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Wrexham Association Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Wrecsam) is a Welsh professional association football club based in Wrexham, Wales. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the
English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...
. Formed in 1864, they are the oldest club in Wales and the third oldest professional association football team in the world. The club initially participated in friendlies and cup competitions, and first entered a league by joining The Combination in 1890. They spent 13 seasons in the Combination and two seasons in the
Welsh Senior League The Denbighshire League was a league in the early days of Welsh football. Originally titled the Welsh Senior League, it ran from 1890 until 1902. It was mainly made up of teams from the Wrexham area, with sporadic entrants from Mid Wales and the N ...
, winning four Combination titles and two Welsh Senior League titles. They entered the Birmingham & District League in 1905, where they would remain until becoming inaugural members of the Football League's Third Division North in 1921. They spent 47 years in the Northern section until they were placed in the re-organised
Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...
in 1958 and then relegated two years later. Wrexham were promoted out of the
Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
in 1961–62, only to be relegated again two years later. Another promotion followed in 1969–70 and they reached the second tier for the first time after winning the Third Division title in 1977–78. Two successive relegations saw them back in the fourth tier by 1983 and they took until 1992–93 before seeing another promotion. Relegated once more in 2002, they gained immediate promotion in 2002–03, before worsening financial problems resulted in another relegation and then administration in December 2004. It took 18 months for the club to exit administration and the club's decline on the pitch continued, as they dropped out of the Football League in 2008. Wrexham have been out of the Football League ever since, and have had five unsuccessful play-off campaigns in the fifth tier. Wrexham's honours include winning the Welsh Cup a record 23 times, the Football League Trophy in
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at the
Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...
and the
FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
in
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at Wembley Stadium. The club are also record winners of the short-lived FAW Premier Cup, winning it five times out of the 11 years of its tenure, participating against fellow Welsh clubs such as
Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
,
Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...
and Newport County. However, their biggest rivalries are with English clubs,
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
and Shrewsbury Town, with games between the clubs known as the Cross-border derby. In 1992, Wrexham upset the reigning English Champions
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
in the FA Cup. They also scored a 1–0 victory over
FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...
in 1984 in the European Cup Winners' Cup. Wrexham were eligible for the European Cup Winners' Cup due to winning the Welsh Cup; their first European tie was against
FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a Swiss football club based in Zürich. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League 13 times and the Swiss Cup 10 times. The most recent titles a ...
of Switzerland in 1972 and their last was played in Romania against Petrolul Ploiești in 1995. Wrexham's home stadium, the Racecourse Ground, is the world's oldest international stadium that still continues to host international games. The record attendance at the ground was set in 1957, when the club hosted a match against
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
in front of 34,445 spectators.


History


1864–1905

The club was formed in October 1864 by members of the Wrexham Cricket Club who wanted a sporting activity for the winter months. This makes them (after Sheffield,
Cray Cray Inc., a subsidiary of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, is an American supercomputer manufacturer headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It also manufactures systems for data storage and analytics. Several Cray supercomputer systems are listed ...
, Hallam, and Notts County) the fifth oldest association football team, the third oldest professional club and the oldest in Wales. Their first game was played on 22 October 1864 at the Denbighshire County Cricket Ground (The Racecourse) against the Prince of Wales Fire Brigade. As the rules of football were still somewhat fluid at the time, early matches featured teams with up to 17 players on each side (16 players when playing the Provincial Insurance Office and Chester College, 15 players against the Volunteer Fire Brigade). In these early years Wrexham were leaders of the campaign to restrict teams to having just 11 players on the pitch at any one time. In 1876, the newly formed Football Association of Wales saw Wales play their first international match, against Scotland at The West of Scotland Cricket Club, Partick, featuring Edwin Cross and Alfred Davies as the first of many Wrexham F.C. players to play for Wales. In the 1877–78 season the FAW inaugurated the Welsh Cup competition, to run on similar lines to the English FA Cup. The first
Welsh Cup Final The Football Association of Wales Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Welsh Cup, is a knockout cup competition in Welsh football, organised by the Football Association of Wales (the FAW). It is the third-oldest association football competitio ...
was played at Acton Park. Wrexham got to the final of the inaugural competition, where they defeated Druids F.C. 1–0, with James Davies being credited with the goal. Because of a lack of money at the fledgling FAW, Wrexham did not receive their trophy until the next year. For their first decade, Wrexham mostly played friendly matches against both Welsh and English opposition, with the Welsh Cup providing most of their competitive football, Wrexham winning it again in 1883. 1883 also saw Wrexham's first appearance in the FA Cup, when after receiving a bye to the second round of the competition they were defeated 3–4 at home by
Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...
. Crowd trouble at the game led to the club being expelled from the Football Association, leading to the club being reformed in 1884 as Wrexham Olympic. Olympic was dropped from this club's name in 1888. Thanks to a dispute with their landlords, who had raised the rent of the Racecourse Ground to £10 a year, Wrexham played their home games in the 1881–82 and 1882–83 seasons at
Rhosddu Recreation Ground Rhosddu Recreation Ground was a football ground in Wrexham, Wales. It was first mentioned in the local press in September 1879 as the New Recreation Ground, Rhosddu, prior to a game between Civil Service (Wrexham) and Gwersyllt Foresters. It ...
(changing the club's name to ''Wrexham Athletic'' for one season), before moving back to the Racecourse Ground for the 1883–84 season, where the club have played their home games ever since. In 1890 Wrexham joined The Combination league, playing their first game against Gorton Villa on 6 September 1890, with Arthur Lea scoring Wrexham's only goal in a 5–1 defeat. Lea played for the club despite only having one arm as did playing colleague James Roberts. Wrexham finished the season second from bottom in eighth place in the first season. Wrexham played in the Combination for four years before a rapid increase in costs resulted in the club joining the Welsh League in the 1894–95 season. Wrexham won the Welsh League both years that they were in it, but they then decided to return to the Combination League in 1896, as despite the reduced support they received, the savings made on their travelling expenses outweighed the reduction in gate revenue.


