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Paul Mullin is a household name at Wrexham these days but his rise to a prolific striker was not a straightforward path, as Steve Cooper knows all too well. The Nottingham Forest manager was a youth coach at Liverpool when a young Mullin was working his way through the ranks, but when the Red Dragons striker reached 16 it was Cooper himself who had to deliver the heartbreaking news to Mullin that he was not being kept on by the Premier League giants.
The boyhood Liverpudlian had been at both Everton and Liverpool on his journey into professional football but it was Cooper, who won the U17 World Cup with England, that had the task of giving the bad news to Mullin.
Explaining the setback in his autobiography ‘My Wrexham Story’, Mullin explained how he was asked to play a role for the Reds that is completely unfamiliar with what fans expect from him today.
He wrote: “As time went on at the Academy [at Liverpool] it was as if they couldn’t see what was under their noses. One report said I needed to practise more with my right foot. I was right-footed, it’s just that I was so comfortable with my left they hadn’t realised.
“Stuck at left-back, I’d had little chance to show myself as a creative footballer who could deliver so much on the attacking front. The coach who told me Liverpool were letting me go was Steve Cooper, who would later go on to take Nottingham Forest into the Premier League. He’d played me at left-back again and again.
“Mum wasn’t impressed with his news. On the way out she turned to Cooper. ‘You’ll regret it,’ she told him. ‘You’ll end up buying him back.’ ‘I hope I do,’ he said. ‘You will,’ she replied. Then she looked at me. ‘Come on, mate.’ And off we went.”
After a short period in Spain, Mullin joined the Huddersfield Town Academy but it was his mover to Morecambe that first put him on the road to success. After notching 28 goals in three seasons he spent one campaign with Swindon Town before moving back to Merseyside to play for Tranmere Rovers.
Mullin impressed in patches for the Birkenhead side but was unable to hold down a regular starting berth and eventually left after two seasons for Cambridge United. The move proved to be an inspired one as it was here that he enjoyed the most successful campaign of his career.
Mullin plundered 32 league goals as United romped to the EFL League Two title, clinching promotion in the process. The Cambridgeshire club were so elated with their new star that they even named a stand after him, but he was about to get a calling that would change everything.
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With Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney having bought Wrexham, the Hollywood pair convinced Mullin to drop down to the National League and spearhead their quest to return to the Football League.
Armed with a bumper salary, he scored 32 goals in all competitions in his first season before netting a staggering 47 times the year after as the Red Dragons secured promotion with a record 114 points-haul.
Thanks to the Disney Plus TV series Welcome to Wrexham, Mullin’s profile has never been higher. Liverpool never did re-sign him but the life he leads in the game now is still way beyond the expectations of the average lower league player. It was just meant to be that way.
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