[light playful music]
♪ ♪
COACH:
That's it. Good touch.
That's what
we're looking for, yeah?
[indistinct chatter]
ROB:
Rob, he was our number one.
You can't lose your job
to injury.
Mark stepped up,
and he's gotten us
through this entire season...
Through the entire season.
Mark has only lost two games.
And then Rob was healthy,
so Rob came back in.
PLAYER:
Good, Rob.
ANNOUNCER: And a strong hand
by Mark Howard.
COACH:
Go!
Good.
MARK: Lain-O is
a really good sh*t stopper.
Obviously, I've only seen him
play five or six times
this season,
but in training, the saves
that he does make
is really good.
PLAYER: Ooh!
PLAYER 2: Good save.
PLAYER 3: Big save, Rob.
MARK: When Rob did get back
in the team,
I've not been one
to moan or argue
or complain about
those sort of situations.
We've all got our own,
uh, capabilities
and strengths and weaknesses.
I'm not here
to complain against it.
I'm not here
to fight against him.
I'm here to support him
and help him.
[dramatic music]
ANNOUNCER: Welcome
to beautiful Hayes Lane,
where tenth-place Bromley
will host the league leaders,
Wrexham.
[crowd chanting]
ANNOUNCER: And it's into
the arms there of Lainton.
And I just wanted
to comment, actually...
Rob Lainton hasn't had
that much luck at Hayes Lane.
During the COVID season,
um, he suffered an injury
in a collision with James Alabi.
It's a ball round the corner,
looking for the run
to James Alabi.
It's gonna get there.
Massive collision.
PERSON: No.
ANNOUNCER: Rob Lainton is down
and not moving.
He was down for approximately
half an hour,
He was taken to hospital,
and, thankfully,
he was all right.
And then, uh, last season,
Wrexham returned for
that nil-nil draw,
and, uh, he went down again
and got another injury
that day and had to be treated.
ANNOUNCER: Jordan Davies, the
ball goes through to Coulson.
Lainton with an excellent
save and Lainton again!
And the ball's
gone over the bar.
Rob Lainton puts his body
on the line every single game.
ANNOUNCER: He'll certainly
want a less eventful match
than, uh, his past
couple visits, Rob Lainton.
ANNOUNCER:
Here's Lainton.
Kendall closing it down, and
Lainton has to get rid of it,
manages to find Palmer.
[whistle blows]
ANNOUNCER:
The halftime whistle blows,
a scoreless first half,
as the teams head back
to the changing room.
TRAINER: Just strap it up here.
LAINTON: It feels f*cking...
It feels funny.
- Just relax.
[indistinct chatter]
[cracking]
[tense music]
- You all right, Rob?
- MCL.
He's done his MCL
on that last kick.
I don't think he can continue.
Mental.
PHIL: Go tell Chomp
he's coming on, please.
[somber music]
MARK:
It's so hard sometimes,
'cause you want to play,
you do want to play.
I don't wish injury
upon anybody.
I've had some really bad
injuries in my past,
so Lainton has obviously had
his fair share of 'em,
and he's been very unlucky.
Three times in three seasons
at that ground
is just... it's horrendous.
Uh, mentally, it must be
really tough for him.
PERSON: f*cking Bromley.
[players cheering]
PHIL: Let's get on
that f*cking football.
PLAYER:
Let's go, boys.
ANNOUNCER:
Back under way.
Wrexham making a change
at the break at halftime,
and, uh, Rob Lainton coming off.
We talked about his bad luck
at Hayes Lane in the first half.
Well, that bad luck
has carried on.
ANNOUNCER 2: Oh, at Bromley...
Three seasons in a row,
and Lainton has picked up
an injury at Bromley.
It's incredible.
It's awful.
♪ ♪
[cheers and applause,
whistle blows]
ANNOUNCER:
And that's the final whistle.
Wrexham, victors today.
[crowd chanting]
PHIL: I really hope,
for Rob, it's not too bad.
Um, he's had some bad luck
at this ground.