1905–1960

The club remained in the Combination league until 1905, by which time they had managed to win the league four times. After several unsuccessful attempts Wrexham were finally elected to the Birmingham and District League in time for the beginning of the 1905–06 season. Wrexham's first ever match in this league was at home against
Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...
at the Racecourse, and two thousand spectators witnessed Wrexham win the match 2–1. Wrexham finished sixth in their first season in this league. During their time in the Birmingham and District League, Wrexham won the Welsh Cup six times, in 1908–09, 1909–10, 1910–11, 1913–14, 1914–15, and 1920–21. They also reached the First Round proper of the FA Cup for a second time in the 1908–09 season before losing a replay 1–2 to Exeter City after extra time. In 1921 Wrexham were elected to the newly formed Third Division North of the Football League. Their first League game was against
Hartlepools United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Har ...
at the Racecourse in front of 8,000 spectators. Playing in blue shirts, Wrexham were defeated 0–2. The week after this defeat Wrexham travelled north to play Hartlepools and managed to get their revenge by beating them 1–0 in a hard-earned victory. It was during this particular season that Wrexham achieved many "firsts" in the club's history, such as when Ted Regan scored the club's first ever Football League hat-trick, and also Brian Simpson became the first Wrexham player to be sent off in a Football League game when he was ordered from the field of play against Southport in January 1922. Charlie Hewitt was the club's first ever manager during this period. In the 1926–27 season the club got past the first round of the FA Cup only to be knocked out by Rhyl. The following season Wrexham fought their way to the fourth round before they lost 0–1 to Birmingham City. A record 32 league goals from Albert Mays helped Wrexham to get to third position in the division in the 1928–29 season. And later in that season
Tommy Bamford Thomas Bamford (2 November 1905 – 12 December 1967) was a Welsh professional footballer. During his career, he made over 200 appearances in the Football League, most notably for Wrexham, where he remains the club's all-time top goalscorer. He a ...
made his first appearance for the club. He went on to score 201 League and Cup goals for the club during his time at the Racecourse. During the 1929–30 season the club recorded their best ever league win to date when they defeated Rochdale 8–0. Wrexham enjoyed their best ever Third Division North season in 1932–33, when they finished runners-up to Hull City and won 18 of their 21 home games during the course of the season. This was the first season that the club appeared in their now-familiar red and white strip for the first time for the short-lived 1939–40 season. During the Second World War years, when long cross-county trips were impossible due to the war, Wrexham played in the ''Regional League West'' against local teams from Merseyside and Manchester, amongst others in the north west region. Wrexham's position as a barracks town meant that the team could secure the services of many famous guest players such as Stanley Matthews,
Stan Cullis Stanley Cullis (25 October 1916 – 28 February 2001) was an English professional footballer and manager, primarily for Wolverhampton Wanderers. During his term as manager between 1948 and 1964, Wolves became one of the strongest teams in the En ...
, and others. In the first post-war season Wrexham equalled their best ever position when they again finished third in the Third Division North. In the summer of 1949 the club made its first ever tour abroad when it played three games against the British army in Germany. The club reached the fourth round of the FA Cup in 1956–57 where they played
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
's Busby Babes in front of a crowd of 34,445 people at the Racecourse, which still remains a club record. The 5–0 defeat did not spoil the occasion for the large home crowd, and later that season Wrexham managed to win the Welsh Cup for the first time in 26 years.


1960–1970

1960 saw the club relegated to a lower tier for the first time in their history, and they dropped into the newly created Fourth Division. But their performances improved following the appointment of Ken Barnes as player-manager. He led Wrexham to promotion to the third division in his first season in charge and oversaw the 10–1 trouncing of Hartlepool United, which is still the club's record league victory. Two years after their promotion, Wrexham were relegated to the Fourth Division again, and in 1966 they finished rock-bottom at 92nd in the Football League after an extremely disappointing season.


1970–1982

With Welsh clubs now able to qualify for the European Cup Winners' Cup by winning the Welsh Cup, Wrexham played their inaugural match in Europe against Swiss side
FC Zurich FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...
in Switzerland on 13 September 1972, the game finishing 1–1. In the return leg Wrexham won 2–1, advancing to the second round with a 3–2 win on aggregate. The second round drew Wrexham against Yugoslav side
Hajduk Split Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, t ...
. Over the course of two games the score finished 3–3 on aggregate with Wrexham matching their more illustrious opponents, but they were knocked out of the competition due to the
away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaker, tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the ...
. The 1972–73 season saw the completion of the new Yale stand, with a capacity of up to 5,500. Including the terrace helped to comprise the bottom tier of the stand. The 1973–74 season saw Wrexham change their badge from the Maelor crest to a brand new badge that had a lot more resemblance to the Welsh roots of the club, with three feathers on the top of the badge and two dragons, one on either side of the badge and facing inwards. This is still the badge for today's team. This season also saw Wrexham reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in another cup run. After victories over Shrewsbury Town, Rotherham United, Middlesbrough, Crystal Palace and Southampton, their cup run finally came to an end with a loss to first division side Burnley at Turf Moor, with just over 20,000 Wrexham fans present to watch the match. Also that season Wrexham just missed out on the promotion spots, finishing in 4th place at the end of the season. 1975–76 saw John Neal's starlets captained by Eddie May, again shocking the football world by reaching the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup after another sparkling cup run and defeats of several higher quality opponents. In the first round Wrexham beat Swedish team Djurgårdens IF 3–2 on aggregate. They then managed to knock out Polish side Stal Rzeszow 3–1 on aggregate. Wrexham played Belgian champions
Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...
in the quarter finals and narrowly lost 2–1 to the eventual winners of the competition. The 1976–77 season saw Wrexham again beat First Division opposition in both Cup competitions as they went on another cup run, defeating Tottenham Hotspur in the Football League Cup and Sunderland in the FA Cup. However, the league season was a traumatic one as the club, on the verge of promotion to the second division with only four matches left to play, needing just three points to reach their goal, unbelievably missed out after a poor run of form.
Arfon Griffiths Arfon Trevor Griffiths MBE (born 23 August 1941) is a Welsh former football player and manager. During his playing career which lasted from 1959 to 1979, Griffiths played at both professional and international levels, before becoming a football ...
took over as player-manager for the 1977–78 season. They reached both the League and FA Cup quarter-finals that season, and Wrexham finally clinched promotion to the second division when they beat Rotherham United 7–1 at a packed Racecourse, and Wrexham went on to win the Third Division Championship that year. In the 1978–79 season Wrexham made it to the fourth round of the FA Cup, where they narrowly lost to Tottenham Hotspur 3–2 in the replay after the first game finished 3–3. The Spurs team had stars amongst their ranks such as Ossie Ardiles, Ricky Villa, and Glenn Hoddle, and Wrexham were unfortunate to get knocked out. Following Arfon Griffiths' resignation from the manager's position in 1981, his assistant
Mel Sutton Melvyn Charles Sutton (born 13 February 1946) is an English former professional Association football, footballer. Career Born in Birmingham, Sutton was an amateur at Aston Villa F.C. when Jimmy Scoular brought him to Cardiff City F.C. in Decemb ...
was put in charge, with a memorable third round FA Cup win over Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest in another cup run, the highlight of the season.


