Tom Brady’s bunch get better of Wrexham in Hollywood derby, what happened overnight in world of sport
Seven-time Super Bowl champion watches a very different game of football in the West Midlands, and wins again
Two years ago a game between Birmingham City and Wrexham would have struggled to raise much interest in the West Midlands or north Wales, never mind anywhere else.
Now, Hollywood stars and NFL royalty are involved and the result is the eyes of the footballing world turning on a Monday night game in the English third tier. I could mutter something about wet Wednesday nights in Stoke, but honestly, who would care?
Anyway, St Andrew’s was the venue for much of what happened while you were sleeping.
The Hollywood derby
A clash of League One titans, a misnomer if ever there was one, was decided by Jay Stansfield, who cost nearly half of the £25 million Birmingham spent on players over the summer.
Stansfield scored twice as the home side came from behind to win 3-1 in front of minority stakeholder Tom Brady, pals David Beckham and Gary Neville, and Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney, who had raced to the game after attending the Emmys.
Ryan Reynolds was not among the nearly 28,000 fans crammed into the ageing ground, but I’m sure we’ll hear about it on social media later.
The two sides are the dominant forces in League One and Wrexham remain top on goal difference, although Birmingham have a game in hand.
The money men
Reynolds and McElhenney’s association with Wrexham has been well documented, not least in the TV series Welcome to Wrexham, but the cash splashed out on Stansfield is reportedly more than they have spent guiding the Welsh club to two successive promotions.