Equally delighted
for Mark to come on
and... and show
a real calm assurance.
It's never easy coming off
the bench in any position,
but certainly at keeper.
But I thought, you know,
he just came on
and give us a nice air
of calmness
and helped us get over the line.
ANNOUNCER:
Wrexham close it out.
With not counting drawing
at Barnet,
Wrexham now have got
some breathing space
at the top of the table.
♪ ♪
SINGER: ♪ Don't forget
where you came from ♪
♪ Don't forget why you're made
of the ones who were there ♪
♪ When no one else would care ♪
♪ Don't be afraid to cry now ♪
♪ Even when the world
comes crashing in ♪
♪ ♪
♪ Don't forget
to sing when you win ♪
[melancholic guitar music]
♪ ♪
♪ Don't forget
to sing when you win ♪
♪ ♪
[light orchestral music]
REPORTER:
Word is that Rob Lainton
will be out
for the rest of the season.
Are you comfortable
with Howard in goal again?
PERSON: You know,
he's done enough
over the course of, you know,
the season as a whole.
PERSON 2: He's kept, what,
He stopped us from getting
a pumpkin at Notts County
at the end of the season...
Four or five decent saves.
PERSON: What a class act
Mark Howard is.
- He has been fantastic for us.
- Awesome.
SHAUN:
He's a fantastic goalkeeper.
We got a fantastic...
PERSON: sh*t stop is brilliant.
- Who... who's had... who's had
a very, very good career.
- I think Mark Howard's...
getting no younger,
but I think he's been
a really good signing
and a really experienced head.
CHILD: Mom, I'm just gonna put
the telly on.
MARK: That's fine.
LUCIE: That's okay.
MARK:
After that, though,
we can go out
in the garden, right?
CHILD: Ugh.
CHILD 2: Yep.
MARK: Should've got a plate
for your cookies.
Bonkers.
- Well, we've got table.
Who cares about plates?
[laughter]
- Yeah, you just know
that Mommy and Daddy'll
clean up after ya, didn't ya?
[child laughs]
CHILD: Yeah.
CHILD 2:
[chuckles]
[dog barking]
MARK:
Uh, Mark Howard, goalkeeper.
I turned pro at 18.
I'm 36, nearly 37 now,
so close to 18, 19 years.
[gentle guitar music]
LUCIE: It's hard... because of
his age, you think
you're kind of coming
to the end of your career.
It was weird.
It felt like Wrexham was
just a really good fit.
♪ ♪
MARK: Me and Lucie, uh,
traveled around a lot,
like, with different
football clubs and stuff,
so she's been
unbelievably supportive
of my whole career,
and we've been blessed
with two beautiful children,
and I feel very fortunate.
Good save.
- Mark, he's brilliant.
He just, uh...
switches off from work
to family man when he gets home.
MARK:
Nice, Bobs.
There's a lot
that surrounds going on
at football
and the expectancy level,
like I said,
but just coming home
and just being a normal person,
being Dad, is, like,
the thing
that makes me happiest.
No days off.
Extra training, Bobby.
CHILD: [laughs]
MARK: Yes, 1-nil!
LUCIE: [laughs]
Mark, careful of his face.
[Mark laughs]
- [dramatically] What a save
from Mark Howard.
[Lucie and Mark laugh]
Lucie: I knew that was coming.
MARK: Get the catchphrase.
- I knew it was coming.
Mark,
have you been training her?
MARK: Yeah.
[Lucie laughs]
Welcome back to
the Yours, Mine, Away! Podcast
with me, Mark Howard.
Uh, I can't believe
I'm actually saying this today.
Uh, I've got one of my idols in,
uh, one of the reasons
that I play in goal
and still carrying on
to this day.
Uh, he's played
over 1,000 professional games.
Actually sounds crazy
to say that.
Please welcome big David Seaman.
- Pleasure, mate.
- The podcast only started about
when I started my uni degree.
I'm studying, uh,
journalism and media.
Uh, I'm at that stage
in my career
where I am looking
to what happens next
to make sure
I've got everything in place
for life after football.