1982–1992

The summer of 1982 saw Bobby Roberts appointed the club's new manager. Relegation meant the club had dire financial problems, resulting in the sale of many of the club's experienced and talented players. Frank Carrdus, Ian Edwards, Mick Vinter and Wayne Cegieski had already left during the summer, Steve Fox, Joey Jones, Dixie McNeil and Billy Ronson soon followed. Wrexham were again relegated to the Fourth Division after plummeting from apparent mid-table security. The club's slide continued into the following season, and only goal difference prevented Wrexham from being forced to apply for re-election to the League. The 1984–85 season saw Wrexham take on
FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...
in European competition. Wrexham won the home leg with a 1–0 victory, but in the second leg Porto showed their class and were 3–0 up after 38 minutes. However, Wrexham pulled goals back and the game finished 4–4 with Wrexham advancing on away goals. The second round draw was to pair Wrexham with Italian side AS Roma, managed by
Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; born 5 February 1948) is a Swedish football manager and former player. After an unassuming playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management between 1977 and 2001, winning 18 ...
. Wrexham lost 3–0 on aggregate over the two legs. Their league performance was even more dire than the previous year, and by the time Bobby Roberts was finally removed from his post, Wrexham were rock-bottom of the entire Football League. Former Racecourse favourite Dixie McNeil was appointed caretaker manager, and immediately inspired a revival that saw Wrexham win 7 of their last 10 matches and comfortably finish clear of having to apply for re-election, which earned him the job on a permanent basis that summer. His first season in charge saw the team finish mid-table position in an average season, he led the team to a Welsh Cup final win over Kidderminster Harriers. 1986 saw Wrexham make a return to European football with a first round draw against Maltese side FC Zurrieq, whom they beat 7–0 on aggregate to earn a second round tie against Real Zaragoza which they drew 2–2 with on aggregate but they went out on away-goals. Following the
Bradford City stadium fire The Bradford City stadium fire occurred during a Football League Third Division match on Saturday, 11 May 1985 at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, killing 56 spectators and injuring at least 265. The stadium was k ...
in May 1985, legislation on ground safety at all football grounds was brought into effect. This eventually led to the closure of the Mold Road stand because it did not reach the necessary safety standards. Led by Dixie McNeil, Wrexham reached the Fourth Division play-offs in 1989, having finished seventh in the league. Wrexham beat
Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...
in the semi-final 5–1 on aggregate, but narrowly lost to Leyton Orient 2–1 in the final. After Wrexham started the next season with just 3 wins from 13 league games, Dixie McNeil resigned before his inevitable sacking. He was replaced, initially on a temporary basis, by
Brian Flynn Brian Flynn may refer to: * Brian Flynn (footballer) (born 1955), Welsh football manager * Brian Flynn (baseball) (born 1990), American baseball player * Brian Flynn (cricketer) (1929-1986), Australian cricketer * Brian Flynn (ice hockey) Brian ...
, but his appointment was made permanent a month later. However the club continued to struggle domestically, and Flynn was forced to make three important signings in Mark Setori,
Eddie Youds Edward Paul Youds (born 3 May 1970) is an English former professional footballer, who played as a defender from 1988 to 2005. He notably played in the Premier League with Ipswich Town and Charlton Athletic, having also played in the Football ...
and Alan Kennedy which saw the team finish in twenty-first place, therefore avoiding relegation. At the start of the 1990–91 season it was announced there would be no relegation to the Conference Premier as a team had already voluntarily left the league. That season Wrexham were to finish in ninety-second place. Wrexham were knocked-out of the European Cup Winners' Cup in the second round by Manchester United 5–0 on aggregate, who eventually went on to win the trophy. The 1991–92 season saw Wrexham still in a poor financial state, as they continued to struggle on the field. With the club knocked out of the League Cup and struggling in the league, it was left to the FA Cup to keep the season alive. Having beaten Telford United and
Winsford United Winsford United Football Club are a football club based in Winsford, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1883 and are nicknamed ''The Blues''. The club is currently a member of the , with home matches played at The Barton Stadium. Thei ...
, they were drawn to play the previous season's First Division champions
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
. Wrexham produced one of their most memorable nights to beat the ''Gunners'' 2–1 after being behind, with a thunderous Mickey Thomas free kick and a
Steve Watkin Steven Llewellyn Watkin (born 15 September 1964) is a former Welsh cricketer who played for Glamorgan County Cricket Club and the England cricket team. A reliable seam bowler who never suffered serious injury despite several lesser niggles, h ...
goal. They lost in the next round to West Ham United 1–0 in a replay after the first game had finished 2–2.


1993–2001

In an attempt to change the fortunes of the club after several seasons in the doldrums at the bottom of the football league pyramid, the 1992–93 season saw Wrexham manager Brian Flynn make a shrewd signing when he enlisted the services of Gary Bennett, who soon settled and helped Wrexham into the promotion race. Wrexham's season came to a head on 27 April 1993 when with two games left they travelled to Northampton Town requiring a win to gain promotion to the next tier of the English football. The game ended with a 2–0 victory to Wrexham and the 5,500 travelling "Reds" supporters there were jubilant when promotion had finally been achieved. The 1994–95 season would see Wrexham achieve more success in cup competitions, this time going on a run through the FA Cup. Having beaten Stockport County and Rotherham United, they faced Premier League side Ipswich Town at the Racecourse, with Wrexham running out 2–1 winners thanks to goals from Gary Bennett and
Kieron Durkan Kieron John Durkan (1 December 1973 – 28 February 2018) was a professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Active between 1992 and 2004, Durkan made over 250 appearances in the Football League. Born in England, he represented the Republ ...
. In the next round, Wrexham were drawn away to Manchester United and despite taking the lead at
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
, United went on to win 5–2. The 1995–96 season once again saw Wrexham in European action, with their opposition this time coming in the form of Romanian team Petrolul Ploiești; the home leg ended in a 0–0 draw but Wrexham lost 1–0 in the away leg, with the Romanians scoring the only goal of the match, and Wrexham were subsequently knocked out of the tournament. The 1996–97 season saw Wrexham set off on another amazing run in the FA Cup and beating more top flight opposition. Following wins at Colwyn Bay and Scunthorpe United, they were drawn to play West Ham United at home, the game ending in a 1–1 draw on a snow-covered pitch after a well earned draw. The replay at Upton Park ended in a shock 1–0 win to Wrexham as Kevin Russell scored in the dying minutes to send Wrexham into the fourth round. After also beating Peterborough United and Birmingham City in the following rounds, they played Chesterfield in an all-Division-2 FA Cup quarter final, Wrexham narrowly losing to the Spireites 1–0. June 1997 was the date for the official opening of Colliers Park, which was Wrexham's new training ground and was situated just outside
Gresford Gresford (; cy, Gresffordd ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. According to the 2001 Census, the population of the community, which also includes the village of Marford, was 5,334, reducing to 5,010 at the 2011 cens ...
on Chester Road. It was built at a cost of £750,000 and is widely regarded to be one of the best training grounds outside of the top flight. It has been used for training by many visiting teams that play at a higher standard over the years. The 1999–2000 season saw Wrexham again beat a top-flight team in the FA Cup, this time in the shape of Middlesbrough. The final score of the match was 2–1, with the second half goals coming from Robin Gibson and Darren Ferguson after being behind to the Premiership outfit. Wrexham went on to win the FAW Premier Cup in May 2001.


