They say football is a funny old game. You can be high as a kite at the end of one season, and then be out of a job midway through the next. Just ask Pep Guardiola.
Back in May 2018, Manchester City were lauded as record-breakers, having become the first Premier League team to accrue 100 points in a season. Seven months later, though, City were struggling in 7th place and already a long way off leaders Liverpool, prompting Guardiola to be unceremoniously sacked on Boxing Day. And who has been chosen to replace the suave Spaniard at the Etihad Stadium? Rafael Benítez.
There are some things that do not change, and Shrewsbury are a case in point. The Shrews reached the League One play-offs last season under Paul Hurst, and they’re on course to do so again in my first campaign at the helm. Many pundits are expecting us to slip into mid-table mediocrity, but I’m confident we can keep going.
In this chapter, I will take you through January and February 2019, when the stakes are suddenly getting higher. Before we crack on with the results, I’m sure you’ll want to see all the business I did during the winter transfer window. Just let me give Jim White a call first…
TRANSFER WINDOW
We start off by looking at those players who left Shrewsbury in early 2019. Any transfers or loans that were completed during or after the January window are highlighted in red.
As expected, Luke Waterfall was sold after just six months, having failed to impress me with his poor composure. What was surprising was that another League One side were willing to part with £115,000 for a central defender who’s perhaps not cut out for this level. One thing I can say is that Peterborough’s director of football Barry Fry is either a madman or a cunning wheeler-dealer.
We also made £60,000 through the sale of right-back Luke Hendrie. If you’re wondering who Hendrie was, that’s because he spent the first half of the season on loan at League Two strugglers Grimsby. Luke would now make an emotional permanent move to Barnsley – the club where his dad John was player-manager during the late 1990s.
Midfield playmaker Doug Loft was surplus to requirements, so he went to National League North side York on the cheap. A £10,000 fee was agreed in late January, but Loft took his time to discuss personal terms with the Minstermen. Non-league football doesn’t follow the same transfer window as the EFL, hence there was no need to rush the deal through.
Centre-half Zak Jules – who’d played exclusively in the Pointless Trophy for us this term – was farmed out to Solihull Moors. Zak’s in the final half-season of his current contract, so he needs to impress in the National League to earn a new deal with us.
Also getting a taste of senior football was youth striker Lifumpa Mwandwe, who’d just turned 18. Fumpa was another player who’d outgrown the Under-18s side whilst still not being quite ready for our first-team. If the pacey Londoner can get some goals under his belt for Harrogate, maybe next season will see his big breakthrough in a Shrews jersey.
One man who wasn’t leaving us was Arthur Gnahoua. We received an offer of around £50,000 from Fleetwood for the inside-forward, who had surprisingly emerged as one of our better performers this season. Though Gnahoua was another player whose contract was up for renewal, I decided to keep him around rather than cash in.
In terms of incomings, there wasn’t much to talk about. As I said in the previous chapter, I wouldn’t make any major changes to my squad until the summer. I did, though, bring in a couple of centre-backs on opposite ends of the experience scale.
The first permanent signing of my Shrews reign was James Collins… but it wasn’t the Irish James Collins who scored 42 league goals across two previous spells at Shrewsbury. This was the Welsh James Collins, who spent 13 years in the Premier League with Aston Villa and West Ham. David Cameron’s a big fan of his, apparently.
Though James Collins was now 35 and had been a free agent since the summer, he’d lost neither his aerial ability nor his eye for a strong tackle. With a Resolute personality and outstanding leadership qualities, James Collins would surely be a shining example to our younger central defenders over the next 18 months.
So yes… that’s James Collins, everybody. (I’ve said James Collins quite a lot, haven’t I?)
If Collins was a short-term signing, then Kyle Howkins was very much a long-term purchase. Though the 6ft 5in Black Country giant was due to leave West Brom on a free in the summer, I chose to sign him immediately for £90,000 on deadline day. The idea is to slowly bed Kyle into the team so that he is ready to be a first-team regular from next season.
As you can see, Howkins has some generally solid attributes for a lower-league centre-half, but he’s got the potential to become a lot better. With a bit of work, and some effective mentoring from Collins, that 90 grand could go quite a long way.
There were new contracts for a handful of current Shrews players. The main headline was that Omar Beckles had ignored speculation about a potential move to Sunderland, and would instead stay with us for at least two more years. Though recent performances have not been too great, Omar remains an integral part of our defence. Indeed, he could take the captaincy next season if/when the ageing Mat Sadler leaves.
James Bolton certainly wouldn’t be leaving Shrewsbury either. I rejected an offer from Peterborough for the right-back before handing him a new 18-month contract. Left-back Ryan Haynes was also given a new and improved deal, extending his stay at New Meadow until 2021.
