Well that’s a leading headline, isn’t it? But it’s true (in a very wide sense). Indeed, Wrexham’s rise is good for all Football League clubs. Why? Well…
In 2014, an FA-mandated commission released a report, the aim of which was apparently to improve the performance of the England team and the quality of young players coming through the academies in England (but mainly the big clubs). Men of the ‘calibre’ of Greg Dyke, Dario Gradi, Danny Mills and Rio Ferdinand made a number of recommendations in the report, but the most headline-grabbing of them was that B teams should be introduced to the Football League pyramid, possibly sandwiched in a league between League Two and the Conference (though it goes without saying that once the idea had taken root, the bigger clubs would be pushing and pushing for a situation closer to that of Spain, where the B teams play at a much higher level). Whatever the finer details, however, the underlying tone of the commission – through this suggestion and others – was clear: football in England exists to serve the big clubs, and the rest can get fucked.
It shouldn’t really come as a surprise. The uber-wealthy mega-clubs – most of whom are owned by [censored on legal advice] – have been manoeuvring everything and anything in their favour, off the pitch and on it, for many years now. From TV deals to the way the loan system works and more, everything has been heading in one direction – that of the big clubs doing what the hell they like and the rest of us showing our gratitude for any crumbs they brush off the table. The whole “the pyramid is only as strong as its base” thing is meaningless to them. The rancid B teams suggestion was just one example of that.
So where do Wrexham come in? Well, they are showing, on a global scale, just how brilliant that pyramid is. They are demonstrating to millions of people who would have only been able to name three or four English football clubs at best five years ago that there is a meaningful depth running through English football that few other countries can emulate – in any sport.
Yes, it’s frustrating when one team gets so much attention. Yes, it’s a bit annoying when a team that was 100 or so places below us in the league structure not long ago is signing players we could only dream of. But if you can put your jealousy to one side, the bigger picture is one that sticks two fingers up firmly at the hedge fund-run clubs that will spend a billion quid over a year to move their Premier League position from eighth to seventh.
There’s the wider story too. A UK town suffering post-industrial decline given its mojo back by its main sporting team rising through the ranks of the Football League? It’s a good news story showing the power of sport that was Hull City a couple of decades ago. Before us it was Bradford and Barnsley. Since then it’s been Swansea and Luton, and now Wrexham. I know how fantastic it is to go through that and I wouldn’t begrudge any long-suffering fan those highs. And while Wrexham aren’t the first smaller club to bring in a high-profile backer (Watford may well claim that title), they seem to have started a mini-trend – Tom Brady at Birmingham, Snoop Dogg at Swansea – that suggests that the wonders of the Football League are catching on.
So while I’ll hold Wrexham in nothing but visceral hatred while we’re playing them, and remain largely indifferent to them for the rest of the season, I will acknowledge that their success comes with potential positives for all fans of Football League clubs. (And if you really want to hold a non-Premier League club in contempt, there’s always MK Dons, who are much more worthy of your ire.) The structure and the integrity of the whole football pyramid matters. That it remains a meritocracy matters (which is why MK Dons are still so worthy of your ire). That the big clubs are not allowed to interfere with it to further their own means matters. That it remains a source of joy, sadness, hope, despair, elation and frustration to myriad cities, towns, boroughs, villages and communities matters.
Which is why Wrexham’s rise, played out in front of a (lucrative) international audience, matters. It may not fully protect the rest of us from the various landgrabs the big clubs commit under the veneer of ‘national interest’. It may not fully stave off the threat of insulting suggestions such as B teams being introduced into the Football League pyramid. But Wrexham’s rise does provide worth, glamour and attention to the Football League that exposes these big club-led ideas for the self-serving bullshit that they are. And it shows that the Football League pyramid – while by no means perfect – works very nicely thank you and should be left the hell alone by a load of men in suits who can’t look beyond a profit and loss sheet when assessing our sport’s ‘worth’.
Richard Gardham