01x06 - Hamilton!

[bunniefuu]

- How old are you now?
- 96.

Yeah, 96.

I'll be 97 next March.

First match I went to

was 1931.

I was seven.

So 90 years of following them?

Up and down.

Up and down.

And a football team
is not just a football team.

It is something
that really brings together




the community in a way
that nothing else does.

There's a magic about football

that not everyone will get,

but the die-hard Wrexham fans
I know certainly get it.

"Three brothers
who will be going to Wembley

to support Wrexham AFC with
a combined age of 254 years."

That's it.

Had, uh, highs.

I've had very lows.

It gives people
a real sense of community

and camaraderie

and belonging to something
in a way that, without it,

they just wouldn't have.

And-and-and how dare somebody
come from outside the area




and-and try to take that away
from people?

Every day, it's a-getting closer

Going faster
than a roller coaster

Love like yours
will surely come my way

A-hey, a-hey-hey

Every day, it's a-getting faster

Everyone said,
"Go ahead and ask her"

Love like yours
will surely come my way

A-hey, a-hey-hey

Love like yours
will surely come my way

Is it teatime for you now?

Oh-ho-ho-ho.

Are you hungry?

Are you ready for your tea?

Right, buddy,
after we finish this...

you're not going to be able
to sit and watch telly.

Mommy and Daddy have got
to watch something

on the telly.

And it's about the football.

Some people are worried

that Ryan Reynolds
and his friend

are just doing it to make money.

So that's what people
want to know:

why have they chosen Wrexham?

Just to make sure that they're...

They're doing it for a reason
that's a good reason.

There were some people

who bought Wrexham Football
Club who didn't want it.

They wanted to knock
the football stadium down.

They wanted to knock?

So that they could make money.

These are turbulent times

for Wrexham Football Club.

Its future is on a Kn*fe-edge
amid talks of debts amounting

to millions and asset stripping.

Going back to the early 2000s,

the football club had a number
of challenges.

It had owners who, eh,
who-who frankly that-that

their sole reason for ownership

was not for the betterment
of the football club,

and the football club
was in danger.

For the last two years,

this club has been owned
by one man,

and tonight we unravel the truth

behind rumors surrounding
Alex Hamilton.

Alex Hamilton was actually
the-the owner

of the football club,
but another gentleman, eh,

was, eh, was-was sort
of fronting the ownership

for a while,
and-and we didn't know

Alex Hamilton
was in-in the background.

Two years ago, Alex Hamilton

bought the controlling share
of Wrexham Football Club.

Keeping his own identity secret,

he installed a business
associate as chairman.

Mark Guterman
was a controversial choice

among fans.

He'd already taken
local rivals Chester

into administration
and relegated

from the football league.

The club was sold
to those two people,

and their, uh, idea of what
the value of this football club

didn't really revolve around it
being a football club.

A former solicitor
who lives here in Cheshire,

Alex Hamilton was struck off
by the Law Society

two years ago for charges

including allegations
of mortgage fraud.

He appealed, and most
of the charges against him,

including the mortgage fraud,
were withdrawn.

Reinstated last year,

Hamilton now describes himself
as a property developer.

This was a time of, you know,

a lot of redevelopment work
going on around the UK.

There was a bit more money
flowing around again

in the economy and people were
looking for opportunities.

Small football clubs are
always financially vulnerable,

and this has long been the case
in England and Wales.

Wrexham were in that position now.

They were vulnerable,

and I think these guys
spotted that vulnerability

and recognized
that in this big stadium site

that you have here,
which is on the edge of town,

it's a prime position
potentially for redevelopment.

The Racecourse
is the premier sports ground

in North Wales.

The Ground has a long history,
and fans recently invested

in its future by buying bricks
in the new stand.

There's lots of building work
going on here.

It's a prime site at the main
gateway to the town.

If it had planning permission,

the Racecourse could be worth
at least £10 million...

just the kind of land
a property developer

might dream of finding.

Well, the history, the present,

and the future
of Wrexham Football Club

is interwoven
with the Racecourse stadium.

Without the Racecourse stadium,

there is no Wrexham AFC.

If the stadium goes,
the football team goes.