Central midfielder Bryn Morris – who was loaned out to Wycombe before my arrival – also saw his long-term future with the Shrews after penning a new two-and-a-half-year contract. The 22-year-old will complete the season at Adams Park, where he’s put in some decent performances, and rejoin our first-team in the summer.
Welsh attacking midfielder Sam Jones is the other Shrewsbury loanee I’ve not previously mentioned. That’s because he’s spent the season with Cheltenham in League Two… and let’s just say he hasn’t pulled up many trees there. Jones’ contract is set to run out in the summer, so you probably won’t be hearing much more about him.
SHREWSBURY TOWN vs FLEETWOOD TOWN (League One, Match 26)
There’s a great proverb by the philosopher Francis Bacon about revenge, which goes, “Can I just say for the record what a great player u were. Well better me… But I have a better hair (which is not hard), wear well better shirts on TV and have a personality (something u lack).” Nope, hang on… that’s what Joey Barton once wrote about his former Newcastle manager Alan Shearer.
Anyway, this New Year’s Day victory was sweet revenge for the 2-1 defeat that the Scouse firebrand and his Fleetwood team inflicted on us in October. Mind you, it took the Shrews – and our star striker Lee Angol – to get going. The first half was a nervy affair for both sides, though we eventually settled down five minutes into the second.
Angol skipped past Fleetwood centre-back Ashley Eastham’s challenge to take Josh Laurent‘s through-ball and go one-on-one with goalkeeper Alex Cairns. Although Cairns charged forward to parry the initial shot, it deflected off his other central defender Tommy Spurr and fell invitingly for Lee to seal a 1-0 lead.
Ryan Haynes would double our advantage through a fantastic direct free-kick in the 60th minute. The left-back’s first competitive goal in a Shrews jersey came following Fleetwood midfielder Kyle Dempsey’s petulant shove on counterpart Greg Docherty.
There was no way back for Barton’s Cod Army, though they did snatch a consolation deep into stoppage time. Star striker Chris Long notched up his 10th goal of the season after experienced full-back Ryan Taylor’s free-kick crashed off the crossbar. That was our only blip in an otherwise confident performance that helped us consolidate 4th place.
BRADFORD CITY vs SHREWSBURY TOWN (League One, Match 27)
Bradford were 22nd and in the thick of a battle with relegation. Mind you, the bantamweight Bantams – now coached by ‘Tactics’ Tim Sherwood – did punch their weight in this match. It was a real battle, and it would take a couple of strong punches to floor City.
The first came four minutes from the end of a tense opening half. Angol showed why he was the EFL’s most-feared striker when he thundered in Gnahoua’s left-wing cross from close range. That perhaps should have sent us into the break 1-0 up. Then, against the run of play, Bradford’s on-loan Wolves winger Sherwin Seedorf produced a long-distance finish that would have made his distant relative Clarence proud.
It was a former Bantams loanee that would reinstate our advantage four minutes into the second period. Alex Gilliead got away from home left-back Joe Riley to get his head to another excellent Gnahoua delivery. Although Alex’s header only hit the crossbar, he easily drove in the rebound for his 10th goal of the season.
2-1 was how the scoreline remained, though Bradford goalkeeper Richard O’Donnell kept out a couple of efforts from Charlie Colkett and Gilliead that could’ve made us more comfortable. The Bantams’ best equalising chance came two minutes before full-time, but Jack Payne’s crashing drive just skimmed the bar.
After our 15th league win of the season, the board offered me a new contract, which I eventually signed after some tough negotiating. I would be staying on for at least another season whilst slightly increasing my weekly wages from £1,700 to £2,000. Could I celebrate my pay rise with a home win over play-off rivals Charlton?
SHREWSBURY TOWN vs CHARLTON ATHLETIC (League One, Match 28)
Charlton went into this match on the back of a nine-match unbeaten league run. Draws had made up most of that sequence, and Lee Bowyer’s charges slugged out another one here, despite facing an onslaught of punches. Kieron Dyer was rather conspicuous in his absence.
It was actually Charlton who had the first shot on target, but Tarique Fosu’s 10th-minute header from an awkward angle was comfortably caught by Joel Coleman. From that point onwards, it was all Shrewsbury. Angol was unsurprisingly our greatest threat in the first half, planting a couple of headers into Jed Steer’s hands, though Gnahoua and Docherty also tested the Addicks keeper.
We tried to stretch Charlton’s stubborn defence out after the half-time interval. Colkett’s sumptuous through-ball to Angol in the 49th minute looked like it would provide the breakthrough until Steer tipped Lee’s angled shot wide. More chances came and went, and even a late tactical switch to 4-4-2 failed to produce the knockout blow. The match stayed goalless, and we dropped points at home for just the fourth time this season.
