Birmingham City and Wrexham became rivals in League One this season. But figures of both sides have now shared their admiration for the others.
Birmingham City and Wrexham had very different journeys leading up to this 2024/25. Blues were something of a fallen giant whilst the Dragons had achieved back-to-back promotions under Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
But both teams shared one thing in common: ambition. Birmingham City spent £15million on signing Jay Stansfield and Wrexham spent their share of money too, signing Sam Smith for £2million in January in what was a club record deal.
The two sides are returning to the Championship and many will back them to be competitive in the second tier next time round, as both teams with their American ownership set their sights on the Premier League.
Tom Brady is a part-owner at Birmingham City and a Hollywood ally of Wrexham co-owners Reynolds and McElhenney. Birmingham City also have an American chairman in Tom Wagner.
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty ImagesBirmingham City chairman Tom Wagner hails ‘extraordinary’ Wrexham
Speaking in a recent interview with iNews, Wagner was asked about Wrexham, and he couldn’t help but share his admiration for the club’s journey. Specifically, Wagner has been impressed with how Reynolds and McElhenney have made huge marketing streams for the club, practically from ‘thin air’, in his words.
Wagner explained: “Purely on the commercial side, it would be impossible to say anyone has done it better than Wrexham, who have created extraordinary revenue streams out of thin air. That is no mistake. It’s a true storytelling genius that Ryan and Rob have brought to that club, and I think it’s to be admired and certainly, to a degree, emulated.”
Wrexham now have a global following, particularly with fans in the USA. Season four of Welcome to Wrexham has now begun too, which will only further Wrexham’s global reach ahead of next season.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty ImagesRob McElhenney is also a big fan of Birmingham City
Birmingham City and Wrexham had some good games last season. The former were by far the best team in the league but Wrexham were the deserved 2nd place finishers, proving themselves in what was a very competitive League One roster.
And McElhenney hasn’t shied away in his praise of Birmingham City, much like Wagner in his praise for Wrexham. Speaking in the latest season of Welcome to Wrexham, McElhenney said how Birmingham City is an inspiration for him at the Racecourse.
He said: “I look at Birmingham as a great example of [a] tough town, and a tough club who have been down before, they’ve risen up, put the investment in, put the work in, and now they’re going to go out there and try to dominate the league, and I find that inspiring.”
The sincerities will soon come to an end though when Birmingham City and Wrexham go up against each other in the Championship next season. How either team fares next time round will really show which side is going places.