So the club doesn't
currently own the Racecourse.

We pay approximately $150,000
a year to lease the stadium.

Moreover, the club is also
on the hook for any updates,

refurbishments,
enhancements that we wanna do,

and we've been able
to do a few of those.

But what we really wanna do
is return the stadium

to being the crown jewel
of North Wales.

But sadly, we have an entire
stand called "the Kop"

that is, for all intents
and purposes, condemned,

and we can't do anything
with that

until the club once again
owns the Racecourse...

which is proving to be...

difficult?

Hey, Shaun?

Can we get an update on, um,
where we are with the purchase

of the, uh, freehold
for the Racecourse?

Um, it's proving to be, uh,
a challenge.

The-the title deeds are old.

The Land Registry plans
aren't as clear as you'd hope.

Um, we're just reviewing them
all to get them all together,

and we're gonna get there
as quick as we can.

There's nothing
that we can do to...

To maybe to help speed it up
or-or expedite in some way?

Well, some of these laws were
drawn up in the 1400s,

so they-they didn't anticipate

the pace at which people
would want to do things.

It is frustrating,
and it's annoying

and, uh, it's hard to...
It's hard to give you a...

A rationale as to why
it should take this long

other than these things do.

I mean, I-I'm all
for due process,

but we-we made a promise.

It's in our original
mission statement.

The Racecourse needs to be back
in club hands.

Everybody wants it to be back
in club hands.

And yet months and months
and months go by.

And the-I-look, my frustration

is that we can't start
on the development process.

Do we have a rough estimate
as to when we'll have

some kind of answer?

No, other than it can't take
that much longer.

- Holy...
- I mean, it's just...

It's Kafkaesque.

Like, we are...
We're-we're trapped.

And what-and what's worse
is we're even on record

since we promised it
that-that we're actually

on with it and we've got
everything in place.

I'm amazed we've not had any...
Had any more questions

from the public and the fans
as to why it's taking...

Why it's taking
this length of time.

Okay, well, I guess
we'll talk later.

Uh, bye, guys.

Oh, he's all on his own.

Can he make it five?

We are, uh,
one of the oldest clubs

in the world.

Uh, and that's quite
impressive in itself.

No doubt about that
in terms of Wrexham.

The Racecourse itself
is the oldest existing

international venue
that still hosts football.

Better football,
better prospects

to get what we so desire
in Wrexham.

The name "the Racecourse"

was 'cause the venue
was a racecourse.

The local authorities
wouldn't allow betting,

and-and so the tenancy
dropped off

and-and the football
took over... kept the name.

Can he make it five?

And Jones makes it five!

It's just been our
home for all our existence.

When Alex Hamilton
took over the club,

the Ground was owned

by Wolverhampton
& Dudley Brewery.

They leased it to the club
for £1 a year.

The club approached the
brewery to buy the freehold.

And the very same day

that the brewery sold the Ground

to Wrexham Football Club,

it was immediately transferred
to another company,

Damens Limited.

Damens is wholly owned
by Alex Hamilton.

So the Ground
belonged to one company

and the club
belonged to another.

But both were controlled
by Alex Hamilton.

Their idea
was to separate the club

from the stadium
and then bulldoze the stadium

and turn it into, um,
into a profit.

So they had, um, a plan,
and it was a plan

to basically k*ll
the football club, effectively.

They took all the investment
out over a period

so it wasn't overt initially.

But it became apparent
that things weren't...

Bills weren't getting paid effectively.

The Inland Revenue
is currently charging the club

£150 a day in interest

on a debt of more than £800,000.

Earlier this year,
things got so bad

the bailiffs were called in.

They assessed the club's assets

down to the last plastic seat,

floodlight, and lawn mower.

If the tax bill remains unpaid,

those assets will be seized.

You know, I couldn't believe

that they would treat the fans
like that.

It's a...

Sorry.

You know,
'cause we loved it so much

and they were just destroying
it for money.

And it was just so frustrating.

Mr. Hamilton refused
our requests for an interview.

We went to the Racecourse,

where he was attending
a board meeting.

Wales' Week In Week Out program.