I've looked up to you for years.
- [laughs] I know,
and it's weird, innit?
You know, like, as... you know,
'cause you were, like...
What were you, about 14?
MARK: 14, 15.
BOTH: Yeah.
- I was like, "Oh, my God.
I can't wait to get
to that level,"
and I still never have.
[both laugh]
ANNOUNCER:
Aerial power in there.
Paul Blake, but can they
find a cutting edge?
Sarver! [speaks indistinctly]
Off the line!
Somehow kept out by Seaman.
That is a fantastic save.
MARK: But you've brought
in that glove...
- I know. Yeah.
MARK: That made that save.
MARK: That's the best-ever save
I've ever seen.
For the ball to change
directions so many times...
DAVID: Yeah, it was...
It was a different save.
It weren't, like, a hard sh*t
and then it did
a little deflection.
MARK:
These belong in a museum, mate.
[David chuckles]
They'd be worth a lot of money,
these, by the way.
DAVID: Yeah, true.
MARK: Dave Seaman had
a huge influence on me,
'cause coming through
at Arsenal,
he was always the number one
until I went full-time,
but I was lucky enough
to train with him a few times
and see what he was all about,
and, yeah,
I think he's played
over 75 times for England.
He was at the pinnacle
of his game
for a long, long time.
How big are they?
- Yeah, but we used to tuck 'em
in, though, didn't we?
- Yeah.
Big baggy sleeves.
- Yeah.
Do you have yours right now?
- No, I, like, literally
pull a cuff up, and that's it.
- Yeah, but do you tuck it
in your shirt?
- Oh, it's untucked, yeah.
- Untucked? Yeah.
- Hide me belly.
- Oh.
[both laugh]
- I think that, mentally,
I'm still 100% there.
I want to get to 40.
I've got that in my head...
That I know that I've got more
to offer on the field.
I love what I do.
I look forward to being
re-given that opportunity
to keep... keep my place,
and I just want us to do well.
Um...
and... and I want us
to get promoted.
I want to be part
of that journey.
[serious music]
HUMPHREY: So, obviously,
at the end of last season,
we suffered an injury
to Rob Lainton,
which left us without kind of
adequate goalkeeping cover.
Um, and, you know, I think some
of the challenges we endured
in that final game
of the season could be linked
to injuries, both to goalkeepers
and central defenders,
so we're very sensitive
to ensuring we had good-quality
injury cover this year.
So, when Rob went down again,
much as Mark had done
a brilliant job,
we wanted to ensure
that we had someone in there
to provide competition to him.
- The breaking news is
that Ben Foster has come
out of retirement
just before his 40th birthday
and is gonna be playing
for National League leaders,
Wrexham.
So they've confirmed
they're gonna be signing him
until the end of the season.
Now, he returns here, having,
uh, spent time there on loan
from his parent club, Stoke,
uh, 18 years ago.
So there you have it...
Ben Foster coming out
of retirement
and going to be playing,
uh, for Wrexham.
- Ben Foster is
an unusual character
to see turning out for a
National League football club.
ANNOUNCER:
Brilliant save by Foster!
HUMPHREY: He's got
in the Premier League.
He played for England.
He's played
for Manchester United.
He's played for Watford.
He has played
almost his entire career
at the absolute top of the game.
AIDAN:
American friends call me,
and they're like,
"Oh, uh, who's Ben Foster?
Uh, we don't know much
about soccer."
I said, "Well, it's very simple.
It's like signing Tom Brady."
[tense music]
- Every once in a while, uh,
over the course of a season
or a career, there are
those people out there
that get that extra little bit
of magic...
The Kobe Bryants of the world,
the Michael Jordans
of the world,
um, the Tom Bradys of the world.
RYAN: Ben Foster,
he is that player.
- Ben Foster, Premiership
a goalkeeper his entire life,
you know, just... you know,
he's brilliant.
- Howard's done a good job
for us.
He's not perfect, but who is?
PERSON: Well, he... he knows
that bringing Ben Foster in
means he probably doesn't play
another game this season.