2001–2008

At the start of the 21st century the club was dogged with many problems off the pitch, including then chairman Alex Hamilton, attempting to get the club evicted from the stadium so that he could use and sell it for his own development purposes – the saga involved the sale of the Racecourse Ground to a separate company owned by Hamilton immediately after he became the club's chairman. In the summer of 2004 Hamilton gave the club a year's notice to quit the ground. The club's fans developed an affinity with the fans of fellow football league club Brighton & Hove Albion, who themselves had managed to successfully depose their chairman and keep control of their stadium after he had sold the ground for development purposes in almost the same circumstances. On 3 December 2004 the club was placed in financial administration by the High Court in Manchester as the club owed £2,600,000, including £800,000 which was owed to the Inland Revenue in unpaid taxes. Wrexham became the first League club to suffer a ten-point deduction under the new rule for being placed in administration, dropping them from the middle of the League One table to the relegation zone after the point deduction, and subsequently condemned Wrexham to relegation. Despite their financial troubles, Wrexham went on to win the 2004–05 Football League Trophy by defeating Southend United 2–0 after extra time, in Wrexham's first appearance at the
Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...
in Cardiff. The winning goals were scored by
Juan Ugarte Juan Ugarte Aiestarán (born 7 November 1980) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker. Club career Born in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Ugarte was brought up in local giants Real Sociedad's youth system, but only appeared once for ...
and Darren Ferguson as Wrexham ran out winners in front of nearly 20,000 Wrexham fans. Wrexham still retained an outside chance of escaping the drop in the 2004–05 season following an end-of-season winning streak; however, their faint hopes of staying up were ended with a 2–1 home loss to
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
on 3 May 2005. The 10-point deduction proved decisive in determining Wrexham's fate, as the club finished with 43 points compared to 20th-placed Milton Keynes Dons' 51 – a net points tally of 53 after deduction, which had condemned them to relegation. In October 2005, Birmingham High Court decided that Alex Hamilton's company CrucialMove had improperly acquired the freehold of the ground and the decision went against him. Hamilton then took this to the Appeal Court in London and it ruled on 14 March 2006 that the stadium must remain in the hands of the club's administrators. On 30 April 2006 the administrators reached an agreement with local car dealer Neville Dickens, subject to agreement by the shareholders and creditors (which was achieved on 30 May), for Dickens to take over control of the club and all its assets. Had the club still been in Administration by 3 June then Wrexham would have automatically been expelled from the League because of their financial situation. ''Wrexham Football Club (2006) Ltd'' is the name of the "phoenix" company that took over the assets of the old ''Wrexham Association Football Club Limited'' – technically, the club is no longer known as ''Wrexham Association Football Club'' due to the takeover of the club by Neville Dickens and Geoff Moss and their associates; this is reflected on new merchandise, although most fans will still refer to it as "Wrexham AFC". The 2006–07 season started well for Wrexham, as they went 8 games unbeaten. However, the club would then struggle with Denis Smith eventually being sacked in January 2007 with Wrexham in the bottom half of the division and after a poor run of results. He was replaced by coach Brian Carey. Wrexham finished 19th in League Two with 51 points after an impressive late run of form which saw them win 4 out of their last 5 games, which included defeating local rivals Shrewsbury in the last derby match at Gay Meadow. Wrexham's league status was saved on the last day of the season with a vital 3–1 victory on 5 May 2007 over Boston United at home which sent their opponents down to the Conference Premier and ensured that Wrexham would stay in the
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
. Expectations were high for the 2007–08 season, with fans expecting a promotion push. However, the season started badly with the club in 24th by November 2007. Brian Carey was eventually sacked, and on 15 November 2007,
Brian Little Brian Little (born 25 November 1953) is an English football manager and former player. As a player, Little was a striker who spent his entire career for Aston Villa in a career that spanned from 1971 to 1980. He made 247 league appearances, ...
was named as Wrexham's new manager and the replacement to Carey, who took the role of assistant manager. After a promising start to his reign, Wrexham experienced a run of seven straight league defeats, prompting the club to bring in eleven new players during the January transfer window. Wrexham went six matches unbeaten before some poor form which saw defeats against some fellow strugglers. Wrexham were finally relegated to non-League following a 2–0 defeat away at Hereford United, ending the club's 87-year stay in the Football League.


2008–2020

The 2008–09 season started well, with a 5–0 home victory against Stevenage Borough. However a run of poor results followed, with Wrexham being left in the mid-table battle, only four points above the relegation zone and only keeping two clean sheets all season. Following a 3–0 home defeat against
Rushden and Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town. The ...
, and fans calling for his dismissal, Little left Wrexham by mutual consent. Little was replaced by
Dean Saunders Dean Nicholas Saunders (born 21 June 1964) is a Welsh football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a striker in a career which lasted from 1982 until 2001. He played for Liverpool and Aston Villa in the 1990s, and s ...
. Wrexham's first full season in the Conference Premier ended in a disappointing 10th place. The following year, 2009–10, ended in a similar fashion with Wrexham finishing in 11th position, well off the pace of the promotion battle. In March 2011 the ownership of the club became subject to two bids: one from Wrexham Supporters' Trust and another from local businesswoman
Stephanie Booth Stephanie Anne Booth (25 May 1946 – 18 September 2016), also known as Stephanie Anne Lloyd, was a British transsexual business owner and hotelier, based in Llangollen. She starred in the reality television series about her businesses ''Hotel ...
. Wrexham's MP and AM indicated that they would prefer Wrexham Supporters' Trust to secure the bid. A third bid later came in, but after WST and Booth came to an agreement, their bid was then re-accepted. In April 2011, the club were served with a winding up order from HMRC, with an unpaid tax bill of just under £200,000. The team finished the
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
season in 4th place, qualifying for a play-off spot, but were beaten 5–1 on aggregate by Luton Town in the semi-final. During the 2011–12 season, Wrexham were invited back into the Welsh Cup after 16 years, entering at the third round stage. New manager Andy Morrell guided Wrexham to a record tally of 98 points but this was not enough to gain automatic promotion, as they ended the season only 5 points adrift of Fleetwood Town, who gained the only automatic place. Wrexham lost in the play-offs to Luton Town again. Wrexham earned themselves places in both the FA Trophy final and the Conference Premier play-off Final, their first two appearances at Wembley Stadium in the club's 150-year history to date, and within five weeks of one another. In the FA Trophy Final, Wrexham won on penalties after a 1–1 draw with Grimsby Town. A 5–2 aggregate win over
Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...
in the two-legged play-off semi-final saw Wrexham through to the Final versus Newport County, the first play-off Final to feature two Welsh teams; Newport defeated Wrexham 2–0. In February 2014, Andy Morrell stepped down as manager. Billy Barr was appointed as interim manager before being replaced a few weeks later by Kevin Wilkin. Wrexham finished the 2013–14 season in 17th place. In 2018–19, Wrexham finished in 4th place but lost the play-off quarter-final to Eastleigh. In 2019–20, the club finished 19th on points per game after the season was ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the lowest position in the club's 150-year history.


2020–present: New owners

In November 2020, Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds and American actor Rob McElhenney, through the RR McReynolds Company LLC, bought the club. The deal received the backing of 98.6% of the 2,000 members of the Wrexham Supporters Trust that voted and was completed in February 2021. They were included in FIFA 22 as part of the "Rest of World" section, becoming the first non-league team to be featured in the series. In 2021–22, Wrexham finished 2nd before losing the play-off semi-final 5–4 to Grimsby Town after extra time. Wrexham also reached the 2022 FA Trophy Final which they lost 1–0 to Bromley.


