League One, last season, was the tale of the States. Whether fans like it or not.
Forget your Wycombe Wanderers pushing for second, forget Charlton looking to climb again – Tom Brady and Ryan Reynolds have dominated the league last term to take their sides to the second tier.
Birmingham finished on 111 points. Meanwhile, Wrexham reached 92 points. League One is now a distant memory for these two owners who are dreaming big.
Is there room for more than one? Sure. American owners are no strangers to English football clubs. From Gillingham in League Two to newly-crowned Premier League champions Liverpool, they are scattered throughout the pyramid. But none more famous than this duo.
This season will be a test as the two sides step up their ambitions to reach the Premier League – and the £100million windfall it brings. It’s been back-to-back-to-back for Wrexham – though they will do well to make it four, surrounded by giant clubs with similar ambitions in what some adjudge to be the hardest league in the world – but it won’t stop them trying.
Birmingham won the battle last season – not that Wrexham will see this campaign as a failure – but who will conquer the next? How is the battle both on and off the field shaping up? And are these two sides – and men – really destined for the top?
Tom Brady (left) and Ryan Reynolds (right) are in a race to conquer British football with their respective teams
Birmingham were crowned League One champions with 111 points last season
Wrexham, meanwhile, finished second in League One with 92 points
Their sidekicks
Brady and Reynolds are undoubtedly the faces of their projects, but they are not alone in their work.
NFL legend Brady is a minority stakeholder in City, regularly seen at games this season, in particular the EFL Trophy final defeat by Peterborough earlier this month.
But Tom Wagner of Knighthead Capital was behind the £35m deal to take over the club in 2023, before Brady hopped on board. Wagner is no stranger to the camera, either, rather bizarrely giving his side a post-game pep talk after they lost against Peterborough at Wembley.
Reynolds, meanwhile, is in with Rob McElhenney, fellow Hollywood star. Actor and producer McElhenney, who is thought to be worth just short of £40m, is regularly seen by Reynolds’ side and they celebrated their promotion together at the weekend.
Other than that, the duo have football people around them, while Reynolds’ wife, Blake Lively, was seen with him this weekend.
Tom Wagner of Knighthead Capital was behind the £35m deal to take over Birmingham in 2023
Reynolds, meanwhile, is in business with fellow Hollywood star Rob McElhenney (left)
He is also supported by wife Blake Lively (left), who was at Wrexham’s win over Charlton
So far…
When Brady jumped on board in 2023, Birmingham were fighting for their Championship status but it was too much of an ask under, for some of the run, the leadership of Wayne Rooney.
Brady and Co got rid of John Eustace when he had the club challenging for the play-offs, hired Rooney, and spiralled towards relegation. Tony Mowbray and Gary Rowett tried to save them, but it was too little, too late.
In the summer, they appointed Chris Davies to steer the ship and they have stormed the third tier. That’s not been without spending over 30 times more than any other team in the league – including Wrexham – with Jay Stansfield the biggest purchase at £15million.
It’s also been all-success for Wrexham. They have picked up three promotions in a row and won’t shy away of aiming for four.
When they were in the National League, Wrexham’s average wage bill was £6.9m, higher than the previous year’s average for League One. And they have delivered jaw-dropping figures in the club’s latest financial accounts, with the club turning over £26.7million in the financial year that ended in June 2024, compared to the £10.5m the year prior.
As well as Welcome to Wrexham – more on that later – Wrexham have, under the actors’ ownership, secured sponsorship deals with the likes of United Airlines and HP, which has seen their sponsorship revenue increase rom £1.9m to £13.2m.
Despite those numbers, however, the club have still posted a loss of £2.7m, manly due to their increased wage budget and £824,000 in bonuses for promotion to League Two. The loss is, though, down from £5.1m in the year prior, and £15m worth of loans from Reynolds and McElhenney have now been paid back.
In Birmingham’s most recent accounts, meanwhile, they posted a pre-tax loss of £16.1m for the financial year ending June 30, 2024, with Knighthead’s investment and improved revenue streams making the club £28.7m in the season they were relegated from the Championship.
The duo have overseen three promotions in a row at the Welsh club – and are targeting a fourth
No place like home
Birmingham have called St Andrews home since 1906, but there are now plans to move on from the ground by 2029.
There are plans in place to move into a brand new, purpose-built stadium that would hold 60,000 fans, with a site nearly 50 acres in size, less than a mile away from their current ground, purchased by the owners last year.
