Tinseltown
Hollywood and the Beautiful Game - a Match Made in Wrexham
Ian Herbert
- ***
- SHORTLISTED
- IN
- THE
- SPORTS
- WRITING
- CATEGORY
- AT
- THE
- 2024
- SPORTS
- BOOK
- AWARDS
- ******
- LONGLISTED
- FOR
- THE
- WILLIAM
- HILL
- SPORTS
- BOOK
- OF
- THE
- YEAR
- 2023
- ******
- ONE
- OF
- THE
- DAILY
- TELEGRAPH'S
- SPORTS
- BOOKS
- OF
- THE
- YEAR
- 2023
- ******
- ONE
- OF
- THE
- TIMES'
- SPORTS
- BOOKS
- OF
- THE
- YEAR
- 2023
- ***The
- remarkable
- inside
- story
- of
- how
- two
- Hollywood
- A-listers,
- Rob
- McElhenney
- and
- Ryan
- Reynolds,
- stunned
- the
- football
- world
- by
- buying
- a
- non-league
- club
- in
- North
- Wales.'astute,
- lovingly
- detailed
- ...
- so
- entertaining
- ...
- so
- charming'
- Victoria
- Segal,
- the
- Sunday
- Times'A
- superb
- account
- of
- a
- modern-day
- success
- story,
- told
- beautifully
- by
- one
- of
- the
- best
- writers
- in
- the
- business.
- This
- is
- one
- of
- the
- great
- football
- stories
- of
- recent
- years.
- No
- matter
- who
- you
- support,
- if
- you
- love
- football,
- you
- will
- love
- the
- story
- of
- Tinseltown.'
- Daniel
- Taylor,
- The
- Athletic'This
- is
- a
- compelling,
- multi-layered,
- page
- turner,
- underpinned
- by
- a
- real
- sense
- of
- both
- place
- and
- connection
- with
- the
- eclectic
- characters
- involved.
- It
- will
- appeal
- to
- anyone
- with
- even
- the
- slightest
- interest
- in
- the
- game's
- enduring
- place
- in
- a
- changing
- world.'
- Louise
- Taylor,
- Guardian**'...the
- best
- sports
- book
- I've
- read
- all
- year
- for
- many
- years...It's
- full
- on
- factual
- but
- funny,
- exhaustive
- but
- not
- exhausting
- and
- well
- written
- and
- wonderful.'
- Paul
- Ross,
- talkSPORT'terrific
- ...
- A
- richly
- layered
- and
- fascinating
- story
- of
- a
- club
- and
- community
- reborn'
- FourFourTwo'This
- book
- comes
- from
- the
- heart.
- It
- tells
- the
- story
- of
- how
- Wrexham,
- the
- club
- I
- love,
- has
- always
- been
- special
- and
- achieved
- so
- much
- in
- the
- past,
- as
- well
- as
- the
- present.
- I
- really
- enjoyed
- it.'
- Mickey
- Thomas,
- Wrexham
- FC
- legend
- and
- 1992
- FA
- Cup
- heroIt
- was
- one
- of
- the
- most
- extraordinary
- takeovers
- British
- football
- has
- known.
- In
- February
- 2021,
- Ryan
- Reynolds
- joined
- with
- Rob
- McElhenney
- to
- buy
- Wrexham
- FC,
- a
- non-league
- team
- in
- North
- Wales.Wrexham,
- a
- former
- coal
- and
- steel
- town
- dealing
- with
- its
- post-industrial
- legacy,
- suddenly
- found
- itself
- at
- the
- centre
- of
- global
- attention,
- with
- broadcast
- networks
- around
- the
- world
- descending
- to
- discover
- what
- was
- going
- on.
- The
- club
- became
- the
- subject
- of
- a
- smash
- hit
- Disney+
- docu-series,
- Welcome
- to
- Wrexham.Tinseltown
- tells
- the
- story
- of
- this
- extraordinary,
- unpredictable
- and
- often
- surreal
- football
- takeover
- and
- the
- remarkable
- events
- that
- followed.
- Written
- with
- the
- full
- cooperation
- of
- Wrexham
- FC,
- it
- is
- the
- inside
- story
- of
- what
- happened
- when
- Hollywood
- met
- a
- dot
- on
- a
- map.
- How
- a
- town
- was
- transformed
- when
- its
- football
- club,
- aspiring
- only
- to
- survive
- on
- the
- fifth
- rung
- of
- the
- British
- football
- ladder,
- was
- sprinkled
- with
- gold
- dust
- and
- found
- ambition
- again.With
- unique
- access
- to
- key
- figures,
- the
- book
- charts
- the
- club's
- attempts
- to
- climb
- up
- the
- pyramid,
- providing
- a
- vivid
- sense
- of
- what
- it
- is
- like
- to
- play
- for
- this
- 'Hollywood'
- team
- and
- the
- pressure
- and
- spotlight
- that
- comes
- with
- it.At
- their
- only
- press
- conference
- since
- buying
- the
- club,
- nobody
- laughed
- when
- Reynolds
- and
- McElhenney
- said
- the
- Premier
- League
- could
- be
- an
- aspiration.
- 'Couldn't
- we
- theoretically
- make
- this
- happen?'
- McElhenney
- asked.
- 'Why
- not
- dream
- big?'
- added
- Reynolds.
- 'If
- you
- don't
- dream
- big,
- you
- will
- never
- go
- there,
- so
- why
- not?'
- Tinseltown
- is
- the
- story
- of
- how
- they
- did
- just that.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