I wanted to ask you,
are you sure that the transfer

of the Racecourse Ground into
your private campaign is legal?

- We came here...
- Can you answer that question?

We came here to deal with

- a son passing away.
- Asset stripping as well.

Mr. Hamilton,
please answer my questions.

I came here
to deal with one topic,

which is a personal one
of irregular support...

You've been in a board meeting.

You've been in a board meeting.
Mr. Hamilton,

you are being accused
of asset stripping this club.

What do you have to say
about that?

- Gop. Total rubbish.
- It's not rubbish.

Why have you transferred

the freehold of this club
into your own...

- Why have you transferred...
- Excuse me a moment.

- The freehold of this club...
- Excuse me.

Into your own company?
Why have you done that?

I had to deal with passing away.

Please stop and talk
to us, Mr. Hamilton.

These are really
important issues

we want to discuss with you.

Mr. Hamilton
was not at the funeral.

He was attending a directors'
meeting at the club.

Fans were getting worried.

They organized mass opposition
to Alex Hamilton's plans.

He had dropped a bombshell.

He said the Racecourse
would have to be sold

if the club was to survive.

Last July, he served
a legal notice on the club

to leave the Racecourse
within a year.

After 130 years,

this season could be the last
that Wrexham play there.

We will not surrender!

The supporters rallied round

and really fought hard.

And I was only a kid and we
were walking round the Ground

with-with banners and, you know,

just anything to save your club.

There was a lot of...

You could call it
guerrilla warfare really.

It was a...

A campaign that was taken
to their front doorsteps.

- The fans got together.
- Mm, yep.

- Yeah.
- And said, "We'll have

to do something drastic."

- Yeah, we did.
- Mm.

And so we did.

The fans gathered
in the town in Cheshire

just over the border,
where Alex Hamilton lived,

and they marched
through the town

protesting against his ownership

of the football club.

It signaled a declaration of w*r

against the chairman.

The very same day,
Alex Hamilton responded.

He'd walked up

and started talking
to a few people there.

And this-this was in a week
where he'd described the fans

as lowlife scum, and there
he was in the middle of 'em.

Fans thought his actions

were an attempt
to incite trouble.

We-we think he went on there

in the hope
that somebody would hit him,

so that he could, uh,
make a great political capital

out of the fact
that we were football hooligans

and what have you.

Hamilton has since
been advised by the police

not to attend home matches
at his own club.

In a fit of rage,

he decided
that he was gonna resign.

And he scrawled it down
on a napkin.

Basically, I think,
wrote, "I resign"

and signed it "Alex Hamilton."

That was him saying,
"I want out,"

and that was them saying,
"Great. Fine. Off you go."

Hey, hi, hi, hi, hi.

Have you heard
from Shaun recently

about the Racecourse purchase?

Yeah.

Yeah, it is taking a long, long,

long, long, long f*cking time.

Um, but I also, you know,
I also recognize

that this is not a simple thing.

I think the thing
that drives me crazy

is that this is not a process

that is in place
to protect people.

In fact, the people
that are getting f*cked

are the people
that are marginalized

that are the ones
that get f*cked over

- always in these kinds of...
- Rob tends to be

a bit of a hothead.

Rob's like-if you were
in a burning building,

Rob is-Rob is the first guy

who's gonna run
into that building

and-and pull you out.

I might look
at, like, the version

where we all get out.

Like, okay.

Like...

That window is molten lava.

I'm not gonna run through there

because I won't make it
to the person.

Like, wait,
let's just take a second

and think about this.

So yeah. So what I'm saying is,

everyone would die
in my version.

Just Rob would die in his.

You're so much more patient
than me... you're so patient.

I'm not so much more patient.
I just drink more.

Is that what I need to do?

I should just drink.

And if you need
any, uh, any gin,

I-I got a guy.

Oh, okay. All right.

Well... all right, I guess
we'll just keep waiting.

We'll just keep waiting.
Um, yeah.

Waiting is, uh,
my favorite color.

I will, uh, I will talk
to you very, very soon

and uh, miss ya, love ya.

Miss you, love you,
miss you, love you, bye.

He's too nice.

He's too nice.

It just-it drives me crazy.

