Rob McElhenney made controversial and costly plane deal with Wrexham stars

01 December 2023 , 15:31

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A cheeky request from Paul Mullin led to Wrexham's players travelling by plane for away games. (Image: Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images))

Rob McElhenney isn't just beloved by Wrexham fans, but also star striker Paul Mullin, who has revealed precisely how the co-owner's deep pockets paid massive dividends in last season's title triumph.

Wrexham were locked in an epic season-long battle with Notts County for the National League title, with any kind of marginal gain potentially making the difference between the sides. The resources of Hollywood owners McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds certainly played its part over the course of the campaign.

Ultimately, Wrexham fought off a valiant challenge from the Magpies in an unprecedented season where the teams finished on 111 and 107 points respectively, and Mullin – who scored 39 goals en route to the title – has explained how It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia creator McElhenney put his hands in his pockets to leave no stone unturned for the players.

With a visit from King Charles and the Queen Consort to the Racecourse Ground 12 months ago significantly delayed Wrexham's travel plans for a trip to Eastleigh, but McElhenney responded by chartering a plane to give the team the best chance of success. The move paid off handsomely, although it cost him plenty of cash in the process.

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Mullin wrote in his recently-released autobiography My Wrexham Story: "Thank goodness for Rob McElhenney. He came up with the perfect answer: we’d shave hours off the day by flying down to Hampshire.

"A quick thirty minutes on a plane compared to five hours on a bus would make a massive difference to our preparation, not least because it’s obviously not good for elite sportspeople to be sat in one position all that time. The plan paid dividends when we won 2–0."

The flight down to Hampshire proved not to be a one-off trip by air for the Red Dragons over the course of the season, with Mullin using his influence as a star player – after a bit of cajoling from his teammates – to ensure Wrexham travelled in style thereafter.

Paul Mullin and his Wrexham teammates received the Hollywood treatment from Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. (Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)

"Afterwards, a couple of people were on at me – ‘Ask Rob if we can fly back as well!’ It wasn’t total laziness: we had another game on the Tuesday and flying back would massively aid our recovery," he said.

"Rob not only said yes but came up with a deal: keep winning and we could fly to all our away games more than two hours away by road. He might not have counted on us then going on that twenty-eight-game unbeaten streak.

"When finally we were beaten at Halifax, a game we’d travelled to by road, it was all the proof we needed that coach travel was bad news and air transport was the way forward if we were going to fulfil our potential."

Flying for domestic games within a few hours' coach journey is not uncommon for professional clubs, particularly in the Premier League. However, they have been widely criticised for the environmental implications of flying such short distances.

Sam Frost