Of all the incredible stories to have come out of the footballing world over the past few years, the news that Hollywood superstars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney had become the owners of North Walian side Wrexham FC was perhaps the most unexpected.
A true sleeping giant of the football league, Wrexham had been a football league club since its inception back in the 1800’s before finally succumbing to relegation into the Conference in 2008.
Many fans and pundits around the Racecourse Ground felt at the time that the divisional drop would be temporary, and that football league action would return to the town instantly.
However, the growing strength of the Vanarama National League, coupled with some questionable financial and managerial decisions in the intervening 14 years has left Wrexham still floundering in the Non-league football pyramid.
The introduction of Reynolds and McElhenney at the end of 2020 however has breathed new life into a passionate footballing town and with performances on the field starting to match up to expectation, there is a genuine wave of optimism that 2022 could actually be their year.
Big money signings in the form of strikers Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer are statements and the reds are clearly out to do business this season and beyond but as football as frequently shown, there is a difference between spending money and achieving goals.
Manager Phil Parkinson has overseen a steady transformation at Wrexham this season, with the reds currently 6th in the Vanarama National League table and very much in both playoff and automatic promotion contention this season.
According to British Gambler, Having unlimited funds is of course a potential differential for Wrexham and their odds of 2.75 suggest that they are being backed by bookmakers and punters alike to get promoted this season.
Currently topping the Vanarama National League table is Stockport County, another hugely well supported side that have dropped down the divisions steadily in recent years.
Financial struggles at Edgeley Park saw County actually drop down a division further a couple of seasons ago to the Conference North but they are on the rise now and look to be well equipped for a promotion push this season.
They currently have a slender one point lead to the chasing pack in the conference table but with plenty of goals running throughout their side, they have a great chance of returning to the Football League at 2.80.
Chesterfield are yet another side that have a rich history of playing in the football league, but they too currently find themselves mixing it up in the Vanarama National League.
The Spireites have plenty of knowhow at this level and with games in hand on most of the sides around them in the table, they look to have plenty of momentum in their promotion push currently.
Finding value in a congested marketplace is never easy but at 3.00, Chesterfield look an excellent shout for promotion – with both automatic and playoff promotional options available.
Elsewhere, the likes of Notts County and Halifax Town are also very much in the mix to go up, with both sides banging the goals in of late and at 5.00 and 6.50 to go up respectively, they could well be in both automatic and play-off promotion contention come May.
