Oldham's new owner has 'never heard' of Wrexham's Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney

"Well, there's two of them, so they've only bought 50 per cent each."

Frank Rothwell refuses to appear impressed by Wrexham's Hollywood owners.

In the FX documentary series Welcome to Wrexham, Deadpool movie star Ryan Reynolds and actor Rob McElhenney - of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia fame - have had viewers swooning at their dedication to the club they bought in 2020.

"I don't know who the hell they are," says the Oldham Athletic chairman, whose family bought the club this year.

"I know they're filmstars and all the girls go 'whoo' but I've never seen anything they've been in.

"These lads have bought a football club for as cheap as they possibly could do so they could tell their friends in Hollywood that they own a club.

"When they decide they've had enough of this and sell to another investor, it (Wrexham FC) will disappear. That won't happen to Oldham."

The glint in his eye makes it clear that this is mostly gentle banter ahead of the clubs' clash in round one of the FA Cup (Live on ITV, Sunday, 11:45am) rather than a bitter battle of the boardrooms.

But there is a certain amount of genuine scepticism which will be shared by football fans who've had their fingers burned before.

It's now more than 3 years since Bury FC was expelled from the Football League after being mismanaged by back-to-back owners.

And, despite a takeover, there's still no obvious path towards getting a team playing at Gigg Lane in a recognised league.

Last month fans from two rival factions narrowly voted against a merger, which would have secured council funding and put them on their way to a comeback.

Without that funding, hope is not lost, but the resurrection may take much longer.

Rothwell says Oldham very nearly became the next Bury, when owner Abdallah Lemsagam put the club up for sale following their relegation from the Football League last season.

"We were as close to a Bury scenario as you can get," he says.

 "We weren't in a bidding war with anyone else. There was only us at the table. So if we hadn't have come along, we'd have been another Bury. The club was in a state of pause. No-one knew what was going to happen to it.

"My family is passionate that never again will Oldham Athletic go into the ownership of one person, who will decide the future of the club.

"That is not going to happen again. We want a wider ownership. Local ownership. So it gets retained in the town."

And that's where you'll find the unlikely common ground between the flat cap-wearing engineer and Wrexham's celebrity duo.

Both ownership models seem determined to put the local community - not profit nor even promotion - at the top of their mission statements.

Reynolds and McElhenney, as executive producers of their documentary series, put flies on the walls of their club's fans and volunteers more than their own.

Given that actors aren't exactly renowned for voluntarily giving up their screen time to others, it's an endearing touch giving confidence to Wrexham fans.

Frank Rothwell has a similar vision for his club to become a pillar of the town again.

Just as it did when manager Joe Royle led Latics into the Premier League and on trips to Wembley stadium in the FA and League Cups became common. 

Frank's vision is to create a "Sports Town" in the mould of Manchester's "Sportcity", with centres for multiple sports and even a National Netball Centre being housed around Oldham Athletic's Boundary Park.

But, despite their shared goals, he still won't publicly give an ounce of reverence for the celebrity status of the Wrexham bosses.

"We have our own Hollywood star on our board of directors," he says, beaming. "And his name is Joe Royle."