Where is Paul Mullin?

It is April 2024 and the popular Liverpudlian is the side’s leading goalscorer and leading man of the documentary series that catapulted the club owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney into the homes of a worldwide audience.

It was a familiar scene. Just 12 months earlier, the striker had stood in the same place, the same pose, for the same reason.

Now, as the Stok Racecourse readies itself for a potential – and unprecedented – third successive promotion, Mullin is conspicuous by his absence.

He is no longer a guaranteed starter, having not played a league minute since January. In fact, he has not even made the bench for the past nine games.

So, whereas once, the question around the club’s dramatic Hollywood rise was “Why Wrexham?” It is now, where is Paul Mullin – and what has happened?

“He’s inspired millions of people all over the world with what he does. The more games this man plays for this club, the bigger this club’s going to continue to get.”

McElhenney was not holding back as he interrupted an interview with Mullin, first to congratulate the Liverpudlian on his March 2024 hat-trick against Accrington Stanley, and then to share the praise with the inevitable cameras.

He may not be far wrong given the club’s documentary-fuelled profile and resulting popularity in the US.
“The lads out of the team like Mulls and Ollie, who have both made significant contributions for us, they’re right with the group training hard every day and waiting for the moment because you never know when that moment is going to come,” he said last month.

With six wins in the past eight games, the supporter upset has eased and the Mullin questions have stopped coming in press conferences.

Yet a scene-stealing return is not being discounted.
Phillips says it would be “fitting” for Mullin, who has done more than most to bring the success to the storyline, to prove he can cut it at this level and have a late impact in the bid for the Championship.
Whether Wrexham get there, and then whether Mullin remains to play in the second tier, is another matter. Still only 30, he has a – reportedly well-paid contract until 2027 and has shown no agitation to leave.

“This season has ultimately not gone the way that any of us thought it was going to, or that any of us would have wanted to go for Paul, but I think that there’s still a huge future for him at the club,” director Humphrey Ker told the Fearless in Devotion podcast, adding that his prior performances in the FA Cup against the likes of Coventry City and Sheffield United gave the club belief he has Championship pedigree.

That question will have to wait, given there is still a promotion to win and a season finale to script.
“Everyone wants Mullin in the squad, but right now, him not being there is being justified,” sums up Edwards. “To be brutal about it, Phil Parkinson is a legend, Paul Mullin is a legend – but only one picks the side.”
— @BBC Sport