Not him being nice.
That doesn't drive me crazy.

It drives me crazy
that we have to...

just keep waiting.

We're past the due process

of-of protecting everybody involved.

We're-we're, uh,
we're months past that.

It's-it's literally waiting
for some lawyer

to call another lawyer

who's then gotta call
a committee

and the committee meets
once every three months.

And if they miss that
because someone's got the flu,

then it gets kicked
to the bottom of the pile

and another lawyer
has to call another lawyer,

and in-and in the interim,

it's the team and the town
that get f*cked over

because in-under the auspices
of protecting the club,

it's hurting the club
because we can't do

any renovation.

We can't do any real updating

because everything
has to go through this process.

And so we have this plan
to-to revitalize

the-the-the stadium,
and we can't do anything

until we get this information,

so needless to say,
I'm a little bit frustrated

and Ryan is not
because he's drunk or whatever.

So Wrexham is a small town.

We had the mines starting
to close down.

We had the Steelworks, and
that was closing down as well.

And that has an effect
with the football club.

The rent became too much.

So in 2014, the supporters got
together and saved the club.

We had to raise £100,000.
It was just amazing.

Kids were bringing piggy banks.

- But we survived.
- Yeah.

- We survived.
- We did.

We rose again like a phoenix

of the ashes.

You know, this is how...
This is how bully

Wrexham fans are.
We come together

and we raised £127,000
in one day to save the club.

And Chester didn't
when they were...

When they were going bust.

Their fans didn't rally round.

They went dead. Boomf.

Wrexham fans wouldn't allow
that to happen.

Oh, that's when...
That's when we took over.

When we managed to get control
of it,

that really was one
of the highlights for me.

Regardless of what we won
with-with trophies and things.

That was marvelous, but to think

that we could safeguard
the club,

that was just fantastic,
you know?

And-and...

oh, gosh.

On one hand, the club
was in safe hands again now,

but on the other, it's actually
quite an expensive business

running a football club.

It's ordinary Joes

with whatever they can afford.

You know, the minimum
some people are putting in it

is £12 a year.

You know, some people contribute

a lot more than that.

Some people only put
in the minimum amount

but then do lots of volunteering

and-and-and contributing
in other ways.

Walked up mountains literally.

- Walked up Snowdon, didn't they?
- Yes.

To raise money... Yes.

- For the club.
- Yeah.

And didn't we do a-a collection

- for the wages once?
- Yep.

- Yes.
- Yep, yep.

Yeah, pulled together
to pay wages.

We just passed a hat around.

- Kenny Pemberton...
- Yeah, people...

- His house.
- Yeah, people put...

- Gosh.
- Put money in and...

- Well, we all did, didn't we?
- Mm.

And we've got a lot
to be grateful

to the-to the Trust for.

And all those people
who worked so hard.

- Yeah, yeah.
- I mean, we're members,

but there's people
that worked harder than us.

- Gosh, yeah.
- Gosh.

Frankly, the club
has been struggling

from that point onwards
to this very day.

If the club doesn't do so well

and the attendance goes down,

then the manager doesn't get
as much money

as he was expecting to get
to invest in his football side,

and so the football team
isn't quite as good again.

So it's been an issue
that's followed the club

through all the years

that the fans have been
in control.

It's an outdoor setting,

so it does wear and tear, weathers.

It needs work all the time.

Obviously, behind the goal,
we've seen "the Kop,"

uh, was closed 'cause we just
didn't have the money

to-to keep it open.

Oh, God.
It's all leaking, isn't it?

Uh, we used to get, uh, people
complaining that the r...

When on a rainy day,
the rain was coming through

and dripping on them.

They just drain money,
don't they, football grounds?

The club lost control
of the stadium

and the club began
this inexorable slide down

through the tiers
into this position

that it now finds itself in,
in this fifth tier.

So it had a-it had
a seismic impact on the club.

I didn't see a lot of hope
under the Trust ownership

and that's not a dig
at them because, you know,

they've put their time in
and I respect them for it.

So it's not a dig at them
in the slightest.

I just didn't see
an out for the club.

I didn't see a...
I didn't see a way forward.

