Wrexham captain rejects Ryan Reynolds theory after enjoying high life on US tour
Flashbulbs at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground were once confined to the speed camera outside on the Mold Road until Ryan Reynolds sprinkled his stardust on a club going nowhere.
As the Red Dragons regain Football League orbit after a 15-year absence, they can reach for the stars on Hollywood Boulevard's celebrity Walk of Fame where the Deadpool actor has left his mark on an incomparable constellation.
And if Reynolds wants to be even more popular at Wrexham – as if that were possible - another promotion would go down well. Or if he wants to make another big impression, his captain Luke Young can offer a stellar 'cast' like the Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles where the showbiz cement imprints include Marilyn Monroe's earring and Harry Potter's wand.
Young's wife, Chloe, runs a business specialising in imprints and casts similar to the famous Hollywood movie palace's collection. Let's give Reynolds and co-owner Rob McElhenney a big hand? No problem – Mrs Young's Babyprints firm can take care of the replicas.
“It can be handprints, footprints, casts of hands, anything from newborns or loved ones to family pets” said Young on the eve of Wrexham's re-entry to the EFL mainstream. “The business has taken off and I'm pretty sure it's going to escalate. Just imagine if Ryan left an imprint of his hand here at Wrexham, like they do in Hollywood. You never know, but this is the club where dreams come true.”
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If you're sick of reading about Wrexham, bad luck. Their National League title shoot-out with Notts County in April generated more traffic on Twitter than Liverpool v Arsenal on the same weekend. They are thinking big. And midfielder Young, 30, is relishing the trappings of fame Reynolds has brought to North Wales because his career has not all been strolls down Hollywood sidewalks.
Mirror Football's Mike Walters sat down with Wrexham star Luke Young (Paul Currie/REX/Shutterstock)He said: “Everyone has a perception about the club because of our owners, but I didn't get here on a private jet from a film set. I've seen the other side of the coin when I started out at Plymouth with relegation, going into administration, losing points, players not getting paid and the club being in danger of going under.
“It's not been an easy road for me personally and I've seen a lot of bad times, so I want to make the most of the good times. To be a part of the team who won promotion after so long out of the Football League will live with me forever and I'll always cherish it.
“If you spent a day here, you might be surprised at how hard-working everyone is, and the way we go about our business is nothing like the hype from the outside. That stems from the owners, their management team, the people they have brought in, the board, the sponsors they attract and, of course, the players.
Owners Ryan Reynolds (right) and Rob McElhenney (left) (Getty Images)“They know how to get the best out of a football club. Nobody could have written the script about last season, and how well we had to play to go up ahead of Notts County with a ridiculous number of points.”
As a reward for winning promotion, Reynolds treated his squad to an end-of-season trip to Las Vegas. The Strip was a bit different to scrambling for points at Halifax, Eastleigh or Gateshead.
“We were living the high life, it was mad,” said Young. “We were treated to the best nightclubs, the best restaurants, the best food – a massive celebration everybody had earned. I've never seen so many neon lights in my life, but we all made it back in one piece.”
Two months later, Wrexham were back in the States on a pre-season tour, again surfing the wave of Reynolds' fame. They lost last season's 46-goal top scorer Paul Mullin with a punctured lung and four broken ribs in a showpiece friendly with Manchester United in California.
Mullin is expected to fly home in a fortnight and be back next month, but off the pitch they are attracting a colossal following worldwide.
Young said: “It blows your mind when you touch down and everyone knows who are you – there were Wrexham shirts everywhere and billboards with 'Welcome to Wrexham.' It's mad. It opens your eyes to how big the club has grown. As players, we're going to have to be careful because there are eyes everywhere and a lot people seem to know who we are.
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“We'll have to deal with that in the right way because we haven't cracked it yet. All we've done is get Wrexham back in the League – now we've got to back it up. Promotion is not a divine right, but I would like to think the top seven is definitely not going to be out of our reach this season, and the top three automatic promotion places are not out of the question, either.
“I'm not saying we are going to get more than 100 points and score more than 100 goals again like we did last year, but at 30 I hope there is at least one more promotion left in my career.”
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