It is estimated it will cost between £2-3billion to build, and would home training facilities for men and women, a new academy, community pitches and a commercial space.
‘My timeframe is lunacy but we’ll look to get this completed in five years,’ Wagner told BBC Sport last year. ‘Five years from August, we’d be in.
‘In a perfect world, if everyone works with us at the same pace, we’re willing to work. I’m going to keep saying it, even if it makes people sweat.
‘A lot of it is outside of our control, but that is the goal.’
Wrexham, meanwhile, are keen to expand their current SToK Cae Ras Stadium to hold 55,000 in the long run.
They knocked down their main stand in January 2023, with construction put on hold due to ‘additional complications’. A temporary 3,000-seater stand is in place for now.
Wrexham are keen to expand their current SToK Cae Ras Stadium to eventually hold 55,000
Birmingham, meanwhile, have their sights set on a £2-3billion stadium after buying land
The US audience
Much of both sets of owners’ ambitions since taking over has been to conquer their homelands.
Dr Rob Wilson told OLBG that promotion to the Championship will be a ‘fantasy’ for Wrexham. He added: Championship status will place Wrexham in a £100m plus broadcast ecosystem, elevate match day and sponsorship revenues, and further globalise their brand, particularly in North America, where the underdog-to-elite storyline resonates powerfully.’
In April, meanwhile, Wagner, who is a financer by trade, spoke of his ambition to make his side a globally-recognised brand, spouting: ‘You go to New York City, you go to LA (Los Angeles), you will see people wearing Birmingham City kit on the street.
‘I don’t really think they know what they’re wearing but they will. We don’t want to draw too much attention to it yet but they’ll figure it out.’
The issue will be trying to find fans that aren’t already Wrexham supporters. Merchanside and retail has played a huge part in the club’s success so far, with their revenue from outside of Europe was almost a quarter of turnover in 2022-23.
The EFL also has a TV deal with CBS, and both Wrexham and Birmingham are regularly selected for broadcast.
‘The CBS deal is the Wrexham effect,’ Chris Harris, editor of US-based WorldSoccerTalk, told the BBC last year. ‘Their popularity, through the documentary, would have been a major reason why they came in hard to get the rights.’
Wrexham have also been to the States for a pre-season tour, facing the likes of Chelsea and Bournemouth.
Wrexham are big in the United States and underwent a pre-season tour there last summer
Welcome to Wrexham, a series surrounding the club, has also been a major hit in the country
Birmingham are looking to follow in their footsteps, with their documentary to be shown on Amazon later this year
Summer business
Unsurprisingly, both clubs have been extremely active in the transfer market ahead of their return to the Championship.
Birmingham have brought in no fewer than 11 new players, including the return of Demarai Gray, who rejoined the club on a free transfer.
The Blues also made a notable move by signing former Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi from Rennes for £7.7m – the third most expensive signing in the club’s history.
Wrexham, too, have been busy, adding nine new faces to their squad – several of whom bring valuable Premier League experience.
Conor Coady, who has made 109 appearances in the top flight, headlines the arrivals after completing a £1.9m move from Leicester. He’s joined by goalkeeper Danny Ward, also from Leicester, who signed on a free transfer.
Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis O’Brien has also made the switch to North Wales, alongside Liberato Cacace, George Thompson, Ryan Hardie, and Josh Windass.
Kyogo Furuhashi joined from Rennes for £7.7m – the third most expensive signing in the club’s history.
Conor Coady headlines the arrivals for Wrexham after completing a £1.9m move from Leicester
And the documentaries!
It is reported that club officials attribute most of Wrexham’s money in their recent accounts, which is thought to be a record for a then-League Two team, to the Welcome to Wrexham series, which details the journey of the club under their ownership.
There are four series of the show, streaming on Disney Plus, and it has won a number of awards, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards and two Critics’ Choice Television Awards.
In similar fashion, Birmingham launched a five-part Amazon Prime series ‘Built in Birmingham: Brady and the Blues’ earlier this summer.
The documentary follows the Blues’ turbulent 2023–24 campaign, offering access behind the scenes as Brady settles into his role as minority owner and advisory board chairman.
Birmingham launched a five-part Amazon Prime series ‘Built in Birmingham: Brady and the Blues’ earlier this summer
From boardroom shake-ups to touchline tensions, the cameras capture it all – including the high-profile sacking of manager John Eustace and the appointment of Wayne Rooney – whose workrate gets called out by Brady.
Its available in over 200 countries, with Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinder and a Birmingham fan, serving as executive director.