Um, a lot of fans didn't see
a way forward.

You know, those times
were real bad, real low,

really low because you... you
knew we didn't have the money

to get players.

You knew players
weren't getting paid on time.

So it was just a knock-on effect

and it was-it was a terrible
time to be a fan.

It's been...
it's been a terrible time

to be a fan for a long time now

to say the truth.

Sam walked in and he said,
"You'll never guess

who's bought
Wrexham Football Club."

And I said, "Who?"

He said, "Ryan Reynolds
and Rob McElhenney."

I said...

"As in Ryan Reynolds

as in actor and Rob"...
I said, "I don't know him."

He said, "Oh, yeah,
you wouldn't know him."

Always Sunny in Philadelphia."
I said,

"Oh, yes. Right, okay."

Uh, I said, "You're joking."

"Nope, that's right," he said.

"They've bought it." I said,

"I can't believe it."

Funny though, how, you know,
a little bit of good news...

- Rubs off.
- Suddenly boosts

- everything up.
- Rubs off.

- Yeah.
- Yeah, I mean, that's amazing.

- Isn't it?
- Mm.

What's happening now for me

is reward, um,

for the-the effort
and the sacrifices

that supporters have put into
football club over the years.

And when they came
into buy it this time,

I was a bit suspicious
and I thought,

"You know, are they going
to love the club like we do?

"Are they really going
to-to have

the-the best interests
of the club at heart?"

And I just hope
they don't let us down.

You know, it's, um,
you know, we...

Well, we pray
that they don't let us down.

- They better not.
- Yeah.

You-you wouldn't cross
a Wrexham fan.

Don't, 'cause Wrexham...
Wrexham fans don't forgive...

- They don't forgive easily.
- Very easily.

You have some news

for us?

- Is it good news?
- Well, it is.

After, uh, many months of trying

and, uh, frustration,

I would like
to congratulate you.

You are now the proud owners
of the Racecourse Ground.

- Whoa!
- Yes!

- Oh, my God!
- Come on!

There we go!

Wrexham AFC
owns the Racecourse Ground

and, uh, you've made it possible

and, you know, and keeping...
And keeping true to your words

in the mission statement,
so congratulations.

Truly, you have made it
possible...

You, um, HK and Shaun
and-and-and Ryan.

Like, I-I've just... I-I hadn't...

I lost my patience
with it so long ago

that I had to check out of it completely

and I just appreciate you guys.

This is why Shaun wanted
to do it over Zoom

is he-he wanted
to see your angry,

scrunched-up,
sad little face, Rob,

blossom into a smile.

Having the oldest international

football stadium on the
planet under our stewardship

is, like, both elation

and weirdly,
I can feel an ulcer growing

as we speak.

Oh, have you got the email
I've just sent you?

'Cause there is a second bit
of news today.

- Oh!
- If you open...

If you-so there you go.

So if you want to open it up,

they are your first
rendered images

of the new stand

the AFL architects
have put together for us.

- Wow!
- Oh.

Wow.

That is a big-time football
stadium right there.

- That is a...
- And that's just one stand.

- That's just "the Kop" stand.
- Yeah.

So-so what would be
the next stand

- that we would do?
- Ugh, give him an inch,

he'll take a mile, Shaun.

I'm so sorry about...

Wait, when can we... when can we
show this to the public?

Uh, I need to go through the
Council with Levelling Up Fund.

We probably need
to warn a couple of people

at the Council it's coming out,

and then we can arrange
a public launch

and I think it'd be really
useful to do that

because you have to have a pre...

Uh, a pre-application
consultation period...

A pre-application
consultation period?

More bureaucracy, I know.

- But at least...
- It's incredible.

Let's just put it out.
Let's just put it out.

- Let's just put it out.
- At least, at least...

No, don't just put it out yet.

We-I'll-I'll give you the...
I'll give you the nod

- when you can put it out.
- Incredible.

Thank you, Shaun.
Thank you for that great news.

- Pleasure.
- That is so neat.

We're putting out the video.

We're putting out the video,
we're putting out the video.

- Bye, love you, love you, bye.
- Oh, boy.

- Okay, bye.
- Bye, bye, bye, bye.