'Dr Doom' leaves Birmingham City for Wrexham AFC | OneFootball

A key figure has departed the Blues for the Red Dragons.

Birmingham City and Wrexham have been intertwined of late for obvious reasons, and now another thread has been sewn between the Championship clubs.

The pair both achieved promotion from League One last season, with the Blues going up as runaway champions, while the Red Dragons finished one place and nine points behind them, taking the second automatic promotion spot.

Both clubs are understandably spoken about hand in hand, given their celebrity owners, financial backing and aspirations to become Premier League clubs.

Now there has been an intriguing backroom development at Wrexham, which adds another layer to what is considered a modern rivalry with Birmingham.

Ex-Birmingham City chief financial officer joins Championship rivals Wrexham AFC

Former Birmingham chief financial officer Mark Smith has taken up a fresh position with Wrexham, according to Birmingham Live.

Smith initially joined the West Midlands club in 2019 as a financial controller, which he did for just under two years before becoming a chief financial officer in 2021.

During his six and a half years at the club, he would have seen substantial changes, including Kinghthead's takeover and relegation to the third tier and back.

He also would have played a key part in any financial decisions during his time in the West Midlands, including how Birmingham operated in the transfer market, ensuring they were in line with financial rules.

Smith is now working in the same role at Wrexham and will therefore be a key player in how the Welsh club operate financially.

Given that Phil Parkinson's men occupy the final play-off spot heading into a decisive weekend, the Red Dragons should be drawing up transfer plans for another campaign in the Championship or for their maiden season in the Premier League.

Why is Mark Smith known as Dr Doom?

We all know that the name Dr Doom carries negative connotations, but actually, it seems that Smith carries the nickname for very good reason.

Last October, Birmingham Live reported on the club's Open House event, where Tom Wagner was speaking about the Blues' financial decision-making.

He said: "There's a member of staff, our CFO (Mark Smith - chief financial officer), and his name is Dr Doom.

"What he does is take a very conservative approach with regard to our forward financials. We spent what we could; we have a very high-quality squad, and I'm very comfortable with the process of recruitment.

“I have to say we are very lucky to have Craig and Chris; they are incredibly collaborative, very open to creating a dialogue around the process.”

What to expect from Wrexham AFC this summer

As previously stated, what Wrexham do in the summer transfer window will ultimately depend on which division they will be playing in next season.

Since their takeover by Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney when the club were in the National League, transfer spending has understandably increased, but so has revenue.

This essentially means that there is a greater cash flow coming into the club, meaning that they have the ability to spend more money if they so wish.

It is estimated that the Red Dragons have spent between £25 million-£35 million on players this season, and whilst their official wages for the campaign are not known, they were spending just under £20 million a year on player salaries in League One, as per their official accounts - via the BBC.

External investors injected just under £50 million into the club in January, according to BBC Sport, although this does not mean a transfer spree, as spending all that money could potentially breach profit and sustainability (PSR) rules.

Moving forward, Wrexham are expected to further invest in their playing squad, with revenue helping them to abide by financial rules, but with Dr Doom now at STōK Cae Ras, they will be expected to take a measured and sensible approach.