Goalkeeper's the hardest
position on the field.
You can... you can make ten saves.
You make one mistake,
you're the villain.
PERSON: Yeah.
RYAN: The thing, I think,
broke our hearts
is that Mark Howard
has stepped up for this team
over and over and over again
all season,
with clean sheets galore
and putting his heart,
his body, his spirt on the line.
ROB:
Mark has only lost two games,
but we bring in another keeper,
who, by all measure
and all regard...
And Mark would admit this
as well...
Is the superior keeper.
And that's just the reality
of... of the sport.
- I felt for Mark.
PHIL:
It's been hard.
The team is right at the top
of the league
and has done well for us.
Um, when you get a chance
to sign a keeper
of Ben Foster's quality,
um, you know,
you've got to take that,
and, uh, yeah, it's always
tough on somebody else.
- That's what's best
for the team.
I think Mark knows that.
We know that.
Obviously, Phil knows that,
'cause he's making
that decision.
[somber music]
MARK: The manager phoned me
on the Wednesday night
before Ben signed,
and I was just about to walk
into my daughter's school play,
so that's...
Manager sent me a text saying,
"Can you call me quickly?"
To be fair,
I understood his decision.
At first, you think, "Oh, no,
this don't look great for me,
but it looks good
for the club."
I said, "If it makes us better,
we're all in it together."
And, uh, I went...
And, obviously,
I had to hang up and go
and watch
me daughter's school play.
♪ ♪
[indistinct chatter]
- Yeah, I think that's where
I really... I used to train...
RYAN: Ben Foster,
retired Premier League player,
he said, "I jump in. Let's go.
I'll... I'll get you guys
across the line."
- Morning, all.
PERSON: Good morning.
You all right? You all right?
Morning, morning, morning.
[upbeat music]
BEN:
I really enjoyed retirement.
I started playing an awful lot
of golf.
Really, really enjoying
doing all the things that
I've never been able to do
for the last 20 years
of my life.
And then Wrexham came knocking,
and, um, it... [laughs]
STEVE:
Steve Parkin. Nice to meet you.
How are you? Good seeing you.
Yeah, I'm good.
BEN: Okay.
- Yeah, good. Looking good.
BEN: They were the team
that basically gave me
my opportunity to...
To play first-team football,
and that's basically where
my career just lifted off
from there, so, initially,
I owe a lot to... to Wrexham
for what they've given me.
PERSON:
Come on, I'll take you through.
- To bring Fozzy in
was a case of having
an insurance policy.
I mean, you're bringing in
a top goalkeeper as well.
I know he hadn't played
for a period of time,
but he's got a pedigree.
- I'll be honest,
I was thinking it'd have to be
something pretty...
Pretty spectacular or unique...
- Yeah.
- To get you out of retirement,
because you've had...
We spoke about Newcastle.
- Yeah.
- And that was
an incredible offer.
- Yeah, obviously,
you've got to expect
that, being non-league,
it's not going
to be anywhere near
kind of, like,
Premier League money
or anything like that,
and to be perfectly honest,
yeah, I don't really need much
anyway.
So the negotiations,
quite honestly,
took about five minutes,
didn't they?
It was... it was
the easiest conversation
in the world.
RYAN:
The Internet went nuts with,
you know, "Ryan and Rob
splash out millions of dollars
to bring in
Premier League goalie
for the end of the season,"
and what I will always love
and I will always be indebted
to Ben Foster for is the fact
that he immediately went
on his own podcast
and said, "The negotiations for
this deal lasted five minutes.
I'm being paid peanuts."
- It's literally peanuts.
I don't want much. I don't.
- "I'm coming back
to just get this club
into the next league...
That's it."
- I don't need
any glitz or glamour.
I don't need all
the nice shiny, sparkly bits.
I said, "The part of it
for me is to try
"and help the team,
get them over the line,
get promoted,
and that's what it is."
It's seeing Wrexham back
in the football league.
Stick me in a corner
with the goalies or something.
We'll have a goalie corner.
It'll be lovely.
