‘West Brom fans will cringe over latest EFL update on Birmingham and Wrexham’
Birmingham City fans will call it jealousy, West Brom fans call it cringe.
The turnaround of the Blues has been massive considering they are now a favourite for promotion in the Championship after being relegated just 12 months ago.
Their story is bettered by that of Wrexham, who have gone from the National League to the second tier in just three seasons of back-to-back-to-back promotion.
Both these sides have been famously backed by big-name American stars, and it is the discourse surrounding that that makes the Hawthorns faithful’s toes curl.
Birmingham City and Wrexham in cringeworthy EFL update
With Tom Brady at the helm of the St Andrews club, rivalry with the Red Dragons and their owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, was always going to happen.
This was a positive element to League One last campaign as the viewing figures skyrocketed due to new levels of outside interest.
As a result, it was little surprise that Blues fans in particular showcased a big-headed attitude, despite being in the third tier.
| Position | Club | Goal difference | Points |
| 1. | Birmingham City | +53 | 111 |
| 2. | Wrexham | +33 | 92 |
| 3. | Stockport County | +30 | 87 |
This resulted in many supporters suggesting that rival sides like the Baggies, Aston Villa and Wolves were jealous of their success.
That wasn’t the case, regardless of their thoughts, and that hasn’t changed after the latest update in their love affair with Wrexham.
This saw the US edition of the EFL on Instagram (27 June) share an image of Brady, Reynolds and McElhenney with the fixture dates of the so-called “Hollywood Derby” in the Championship.
Even that name in itself is cringeworthy enough and is only made worse by the image and the excitement from supporters in the comments.
West Brom aren’t jealous of Birmingham City
The Albion have had a difficult few seasons, but in their own right have been more successful than Birmingham in recent years.
Slavan Bilic and his Matheus Pereira-inspired squad were in the Premier League just four years ago, while their Midlands rivals finished 18th in the Championship in the same season.
That seems to have been forgotten by their fans, who seem to think winning League One is huge, despite losing at Wembley against Peterborough United.
After that defeat, Blues co-owner Tom Wagner embarrassed himself by talking to players in the royal box, something that was made sure to be captured on camera, ready for an upcoming documentary.
That is what this is all about at the end of the day, making content that fans want to consume, and that is exactly the case for the “Hollywood Derby”.
It will likely be good for their finances and viewing figures, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t cringe and doesn’t mean West Brom fans are jealous.
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