Wrexham

The sight of the fit-again Ollie Rathbone – last year’s player of the season – in the matchday squad for the first time since early pre-season adds weight to those sentiments.

At the same time, Parkinson is unlikely to be swayed in ignoring the steady progress so far, even if many fans saw the Stoke display as a step backwards.

While the run of games will bring pressure, it also brings opportunity, with Kieffer Moore among those adamant that Wrexham are not far from clicking and that they will be a real threat when they do.

Before the next international break – and all inside the space of three weeks – Wrexham also have games against Portsmouth and Charlton Athletic, even if the Addicks have done eye-catchingly well since their own promotion.

And then there is the small matter of the chance to reach the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup when they welcome Welsh rivals Cardiff City.

Get it right and Wrexham will have people talking for all the right reasons. Something Parkinson will know full well.

“We need to just analyse the performance and not get too down about it,” Parkinson said.

“It says something about how far we’ve come that we come to Stoke in front of 25,000 and are disappointed not to get something from the game.

“But we have got to look at ourselves. I think it’s good to be frustrated, I think it’s good to be a bit annoyed and that we don’t have pats on the back and say ‘Oh, we’ve come to Stoke and done okay’.

“They are a good group of lads who are working really hard and I’m excited about what we’ve got in the building, I really am.

“We have taken a knock, but we’ll come back fighting on Wednesday.”

And with plenty looking hard at Wrexham – and maybe even looking for them to fail – a win would do much to wrestle back control of that narrative.

Although still seeking their first home league win of the season, Wrexham have only lost one of their last six games in the Championship.

Moore’s fellow Wales international Nathan Broadhead secured a point for Wrexham in a 1-1 on Tuesday away at Leicester City, who were a Premier League side last season.

“Leicester are a great side,” Moore added.

“For a team that has just been relegated and for us to go there and impose ourselves.

“We could have come away with three points, which is a credit to us and what we’re trying to do here.”

The result at the King Power Stadium was a second successive Championship draw for Wrexham, following a 3-2 win at Norwich.

“I think we can really see some momentum in not just our results, but in the way we play and the way we’re moving the ball,” Moore continued.

“It’s come a long way and hopefully we continue that.

“I’m only judging from my personal experience – It’s just momentum, really.

“You need a string of results together, you need a group that’s hard work and all on board, really.”

For now at least Moore’s full focus is on Wrexham but then the attention will turn to two big games for Wales – the friendly against Thomas Tuchel’s side England and a potentially decisive World Cup qualifier in Cardiff.

Moore scored his 15th goal for Wales on his 50th appearance in September’s 1-0 qualifying win in Kazahkstan.

“There’s no greater honour playing for your country. You know, it’s everything you ever want,” Moore added.

“International football is amazing and to be a part of it and to play a part in it is incredible.”

Premier League champions Liverpool will play FA Cup winners Crystal Palace in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

Holders Newcastle United host Tottenham in another all-Premier League tie while Arsenal, who have not won the competition since 1993, face Brighton.

Grimsby Town, the only League Two side still standing and conquerors of Manchester United, get another home tie against Premier League Brentford.

And with three Welsh sides in the last 16 for the first time, it was perhaps inevitable there would be an all-Welsh clash as Wrexham host Cardiff City, with 2013 winners Swansea handed a tie against Manchester City.

It will be the first meeting between Wrexham and Cardiff since 2002.

Bangor-born Broadhead was in Wrexham’s academy as a boy before he started his professional career with Everton.

He joined Ipswich permanently in 2023 and was part of the Tractor Boys team that last season played in the Premier League, something he hopes to emulate with Wrexham.

Wrexham’s Hollywood owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, have spoken of their ambition to reach English football’s top-flight.

“That’s the main reason I came and hopefully we can do that to get this club to the Premier League,” Broadhead added.

“That’s the aim of the owners. So I see the vision and hopefully we can get there.

“You see the players coming in. You’re bringing in quality players from the Championship and it just shows you where the owners want to be.

“That’s the project, what we’re going on.”

Broadhead was one of 13 players to join Wrexham during the summer along with Wales team-mates Danny Ward and Kieffer Moore.

Moore scored Wales’ winner in the 1-0 win in the World Cup qualifier in Kazakhstan earlier this month, a game Broadhead missed due to his calf injury.

Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham will find out who they will play next when the fourth round draw is made at around 22:00 BST on Wednesday, following Arsenal’s televised third-round tie at Port Vale.

There are seven Premier League sides in the hat so far – Liverpool, Chelsea, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Brentford, Fulham and Wolves – along with Wycombe Wanderers, of League One, and League Two club Grimsby Town, who knocked out Manchester United in round two.

As well as the Arsenal tie, Manchester City are in action on Wednesday at Huddersfield Town, while Newcastle United host Bradford City and Tottenham Hotspur are at home to Doncaster Rovers.

There is a decent chance, therefore, that Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham could face heavyweight opposition as they look to reach the quarter-finals.

There is also the possibility, of course, of a Carabao Cup Welsh derby.

Her name was etched in the memory of millions thanks to her role as Gabrielle Solís in “Desperate Housewives,” a series that established Eva Longoria as one of the most influential Latina actresses in Hollywood.

She went on to become a producer, director, entrepreneur, activist and, in recent years, an investor in the world of sports, where she has earned the nickname “La Patrona” — or “The Boss” in English — which easily could be the title of a Mexican soap opera.

After more than two decades of credits and awards earned in the entertainment industry, Longoria has shifted her focus. Today, her role as “La Patrona” of Liga MX team Club Necaxa draws on her family’s roots, her passion for storytelling and her commitment to giving Mexico visibility in the world.

