All language subtitles for Welcome.to.Wrexham.S04E01.2160p.WEB.h265-ETHEL

[crowd cheering]

♪ Don't forget
where you came from ♪

♪ Don't forget
what you're made of ♪

♪ The ones who were there ♪

♪ When no one else would care ♪

♪ Don't be afraid to cry now ♪

♪ Even when the world
comes crashing in ♪

♪ Don't forget
to sing when you win ♪

♪ Don't forget
to sing when you win ♪

[whistle blows]

[Griffiths]
And there is the final whistle.

The fans are on the pitch.

Wrexham Football Club, wow.

[commentator] Drink it in.
Enjoy yourselves tonight,
Wrexham fans,

because you don't see
back-to-back promotions
very often.

[Gilpin] Yes.
That was the moment
we clinched promotion.

The second pitch invasion
on the Racecourse
in just 12 months.

[Edwards] I almost feel
like I don't deserve
two promotions in two years.

-[commentator]
Unbelievable for Wrexham.
-Oh, my fucking God.

[chuckling]

We're so fortunate that we keep
getting really, really lucky.

-Yeah.
-Yes.

We have an incredible
foundation of people that keep
putting us into positions

where we can get lucky.

But we're getting lucky.

The one thing we did do
that I think we planned for
and hoped for

was that sort of
symbiotic relationship
with the community.

The feeling
in Wrexham and the club,

the high tide
raising all boats.

It just feels,
like over the last four years,

it's been this
roller coaster of magic.

[Hett] What's the chances then,
boys, this season?

We're back in League One.

We need to be thankful
that we've just been treated
to two promotions.

-We know with our brains...
-Uh-huh.

"...Mid-table.
Come on, let's be sensible."

But in our hearts, there's
that sneaking feeling of,
"Go on, let's do it again."

Why can't we do it?
Let's be honest.

Has anybody ever done,
uh, back-to-back-to-back
promotions?

I don't think they have.
I don't think so.
But why can't we do it?

-[Blackwell] Yeah.
-[supporter] Yeah.

And Rob and Ryan,
they like chasing
those records, don't they?

[Blackwell]
Getting to League One,

is back to maybe
our spiritual home where
lots of us feel we do belong,

but we've got plans
to upsize once again.

-Mark my words.
-Yeah.

I think we'll win the league.
Mark my words.

Back-to-back-to-back.

Back-to-back-to-back,
what do you reckon?
Are they gonna do it?

-Yes.
-There's confidence.

Back-to-back-to-back, isn't it?

That's last year.
So I want one next year,
back-to-back-to-back.

-[fan] More clean sheets.
-We're gonna win the league.

We're gonna win the League.

We've won it twice.
We can win it again.

[young fan] How am I
going to be celebrating?

Probably by cheering

and basically destroying
the downstairs drawing room
by shouting and screaming.

-[both] Up the town.
-[fan 2] We're gonna fight
to the end.

No, realistically,
we will lose. But--

-Don't put that in.
-Why would you say that?

-Fucking Al. Shut up.
-Al, come on.

-It's not gonna happen.
-We're gonna win every game.

Every game this season,
we're gonna win.

-[Parkinson] All right, Shaun?
-All right, Phil.
You all right?

Yeah, good.
Yeah, give me two minutes.

[staff member] Hello.

[Harvey] Once the euphoria
of last season's
tremendous performance

sort of subsided
and the reality of
what ahead of us strikes,

you know, we're in a league
this season where we're
no longer the biggest fish.

You know,
in the National League,

we were able to spend more
than anybody else
to get promotion.

In League Two, we were
able to spend as much as
anybody else to get promotion.

But we're now
in the mainstream,

and that mainstream
starts to get really expensive.

If we are to get that
third promotion on a row,

this will certainly be
the biggest and
most successful of them all.

Because, you know,
we are coming from behind now,
rather than being in front.

[fan] But you look
at this league now,

this has got to be one of
the strongest League Ones
for the last few years.

-[fan 2] Definitely.
-See, we're not the favorites.

We're not the big fish anymore.

We're not
the big fish anymore, no.

[fan 2] When you look
through the teams,
we're up against Wycombe.

You know what I mean?

Yeah, you look two years,
three years ago,
they were in the Championship.

We're going to Birmingham City.
I've got a ticket to Bolton.

Like, these are stadiums
that I was hoping

that we'd get an FA Cup draw
to go to those games.

League One this year is strong.

There's three teams relegated
from the Championship

who have got ambitions
of going straight back up

to probably where they believe
is their rightful place.

One of those is Birmingham,
a massive club.

[supporters chanting]
Birmingham!

