The red carpet was out again for Wrexham in Los Angeles as celebrity co-chairmen Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney promoted the latest season of their acclaimed documentary. Yet for all the glitz, the club faces a decisive final day—a scenario that stirs painful memories for former player Paul Rutherford.
Five years ago, Rutherford's red card in a 1-1 draw at Dagenham dashed Wrexham's playoff hopes by a single point. The image of him weeping alone in the dressing room became a symbol of the club's pre-Hollywood struggles.
"It felt like my world was imploding," Rutherford recalls. Manager Dean Keates was sacked the next day; Rutherford and 10 others were released soon after. Little did they know that a transformative takeover was imminent—though the early rumors pointed to Russell Crowe, not Reynolds and McElhenney.
"We thought we were being bought by Gladiator," Rutherford laughs. Now 38, he reflects on missing the club's meteoric rise, but the memory of that final-day collapse remains a stark reminder that even Hollywood-owned clubs cannot script their own fate.