I’ve been glued to this Wrexham AFC story. What is the end game in all this?
Reynolds and McElhenney have done incredibly well and made good decisions. Full credit. They’re heroes now, BUT can they keep it like that?
Wrexham will likely stabilise in League 1. And unfortunately for the owners, football fans have THE shortest memories. Before long they’ll get agitated, frustrated, annoyed. It’s our DNA.
So how does this play out? There's a few scenarios I've been thinking about.
Maybe Reynolds and McElhenney do love the club and are in it for the long haul. Is that realistic? I’d give it a 10% probability. It’s too stressful, energy sapping and expensive. I could be wrong but give it three years in League 1 and I think they’ll want out. And that's where it get's interesting...
They could give the club back to the Wrexham Supporters Trust. They’ll come out looking best doing that. They can say it’s been fun, but it has run its course. Time to return the club to its rightful stewards. The problem? They’ll get NOTHING ($) for it. So let’s give that a 5% probability.
Ultimately they'll have to find a buyer. This is where they kiss goodbye to the hero status. I just can’t envisage a scenario where Wrexham fans will be remotely satisfied with whoever comes next. How could they be? Look at the landscape of owners out there in British football. No one is palatable.
So the options are... stay in it for the long haul (gulp). Give it back to the fans for nothing. Find a buyer to recoup their investment and, I'm afraid to say, inevitably leave under a cloud of bitter animosity.
With all that in mind, it’s brilliant TV. I'll be watching Season 3 next month.
#wrexham #sportbusiness #football
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