Big funding behind it,
and their wage bill will be
probably 50% more than ours.

Yes!

Birmingham are absolute
favorites for promotion.

[commentator]
Birmingham on the rise!

Now, if Wrexham wanna get
promoted to Championship
or eventually to Prem,

they're miles off it.

You've got eight
ex-Premier League
teams in this league.

Wrexham are coming to a league
and a playing field

where teams have got
more money than Wrexham

without all the added bonuses
that Wrexham have got

through documentary and all
these sponsorship of TV deals.

Other teams have just
got that anyway.

[commentator 2] And it's in!

More importantly,
these teams know how to win.

[commentator 2] Unbelievable.

And we all know
you can't buy that part.

What does the club need to do
as a whole to make itself
a Premier League entity

in however long that takes?

Sometimes you don't want
to go back-to-back-to-back.
That sounds weird.

You need to
settle in for a while,
figure out what you need to do

to get to the next level,

because relegation
is always looming,
let me tell you.

You always have to worry
about the negative
financial elements of that

before you lick your lips
with the prospect of promotion.

Before you get
to the Premier League,

you go through
the Championship, one of the
toughest leagues in the world.

So, you know, you've got to
build infrastructure.

The stadium
is gonna have to be bigger.

There's no way
that the match day revenues

will fund anything that will
get you out of the Championship

as it currently stands.

You've got to build
the right people at the top.

Building out an academy
is absolutely crucial.

From "under six" all the way up
to "under 21s," "under 23s,"

the system-bringing
conveyor belt of talent

that can get you
through tough seasons
as all of the great clubs do.

I think we are all dreaming
of another promotion,
you know, back-to-back-to-back.

But you could be,
you know, there

without a proper
training ground, without
the Kop stand renovated.

So, sometimes things
can come too quickly,

and I think infrastructure
should be top priority
over another promotion.

[anchor] Welcome back
to Lunchtime Live.

We've got some big news
concerning League One Burton.

The club have appointed
Fleur Robinson
as their new chief executive.

That follows three years
in the same role at Wrexham.

[anchor 2]
Chief Executive Fleur Robinson
is set to leave the club.

You ask
how successful she's been.

Well, we've been
promoted twice.

So overall, her legacy will be,

"Thank you for bringing us
the club to this point."
She did the hard yards.

[Harvey] Understand
that the area of biggest
growth for the club

is going to be
in North America.

The teams around Rob and Ryan
began the search
to bring a new CEO in

who understood
the American market,
understood football,

and eventually identified
the American candidate.

News away from the pitch.

New CEO,
Mike Williamson, on board
is very exciting, isn't it?

[crowd cheering]

You've got someone
who was chief financial
officer at Inter Milan.

Now that is not a job
for the faint-hearted.

Miami as well. D.C. United.
This is one of the big guys.

You know, you've worked
at soccer at every level,

worked over in Italy
for a while at Inter Milan.

-They're drawing
enormous crowds.
-[anchor 2] Wow.

The philosophy, you talk about
some of these global brands,
European football...

Sure, they've been around
for 100, 110 years,

but they started
as community organizations.

That skill set,
relevant experience
both in the US and in Europe.

He's been involved in
stadium development,

which is obviously a big part
of what the club needs
to do going forward.

You know, so they felt he was
the best person for the job.

Michael's very innovative
and understands

how to, you know,
create the infrastructure

to match the feeling
in the town,

but more so
in the global scene.

We knew that the competition
was going to increase

as it always does
as you go up a league.

And we knew we had to expand
and bring in the right team
that can help us grow.

I want to start by giving,
you know, some compliments

for what you guys
have accomplished.

[podcaster]
I would say that he comes
with a word of warning.

There have been
some grumbles on it.
He's from America.

[podcaster 2] I get what
you mean. Some guy who,
living half the world away,

is giving me instructions,
tell me how to do my job.

And I will never
use the word "soccer,"
just so you guys know.

For me, it's football.

And the thing that shocked me
most about him is that,
you know, 6'2" face.

But I don't know.
What, 5'7"? 5'7".

'Cause I only saw him on Zoom

until, you know, weeks into
his tenure, and it's just...

I like to collect people
who are shorter than me...

Yeah.

...just because there's not
that many in the club.

[Williamson] So what's the name
of the club that Daddy
works for now?

A dragon.

[Williamson]
A dragon. That's right.
And the name of him?

Remember? Wrexham.

[child] Wrexham.

My name is Michael Williamson.
I am the CEO of Wrexham AFC.

I'm actually
an accountant by trade,

but ultimately
have been in football
for over 20-some years now.

I went from
US Soccer Foundation

to become the CFO of DC United,
a team in MLS,

and then eventually ended up
somehow in Inter Milan.

