Wrexham AFC's top 10 best ever managers in order of win percentage (Ranked) | OneFootball

Highlights

These are exciting times for Wrexham AFC as they enjoy their first season back in the EFL after 15 years away.

The Red Dragons secured their long-awaited return to League Two in May after romping to the National League title, and they have made a promising start to the 2023-24 campaign.

And there is a huge sense that this is only the beginning for Hollywood-backed Wrexham, who are co-owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

On the pitch, they are under the guidance of a promotion specialist in Phil Parkinson, who added another to his CV last term.

Now in his third season in charge, where does he rank in terms of the most successful managers in the club's history?

Here, we rank the top 10 win percentages of Wrexham bosses – according to Soccerbase and Wikipedia – as of the end of last season.

10 Gary Mills / Alvan Williams – 40.6%

Kicking off our countdown are two managers who both won 26 of their 64 matches in charge of Wrexham.

Mills oversaw the Red Dragons' fortunes for just under 18 months between April 2015 and October 2016, departing after a run of four defeats in six National League matches.

Five decades earlier, the no-nonsense Williams was in charge for 17 months between April 1967 and September 1968, guiding them to an eighth-place finish in the Fourth Division before he was forced to resign.

9 Peter Jackson – 41.0%

Former Stoke City assistant coach Jackson launched his managerial career when he was named Wrexham boss in November 1950.

As well as guiding the club to a third-place finish in Division Three North in 1952-53, he also made history by handing debuts to his twin sons Peter and David.

Jackson Sr. won 68 of his 166 matches before moving on in February 1954.

8 Dean Saunders – 41.3%

Wrexham were still reeling from their relegation to the Conference National a few months earlier when Saunders took charge in October 2008.

Combining the role with his duties as Wales' assistant coach, the former striker oversaw a couple of mid-table finishes before guiding the Red Dragons to the play-offs in 2010-11, only to suffer a commanding 5-1 aggregate defeat against Luton Town in the semi-finals.

A positive start to the following season saw Wrexham occupy second place by the end of September. But after 155 matches at the helm, 64 of which were victories, Saunders departed for Championship side Doncaster Rovers.

7 John Neal – 42.0%

Initially an assistant to Alvan Williams, Neal stepped into the hotseat after the former's departure in September 1968.

Guiding Wrexham to promotion to Division Three in his second season in charge, he also guided them to two Welsh Cup triumphs and the 1973-74 FA Cup quarter-finals.

The Welsh Cup victories resulted in two European Cup Winners' Cup adventures. The second of those came in the 1975-76 season, with the Red Dragons reaching the last eight before succumbing to eventual champions Anderlecht.

Wrexham claimed First Division scalps the following campaign in Tottenham and Sunderland in the EFL Cup and FA Cup respectively, before his eight-year tenure came to an end with 199 victories from 474 games.

6 Tom Williams – 42.3%

The second Williams to make our list, Williams' tenure coincided with most of the Second World War.

But he guided Wrexham to seventh and third-place finishes during their first two seasons back competing in the Third Division North.

Williams departed in February 1949 after winning 52 of his 123 matches in charge.

5 Jack Baynes – 43.4%

Baynes became only the third manager in Wrexham's history when he took charge in October 1929.

As well as guiding them to victory in the Welsh Cup in 1931, he oversaw a drastic improvement in the club's fortunes in the Third Division North.

Indeed, Wrexham finished 17th in his first season at the helm, but rose to third place the following campaign.

Baynes left in December 1931 having won 46 of a possible 106 matches.

4 Ernest Blackburn – 46.3%

Who better to follow Baynes in our countdown than the man who followed him in the Wrexham dugout?!

Blackburn led the Red Dragons to successive Welsh Cup finals, while he also achieved second and sixth-place finishes in the Third Division North.

The future Hull City and Tranmere Rovers boss spent five years at the Racecourse Ground – winning 101 of his 218 matches at the helm – before moving on in January 1937.

3 Andy Morrell – 52.1%

The podium places are taken by the three managers that have won over half of their matches in charge at Wrexham.

First up in third place is Morrell, who made over 200 appearances for the Red Dragons after two spells with the club.

He spent the majority of the second as player-manager after replacing Saunders on a caretaker basis in September 2011; the appointment becoming permanent the following month after seven wins from nine matches.

Morrell picked up from where his predecessor left off, guiding Wrexham to the 2011-12 play-offs, only for them to come unstuck against Luton in the semi-finals once more.

The Red Dragons collected silverware the following season after beating Grimsby Town in the FA Trophy final on penalties, but further play-off heartbreak was to follow as Newport County denied them a return to the EFL in the final at Wembley.

Wrexham were unable to build on that momentum during the 2013-14 campaign, and Morrell departed that February having won 73 out of 140 matches in charge.

2 Sam Ricketts – 54.2%

Taking second place is a man who made a big impression, despite spending just seven months at the Racecourse Ground.

Appointed in May 2018, former Wales international Ricketts launched his managerial career with purpose and Wrexham were well in the National League promotion race come the following December.

His brief but impressive tenure – which brought 13 wins from 24 matches – caught the eye of local rivals Shrewsbury Town, who he subsequently joined after compensation was agreed between the two clubs.

1 Phil Parkinson – 65.1% (as of July 2023)

Top spot goes to the man responsible for overseeing Wrexham's long-awaited return to the EFL.

Having won three EFL promotions during his managerial career, the experienced Parkinson was deemed the safe pair of hands to replace Dean Keates in July 2021.

Despite making great strides during his first season, it proved to be one of what-ifs for Wrexham. Indeed, they lost out to Bromley in the FA Trophy final, before Grimsby Town denied them 5-4 in a thrilling National League play-off semi-final.

But Parkinson and the Red Dragons made no mistake last term as they roared to the title with a staggering 111 points, despite a hotly contested battle with Notts County, who eventually joined them back in League Two via the play-offs.