Wrexham have rewritten the EFL history books by enjoying three successive promotions, with a meteoric rise out of the National League and into the Championship being enjoyed. Birmingham took a step backwards following a failed managerial experiment with Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney, but captured the League One title in historic fashion last season.
The Red Dragons and Blues are now plotting a course through the second tier of English football. Big money has been spent on chasing the dream, with Hollywood co-owners Reynolds and Mac helping to fund a £30 million-plus ($40m) spending spree during the summer of 2025.
Wrexham did endure a slow start to the new season, with untimely injuries doing little to aid their cause, leading to questions being asked of Phil Parkinson’s future. He retains the full support of his board, while Chris Davies will be given time to get things right at St Andrew’s after also overseeing an inconsistent opening to the 2025-26 campaign.
Both teams – who have starred in their own documentary series – are aware that they need to build on solid foundations and cannot expect to blaze a trail through a division as competitive as the Championship. They are, however, being tipped to hit their ultimate end goals by adding top-flight fixtures to their respective schedules.
Ex-England captain Shearer, who remains the Premier League‘s all-time leading goalscorer, has told Betfair of promotion bids in North Wales and the West Midlands: “Ryan Reynolds and Tom Brady are chasing the dream of Premier League football, I guess. They’re looking at huge football clubs which Wrexham and Birmingham are to try and chase the dream of getting to the promised land. Certainly, in Ryan Reynolds’ view, they’re closer to it than they thought they would be.
“They’re not far away now albeit I don’t think they’ll get promoted this season, but they all want a bit of the Premier League because wherever you are, it’s remarkable. I was in Kansas City last weekend and the reaction to the Premier League is something you’ve never seen before. It’s off the charts. So that’s what they all want, they’ve seen it on TV, they’re all very wealthy, want to invest and get a piece of the pie.
“I think they will both be in the Premier League in the near future, I do. If they continue to invest like they have done, how they get around PSR is a different matter, but they look at clubs who have been drifting, but look at the history, how big they are and how big they can become in the area that they’re in and both Birmingham and Wrexham are huge. There’s a chance to grow them even bigger and there’s also a chance they get what they want and reach the Premier League.”
Shearer is not the first to suggest that Wrexham and Birmingham will soon be rubbing shoulders with the big boys. Ben Foster, who was talked out of retirement by Reynolds and McElhenney in 2023, has backed the Red Dragons to secure promotion “within five years”. David Dunn, meanwhile, told BALLGM back in May that Brady and the Blues are capable of “bouncing again” and going up this season.
There is clearly work for both sides to do in order to position themselves among the Championship frontrunners, but they will get another opportunity to establish momentum heading into the latest international break when facing one another at SToK Racecourse on Friday – with there set to be plenty of eyes, including a few famous ones, on that fixture.