[crowd chanting]

[Williamson] I was there
for six or seven years

and ended up finding
my wife there, having
my daughter born in Milan.

Goal!

-Yay, Benny!
-[Williamson] High five.

My next role I was looking for
was something where I was
building something.

That it wasn't just about
a quick flip of an asset,

but actually trying to build
something for the club,

for the communities
and for my family.

[Williamson's wife]
Hey, I see you.

I visited Wrexham during
the final game of last season

just to get a sense
of what it's like.

No one knew me. I walked around
in the club shop.

I went around. I just watched
everyone and the excitement
and the buzz.

And you can see their passion.

But the best part...
The best part
was after the match,

everyone kind of went,
you know, to different things

to celebrate the promotion.

I just walked down into
the town center, and I saw
how alive that town center was.

I've been at
all levels of football.
That doesn't exist.

That just helped me
understand and appreciate

that this is for them
and for the community.

Yeah!

[Williamson]
Moving the entire family here,
having a five-year-old,

you know, having a wife who,
English is her second language.

It has really been difficult.

It was not easy, but on
the other hand, I think
it was the right decision.

-Definitely, yep, we're in.
-Yes.

There's a lot of expectations.

There's a lot of pressure
and just a lot to do here.

We've had some
amazing momentum

We've gone from being
a non-league club
to now being in League One.

What we also have to do
is support the growth
that we've had

due to the success
on the pitch.

So for that reason, we need
to invest in different areas.

Our performance on the pitch
is remarkable,

but off the pitch, we need
to grow as an organization.

We can arrive in Championship.
We deserve to be there.

But it takes just as much work
off the pitch to be able
to reach Championship

as it does the 11
players on the pitch.

We need a training facility
for the first team
and the women's first team.

Players come to the stadium,
get changed, get in their cars,
drive to Colliers,

train, get back in their cars
to come back here
to shower and change.

You know,
we need employees, staff.

People who were with us
when we were in National League

are now having to try to take
on five, six different jobs.

That's just in League One.

Imagine as we go
to Championship.

Imagine as we go
to Premier League.

I think Man U, Arsenal, I think
they're around 1,000 employees.

If we're getting up in
Premier League in three years,

that's probably my worst
nightmare in some ways.

Because I think we have
a lot to do before
we're ready for that.

When we're in Premier League,

we're gonna have
football players

looking to drive
their Lamborghinis

and their Ferraris
down Crispin Lane.

And that is a departure
from what Wrexham
community is about.

How do we address that?

Are we going to say,
"Okay, yes, we want
the best footballers,"

or do we try to create
a philosophy consistent
with the community around us?

And that's gonna be a balance
that's gonna be challenging

because the community's
expecting us, once we get
to Premier League,

to be competitive.

The football club part's easy.

Building a city
is the challenging part.

How do we continue to develop
and help grow this community?

That is the biggest pressure

because I know that's what
Rob and Ryan expect.

This is a difficult
industry because,

you know,
it is a lot based on results,

and it's not gonna be easy,
and it's going to
take some time.

Candidly, with my daughter
about to turn five,

you know,
I don't wanna be moving around.

So I'm hoping for
my family side of things,

for my professional
side of things,

I will be able
to stay with the club,

but, at the same time,

anything can happen.

[Gilpin]
I want to talk about transfers.

[Edwards] There's been nothing.
No activity whatsoever.

If there is, you know,
the possibility of doing
three promotions in a row,

you're gonna need
a statement signing.

We're going into
a really tough division.

We've got players
who've never played
at this level consistently.

We've got other players
who've played
at this level a few years ago.

We wanna maintain
the core of what we've created,

but the challenge is,
can we add to that?

[staff member]
Come on, then. Get it going.
Punch it in. Good. Good.

[Parkinson]
We've got a lot of decisions
to make in terms of

continuing to bring
the right people into the club.

I can't see us being able
to get near the likes of
Birmingham, Rotherham,

who've spent millions of pounds
on players.

Our previous transfer record
was 300,000.

They're spending that
on a backup goalkeeper.

[Gilpin]
If we look at the goalkeeper,
that is a pertinent issue.

You know, Arthur Okonkwo's
loan has ended,

and it doesn't sound like
he will be coming back.

I said to Rob and Ryan
that the one player

who would be a huge investment
for the club going forward

is Arthur.

Of course, you know, there's
gonna be a number of clubs
vying for his signature.

[podcaster] Is Big Arthur
gonna stay, do you think?

[Edwards] I hope he signs.
At the moment,
I just don't know.

Phil Parkinson said
Wrexham would, quote,

"Give everything that we've got
to get you back."

