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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Ricky Charlesworth

Cardiff and Swansea under fire amid Hollywood-owned Wrexham's promotion push

Wrexham's high-profile ownership has been the talk of Welsh football ever since a Hollywood duo took over the non-league side earlier this year.

Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds' takeover has gained plenty of headlines since it was ratified in February.

The club are in their 14th consecutive season outside the Football League, but they have no plans whatsoever to extend that into a 15th.

A high-profile sponsorship with TikTok, the capture of experienced EFL players such as Paul Mullin and Ben Tozer and the appointment of former Hull and Sunderland chief Phil Parkinson has ensured Wrexham are the division's big guns that everyone else wants to topple.

The owners have made it clear that promotion is the sole aim this term.

Despite a slow start - Parkinson's side are ninth, seven points adrift of pace-setters Dagenham and Redbridge - the Red Dragons are widely expected to come good in the end.

Whilst Wrexham are expected to enjoy a profitable season, the same cannot be said when looking across the footballing landscape elsewhere in Wales.

The picture is not nearly as rosy at the three EFL clubs.

Cardiff City boss Mick McCarthy is under huge pressure after a horror run of four straight defeats.

The latest was a 4-0 drubbing at home to West Brom which drew plenty of ire from City supporters. They jeered and booed McCarthy towards the end of the game, with many frustrated at the defensive nature of selecting five centre-halves against Albion.

In typical McCarthy style, he reflected on those chants by saying: "They (fans) all come and pay the money and watch the game. I’ve got no complaints about them hollering, hooting and shouting at me.

"On the other side of the coin, if we’d won five or six games they might have been singing ‘Mick McCarthy’s blue and white army’, but maybe not!"

A fifth consecutive reversal on Saturday afternoon at home to Reading could prove fatal for McCarthy.

Their next outing after that is the derby away to Swansea City, after the international break.

The Swans appointed Russell Martin in the summer after seeing Steve Cooper depart following back-to-back seasons where they just fell short in the play-offs.

Martin's start to life at City has not been as successful as he would have hoped. They've won just twice in ten games and whilst it is clear he wants the team to play attractive football, with an emphasis of playing out from the back, he'll know results are paramount.

There are only murmurings of discontent at the moment from the terraces and you have to also factor in the loss of key players over the summer, ones who were vital to them reaching the play-off final last season.

But Martin will be acutely aware the honeymoon period will only last so long. They travel to bottom side Derby County tomorrow and a defeat, coupled with results elsewhere, could see his side in the bottom three over the international break.

As for the other Welsh EFL side, Friday afternoon saw manager Michael Flynn end his long association with Newport County.

The 40-year-old had been in charge since 2017 but is born in Newport and had ample spells with the club as a player.

He said today: "With sadness, I feel now is the right time to step down.

"It has been some journey."

During his time in charge Flynn kept Newport in the Football League on two occasions, took them on numerous money-spinning cup runs and led the club to two unsuccessful play-off finals.

His departure brings to an end an exciting chapter in the club's history but one that perhaps had run its course.

County's form this season has been mid-table, with Flynn seemingly unable to get momentum going again after the setback of a second Wembley defeat in the space of three years.

They now start the hunt for a new man who can bring the good times back to Rodney Parade.

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