BLACKPOOL vs SHREWSBURY TOWN (League One, Match 29)
The atmosphere at Bloomfield Road for this match was not a pleasant one. Though Blackpool were no longer under the ownership of the reviled Oyston family, they were in a rut that had seen them slip into the relegation zone. Since taking over as manager in December, Paolo Vanoli had overseen some defensive disasters – the nadir coming 11 days from this match, when the Seasiders lost 8-2 at home to Wycombe!
We heaped misery upon Blackpool with two goals midway through the first half. Gilliead’s first shot from a deep Josh Emmanuel cross was parried back to him by Mark Howard, leaving him with a simple finish. Our other hotshot then got in on the act, though Angol’s 20th goal of the campaign was not his finest. Home defender Ben Heneghan blocked a cross from Emmanuel and then a vicious shot from Colkett before Angol slid the rebound across the goal line.
If this Shrews team had a clear weakness, it was perhaps conceding goals from outside the penalty area. Our 2-0 advantage was halved in such a manner after 34 minutes, with John O’Sullivan’s howitzer giving Blackpool a potential route back into the match. However, they would get lost again during the second half.
Angol was back to his lethal self in the 65th minute. A strong header from Brendan Galloway’s left-wing cross – assisted by the crossbar – brought up his brace. Blackpool responded a little over 15 minutes with a second goal, as Mark Cullen headed home from Michael Nottingham’s delivery, but we stayed calm and secured a 3-2 win.
Unfortunately, Shaun Whalley strained his hamstring in the closing stages of that match and would be on the sidelines for a month. This was becoming a frustrating campaign for our experienced right-winger, who had been completely outshone by his much younger colleague Gilliead. I suspect Shaun’s fourth season at Shrewsbury could end up being his last.
SHREWSBURY TOWN vs DONCASTER ROVERS (League One, Match 30)
Doncaster had beaten us twice this term, with previous manager Grant McCann overseeing a league victory before caretaker Lee Glover dumped us out of the EFL Trophy. It wouldn’t be third time lucky for the new man at the helm, as Gary Megson’s fight against relegation was dealt a blow at New Meadow.
The first half was no classic by any means, with Angol appearing to have left his scoring boots in Blackpool. Fortunately, Gilliead had taken his back home, and he would find the net with them for a third game in succession. Left-wing substitute Abobaker Eisa made an immediate impact three minutes into the second half, delivering an excellent first-time cross to Alex at the back post. The header was even better, leaving Marko Marosi hopelessly flapping in the Donny goal.
Even so, the game was still delicately poised. We knew from our last meeting with Rovers that Ali Crawford was a dab hand at free-kicks, so I was horrified when we gave him two chances to demonstrate that in the next minutes. Crawford’s first hit the crossbar, and his second struck Angol in our defensive wall, with the deflection almost catching Coleman unawares.
I told my players to stay on their feet after those two major scares, but another Crawford set-piece almost undid us nine minutes from the end. The Scotsman swung a corner into our six-yard box, where John Marquis – our Keepmoat nemesis in August – headed over a would-be equaliser. Doncaster never got another chance thereafter.
Though a run of four wins in five January games didn’t move us up from 4th, we had broken away from those teams chasing us. A 13-point gap between us and 7th-placed Charlton looked very healthy, and we were on course to reach the play-offs again, barring a collapse in the final third of the season. Automatic promotion was still a big ask, with frontrunners Barnsley and Burton having also gone unbeaten in January.
SHREWSBURY TOWN vs LUTON TOWN (League One, Match 31)
February began with a visit from 5th-placed Luton, and yet another Angoal. In the seventh minute, Ollie Norburn sent an inswinging corner to an unguarded near post, where Lee headed in his 22nd goal of the campaign! Incredibly, Angol could have got his first assist three minutes later, but Omar Beckles volleyed his free-kick wide.
The rest of the first half saw neither team at their best when it came to shooting. The biggest danger in Luton’s attack was Congolese wideman Kazenga LuaLua, who sent a long-range shot just wide in the 42nd minute. LuaLua pulled his knee ligaments just before half-time and was replaced with former Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland.
The Hatters posed more of a threat after the break. Strikers Danny Hylton and Jack Clarke had excellent efforts saved by Coleman, while Austrian centre-half Lukas Rotpuller headed an Ireland corner against the bar. The visitors’ persistence paid off in the 78th minute, when Jorge Grant’s byline cross was flicked in from point-blank range by Glen Rea.
