By Graham Thomas
You don’t need to be a Hollywood scriptwriter to recognise that Wrexham have made a box office start to the season.
Five matches played in League One and they sit at the top of the table, unbeaten, and with 13 points taken from a possible 15.
Last Saturday’s latest win, their fourth in five, was played out in blazing sunshine before their biggest home crowd for 44 years – 13,341 fans.
Most pundits – and those who had trodden this path before – warned this would be the season for the Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bandwagon to slow, if not stall altogether.
It was all very well to get out of the National League and breeze on through League Two, but the third tier of football would prove far more difficult, they claimed.
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It was – the club were told – a time for catching breath, a season of pause.
But no-one ever sold a Hollywood blockbuster with the tagline: The Day of Consolidation – or even a Netflix documentary series, for that matter.
So, the Red Steamroller has rolled on, crushing opponents in its path, whilst harvesting data from millions of new subscribers eager to pay for the privilege of Welcome To Wrexham, Series 4.
The latest club to get mangled under the wheels were Shrewsbury, who lost 3-0 at The Racecourse Ground last weekend.
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This was the nearest thing Wrexham get to a local derby these days, but the Shrews didn’t take much taming. Two goals down at the break, they conceded a third and could easily have lost by more than three.
Some things at Wrexham remain homely, as if the American evangelists for Welsh football had never arrived.
The ground, the fans, the tea, the pies, it all looked untouched. Even the post-match press conference with manager Phil Parkinson is still conducted at the side of the pitch, rather than in a room indoors.
But then, suddenly, above the pitchside huddle, a large microphone is dangled on the end of a long pole, held by a six-strong documentary crew lurking nearby.
One player who is used to that level of attention – at least in the early part of his career – is Ollie Rathbone, who began his youth career at Manchester United.
Rathbone then moved to Rochdale and Rotherham, before finding the spotlight had found him again this summer when the 27-year-old was signed by Wrexham.
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He has joined a squad that includes internationals and former Premier League stars such as James McClean and Steven Fletcher, as well as goal machine Paul Mullin.
“A lot of people thought League One would be a step up for this squad, but when you look at the group of players here, the expectations are still very high,” says Rathbone.
“Winning has become a habit here and you can recognise that when you join the group.
“I was so desperate to be a part of it this summer and I’m really happy to be here. No-one is getting carried away because we are top of the league after five games, but it’s much better to be top at this stage than it is to be bottom.”
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Wrexham’s impressive start to the campaign has not gone unnoticed with the bookmakers, unsurprisingly.
Then, come Bolton and Stockport, who are both 10/1, ahead of Barnsley (18/1) and Charlton (20/1).
Wrexham followed up their victory over Shrewsbury by disposing of Salford City, 2-1, in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night – a game more notable for the return of Mullin for his first start this season, than it was for the result.
On Monday night, they face Birmingham at St. Andrew’s in a match that has such trans-Atlantic appeal it’s already dubbed as the American owners derby – Reynolds and McElhenney facing off against Tom Brady.
Welcome to Wrexham. Welcome to prime time.
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