[laughter]
- Don't say... don't say that.
[laughter]
And he was the first one I saw
when we got here as well.
He was getting out of the car.
I was thinking, "Oh, no.
Don't like this.
Don't like it."
If anybody deserved
to be given another chance
to just finish out the season
and help Wrexham
get over the line,
it would've been Chomp.
Gutted for him
at that moment in time,
because like I say,
he had such a big part
to play in this season.
Um, he had done
fantastically well.
I think goalkeepers
are much better
at dealing with this situation
than what outfield players are.
I think outfield players
tend to...
I think egos get in the way
a little bit,
whereas goalies, we understand
that there's only one player
that can play in that position,
only one goalie can be picked.
BEN:
I explained to him how, um...
How I... how I came about signing,
basically how it all happened.
I said, "Listen,
I'll be honest with you, Chomp.
"I'm... I've come here to play.
You know? That's what it is.
"I've... I've told the manager
that I'm playing,
and I'm not coming here
to be a number two."
And he said... he's, again...
He's super honest, Chomp.
And he's like, "Yeah,
I understand that, mate.
"You know, you were playing in
the Premier League last year.
"You're not gonna want to
come here and be a number two."
And I was, like,
"Listen, I'm not...
"you know, I'm not being
a big head or an eg...
"I-I feel like I can do this.
"You know, I want to do this.
"I want to do it properly
as well.
"I'm not coming here
just to, you know, gain
"a few Instagram followers
or whatever.
I-I-I want to do it properly."
Um, and I think he could
see that, to be fair.
PERSON: That's a f*cking test
at the start.
MARK: Ben's someone
that I've followed
a lot of my career, uh,
because he's a few years older
than me,
someone that I've looked up to
and what he's gone on
to achieve,
from playing for England
and playing for Man United
in the Champions League,
and he's had
numerous promotions.
Ben's standards that he's put
in that 18-year period
are incredible,
along with what he's done
in the game off the field.
- Hello, everybody.
I'm Ben Foster, the Cycling GK.
♪ It's Friday, yeah ♪
♪ Saturday, Sunday ♪
[laughs] Right.
HUMPHREY:
He's got a YouTube channel.
I mean, lots of people have got
YouTube channels around here,
but his is good.
- Yeah.
- This hotel is bloody lovely.
Look at this.
People want to see that,
don't they?
They want to see a bit more
behind the scenes.
HAYDEN: You know what I mean?
- Yeah, I know. Exactly.
How cool is that?
[people screaming]
MARK: I think
that he's the first person
that ever make it popular
to show interest in YouTube
and podcasts and the GoPro
and everything like that.
He was the first person
that did it.
- Success!
[exclaims]
[grunts]
PERSON:
Right there!
BEN: Just about to do
the Yours, Mine, Away! Podcast.
Super Mark Howard wasted no time
in getting me, tapping me
right up for the podcast.
- Real quick.
[both laugh]
Hello, everyone.
Today we've got
an unbelievable guest,
my current teammate,
just nicked my place...
Thanks a lot for that, mate.
I'm gonna get straight to that.
- [laughs]
- Uh, please welcome Ben Foster.
- [laughs] Aw, mate, don't.
- [laughs]
- I feel bad now.
- I had to break the ice
with that.
I had to...
- It was good. Uh, no.
Thanks for having me, mate.
I'm looking forward to this.
- At first, everyone thought,
"Oh, Mark'll be so pissed."
BEN: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- "Like, proper pissed."
And then, obviously,
after, like,
you coming in, I was like,
"If it get us through...
"like, through that door, mate,
and we get promoted,
let's just enjoy that moment."
BEN: Mate, that is so proper,
that is, honestly.
That is so proper.
- That is what goalkeeping
is about, though, innit?
Like, obviously,
you've been in teams before,
been out of teams,
and that's what we are like.
- Exactly,
do you know what I mean?
MARK: That's not what my missus
said, by the way,
when I told her.
[both laugh]
She wouldn't want me
saying that.
She went, "What?"
No, I'm joking.
