25-26-championship-season/

If true, that would absolutely give them a chance at yet another promotion.

P.S. the post above is a horrible take on how they'll perform (though I agree they need to invest in an academy). Some of y'all are acting like they're jumping straight to EPL. They're already way better off financially than most Championship sides. They're absolutely not ready for EPL (and I don't think they'll be ready next year either) but they're gonna be just fine in Championship.

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I really hope we get to see some of these conversations in the new season of the show. Their CEO Shaun Harvey has always been the guy delivering the fiscal reality to Rob and Ryan so hopefully we hear some estimates on player salaries, training ground investment, etc

ThunderCougarFalconBird said:

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Faustus said:

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I like to root for Everton being relegated too

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go participate in autoerotic fornication.

Oh, and enjoy watching us play in our riverfront Taj Mahal of a stadium next fall.

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Hopefully the lads give Goodison the farewell it deserves against Southampton rather than how they played on the pitch in the penultimate performance against Ipswich.

Hope so.