''Welcome to Wrexham''

Following the takeover, a docuseries called ''Welcome to Wrexham'' was announced to be in production for FX with Boardwalk Pictures. ''Welcome to Wrexham'' debuted on 24 August 2022 on FX and Hulu in the USA, followed by a release on Disney+ in the United Kingdom and Ireland the next day.


Stadium

Since 1864 Wrexham have played their home games at The Racecourse Ground, situated on the Mold Road, which is the main through road heading into Wrexham, it is opposite the residential area of Maesgwyn, situated between Glyndŵr University and Wrexham General railway station. In August 2011 Glyndŵr University purchased the stadium and the club training facilities in
Gresford Gresford (; cy, Gresffordd ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. According to the 2001 Census, the population of the community, which also includes the village of Marford, was 5,334, reducing to 5,010 at the 2011 cens ...
. Since then, they added their name to the stadium for it to become The Glyndŵr University Racecourse Stadium. Subsequently, in 2016, Wrexham Supporters Trust secured a 99-year lease on the ground, and the name reverted to the Racecourse Ground. The capacity is 10,500, making it one of the largest stadiums in the National League. In June 2022, Wrexham AFC purchased the Racecourse Ground freehold from the university and are planning renovations to the stadium.


Training ground

Wrexham's training ground was the purpose-built Colliers Park, in neighbouring
Gresford Gresford (; cy, Gresffordd ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. According to the 2001 Census, the population of the community, which also includes the village of Marford, was 5,334, reducing to 5,010 at the 2011 cens ...
. When the construction had been completed it was officially opened in June 1997, at a building cost of £750,000. It is widely regarded in British football as one of the best training grounds outside of the top flight and one of the best never to have been used by a top-flight team. The England national team, Barcelona,
Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
and the Wales national team have all used it for training purposes. Colliers Park continues to be improved; a running hill, as well as all-weather pitches and a small stand have been constructed since the facilities opened in 1997. Colliers Park is now owned by Glyndwr University as part of their purchase of the Racecourse Ground assets. For the beginning of the 2016–17 season, Wrexham moved back to their former training ground at
Stansty Park Stansty is an area and electoral ward in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, lying to the immediate north-west of the city of Wrexham. It is a former civil parish and township. Stansty is also an electoral ward to Wrexham County Borough Council. The ...
. This is also the home of
Welsh National League The Welsh National League (Wrexham Area) was a football league in Wales and operated at level 3 and 4 of the Welsh football league system in Flintshire and Wrexham County Borough, but with some teams from Denbighshire (Corwen and Llangollen Town) ...
side Lex Glyndwr. Wrexham did however retain the use of Colliers Park for Youth and Reserve fixtures. After one season training at Stansty Park, Wrexham announced they would be moving to a new training ground at Nine Acre for the beginning of the 2017–18 season based near the city centre. Wrexham are currently occasionally training at their former site, Colliers Park.


Honours

Wrexham AFC's honours include:


Domestic


League

*
Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...
/
Division Two NCL Division Two The NCL or National Conference League Division Two (known as the Kingstone Press NCL Division Two) League winners {, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" , - , colspan=4 style="text-align:center;" , NCL DIVISION TWO , ...
/ League One (Tier 3) **Champions (1): 1977–78 **Runners-up (1): 1932–33 *
Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
/ Division Three / League Two (Tier 4) **Runners-up (2):
1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since th ...
, 1969–70 **Promoted (4): 1961–62, 1969–70,
1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since th ...
, 2002–03 * The Combination **Champions (4): 1900–01, 1901–02, 1902–03,
1904–05 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...
**Runners-up (1): 1899–1900 *
Welsh Senior League The Denbighshire League was a league in the early days of Welsh football. Originally titled the Welsh Senior League, it ran from 1890 until 1902. It was mainly made up of teams from the Wrexham area, with sporadic entrants from Mid Wales and the N ...
**Champions (2): 1894–95, 1895–96


Cups

* Football League Trophy **Winners (1): 2004–05 *
FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
**Winners (1):
2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
**Runners-up (2): 2014–15, 2021–22 * Football League Cup (North) **Winners (1): 1943–44 * Debenhams Cup **Runners-up (1): 1977–78 * Welsh Cup **Winners (23): 1877–78, 1882–83, 1892–93, 1896–97, 1902–03,
1904–05 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...
, 1908–09, 1909–10, 1910–11, 1913–14, 1914–15, 1920–21, 1923–24, 1924–25, 1930–31, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1977–78, 1985–86, 1994–95 (Record) **Runners-up (22): 1878–79, 1889–90, 1890–91, 1894–95, 1985–96, 1897–98, 1898–99, 1901–02, 1919–20, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1949–50, 1961–62, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1970–71, 1978–79, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1990–91 * FAW Premier Cup **Winners (5): 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04 (Record) **Runners-up (3): 1998–99, 2004–05, 2005–06 * Supporters Direct Cup **Winners (1): 2015–16 (Shared) **Runners-up (2): 2011–12, 2014–15


Player records

*Most league goals in a season – 44,
Tommy Bamford Thomas Bamford (2 November 1905 – 12 December 1967) was a Welsh professional footballer. During his career, he made over 200 appearances in the Football League, most notably for Wrexham, where he remains the club's all-time top goalscorer. He a ...
*Most league goals in total – 174, Tommy Bamford *Most hat tricks – 16, Tommy Bamford *Most goals scored in a single game by one player – 7, ( Andy Morrell – 16 February 2000) *Most league appearances – 592,
Arfon Griffiths Arfon Trevor Griffiths MBE (born 23 August 1941) is a Welsh former football player and manager. During his playing career which lasted from 1959 to 1979, Griffiths played at both professional and international levels, before becoming a football ...
(1959–61, 1962–79) *Most capped player – Dennis Lawrence, 89 for Trinidad & Tobago *Most caps while at Wrexham – Dennis Lawrence – 49 for Trinidad & Tobago *Oldest player – Billy Lot Jones – aged 46 v Tranmere Rovers *Youngest player – Ken Roberts – aged 15 years and 158 days v
Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...