[both laugh]
- It's good, it's good.
- How has the first few days
at Wrexham been?
- Really good, mate,
buzzed off it,
absolutely buzzed off it.
You saw me in training
on Thursday.
Don't lie, right? Don't lie.
Give your honest assessment
of what I looked like training
on Thursday.
- Uh, rusty.
- Did I look like a goalie
that had been retired
for ten months?
[laughs]
- The first few volleys...
- I thought you was gonna say
"ten years," though, yeah.
[both laugh]
- The first few volleys,
I was like, "Oh, he's...
He's not what I remember him."
As soon as you got in the games,
you just turn on again.
BEN: Good to go again, yeah.
- Yeah, it was mental.
- I hope... I hope
I'm feeling good tomorrow.
I was nervous.
I was really, really nervous.
Like I say, I hadn't played
for a while.
There's gonna be a lot
of eyes on me.
You know, if I make a mistake
in the first few minutes,
it's gonna be like,
"What have we done?
This is a circus."
Do you know what I mean?
"You're signing a 40-year-old
goalie that's miles off it."
[indistinct chatter]
[soft upbeat music]
[turn signal chimes]
- Hello, mate. Ben Foster.
- 18 years ago. It was 18.
PERSON: I was there.
BEN: [laughs]
PERSON: I'll see you, Ben.
BEN: Cheers, mate. Thank you.
- Aww, that's really lovely.
Thank you very much.
Of course you can.
[indistinct chatter]
[crowd chanting]
ANNOUNCER: Let's turn
our attention to today...
Wrexham against York City.
Two changes for Wrexham.
Here goes one...
Ben Foster makes his return
to the racecourse.
He'll be in goal for us.
Uh, it's a strange old world.
It's time for Foster Mania.
- Foster just got to keep
a clean sheet, hasn't he?
INTERVIEWER:
Well, he has to, doesn't he?
That's what he's here for.
Let's hope
he's got nothing to do.
INTERVIEWER: Yeah?
- I am.
I really am, uh,
just because he hasn't...
He must've had
two good days training,
because if you've not
really been...
Been at it for nine months,
how... how easy is it
to come back in?
How match-sharp are you?
I don't know. I don't know.
- [laughs]
Yeah, I'm gonna have to, mate.
I totally forgot
you needed shin pads.
Oh, they're golden, mate.
[laughs]
[indistinct chatter]
- Rob McElhenney.
- Yes!
You could tell by the smell
Wasn't it the smell?
RYAN: Yeah.
- Work like dogs, all right?
PHIL: Come on, boys. Hey,
f*cking no disappointments.
BEN:
Best team in the league.
We're the best team
in the league,
but you still got
to outwork everyone.
CROWD: ♪ See the Reds
who fight together ♪
♪ Speak their names
with pride forever ♪
ANNOUNCER:
Here come the teams.
My watch just warned me that
I'm in a loud environment.
Well, listen to this.
ANNOUNCER 2: [chuckles]
And it's about to get louder.
[singing continues]
CROWD:
♪ Fearless in devotion ♪
♪ Rising to promotion ♪
[singing continues]
- Look at that beast.
Look at that beast.
ROB:
Yeah, that's a big man.
PERSON:
Oh, sh*t.
- It meant a bit to me,
do you know what I mean?
It was like
I was coming home again almost.
But I couldn't help, um,
in the hours leading up
to the game,
just thinking about it,
thinking, you know,
"There's gonna be a lot of eyes.
There's gonna be
a lot of focus."
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
ANNOUNCER:
Plays it backwards,
driven long to the halfway line.
John-Lewis driving in to Tozer,
brings it down well
and feeds it inside
to the man outside.
He plays it.
Mendy can't make
the interception.
Fallowfield drives it in.
[cheers and applause]
RYAN:
Yes! There we go!
BEN:
York City, they're...
As most teams in this league...
Are very good at just putting
balls into the box.
ANNOUNCER: The diagonal for
John-Lewis, who backs in well,
jumps loose, sh*t...
Good save by Foster!
