In Welcome to Wrexham 3×02, “Goals,” the sports docuseries sharpens what makes it great while Wrexham AFC claw back to their winning style in the EFL.
This episode makes it apparent why FX opted for a two-part Season 3 premiere; it couldn’t pair better with Welcome to Wrexham 3×01, “Welcome to the EFL.” Following the friendlies and the MK Dons match with the Swindon Town and Grimsby Town ones exemplifies the ever-evolving game and Wrexham’s place in it. “Goals” uses that forward-thinking momentum to shake up the squad with unsurprising exits and new signings and introduce more people to whom the club matters, like the photographer, Oliver Stephen.
Welcome to Wrexham takes a detour at the expense of introducing centre back Will Boyle and midfielder George Evans in the same way it later introduces left winger James McClean and striker Steven Fletcher. However, it is worth it for the vulnerable story “Goals” tells through Stephen’s relationship with the club. Part of this documentary’s appeal is its ability to authentically express what football – Wrexham – means to people. This episode’s time with Stephen is enriching for “Goals” and Welcome to Wrexham. Stephen connects art, community, and football – the crossroads of this docuseries.
Welcome to Wrexham is so well made that it genuinely ticks all those boxes enthusiastically, and it does it all working in retrospect. Everything in “Goals” (and Season 3 overall) is a season from where the club is now. Still, this episode inspires excitement and nervousness about whether Wrexham will win a match. The documentary’s editing certainly helps bring this home, as does the unfiltered access in those pivotal locker room conversations. Being privy to those crucial moments when players, coaching staff, and the manager feel live-wire emotions makes it all feel current, even when it’s not. It’s so clever!
“Goals” pulls this concept off exceptionally well regarding Ben Foster’s (second) retirement from professional football after the Swindon Town draw, bringing Mark Howard back.
Despite knowing that the announcement was coming from following Wrexham, Foster, and the sport in the present, Welcome to Wrexham transports viewers to that time with well-rounded commentary from podcasts (a great way to involve fans in this) and prominent figures at the club. Phil Parkinson’s words are the most effective about Foster’s decision: “When you’ve been where Fozzy’s been, where your standards are so high, it’s very, very difficult to accept when your standards have fallen.”
Ultimately, the presentation of this sequence of events is another winning example of the documentary’s suspension of time. It is easy to get swept up in Foster’s decision all over again. It can’t be an easy choice, and Welcome to Wrexham considers that for Foster, who leaves the game, and Fletcher, who finds a much-needed buzz in Wrexham. “Goals” leaves a little to be desired in getting to know McClean, but it follows through with Fletcher.
His “why” for proving himself at every stage of his long career adds something special to Fletcher’s desire to prove himself at every club he plays at, Wrexham included.
It’s also quite moving to see Fletcher’s wife recount the moment she knew he would go to Wrexham because Fletcher got his spark back. This game and this club have that stirring effect on people; even McClean mentioned it, saying: “People want to be remembered as part of history. So if we go on to achieve the success, then, obviously, I will be a part of that history and look back with a great sense of pride.”
Interestingly, “Goals” takes a beat to get to know some unsung heroes who are also instrumental in Wrexham achieving that history. Of course, Welcome to Wrexham features commentary from co-owners and co-chairs Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, as well as Executive Director Humphrey Ker and Director Shaun Harvey. However, there’s a whole staff that keeps the football club up and running that the docuseries can get to know.
Notably, “Goals” introduces Chris Johnson, Wrexham’s Head of Recruitment, and Kevin Mulholland, Head of Medical and Sports Science at Wrexham. The former is vital in understanding how the club can’t “stand still” because of their promotion. “Welcome to the EFL” highlights how critical a deep bench is in this league. During this episode, Harvey points out that this division is better, so the games are quicker. That distinction makes the transfer window a necessary tool Johnson optimizes with the signings featured in “Goals.”
Welcome to Wrexham operates from a place of curiosity about the ins and outs of how a football club runs. Much of that interest extends from Reynolds and McElhenny’s interest in learning as much as possible because this is their first time owning a football club.
Nevertheless, that point of view makes it so these behind-the-scenes glimpses at how things operate never seem dull. Rather, they are building blocks for how the team plays on the pitch. In the case of “Goals,” Johnson and Mulholland’s work reflects on the players in the Grimsby match just as much as Parkinson’s or anyone else’s.
Specifically, Mulholland’s work (as well as the rest of the physio team) with star striker Paul Mullin gets him back on the pitch for the Grimsby match. Even though he doesn’t score a goal (How did none of those go in?!), Mullin’s ability to play comes through the rehabilitation suggested and supervision by the medical professionals at the club. Welcome to Wrexham’s action shots of the Grimsby match are electrifying, and Mullin’s participation in them wouldn’t have been possible without those staff members.
Mullin goes from barely being able to take a deep breath after the third-act break of “Goals” to nearly scoring multiple times. That’s resilience and science and football!
Coincidentally (or not), Welcome to Wrexham showcases all three of those things in an artful corner kick from McClean to Palmer that sets off a chain of goals from a club that never stops trying. Once again, this docuseries’ editing builds up that pitch-perfect moment with Ker talking about working in unison. Even if you know where the club is today, the games shown on “Welcome to the EFL” and most of “Goals” stoke the sparks of doubt that maybe Wrexham won’t pull it off, but they do.
It’s tasteful and inspirational that, instead of ending with the assertion that Wrexham are now in 4th place on the table, “Goals” fades out with Stephen after taking one more photo from that day. Like the players on the pitch, those two moving parts work in unison to create the ending of another excellent episode of Welcome to Wrexham. As Stephen expressed earlier in the episode, the club and the town are interconnected. “Goals” culminates in a pretty perfect expression of that sentiment, tying up the two-episode Season 3 premiere and setting Welcome to Wrexham up for even more greatness.
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What did you think of Welcome to Wrexham 3×02, “Goals?” Let us know in the comments below!
Welcome to Wrexham airs on Thursdays at 10/9c on FX and streams the next day on Hulu.