Team records

*Attendance – 34,445 v
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, FA Cup 4th round, 26 January 1957 *League attendance – 29,261 v Chester City, Division Three, 26 December 1936 *Average attendance – 11,651, 1977–78 *Highest league win – 10–1 v
Hartlepools United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Har ...
, 3 March 1962 *Worst league defeat – 9–0 v
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
, Division Three, 15 October 1963 *Biggest cup win – 6–0 v Charlton Athletic, 1979–80 FA Cup, FA Cup 3rd round, 5 January 1980 *Most games won in a row – 10, 5 April 2003 – 8 May 2003, 2002–03 Wrexham F.C. season, 2002–03 *Longest unbeaten run – 20, 25 January 1902 – 11 November 1902 *Most consecutive league clean sheets – 7, 9 October – 26 November, 2011–12 *Most clean sheets in a season – 26, 1973–74 Football League, 1973–74 and 2018–19 *Highest transfer received – £800,000 for Bryan Hughes, Birmingham City, 1997 *Highest transfer fee paid – £300,000 for Ollie Palmer, AFC Wimbledon, 2022


Players


Current squad


Out on loan


Notable former players

''For all players with a Wikipedia article see :Wrexham A.F.C. players, Wrexham A.F.C. players''


Hall of Fame

The following are members of the Wrexham A.F.C. Hall of Fame. Entry is not restricted to players; anyone who has made a great contribution to the club in any capacity, from administrator to manager to supporter, can be considered. * Billy Ashcroft *
Tommy Bamford Thomas Bamford (2 November 1905 – 12 December 1967) was a Welsh professional footballer. During his career, he made over 200 appearances in the Football League, most notably for Wrexham, where he remains the club's all-time top goalscorer. He a ...
* Tommy Bannan * Ken Barnes * Gary Bennett (footballer, born 1963), Gary Bennett * Horace Blew * Brian Carey * Ron Chaloner * Carroll Clark * Karl Connolly * Dai Davies (footballer, born 1948), Dai Davies * Gareth Davies (footballer, born 1949), Gareth Davies * Carlos Edwards * Johnny Edwards * Mickey Evans (Welsh footballer), Mickey Evans *
Brian Flynn Brian Flynn may refer to: * Brian Flynn (footballer) (born 1955), Welsh football manager * Brian Flynn (baseball) (born 1990), American baseball player * Brian Flynn (cricketer) (1929-1986), Australian cricketer * Brian Flynn (ice hockey) Brian ...
* Alan Fox (footballer), Alan Fox * Bertram Goode, Bert Goode *
Arfon Griffiths Arfon Trevor Griffiths MBE (born 23 August 1941) is a Welsh former football player and manager. During his playing career which lasted from 1959 to 1979, Griffiths played at both professional and international levels, before becoming a football ...
* Pryce Griffiths * Phil Hardy * Ron Hewitt (footballer, born 1928), Ron Hewitt * Alfred Jones (footballer, born 1900), Alf Jones * Joey Jones * Albert Kinsey * Dennis Lawrence * Brian Lloyd * Cliff Lloyd * Andy Marriott * Tommy Matthias * Eddie May * Ally McGowan * Sammy McMillan * Dixie McNeil * John Neal * Gareth Owen (footballer, born 1971), Gareth Owen * Ted Robinson * Kevin Russell * Bobby Shinton * George Showell * Denis Smith * Ray Smith (English footballer, born 1943), Ray Smith *
Mel Sutton Melvyn Charles Sutton (born 13 February 1946) is an English former professional Association football, footballer. Career Born in Birmingham, Sutton was an amateur at Aston Villa F.C. when Jimmy Scoular brought him to Cardiff City F.C. in Decemb ...
* Mickey Thomas * Billy Tunnicliffe * Graham Whittle * Mike Williams (footballer, born 1965), Mike Williams * Andy Morrell * Mark Carrington (footballer), Mark Carrington * Wrexham Supporters Trust


Player of the Year

The following players have been named Wrexham A.F.C. Player of the Year. *1975–76 Brian Lloyd *1976–77 Graham Whittle *1977–78 Gareth Davies (footballer, born 1949), Gareth Davies *1978–79 John Roberts (footballer, born 1946), John Roberts *1979–80 Dixie McNeil *1980–81 Steve Fox (footballer), Steve Fox *1981–82 Eddie Niedzwiecki *1982–83 Robbie Savage (footballer, born 1960), Robbie Savage *1983–84 David Gregory (footballer, born 1951), David Gregory *1984–85 Jack Keay *1985–86 Mike Williams (footballer, born 1965), Mike Williams *1986–87 Mike Williams (footballer, born 1965), Mike Williams *1987–88 Kevin Russell *1988–89 Kevin Russell *1989–90 Nigel Beaumont *1990–91 Mark Morris (footballer, born 1968), Mark Morris *1991–92 Andy Thackeray *1992–93 Tony Humes *1993–94 Gary Bennett (footballer, born 1963), Gary Bennett *1994–95 Gary Bennett (footballer, born 1963), Gary Bennett *1995–96 Waynne Phillips *1996–97 Andy Marriott *1997–98 Brian Carey *1998–99 Dean Spink *1999–2000 Darren Ferguson *2000–01 Mark McGregor *2001–02 Jim Whitley *2002–03 Andy Morrell *2003–04 Dennis Lawrence *2004–05 Andy Holt (footballer, born 1978), Andy Holt *2005–06 Danny Williams (footballer, born 1979), Danny Williams *2006–07 Steve Evans (footballer, born 1979), Steve Evans *2007–08 Neil Roberts (Welsh footballer), Neil Roberts *2008–09 Marc Williams *2009–10 Andrew Fleming (footballer), Andy Fleming *2010–11 Jay Harris (footballer, born 1987), Jay Harris *2011–12 Neil Ashton *2012–13 Chris Westwood *2013–14 Mark Carrington (footballer), Mark Carrington *2014–15 Manny Smith *2015–16 Connor Jennings *2016–17 Martin Riley (footballer), Martin Riley *2017–18 Shaun Pearson *2018–19 Rob Lainton *2019–20 Luke Young (footballer, born 1993), Luke Young *2020–21 Luke Young (footballer, born 1993), Luke Young *2021–22 Paul Mullin (footballer, born 1994), Paul Mullin


Young Player of the Year

The following players have been named Wrexham A.F.C. Young Player of the Year. *1983–84 Shaun Cunnington *1984–85 Andy Edwards (footballer, born 1965), Andy Edwards *1985–86 Shaun Cunnington *1986–87 Roger Preece *1987–88 Darren Wright (footballer, born 1968), Darren Wright *1988–89 Darren Wright (footballer, born 1968), Darren Wright *1989–90 Gareth Owen (footballer, born 1971), Gareth Owen *1990–91 Gareth Owen (footballer, born 1971), Gareth Owen *1991–92 Phil Hardy *1992–93 Jonathan Cross *1993–94 Dave Brammer *1994–95 Bryan Hughes *1995–96 Mark McGregor *1996–97 Mark McGregor *1997–98 Neil Roberts (Welsh footballer), Neil Roberts *1998–99 Robin Gibson *1999–2000 Robin Gibson *2000–01 Lee Roche *2001–02 Shaun Pejic *2002–03 Craig Morgan (footballer), Craig Morgan *2003–04 Craig Morgan (footballer), Craig Morgan *2004–05 Mark Jones (footballer, born 1984), Mark Jones *2005–06 Mark Jones (footballer, born 1984), Mark Jones *2006–07 Matt Done *2007–08 Neil Taylor (footballer), Neil Taylor *2008–09 Marc Williams *2009–10 Chris Maxwell (footballer), Chris Maxwell *2010–11 Chris Maxwell (footballer), Chris Maxwell *2011–12 Mathias Pogba *2012–13 Nick Rushton *2013–14 Andy Coughlin *2014–15 Rob Evans (footballer), Rob Evans *2015–16 Rob Evans (footballer), Rob Evans *2016–17 Leo Smith *2017–18 N/A *2018–19 N/A *2019–20 N/A *2020–21 Jordan Davies *2021–22 Max Cleworth