RYAN: There we go!
- That's a long man.
- That's why we spent
all those peanuts.
- That's a long man.
BEN:
First couple of minutes,
they... they put balls
in the box relentlessly.
For a goalie, it's nightmare.
ANNOUNCER: And across
to Flagstaff, the defender,
and Foster takes it
comfortably under his bar.
Bit of backspin on it,
but he took it well.
Foster, that's a great throw.
Finds Lee surging forward,
got two strikers ahead of him.
BEN:
As a goalie, that's, like...
Oh, that's the dream start.
Come and take a cross,
bowl it out.
It's like, yeah, here we go.
We're cooking now.
ANNOUNCER: Great confidence
and experience from Ben Foster
at the back there,
collecting the ball.
Great throw out on a good break.
BEN:
Not only for me, but, I think,
for the lads in front of me,
my back four, my defenders.
They see a goalie that's
willing to come off his line...
a confident goalie,
proactive goalie,
they think, "Yeah, this is nice.
This is... we've got... we got
a good goalie behind us."
So I think it just settled
everybody, settled everything.
- Nice.
- Yeah!
ANNOUNCER:
Wrexham build it nicely.
Lee now, left edge, cuts inside,
Beats his man, squares it!
Cannon, helps it on first
time, German sh*t!
Off the bar!
[tense music]
Has it gone in?
I think it has!
♪ ♪
It's given!
[thunderous cheers and applause]
It's a Wrexham goal!
- Whoo!
Yes! Whoo!
ANNOUNCER:
Come on!
ANNOUNCER 2: It's an own goal
by the keeper, Whitley!
PERSON:
Yes! Come on!
[cheers and applause]
[person cheers]
- Aah!
ANNOUNCER: Tozer's delivery
comes in at pace.
ANNOUNCER 2: Yes.
ANNOUNCER: Header comes on!
And it's there!
Sam Dalby for Wrexham!
- Tremendous stuff, that!
BEN: That was the first time
I got to see us play
proper football,
and I'm watching it, thinking,
"This is... this is so far above
non-league, it's ridiculous."
Like, we are so much better
than non-league.
ANNOUNCER:
Foster launches it long.
It's helped on by Dalby
and Lee is one-on-one!
Can he wrap it up? Yes!
[cheers and applause]
Elliot Lee gets a goal
he deserves,
'cause he's been
a constant thr*at.
- [laughs]
ANNOUNCER: And that is it,
a 3-nil win.
[cheers and applause]
We see Mullin celebrating.
We see Ben Foster
enjoying the applause
of the Wrexham fans.
- These lads are class,
you know... look at this.
[supporters chanting]
- Oh, yeah.
One step closer.
- Boo-yah.
Get in there.
Winning start, love that.
SUPPORTER:
Ben Foster.
- He was amazing then,
though, wasn't he?
- Amazing then,
and he's amazing now.
- He's the man.
- That's what we need
till the end of this year...
Someone solid
between the sticks.
- Yeah, rock-solid Ben Foster.
Come on!
- Go, Wrexham!
- Absolutely brilliant play,
brilliant play, but I felt
that he was playing with love,
and it was really nice to see.
- You've come for eight games.
That's one down now.
A perfect start.
- Yeah.
- Another seven of them, and...
- Oh, we're cooking.
Yeah, we just need
to keep it going.
We just need to keep it going.
It's as simple as that,
and it's nice, though,
'cause, like I say,
I started my career here,
and then I'm gonna finish
my career here,
and that's the... it's, like,
the full circle of a football.
Like, it's... yeah,
it's very, very nice.
INTERVIEWER: That could be May,
or could it be...?
- Oh, don't... let's not
get carried away.
INTERVIEWER: [laughs]
- Let's not get carried away.
Bloody hell.
Let's get these, uh,
next seven games out of the way.
- When he came in Thursday
in training, he was excellent,
and he was, uh, very confident
he'd be fine to play,
and he certainly showed it.
- I felt really good,
to be fair.
I was nervous, like, I was... I...
