Wrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds has again proven himself as one of football's good guys ater bringing a former Wales international goalkeeper to tears with a heartfelt message.
Andy Dibble, who won three caps for his country and formed part of the Wrexham team that won promotion to the Second Division in 2003, is now preparing to take on his former side having taken up a coaching role with Accrington Stanley. Phil Parkinson's men travel to Lancashire this weekend as they look to keep their winning run in League Two going.
But ahead of the clash, the 58-year-old is full of nothing but praise for the Red Dragons, who won promotion back to the Football League last season having been taken over by Reynolds and fellow Hollywood star Rob McElhenney. The pair have become renowned for their acts of kindness after their surprise acquisition of the club and Dibble revealed that he was the surprise recipient of one such act.
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The former shot-stopper's son Christian was Wrexham's longest-serving player when he decided to leave the club earlier this year and end his five-and-a-half year stay at the Racecourse Ground. The former Wales Under-21 international had followed in his father's footsteps by signing for the Red Dragons in 2017 but after twice helping his team to the National League play-offs and the FA Trophy final, he decided to pursue a new challenge and signed for Kidderminster Harriers two days later.
While Dibble junior was praised by Parkinson as he departed the club, his dad certainly wasn't expecting the message that he then received from Deadpool actor Reynolds, which he admits completely blew him away.
"When Christian left Wrexham, Ryan sent me a private message on Twitter," Dibble told The Leader ahead of this weekend's League Two clash. "It was fantastic, and it made me feel so proud."
"Ryan was really kind. He thanked me for Christian's service to Wrexham and talked about him as a goalkeeper, but more than anything he said how proud I should be for bringing up a special son.
"It brought a bit of a tear to my eye, really," he admitted "I didn't expect somebody with his fame to message me, but it meant so much to me. It was really special."
Dibble became goalkeeping coach at Accrington Stanley for the second time last year, having initially taken on the same role in 2006 when he ended his playing career there, before taking on coaching positions at Coventry City, Peterborough United, Rotherham United and Cardiff City, where he worked for five years.
A journeyman career saw him represent a staggering 18 different teams between 1982 and 2006. His longest stints came at Manchester City, Luton, Cardiff, Wrexham and Stockport County, while he also had two spells at both Sheffield United and Middlesbrough and won the Scottish Premiership with Rangers.
