Why X-rated Phil Parkinson rants make Welcome to Wrexham better than Premier League documentaries – with Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney cutting nothing out

  • Red Dragons star in award-winning series
  • Boss holds nothing back in dressing room
  • Hollywood owners happy to highlight passion

WHAT HAPPENED?

The Red Dragons have seen their profile soar on the back of an award-winning series that has opened up a window to the world. They are not the first to invite cameras behind the scenes, with the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City all doing likewise in recent times.

Phil Parkinson Welcome to Wrexham

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Welcome to Wrexham, however, delivers much more than a fly-on-the-wall look at life at a professional football club. There has been plenty of focus on the community and women’s team, while Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have made a point of cutting nothing out.

WHAT PARKINSON SAID

That means Parkinson can be seen turning the air blue on a regular basis, with Wrexham’s boss telling the Men In Blazers podcast of why that helps to make the show more appealing. He said: “The language is, it happens in the dressing room. Outside the dressing room, I’m not using bad language all the time. I have to stress that! Normally what happens in the dressing room, stays in the dressing room. In this situation, it’s exposed for everybody to see. It’s warts and all. There are a lot of documentaries in football – a lot higher profile teams than us – but I think people have said the reason they’ve enjoyed this is because it’s not controlled. It is what it is. Hopefully this season is as popular as the last two.”

Phil Parkinson Wrexham 2023-24

DID YOU KNOW?

Series three is in the process of being rolled out, with Parkinson adding on what his family make of the foul-mouthed outbursts that he is prone to delivering: “They know what I’m like! They know the passion of matchday is what we live for and there is nothing better. Sometimes when you get to the end of the season, the days in between games you just want them to go quickly and you want to wake up and it’s matchday. I thrive on matchdays, I love the matchday adrenalin and when people are in football and come out it they say: ‘I’m glad to have a breather’, but they very quickly miss that Saturday afternoon buzz. I don’t think it’s a surprise to them what the dressing room situation is like.”

WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

A fourth series of Welcome to Wrexham has been confirmed, which will cover the club’s first season back in the third tier of English football for 20 years. Transfer plans are currently being drawn up for life in League One.