Wrexham celebrate, but just don't forget The Dale
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Wrexham celebrate, but just don't forget The Dale

Wrexham owners Rob McElhenney, left, and Ryan Reynolds celebrate with the National League trophy. (Photo: Reuters)
Wrexham owners Rob McElhenney, left, and Ryan Reynolds celebrate with the National League trophy. (Photo: Reuters)

It is that nervy time of the year of promotions and relegations in the English Football League and a couple of contrasting stories in the lower divisions caught the eye last week.

Wrexham with their Hollywood backing naturally grabbed the headlines by hauling themselves out of the fifth tier National League after 15 years.

But we should not forget one of the teams they will be replacing in League Two, Rochdale, who are dropping out of the Football League after 102 years.

The Wrexham story featuring actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds has grabbed the imagination of fans around the world, partly through the documentary series about the club Welcome to Wrexham. Their progress has been followed particularly closely in the US.

Reynolds was almost lost for words as he celebrated their promotion after beating Boreham Wood in front of an ecstatic 10,000 capacity crowd at the Racecourse Ground last Saturday.

"I'm still somewhere between giggling and sobbing", he said.

"This town and this sport is one of the most romantic things on Earth."

By contrast, the plight of Rochdale has generally gone unnoticed, although it is hardly surprising.

Rochdale have long been regarded as one of the most unsuccessful clubs in the Football League, yet they had somehow survived for more than a century.

In 2014, The Dale topped a "Long-Standing Suffering Fans" index based on the least successful clubs in the entire league, just edging out Hartlepool who coincidentally are almost certainly going down with Rochdale this season.

Since they joined the Football League in 1921, Rochdale have never been out of the lower two divisions and have only won promotion on three occasions.

They finished rock bottom several times but were rescued by the old re-election system.

The Dale were in the old Division Four for such an extended period the bottom league was sometimes referred to as the "Rochdale Division."

Apart from the old cotton industry, Rochdale is most famous for being the birthplace of Gracie Fields, the great pre-World War II singer whose iconic song The Biggest Aspidistra in the World became far more famous than the football club.

There are several records Rochdale would not like to be reminded of including most goals conceded in a season (135) in 1931-32 and fewest wins (two) in 1973-74. They were also responsible for the lowest post-war attendance when only 450 spectators showed up at their Spotland Stadium to see them play Cambridge United in February 1974.

Their one claim to fame was reaching the final of the League Cup in 1962, becoming the only Fourth Division Club to make the final of a major competition. It was a low key two-legged affair and Norwich City beat them by an aggregate 4-0.

Like Rochdale, Wrexham have spent most of their time in the bottom two divisions of the Football League.

Their most successful period began in 1978 when they won the old Third Division and went on to play four seasons in the second tier.

Despite their lowly status, being regular winners of the Welsh Cup means Wrexham's trophy cabinet is not exactly bare. It also meant that they have made a lot more excursions into European football than a club of their ranking would normally expect.

When Wrexham were relegated from League Two in 2008 they dropped out of the Football League for the first time in 87 years.

By 2011, the club was in a desperate financial situation and the Wrexham Supporters Trust took charge and eventually the Trust gave its approval for the Hollywood takeover.

Reaction from supporters was positive and Wrexham director Spencer Harris enthused at the time: "They could easily have bought a club several rungs higher, but I think they are interested in the journey. It's very encouraging."

Wrexham have completed the first part of the journey by winning promotion from the National League. The next part will be more demanding -- quickly getting out of League Two. They certainly believe they can do it.

As for Rochdale, their biggest achievement is that they are still in existence as a club. If only they could attract some attention from Hollywood.

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