Like I say, I've played games,
but I was still nervous,
genuinely, so nervous.
- How are you?
ROB: Ah, good to see you.
Great win, great win.
- [laughs] I love this.
I love how much it means
to you lot.
ROB: Oh, my God, please.
- It's class, isn't it?
ROB: It's incredible.
- 10,000 fans there today.
You know, there's no country
in the world that would have
a non-league stadium
have 10,000 fans in it.
It's bonkers.
Rob, uh, Ryan,
they're both just buzzing,
like, absolutely buzzing.
Um, "We're so thankful.
We're so happy."
Like, "Thank you for joining us.
"Thank you for helping us.
It means so much to us.
"You know, we're gonna get
over the line,
"and we... we're gonna have
a wicked time in Vegas when
we've won the league and"...
[laughs]
And as soon as they said that,
I went,
"We're going to Vegas?
We're gonna go to Vegas?"
And they were like, "Yeah, of
course we're going to Vegas."
And I was like,
"Oh, you're the boys."
What a start to life
at Wrexham FC, 3-nil.
The boys were on absolute fire,
and as always,
you know I like to look out
for you lot.
We've got a giveaway,
and I've got a friend
to tell you what all you need
to do.
- If you want to win this,
this Foster shirt...
[sniffs] Which smells
exactly like victory
and some other stuff...
[Ben laughs]
- You know what to do,
all right?
- As always, give this video
a like, subscribe,
and then get in the comments
and say something nice.
It's as simple as that.
All the best. See you soon.
[bright whimsical music]
♪ ♪
BEN: All right, come on, then,
big dog, let's go.
[billiard balls clacking]
- He was brilliant
at the start of it.
- Yeah, it was all right?
I've enjoyed it, to be fair.
Like I say, everybody's
been dead nice, and...
God's sake,
this is a bad game, this.
That's unlucky, that, you know?
Don't ever get too high, yeah?
Don't ever get too low.
It's as sim...
Try to stay somewhere
in that middle bit.
If you can stay there,
you won't go far wrong.
- The lads are from levels
higher, aren't they?
- Much higher, mate.
- Yeah.
- Much higher.
I'd say a league, one level.
- That's what I always picture.
It's like, we've got
a League One team
playing non-league, but it's
still no guarantees in that.
BEN:
No chance, mate.
MARK: The levels
that we've performed at
and the results that we've got,
the standards
that we've got as a team,
we deserve it, but whether
we'll get it or not
is a different thing.
- If I miss this,
I'll be heartbroken,
by the way.
Nearly rolled off, that did.
- Nice, mate.
- [laughing] Nearly rolled off.
[both laugh]
[lively orchestral music]
♪ ♪
- We've got to do it this year.
We've got to... we've got to...
We've...
We've got to have a bit
of luck, surely, you know.
- The clever thing about Parky
is he's built a team,
more for probably
mid-table League One.
- Yeah, we get... we get
League One crowds.
[crowd shouts]
- I think if we go up...
I think...
I think we go straight up again.
PERSON:
Yeah.
- I think we go
straight up again.
PERSON:
Through it all...
flippin' Notts County
haven't lost a step.
They're still with us.
PERSON: Well, the battle
with Notts County
has been absolutely
remarkable, hasn't it?
Two unbelievable football sides.
- They're a very,
very good side, Notts County.
PERSON:
Play good football, yeah.
- Very good.
PERSON: Yeah.
- All 5 leagues, no one
has ever earned 107 points.
I mean, Notts County can go up
with 109 points...
PERSON: Would you look
at who's up next?
It's all been leading
up to this.
With the season nearing
the final hurdle,
it's the big one.
- Surely it's done.
Surely it's done.
- Uh, absolutely.
[person laughs]
- Um, if we don't do it this
time, we may as well pack up
and go home really,
innit, you know?
02x09 - Glove Triangle
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American documentary about the events of Welsh association football club Wrexham A.F.C., as told by the club’s owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.
American documentary about the events of Welsh association football club Wrexham A.F.C., as told by the club’s owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.