Wayne Jones, owner of The Turf, reflects on an unforgettable summer following Wrexham AFC around America and looks ahead to the new Championship season.
Wrexham AFC in the USA!
It’s been some summer for Wrexham AFC, and if you’d told me a few years ago that I’d be following Wrexham around America and watching us take on some of the biggest clubs in the world, I’m not sure I’d have believed you!
But here we are.
The last season was another one to be proud of. We went into the Championship knowing it would be a massive step up, and although we didn’t quite reach the Premier League, finishing seventh in our first season back in the second tier was an achievement.
We finished with 71 points and recorded the highest league finish in the club’s history at that level. To be just outside the play-offs on the final day was frustrating, of course, because when you get that close you naturally wonder what might have been. But let’s look at the bigger picture: we had just come up into the Championship, competed with clubs who have been at this level for years and, for large parts of the season, looked like we belonged there.
And that’s important.
Premier League in Their Sights
We’ve gone from hoping we could survive in the Football League to wondering whether we might actually get into the Premier League. That tells you everything about how far this football club has come. There’s no point dwelling on what we missed out on. We’ve got to take the positives, learn from last season and go again.
And believe me, there’s plenty to be excited about.
I’ve spent a good part of the summer following the team, and what an experience it has been. The American tour has been brilliant. To see the support Wrexham now gets over there is something else. You can travel thousands of miles from home and still find people wearing Wrexham shirts, singing Wrexham songs and wanting to talk about the club.
That makes you incredibly proud.
Sadly, I couldn’t make it to Helsinki, but beating Man United was the perfect start to the tour, and I hope the fans out there enjoyed it as much as we did back home. Then we headed across to America, where we took on Leeds, Liverpool and Sunderland. The 3-2 win against Leeds in Tampa was another great result, and although pre-season is about getting minutes into the players and getting everyone ready for the real thing, it’s always nice to win.
Especially when you’re wearing that Wrexham shirt.
Off The Pitch
There’s been plenty going on away from the pitch as well.
The club has been working hard in the transfer market and has already brought in players such as Danny Imray from Crystal Palace and Ben Whiteman from Preston North End, while the reported arrival of goalkeeper Anthony Patterson from Sunderland adds even more competition to the squad.
That’s what you want to see. We don’t want to stand still.
Phil Parkinson and his staff have earned the right to build on what they achieved last season, and the recruitment has to be about making us stronger without losing what has made this team so successful.
Because that’s the bit I always come back to.
The football is hugely important, but Wrexham AFC is about more than football. It’s about the people.
You see that every time you walk through the town. You see it around the Racecourse. You see it at the Turf. You see it in the pubs, the shops, the cafés and the streets around the stadium on matchday.
Positivity With Our Feet on The Ground
People talk about Wrexham differently now, and we should never lose sight of how special that is.
There’s a real positivity around the place. People are proud of where we’ve come from and excited about where we might be going. But we’ve also got to keep our feet on the ground.
The best thing about Wrexham has always been that it’s a community. Whether you’ve supported the club for 50 years, five years, or you’ve only just discovered us through Welcome to Wrexham, you’re now part of the story.
And that story is still being written.
A New Season
The new season is now upon us, and I am really excited, despite the last kick of the ball against Cardiff making my journey home feel longer than the flight to Florida. There’s a different feeling around the place now. We’re not simply hoping to stay in the Championship. We’re looking upwards.
That doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. It won’t be. The Championship is brutal, and every team will fancy their chances. But we’ve shown we can compete.
Now we need to take that next step.
So, from following the lads around America to getting back home and seeing the Racecourse packed again, it’s been one hell of a summer. The players have had a taste of what’s ahead, the new boys are settling in, the supporters are buzzing, and another chapter is about to begin.
Whatever happens, I know one thing. Wrexham will be behind them.
That’s what we do.
Come on, you Reds!
Wayne.
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