Steve Edwards Goal of the Season Award

The following players have won the Steve Edwards Goal of the Season award. *2012–13 Jay Harris (footballer, born 1987), Jay Harris v Barrow A.F.C., Barrow *2013–14 Andy Morrell v Forest Green Rovers F.C., Forest Green Rovers *2014–15 Mark Carrington (footballer), Mark Carrington v Stoke City F.C., Stoke City *2015–16 Dominic Vose v Gateshead F.C., Gateshead *2016–17 Ntumba Massanka v Guiseley A.F.C., Guiseley *2017–18 Chris Holroyd v Tranmere Rovers *2018–19 Luke Young (footballer, born 1993), Luke Young v Dagenham & Redbridge F.C., Dagenham & Redbridge *2019–20 Luke Young (footballer, born 1993), Luke Young v Bromley *2020–21 Jordan Davies v FC Halifax Town, Halifax Town *2021–22 Paul Mullin (footballer, born 1994), Paul Mullin v Stockport County


Top scorers

''Goal counts are formatted with the league total first, and the total for all competitions in parenthesis.'' *1975–76 Billy Ashcroft 14 (19) *1976–77 Graham Whittle 28 (35) *1977–78 Dixie McNeil 13 (25) *1978–79 John Lyons (footballer), John Lyons 10 (15) *1979–80 Dixie McNeil 14 (21) *1980–81 Dixie McNeil 13 (20) *1981–82 Ian Edwards (footballer, born 1955), Ian Edwards 11 (15) *1982–83 Steve Buxton (footballer, born 1960), Steve Buxton & Robbie Savage (footballer, born 1960), Robbie Savage 10 (13) *1983–84 David Gregory (footballer, born 1951), David Gregory 19 (24) *1984–85 Jim Steel (footballer), Jim Steel 14 (15) *1985–86 Steve Charles (footballer), Steve Charles 21 (24) *1986–87 Jim Steel (footballer), Jim Steel 17 (22) *1987–88 Kevin Russell 21 (25) *1988–89 Kevin Russell 22 (27) *1989–90 Gary Worthington 12 (16) *1990–91 Chris Armstrong (footballer, born 1971), Chris Armstrong 10 (15) *1991–92
Steve Watkin Steven Llewellyn Watkin (born 15 September 1964) is a former Welsh cricketer who played for Glamorgan County Cricket Club and the England cricket team. A reliable seam bowler who never suffered serious injury despite several lesser niggles, h ...
13 (19) *1992–93 Gary Bennett (footballer, born 1963), Gary Bennett 16 (23) *1993–94 Gary Bennett (footballer, born 1963), Gary Bennett 32 (39) *1994–95 Gary Bennett (footballer, born 1963), Gary Bennett 29 (47) *1995–96 Karl Connolly 18 (21) *1996–97 Karl Connolly 14 (15) *1997–98 Karl Connolly 7 (14) *1998–99 Karl Connolly 11 (23) *1999–2000 Craig Faulconbridge 9 (11) *2000–01 Darren Ferguson 9 (10) *2001–02 Craig Faulconbridge 13 (14) *2002–03 Andy Morrell 34 (35) *2003–04 Hector Sam 10 (12) *2004–05
Juan Ugarte Juan Ugarte Aiestarán (born 7 November 1980) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker. Club career Born in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Ugarte was brought up in local giants Real Sociedad's youth system, but only appeared once for ...
17 (23) *2005–06 Mark Jones (footballer, born 1984), Mark Jones 13 (15) *2006–07 Chris Llewellyn 9 (11) *2007–08 Michael Proctor (footballer), Michael Proctor 11 (11) *2008–09 Jefferson Louis 15 (15) *2009–10 Gareth Taylor 8 (8) *2010–11 Andy Mangan 15 (15) *2011–12 Jake Speight 21 (21) *2012–13 Daniel Wright (footballer), Danny Wright 15 (18) *2013–14 Johnny Hunt (footballer), Johnny Hunt 11 (12) *2014–15 Louis Moult 16 (23) *2015–16 Connor Jennings 14 (14) *2016–17 John Rooney (footballer), John Rooney 11 (11) *2017–18 Chris Holroyd 13 (13) *2018–19 Shaun Pearson 6 (6) *2019–20 Bobby Grant (footballer, born 1990), Bobby Grant 7 (8) *2020–21 Luke Young (footballer, born 1993), Luke Young 12 (12) *2021–22 Paul Mullin (footballer, born 1994), Paul Mullin 26 (32)


PFA Team of the Year

''The following have been included in the PFA Team of the Year, National League (division), Conference Premier or National League team of the year whilst playing for Wrexham :''


Non-playing staff


Board


Managerial history

* 1925–29 Charlie Hewitt (footballer), Charlie Hewitt * 1929–31 Jack Baynes * 1932–36 Ernest Blackburn * 1937–38 James Logan (forward, born 1885), Jimmy Logan * 1938–40 Tom Morgan (footballer), Tom Morgan * 1940–49 Tom Williams * 1949–50 Les McDowall * 1950–54 Peter Jackson (footballer born 1905), Peter Jackson * 1954–57 Cliff Lloyd * 1957–59 John Love (footballer), John Love * 1960–61 Billy Morris (footballer, born 1918), Billy Morris * 1961–65 Ken Barnes * 1965–66 Billy Morris (footballer, born 1918), Billy Morris * 1966–67 Jack Rowley * 1967–68 Alvan Williams * 1968–77 John Neal * 1977–81
Arfon Griffiths Arfon Trevor Griffiths MBE (born 23 August 1941) is a Welsh former football player and manager. During his playing career which lasted from 1959 to 1979, Griffiths played at both professional and international levels, before becoming a football ...
* 1981–82
Mel Sutton Melvyn Charles Sutton (born 13 February 1946) is an English former professional Association football, footballer. Career Born in Birmingham, Sutton was an amateur at Aston Villa F.C. when Jimmy Scoular brought him to Cardiff City F.C. in Decemb ...
* 1982–85 Bobby Roberts * 1985–89 Dixie McNeil * 1989–2001
Brian Flynn Brian Flynn may refer to: * Brian Flynn (footballer) (born 1955), Welsh football manager * Brian Flynn (baseball) (born 1990), American baseball player * Brian Flynn (cricketer) (1929-1986), Australian cricketer * Brian Flynn (ice hockey) Brian ...
* 2001–07 Denis Smith * 2007 Brian Carey * 2007–08
Brian Little Brian Little (born 25 November 1953) is an English football manager and former player. As a player, Little was a striker who spent his entire career for Aston Villa in a career that spanned from 1971 to 1980. He made 247 league appearances, ...
* 2008–11
Dean Saunders Dean Nicholas Saunders (born 21 June 1964) is a Welsh football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a striker in a career which lasted from 1982 until 2001. He played for Liverpool and Aston Villa in the 1990s, and s ...
* 2011–14 Andy Morrell * 2014–15 Kevin Wilkin * 2015–16 Gary Mills (footballer, born 1961), Gary Mills * 2016–18 Dean Keates * 2018 Sam Ricketts * 2018–19 Graham Barrow * 2019 Bryan Hughes * 2019–21 Dean Keates * 2021– Phil Parkinson