Her involvement was not limited to serving on Necaxa’s board of directors as a celebrity investor. From the beginning, she knew she wanted to tell a story. Inspired by Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds’ “Welcome to Wrexham” docuseries, she decided to produce the the docuseries “Necaxa,” which premiered on Aug. 7 on FX. Cameras take viewers behind the scenes, follow along on road trips and offer an intimate look at the soccer team.

Rob McElhenney, left, and Eva Longoria stand on the field at Estadio Victoria, Liga MX team Club Necaxa’s home stadium.

(HANDOUT / FX)

Few could have imagined a Mexican American actress would become the leading front office voice for a historic Mexican soccer club, whose home stadium — Estadio Victoria — is located in the city of Aguascalientes in north-central Mexico.

In 2021, Longoria joined a group of investors who acquired 50% ownership of the team. McElhenney, the actor best known for the TV show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” and Reynolds, who turned the mercenary Deadpool into one of the most beloved antiheroes in the Marvel universe, later joined the ownership group.

While restoring Necaxa to prominence in Liga MX was only a business and creative venture, it also had a deep personal component. Longoria grew up in Texas watching sports with her father, Enrique Longoria Jr.

“My dad can’t believe it. He doesn’t believe I’m ‘La Patrona,’” Longoria told L.A. Times en Español. “I’ll always be his little girl. … But I love sports because of my dad. My dad always watched the Dallas Cowboys, the Spurs, the Texas Rangers. … Every sport, I watched with him. I love sports because of the drama, the excitement, the ups and downs.”

In 2020, McElhenney and Reynolds acquired Wrexham AFC, a Welsh team that had been stuck in the National League — the fifth division of English soccer — since 2008. The team has steadily climbed the ranks to reach the Championship, just one step away from the top division, the Premier League.

Although promotion and relegation is no longer used in Liga MX, Longoria aspires to see Necaxa’s “Rayos” return to prominence in the Mexican soccer playoffs and is therefore seeking to mirror what her colleagues achieved with Wrexham AFC while flying the flag for her Mexican roots.

“This opportunity came from a group of investors who called me and asked if I wanted to be part of this project in the Mexican league. When they explained to me that the league has a huge audience, because there is so much beauty and talent coming out of Mexico, I decided to go for it,” said Longoria, who grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, but now primarily splits her time between homes in Mexico and Spain. “I invested in the Necaxa team because I saw a great opportunity, not only as a business venture, but also as a great way to showcase Mexico and the most passionate sport in this beautiful country, to put Mexico on the map.

“When I have the opportunity to put Mexico or Mexicans on the map, I will always do so. Whether I’m producing or directing, that’s my philosophy in storytelling. That’s why I wanted to do this with the docuseries because I knew there was a story there that we had to tell.”

Eva Longoria is “La Patrona,” which translates to “The Boss,” in ‘Necaxa’ on FX.

(HANDOUT / FX)

Despite her ambition and determination, her first visit to Aguascalientes was fraught with uncertainty.

“I was very anxious and afraid because I am a woman, I am Mexican American,” she said. “I didn’t know if they would welcome me with open arms, but the truth is that they have welcomed me with open arms and I have been impressed by the local support.”

Although filming the docuseries is as important as any of her other projects, her work also involves finding the formula to return Necaxa to the prominence it had in the 1990s when it won its only three championships in the first division.

Her power as an international star has allowed her enter the locker room, which is considered a sacred space in the world of soccer.

After watching her confidently enter spaces around the club, the players dubbed her “La Patrona.”

“It’s a lot to manage a soccer club, behind the scenes, behind the docuseries,” Longoria said. “We’re so lucky to have access to the locker rooms, to go home with them. For me, it’s very important to have everything in one series, because I want the world to see it all. It’s not just about points and games; you’re talking about real lives.”

Longoria has also become a bridge between cultures and markets. As co-owner and original investor in Angel City FC in the National Women’s Soccer League, she recognizes the differences between soccer in the United States and Mexico. That experience, coupled with her connection to McElhenney and Reynolds, has shaped a broader vision.

“Here in Necaxa, there’s a saying: ‘If there’s no suffering, it’s not Necaxa.’ I’m explaining this saying to them, because the fans have embraced the idea that you have to suffer to win,” she said. “Rob and Ryan know a little bit about this, and we wanted to explore that idea in the series.”

Diego González, Necaxa’s head of media relations, said Longoria’s arrival marked a turning point for the club.

“It’s something unexpected, something surprising to have something like this with Necaxa and Aguascalientes,” he said of the docuseries. “It’s seeing inside Club Necaxa. Getting to know not only the player, but the people, the city … lots of emotions, lots of feelings that represent what soccer is and how it’s lived in Necaxa.”

Opening the doors to the cameras was not easy, according to González, but Longoria’s presence made it possible.

“It’s something that is highly respected, that intimacy of the locker rooms, the training camps, the trips. The players had to get used to it, but the professionalism of the club and the production team helped. You’ll notice it in the series: it feels so natural because that’s how it was,” said González, whom the players call “Sheldon” because of his resemblance to the character Sheldon Cooper from the sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.”

He describes Longoria’s relationship with the team as close and genuine.

“When she arrived in Aguascalientes, she showed herself as she is, even nervous, but without wanting to impose anything,” González said. “That naturalness helped the players feel comfortable. You don’t know how to treat a superstar, but she gives you the confidence to approach her and talk about anything.”

The influence of Longoria, McElhenney and Reynolds has gone beyond the locker room. They have put Necaxa on the international map.

“The most visible thing is the international showcase they can give you,” González said. “Necaxa was already known for its soccer merits, but now you have fans of Rob, Ryan, Eva, even Wrexham. A whole range of important possibilities has opened up for us, and that’s thanks to them.”

This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.