James McClean, under one
of your Instagrams, wrote,

"Sign the contract, big boy."

[crowd laughing]

Ordinarily, for a player

of that potential and that age,
you'd probably have to pay

one, maybe two million pounds.

[Edwards] I feel like we've
seen the last of him, you know,

just 'cause he's got
that amount of interest

from Premier League
and Championship.

[Gilpin] It goes back to
what does Arthur want
as a 22-year-old keeper?

Does he want to play,
or is he happy to be
on the bench for a little bit?

He'll walk into our team,
but he won't walk into
a Championship team.

Maybe. Maybe.

Anyway,
that's just me being a dreamer.

Hi, Wrexham fans, I'm back.

Can't wait to see you all
in League One next season.
Up the town.

[fans] Okonkwo!

♪ Arthur, Arthur Okonkwo ♪

♪ Arthur, Arthur Okonkwo ♪

It was a long
negotiation process.

I did have
other clubs higher up.

I wanted to
come back to Wrexham,

and I think the fans are
a huge part in that.

[crowd chanting] Okonkwo!

The confidence they gave me,
that can bring out
the most out of a player.

That was a huge factor for me.

-[Williamson] Hold on.
- [McElhenney] Well,
isn't this fortuitous?

I swear my next call
was to Arthur.

You right, Rob?

I'm just so glad
that you're as invested
in Wrexham as we are in you.

Been invested since I joined,

so hopefully bring
some success this season.

I swear to God
this happened to me.

I was in Los Angeles, and I was
walking down the street,

and someone turned to me
and said, "Up the town."

I said,
"Hey, up the town." He goes,
"You better sign Arthur."

[all chuckling]

This a guy in Los Angeles.

I was like, "I'm trying, man.
Like, I'm trying."

So congratulations.
Welcome to Wrexham.

[doctor] All right, Mulls,
so just an annual catch-up,

if that's all right with you.

Just to go through background.
You're not asthmatic?

-No.
-No. Any other chest problems?

-[Mullin] Any...
-You had the injury
last year, didn't you?

Chest.
Yeah, my ribs, last year.

[Edgerly] But there's no
ongoing issues with that?

Nothing before that, no.

We know about
the back problem at the moment.
Any previous back issues?

-Before the last
three years? No. No.
-Yeah.

[Mullin] The last three years,
I've always had
this issue with my back.

Herniated disc,
slipped disc, whatever.

And the cartilage
was basically pressing
on the nerve every time,

so it was constant
shooting pains
down my legs and stuff, and...

I couldn't really...

Well, I could sprint,
but it always hurt.

So I had to find
a way to get on with it
and just play with the pain.

Basically coping with it fine,

and then going into summer,
it was hurting more than usual.

[winces]

[Edgerly]
Take some deep breaths
in there if you can.

[Mullin] I got it scanned
at the end of May.

The surgeon, he told me it had
obviously doubled in size

and I was at risk of losing
all feeling in my left leg

if I carried on.

[Harvey] You know, a big
decision needed to be made.

And, obviously,
the medical professionals

decided that he needed
an operation on his back.

Obviously, the downside of that
was gonna be that

he's gonna miss the whole
preseason and the start
of the season as well.

Wanna lie back on it
and I'll move it back slowly?

Getting there easier...
a lot easier
if I just do it myself.

There is no time frame
on Paul Mullin's return.

It means, Nate, that for
the second season in a row,

Wrexham will most likely go
into the League campaign

without Paul Mullin
starting up front.

[Edwards]
Wrexham are heading over
to North America again.

This time for
the Wrex Coast preseason tour.

California is up first, Andy.

[Gilpin]
Yeah, excited about this.

Women's side will be joining
the men for the first time.

I don't think they've ever
played a match on US soil.

[Edwards]
Yeah, they deserve it.

The women's side
have been building steadily,

and it'll be great to build
their profile too.

-What's up, Wrex?
-[Polka] Of course the team

being here
in the United States,
we just wanted to

show you the love that
this country has for you all.

We're here at Andy Cannon's
housewarming party...

Very soon
into us arriving to LA,
we had a red carpet event.

We all were suited and booted.

It's getting real
now we're out here.

The excitement
is starting to kick in now.

We have really,
really high ambitions.

We need to take advantage
of what we have built.

Build on that success,

And that means building
our large, global fanbase.

Going from non-league
to League One
is much less of a gap

than it is going
from League One

to the Championship
to the Premier League.

[commentator 1]
And there's the final whistle

and exactly what we hoped
that this match would be.

[commentator 2]
Sixty-three places
separating Chelsea and Wrexham.

[commentator 1]
There's players on Chelsea

that make more than the value
of the Wrexham club.

[commentator 2]
Oh! It's a great finish!

[Parkinson] Playing against
the Premiership teams,

felt we acquitted
ourselves really well.

[commentator 2]
A 2-2 draw against
Premier League opposition.

We are going to compete.
Well, we're hoping to.

The Whitecaps have
a friendly match scheduled
this weekend with Wrexham AFC,

the Welsh football club
co-owned by Vancouver actor
Ryan Reynolds.

Wrexham playing
the Vancouver Whitecaps was
one of those "pinch me" moments

that I will never,
as long as I live, forget.

[crowd cheers]

BC Place is the stadium
that I went to as a kid.

I've been to BC Place maybe
a hundred times in my life,

and I've always sat way up
in the nosebleeds with my dad.

And here I am, in BC Place
with my daughter.

And I'm in
the owner's box and then,
you know, spanking 'em.

That felt pretty good too.

[commentator]
Hits the far post,
and what a header.

...foot towards goal,
and it's a third.

Back in the middle.
On the volley. What a goal!

-Jordan Davies. Nice.
-[McElhenney] Jordan.

This team looks pretty good.

[announcer] Welcome to
the first ever Wrexham AFC
Women's Wrex Coast Tour.

Let's hear it!

[McElhenney]
I just want to say thank you

for helping us kick off
this amazing and historic tour.

Going out to the US
is just an absolute dream.

We want to challenge ourselves.

We want to see where we fare
in relation to teams in the US.

The profile of players out in
the US, they're very athletic.
That shows.

[commentator]
Goal for SoCal FC.

They work on things
technically so much,

because they have
the opportunity
and resources to do so.

More than what we do.

[commentator]
Tigres Femenil, six.
Wrexham AFC Women, one.

We struggled in the games,
and we weren't where
we wanted to be.

I remember Rob telling us

it was looking like
it was gonna be a big
attendance at Portland,

and I was like,
"What do you see as big?"

And he said,
"We're looking at 10,000."

I've got goose bumps
walking out.

To be doing this for women's
sport and to be giving little,
young girls in Wrexham

something to look forward to
is something that I'm so proud
of and grateful of.

But then, yeah, we were quickly
kind of humbled to the fact,

okay, these guys
are here to show us what
American football is about.

Just felt like we never really
kind of got into the game.

[Davies] We would be lying

if we said we weren't
disappointed
with those results.

Nobody goes out to lose,
but, you know,

the lessons and how much
we've learnt from that
is invaluable, really.

Visibility for Wrexham Women
is important,

and it's important for
women's football in general.

It's a rising game,

and the more supporters that
the game can get, the better.

Okay, they're of much
better quality, but we know
where we need to be now.

You know, we're resilient
as Wrexham Women.

We just...
honestly, we can't wait
to get going now.

We just don't want
to get beat again.

[Ker] Our women's team faced
some serious challenges
on the US tour,

But something
that was made very clear
was the stark difference

both developmentally
and economically
in Welsh women's football

versus a lot
of women's football worldwide.

We've got some
catching up to do.

Nonetheless, the women
learned a lot on this trip.

They even learned
a little bit about how
to deal with controversy,

with Rosie
at the center of one.

I got asked the question
of what do I think of LA?

I thought in my head, "Uh,
well, I've only flew to LA,
been in the hotel.

I've not really seen
LA that much.

Right,
just give them something."

I am now stood here
in LA, like, come on.

Have you seen
the amazing looking cars,

-the buildings, the people?
-[interviewer] I know.

-It's beautiful.
It is not like Wrexham.
-[interviewer] Overwhelming.

You know, I was walking down
the street and there was,
like, these flowers

-and there's, like,
a park of cactus.
-[interviewer] Yeah.

You wouldn't see that
at Wrexham 'cause unfortunately
it gets destroyed,

but out here,
there's so much respect,

and I've got a lot of respect
for people that respect
their country, you know?

[podcaster] Full disclaimer,
no cactuses were harmed

in the making
of today's episode.

Yeah, I get the joke,
it's just...

You can tell
by my face, it's stone,
what I thought about it.

Can say from my experiences,
I've never seen
a beaten up flower bed.

[sighs] It's so hard for me
as a Wrexham girl to kind of
defend what she said,

and I can understand
why people are angry at her,
but we all make mistakes,

and I think
she recognizes possibly
she used the wrong words.

But again, none of us
are prepared for that
and the aftermath was tough.

We knew the media could be
a rough place, but the scale
of the reaction was scary.

I understand people
wanting to be protective
of their own cities.

However, I do slightly think
that it was sort of
an opportunity to bash somebody

A, who's associated
with the football club,
B, who's a woman

and C, who they feel should be
taken down a peg or two

because Rosie's rarely
short of confidence
in her own abilities.

[Hughes] What hurt me the most,
because I was hurt,

was I'd let myself down,
but I felt like I'd let
the people of Wrexham down.

Like, I live in Wrexham.
I bought a house in Wrexham.

I love Wrexham
and the community of people
that made me feel so supported

and so secure
and so safe that I felt like,

in 30 seconds, I had just
thrown that all away.

It gets your hackles up a bit,
you know, I won't lie,

but it's turned
into a bit of a witch hunt.

You know, daft stuff like,
"She should never
wear this shirt again."

-You're talking
about someone...
-Yeah.

...who has contributed
more than a hundred goals
for the women's team.

All I wanna do now
is be better at my football,

show people that you can be
proud of me again, you know?

And I will go out
and prove that I'll
do Wrexham right again.

[Ker] Hello.

[Mulholland] Hello, Humphrey.
How are you?

Uh, nervous.

-[Mulholland] Nervous?
Why you nervous?
-Full of trepidation,

-'cause you're gonna test me.
-Tell us why we're here.

Thanks to the generosity
of our co-owners,

I am running a marathon
in April, to raise money
for Wrexham Miners Project.

Yeah, so I'm patron
of Wrexham Miners Project,

fantastic charity in Wrexham
that is preserving Wrexham's
mining heritage,

but also in the here and now
is doing amazing things
in the community.

And unfortunately, at their
annual general meeting,

I said that I would make sure
the club raised £250,000,

and if we were
in danger of not doing that,
I would run a marathon.

Unfortunately, the bosses
got wind of this.

Actually, Humph,
we have an agenda item that
we'd like to kick off with.

Yeah, we'd really like
to discuss this, um...

[Ker] The aim is £250,000.

I'm hoping
we'll get there without
me having to run a marathon,

which is the elements of it
that I'm a bit nervous
may have to come to pass,

but if that's what it takes,
then you heard it here first.

-[Reynolds] We wanna help.
-We're going to donate
£26,200 each

and cheer you on every step
of that marathon you pledged
on camera to run.

-[Reynolds] Right.
-Great.

I suppose you're gonna film
the marathon too? Yeah, yeah.

I think we all know
the answer to that.

You're in a documentary.

For them it's ideal.
The Venn diagram is a circle.

They get to do something good
and make me suffer.

-What marathon are you running?
-[Ker] Manchester Marathon.

-Manchester Marathon.
And when is it?
-April 27th.

Have you got any goals in mind?

[Ker] Finishing.

-Finishing.
-Yeah.

-Without falling down dead.
-Okay.

What did you run it
in last year?

I ran 4:34.

Yeah, you ran it
hungover, I believe.

Slightly.

Okay, 4:33,
that's what I'm aiming for.

Okay.

Listen, you can walk it.

And you still get a medal,
and you still get
a little pat on the back.

And then for your weight,
we need you down
into your boxers please.

-[Ker] No.
-Please.

I... No. I'm not doing it.
This is a very light T-shirt.

It would be good, right,
because what we can do is,

we can have a look at you now,

and then we can see
your transformation
in a couple of months' time.

[groaning]

I hate this. Okay, fine. Fine.

If he goes under four hours,

I will, on camera, massage his
feet for 15 straight minutes.

266.6. It's the mark
of the double devil.

That is a devil, isn't it?

[Reynolds]
Bare hands, no gloves.
No washing his feet. Nothing.

I'll raw-dog his feet.
With my hands.

Test his aerobic fitness.

[automated instructor]
The test begins
in five seconds.

From the first beep you can go.

-[speaker beeps]
-Yeah.

[♪ triumphant music]

-[speaker beeps]
-Drive, drive. Let's go.

-Come on, come on. come on.
-[Ker pants]

[♪ music slows, distorts]

[Ker] Jesus Christ.

Much quicker this, Humphrey,
come on. You're gonna
have to go quicker.

[speaker beeps]

-A little bit quicker this one.
- One.

It feels rubbish.
I hate it. I hate them.

[chuckles]

[Ker] I hate Rob and Ryan.

That's not got much to do
with running really.
It's just getting to know them.

-I don't like it.
-[crew member]
What's the temperature?

-[Mulholland] You're going in.
-Hey, Kevin! Get off me!

[Ker groans]

And after this I'm, like,
ready for the marathon, right?

Jesus Christ.

[sighs]

[McHugh] Forward.

Hand brake off.

I'm Rebecca.
I was able to start
a small business this year

called Meet Me in the Morning.

I'm a mobile barista.
Coffee shop on wheels.

Let's get a drink, and we'll be
ready for anything.

[McHugh] I tow a horse box,

and I serve coffee, hot drinks,
and a selection of baked goods.

-This is my mum
at the back, Joy.
-Hi.

-And then this
is my sister, Caitlin.
-Hello.

[McHugh] I grew up in Wrexham,
went to school here.

And to be there is wonderful.

I always dreamed
of having my own business.

I always wanted
to do something of my own.

In university,
I did hospitality
business management.

I have such a passion
for genuine hospitality.

That was my dream,
to open a restaurant where
people could have a good time

because then you don't feel
like you're at work.

-We do work well
together, don't we?
-[McHugh] Yeah, we do.

We have to
in a space like this.

Like everybody my age really,
we all went to Manchester
or Liverpool for university.

So many of us didn't come back.

Everyone's got
jobs other places.

But that was never
gonna be home.

Like, I didn't have
my people there, and I knew
I wanted to come home.

But it's always been a theme.

If people want opportunities,
they need to be somewhere else
rather than Wrexham.

But that just is not
the case anymore.

To be able to do what
she wants to do, very few
people get that opportunity.

This is how, Mum.
This. The support.

Well, of course we support you.

We are Wrexham fans.
If we can stand by that team

in the pouring rain
on a Tuesday night,
we can support anybody.

[McHugh]
I didn't have the money
to go and buy a shop.

So I thought
if I started mobile,

I could build up the funds
to move into a space like that.

I never imagined
that the horse box

would be going into
one of the oldest
football stadiums in the world.

Ever. To be invited in
is beyond an honor.

There we go. Thank you.

Tourism in Wrexham
had this huge boom,
and it's been wonderful.

How long are you here for?

We leave tomorrow.
We did Scotland...

[McHugh] Now you walk
through town, so many more
restaurants have opened.

People are so proud now to say,
"I'm from Wrexham."

There's a hot chocolate
for you there, madam.

It has been very scary.

And I think there was a lot
of times I was thinking,
"What am I doing?"

Like the day I left my job.

It's just the risk
of those cynical people
being proven right.

I didn't want to fail.
But touch wood,
so far, yeah, it's worked.

And I'm...
I can't recommend it enough

that if you've got something,
you just need to do it.

Definitely my heart is here,
this is where I want to be.

The community
have been behind me.

It would have never have been
the success that it has
without the people of Wrexham.

There we go, sir.

I've been so pleased
to be stood in that horse box

when people come to me
and be supportive.

Why am I crying?

It's so daft. It's really hard
talking about yourself.

Oh, yes, definitely.

For a business like mine,
perhaps I've prospered more so

because of the increased
footfall in the town.

Obviously, for now,
the town has taken off.

[children] Go on, Wrexham!

But there is a worry
that what if it just stops?

What if people
move on to the next thing
and that isn't Wrexham?

-[fan 1] Up the town!
-[fan 2] Got to go in.

[Gilpin] Okay, who's got
opening day jitters? I do.

-Wrexham!
-[Edwards] Same here.

We can't afford
to stumble out the gates
like we did last season.

Not with what we're up against
in League One.

Hi. How are you doing, buddy?

[Reynolds]
I'm good. How are you?

Oh, my God.
The hardened muscle.
Like, what is it?

I don't work out.
I just fucking
wake up and talk.

[McElhenney] This is natural?

One of our owners,
and I can't remember
which one it is, is Deadpool,

the popular
comic book character.

[Reynolds] Ooh, what's this
we have over here?

[Ker] In the most recent film,

a number of cameos
were executed
by Wrexham AFC players.

Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer
were both in it.

Ollie played
Bar Patron Number One,

-and Paul played Welshpool.
-Fuck off, cunt.

[Ker] His costume's
a bit more recognizable.

Big Welsh flag emblazoned
across the Deadpool suit.

So Ryan arranged for it
to be transferred into the
keeping of the football club.

-[grunts, cheers]
-[club members clapping]

-Ladies and gentlemen,
Welshpool.
-[McElhenney] Wow.

That's gonna have some fun,
drunken nights
in here, I think.

-Is this the actual
costume? Wow.
-That is the actual suit, yeah.

[Reynolds]
Unwashed, of course, yeah.

Probably used it as a bathroom.

No, Paddy. No.
I don't... [scoffs]
I don't even care. Don't care.

Don't wanna be
in a Marvel film.

Uh, of course I'm disappointed.

I imagine
they just felt they couldn't
get enough, like, red leather

to make a suit
big enough for me.

[Griffiths]
Hey, it's Wrexham time.

Wrexham against
Wycombe Wanderers.