European record

European Cup Winners' Cup:


Supporters and rivalries


Support

In August 2011, Wrexham were faced with being expelled from the Football Conference, fans rallied and raised £127,000 in one day to help pay a bond, so they could secure football for the forthcoming season. A month later the Wrexham Supporters' Trust (WST) took over day-to-day running of the club. List of fan-owned sports teams#Wales, Fan ownership of Wrexham was finally ratified on 12 December 2011. As of May 2015 the WST had 4,129 adult members and joint-owners of the club. As well as the city of Wrexham, support is drawn from the surrounding towns and villages of the Wrexham County Borough, district, such as Gwersyllt and Rhosllannerchrugog, Rhos, the Flintshire towns of Mold, Flintshire, Mold, Buckley, Flintshire, Buckley, Holywell, Flintshire, Holywell and Deeside. For the 2013 FA Trophy Final coaches of Wrexham fans came from many North Wales towns including; Bala, Gwynedd, Bala, Bangor, Gwynedd, Bangor, Caernarfon, Colwyn Bay, Denbigh, Flint, Flintshire, Flint, Llandudno, Prestatyn, Rhyl and Ruthin. Additionally, many Wrexham fans reside in Shropshire. Exiled supporters clubs can be found in South Wales, Manchester and London. Over the past 15 years, even as a lower-league side, Wrexham have been able to attract gates of 11,000+ for big games at the Racecourse. Famous Wrexham fans include Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, former Royal butler Paul Burrell, actor and television presenter Tim Vincent, actor Llŷr Ifans, actor and Comedian Ted Robbins, The Sweet, Sweet guitarist Andy Scott (guitarist), Andy Scott, Neck Deep, Lloyd Roberts of rock band Neck Deep, 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012 Olympian weightlifter Gareth Evans (weightlifter), Gareth Evans, Sky Sports reporter Bryn Law, Rugby World Cup Referee Nigel Owens and former Association football, footballers Neil Roberts (Welsh footballer), Neil Roberts, Robbie Savage and Mark Hughes.


Rivalry

Wrexham has a fierce rivalry with
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
, the clubs are just 10 miles apart, but are Wales, Welsh and England, English respectively. The two contest the Cross-Border Derby, the first match was held in 1888 with Wrexham running out 3–2 winners at Faulkner Street, the former home of Chester City, the last derby, to date, was played at the Deva Stadium, Swansway Chester Stadium where Wrexham won 1–0 on 8 November 2017. Wrexham lead the head-to-head rivalry with 67 wins compared to Chester's 50. Games between the two are classed as "high risk" for potential of disorder and are generally moved to early kick-offs with a large police presence to prevent it, though arrests do still occur for various offences surrounding the fans of both clubs. Former Chester City player Lee Dixon said of the derby "I'm telling you, Chester versus Wrexham was a real derby! It's difficult to compare if you've not played in each one but there's something special about any derby at any level. I played for Chester v Wrexham and that could get ferocious, It lost nothing in ferocity compared to North London derby, Arsenal v Spurs". Former Wales and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool striker Ian Rush who played for both clubs, said in 2013 the Cross-border derby between the two clubs is "as intense as they come" and "It is like Wales v England really, it is incredible". Wrexham also have a fierce rivalries with Shrewsbury Town, Tranmere Rovers and Stockport County due to geographical proximity. The games are often moved to early kick-offs, in accordance with police, to minimise the potential of trouble as has happened between clubs previously. In 2003, 32 hooligans were jailed after a Tranmere v Wrexham match at Prenton Park and trouble was again evident when the two clubs met in a 2013 friendly at the Racecourse Ground. Though not as intense as they once were, due to divisional differences, Crewe Alexandra F.C., Crewe Alexandra,
Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
, Newport County and Swansea City F.C., Swansea City are also classed as rivals. Wrexham has a hooligan gang of supporters that go by the name of "Wrexham Front Line" and have been involved in major disorder around Britain since the early 1980s.


Team mascot

Wrex the Dragon is the official team mascot of Wrexham. The mascot, along with the team nickname "The Dragons", was introduced in 2001–02 by the Commercial manager following a ballot of fans to help increase sponsorship and promote the club's Welsh image whilst also providing a more original nickname as Bristol City F.C., Bristol City, Swindon Town and Cheltenham Town also use the nickname of 'The Robins'. 'Wrex' wears a red face and Wrexham F.C. shirt wearing the number "1864".


Reserves

Between 1988 and 1995 the reserve team of Wrexham played in the Welsh football leagues. On 2 August 2022, Wrexham announced their participation in the upcoming The Central League, 2022–23 Central League season.


Literature

''Wrexham related books'' *''Wrexham FC 1872–1950'' by Peter Jones and Gareth Davies *''Wrexham FC 1950–2000'' by Peter Jones and Gareth Davies *''Wrexham – A Complete Record 1872 – 1992'' by Peter Jones *''Wrexham; The European era'' by Peter Jones *''Wrexham; Through The Trap Door'' by Peter Jones *''Wrexham FC, An A-Z history'' by Dean Hayes *''The Racecourse Robins from Adams to Youds'' by Peter Jones and Gareth Davies *''The Giant Killers; a Wrexham fan's view'' by Richard Partington *''Wrexham Football Club Pen-Portraits'' by Don Meredith The Wrexham football team plays a significant role in the 1994 Peter Davies book ''Twenty Two Foreigners in Funny Shorts'' which was written for the World Cup in the US. It also profiles the Robins' ongoing and ultimately successful promotion effort.


Kits

Wrexham's home kit is red shirts, white shorts, and white socks. The club have played in a predominantly red kit with white features since the late 1930s. The away kit is white shirts, red shorts and red socks. In 2014–15, to celebrate the club's 150th anniversary, Wrexham wore a red and black hooped Nike, Inc., Nike home shirt as this was the club's first ever recorded home shirt. Macron (sportswear), Macron have been the kit supplier of Wrexham AFC since 2016 and helped arrange a pre-season training camp for the first team in pre-season 2017 in Portugal where over 600 supporters travelled over to support the team in a 2–1 win over Louletano. They still visit Portugal each summer. In April 2011, Wrexham signed a two-year sponsorship deal with Greene King brewery. This was cancelled in September after Glyndŵr University bought the Racecourse, as the university had an exclusive deal with another brewery.


Kit manufacturers and sponsors

Table of kit suppliers and shirt sponsors appear below:


See also

*Club of Pioneers *List of Wrexham A.F.C. seasons *''Welcome to Wrexham''


Notes


References


External links

*
Wrexham Supporters TrustRedPassion Fansite and Forum
{{Authority control Wrexham A.F.C., Sport in Wrexham Former English Football League clubs National League (English football) Association football clubs established in 1864 Welsh football clubs in English leagues EFL Trophy winners Sport in Wrexham County Borough 1864 establishments in Wales Football clubs in Wrexham Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom