Aaron Rogan: Blackburn trip could be a glimpse into Wrexham's future

With 7,000 Wrexham fans travelling to Blackburn for Monday night’s FA Cup tie, there’s a chance home fans could be in the minority at Ewood Park.

The travelling supporters will be hoping to see their side produce another famous cup upset. They could also be getting a vision of their own future.

The Welsh side would obviously love to be in Blackburn’s position now, sitting nine points clear of the Championship relegation zone. However, Rovers have had their sights set much higher in the past.

Blackburn’s last period of success should sound familiar to Wrexham fans. A club at a low ebb received some much-needed investment, boosting the team and the town along with it. As success arrives on the pitch, camera crews follow the story off it.

Within 18 months of Jack Walker buying Blackburn in 1991, the club returned to the top flight. They hadn’t been in the highest level of English football since 1966, while their last major trophy had come in 1928. With Rovers gaining promotion in time for the Premier League’s inaugural season, ITV released a documentary covering their speedy rise in 1992.

Within three years, they lifted the Premier League title after finishing fourth and second in the league’s early seasons. While they never quite reached those heights again, the Walkers’ near 20-year reign saw the club spend all but three full seasons in the Premier League.

As Wrexham have seen, that success brought extra support. A club that rarely topped an average of 10,000 spectators in the 1980s attracted crowds of 25,000 through the 1990s and 2000s.

Even after Walker passed away in 2000, the trust he established to run the club continued to bring success. Rovers went to Wembley, won the 2002 League Cup and played in Europe in the following 10 seasons.

Their fall came just as quickly as their rise. Within 18 months of the trust selling the club to Venky’s, they were back in the Championship. Things got even worse in 2017 with relegation to League One. Blackburn were back to floating between the second and third tier, as they had for over 20 years before Walker arrived.

Granted, Blackburn’s Granada documentary didn’t quite get the same reach as Disney+. However, Venky’s wanted to use Blackburn’s Premier League prestige to boost their own brand.

While it’s hard to imagine Wrexham have been used to boost the viewership of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia or drive people to watch Deadpool 3, the documentary has given them a worldwide profile.

There’s no doubt that high-profile owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have given far more than they’ve taken from Wrexham. Not only have they spent big to deliver success, they’ve taken a club which was widely remembered for grainy footage of FA Cup upsets and created a worldwide clamour to watch their games. The question is, how much further can the club go?

It’s worth noting that Blackburn’s success in the 90s came thanks to Walker’s £600million fortune. That’s almost double the net worth of Wrexham’s current owners. Football has only gotten more costly in almost a quarter of a century since.

At the very least, that suggests a ceiling for Wrexham’s rise.

In a world where TV crews continue to follow the misadventures of Salford City, Welcome to Wrexham is far from finished.

Wrexham went into the weekend second in League Two and they could easily compete with League One’s top teams next year.

It’s a remarkable rise and fans have every right to get carried away. However, when filming stops and the Hollywood sparkle fades, all eyes need to be on the club’s next stewards. Monday’s trip is a warning of what happens when that goes wrong.

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