Rob and Ryan
are here today, of course.

There's a sort of increased
sense of jeopardy
as we return to League One.

-League One!
-League One!

[Griffiths] League One
will be physically harder.

A lot of people
say they'd be happy
with consolidation this season

because we are going to be
tested in League One.

Hi, everybody.

Thank you for gathering.
It's always fun to get
an email invite to a Zoom

that says
"Urgent. Must make a decision."

That's not ominous.

-Yeah.
-[McElhenney] What's up?

Where are we? What's going on?

Yeah, thank you guys.

I'm joined today
with our finance director,
Steve Phillips.

So, listen,

the reality is League One
is really fucking difficult.

We kind of need to understand
what our goals and our
strategies are going to be.

There's a couple of things
that we can do.
Okay, we arrived to League One.

We could stay
where we are, stabilize,
build some foundation.

I can find a balanced budget
for you as well.

But the risk is we end up
being stuck in League One.

Now, the other thing
we could do is, you know,
we build on all this momentum

that you guys
have already created here.

Invest in all the areas
at the same time to give
ourselves a competitive chance.

Get back-to-back-to-back
promotions.

-I think it's time to just...
-[Williamson] Let me, kind of

-Hey, Michael.
-show you--

You can ripe off the Band-Aid.
We are grown men.

Yeah, I'll just go ahead
and rip off the Band-Aid

and hopefully have a job
at the end of this.

Um, in the League One
stabilize scenario,

yeah, you probably break even
to lose a million or so
over a couple of years.

But you probably
never arrive to championship

for at least five, ten years
down the road, if you're lucky.

So that's basically like
a marathon approach.
You're building the foundations

and then hopefully trying
to arrive to championship,
in a longer period.

Now, if you wanna go
for the back-to-back-to-back
promotions,

we have to sprint
to get everything together.

It only works if you're also
investing in the cup,

which is going to be
a very large number.

It also only works if you're
investing in the academy,

which is gonna be a couple
million pounds to have
the facilities for the academy.

We have to replace the pitch.

I know last time
I think it was, like,
£100,000 or £200,000.

Well, guess what? This time
we're looking at £1.7 million.

£1.7 million for grass. Okay.

Is the grass like human hair
or something? How is it
that expensive? I don't...

[Williamson] It's what
they call a stitch pitch.

It's a blend of natural grass
and hybrid, so it lasts longer.

It's more durable, you can
have more matches on it.

Underground heating system
as well as improved drainage

so that you wouldn't have
a situation where you have
matches canceled.

Can... Michael, can you just
break it up in the simplest
terms for my actor brain?

Like, what would we be writing
a check for in League One

versus making a push
to go back-to-back-to-back?

It's at the 50 million level.

Oh.

[groans]

50 million.

[McElhenney] Bottom line,
the big question is,

do we essentially want to do
the most responsible thing,

which is build a team that's
sustainable in League One?

Or do we wanna put
all of our chips on the table,

and make a push to get promoted
and get in the championship?

Yeah, and if you get it wrong,
that becomes a very
expensive wrong decision.

There's, like, two
kind of modes of thinking here.

One is spend,
you know, a few years
trying to save some money.

The other one is just, like,
eye-watering, financially
crushing annihilation.

Um...

You know, one is to continue,
you know, with your dream
of back-to-back-to-back.

Or do you actually just slow up
a little bit?

But remember, whichever you do,
it all comes with risks.

[crowd chanting]
Wrexham! Wrexham! Wrexham!

Wrexham! Wrexham!
Wrexham! Wrexham!

[chanting continues]

[Griffiths] Here they are.
Wrexham and Wycombe

to start off
the League One season.

I will never forget when
Rob said that our objective is

to get to the Premier League
when we were
in the National League.

We're gonna take Wrexham
to the Premier League.

-That's what they're
gonna lean on.
-That's the goal, isn't it?

Why not dream big?

And now we're in League One,
on our way to the championship.

And I just say let's...
let's go for it.
Let's fucking do it.

Oh, my God.
That is music to my ears.

I... Honestly,
I really had no idea
which way you were gonna go.

Historically, you've always
been the more practical one.

But I like it.
I like this Ryan.
Let's keep betting on the town.

Yeah, we wanna fucking push.

Let's go for it.
What could go wrong?

Being this risky is a gambit,

and I think that
in and of itself
is the engine to success.

Yes, it's risky,
but it's also strategic.

There is a, "Holy shit,
we have to pull this off

if we're gonna
make this kind of investment."

[McElhenney]
We are all in. Everything
is levered to the hilt.

And when you put all
of your chips on the table,

you better come to win because
we cannot afford to stumble.