Birmingham City are exactly where Knighthead want as Hollywood Derby faces up to Man Utd
The sheer fact that Birmingham City v Wrexham has its own branded rivalry is a clear indicator of what the owners of both football clubs are striving to achieve. The eyes of the world will, again, be on the 'Hollywood Derby' on Thursday night, a feat many have never even considered historically possible for a League One fixture.
As many as four million people tuned in to watch Blues dispatch Wrexham at St Andrew's back in February. Sky Sports gave it the prime slot of a Monday night. David Beckham accompanied Tom Brady to the game with his son, Romeo. Gary Neville and many cast members from the Peaky Blinders were invited along, too.
It was a surreal evening, and this evening's viewing in the reverse fixture is unlikely to be too different, with more VIPs expected to be in attendance. Again, Sky have separated Blues and Wrexham from the rest, moving this fixture to the admittedly unfamiliar slot of a Thursday night, with plenty of people watching in the UK, but also in the US, where 'immersive reality' domes in LA and Dallas will offer viewers a different experience of taking in a game.
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This is the new world, and perhaps a pointer to the newer powers at play. Blues at this moment are still some way off where Knighthead intend for them to be in time. Relegation wasn't on their bingo card but, perhaps, the way things have panned out, it may yet prove to be a long-term blessing if they can return to the Championship with a newfound winning mentality and a vengeance.
That Wrexham v Blues is on a Thursday in the first instance is no odds to Sky themselves, who have agreed a more lucrative than ever deal with the EFL, showing more matches from all three divisions than ever before. Sky don't have the rights to any European football, but elsewhere games are going ahead which will surely claim the attention of millions more.
While it's England v Wales in Wrexham tonight, Manchester United take on Rangers this evening, in an old fashioned England v Scotland battle. The game also kicks off at 8pm, and is broadcasted live on TNT Sports. These are two of the most successful football clubs in the history of British football, yet you'd wager that, in the States, the general clamour is actually for a match going on 50 miles south west of Old Trafford.
Nobody associated with Wrexham or Blues will care about that clash, but the fact that the Hollywood Derby is even coinciding with such a match points, in a nutshell, to where Messrs Reynolds, McElhenney, Wagner and Brady want their respective clubs to be. They're going toe to toe with two giant clubs for global audiences - and you'd have to say they fancy their chances.