We attempted to restore our lead in the dying moments, but to no avail. Angol powered a Gilliead cross wide in the 79th minute, while Colkett’s late free-kick was no match for goalkeeper Marek Stech. We would have to settle for a point, though that still took us up to 3rd place at the expense of Scunthorpe, who’d lost 4-1 at runaway leaders Barnsley.
BRISTOL ROVERS vs SHREWSBURY TOWN (League One, Match 32)
Please, please, PLEASE don’t make me write about this, for the love of God. (Sigh) Okay…
This meeting with relegation-threatened Bristol Rovers had started oh-so-well for the Shrews. When Docherty’s 20-yard drive from Colkett’s square pass gave us a 1-0 lead after just three minutes, we were already looking good to get back to winning ways. That situation lasted for barely a couple of minutes before ex-Shrewsbury striker Stefan Payne’s header bounced past Coleman and into our net.
The first half remained delicately poised after half an hour, and then it transformed into the Greg Docherty Show. Another blistering low long-range shot from the Scot beat Rovers goalkeeper Adam Smith to put us 2-1 ahead on 30 minutes. Lightning then struck for a ridiculous THIRD time three minutes later, as Greg powered the ball into the top corner and claimed a rare long-distance hat-trick!
Taking a Docherty-inspired 3-1 lead into half-time, I assumed it was all over. I assumed wrongly, as Pirates boss Simon Grayson had fired his team right up for the second half. When on-loan West Ham defender Josh Pask pulled it back to 3-2 with his header from Steven Sessegnon’s corner in the 64th minute, the Memorial Stadium began to believe a comeback was on.
Another half-hour passed without any incident, and it appeared that we’d held on… until two home substitutes came alive in the final minute of stoppage time. A ‘Hail Mary’ pass from Tom Thorpe cleared our backline and picked out striker Alex Jakubiak, who thundered in an unstoppable equaliser!
Incredibly, Bristol Rovers repeated the trick just 45 seconds later. Thorpe’s long delivery broke through our defences and found Jakubiak, who raced clear and transformed a 3-2 away lead into a 4-3 home win! That astonishing comeback saw us give 3rd place straight back to Scunthorpe!
SHREWSBURY TOWN vs BURTON ALBION (League One, Match 33)
Following our Bristolian botch job, we really didn’t want to be facing 2nd-placed Burton. Then again, Nigel Clough’s Brewers weren’t in the best of spirits either, having lost their last two matches on the trot. Young Big ‘Ead had another ‘eadache when left-winger David Templeton injured his ankle in the very first minute.
That was an indicator of struggles to come for Burton. Their only shot on target was a late first-half header from Marvin Sordell, which Coleman caught with ease. I’d changed my entire back four from the Bristol Rovers defeat, and debutant Howkins in particular did such a fine job of keeping Albion quiet that he was named ‘man of the match’.
We looked a bit more potent from our own attacks, though not by much. Angol was twice kept off the scoresheet in the second half by Brewers goalie Brad Collins, who also saved efforts from Howkins, Gilliead and Laurent. Having not drawn a single game 0-0 until late December, this was our third goalless stalemate in the space of seven weeks.
PETERBOROUGH UNITED vs SHREWSBURY TOWN (League One, Match 34)
And then came Steve Evans’ revenge. Two months after we came from behind to beat Peterborough 2-1 at New Meadow, the lovable Scottish pig – and our old friend Waterfall – reversed the situation at London Road.
We were flying in the fourth minute, when Whalley’s vicious shot rebounded off home defender Tyler Denton to give Laurent a simple finish. Posh would pull themselves level just seven minutes later in a very scrappy manner. Midfielder Callum Cooke’s flick-on towards our six-yard box found striker Ivan Toney, who squirmed a tame shot through Coleman’s legs.
Peterborough grew stronger as the match went on, and we found their fast-paced football too hot to handle. The same was true of a 30-yard strike from Cooke, which exposed Coleman’s vulnerability from distance nine minutes into the second period.
Despite enjoying far more possession than our hosts, we could not conjure up an equaliser. Angol was sacrificed midway through another tame second-half display, but substitute frontmen Lenell John-Lewis and Fejiri Okenabirhie failed to deliver the goods. In fact, it was Howkins who had our best opportunity to salvage a point, with the young centre-half nodding Norburn’s late corner just over the bar.
And so, after five games without a loss in January, we went through four matches without a win in February. That left the League One table looking a rather less attractive sight to our fans:
What had been a 13-point gap to 7th place was now down to six, with a clutch of sides closing in on our faltering stars. Burton weren’t yet out of our reach in 2nd, but Barnsley were streaking away after eight consecutive victories and would surely take the title now.
As for poor old Gillingham, I’m afraid they looked doomed. Where’s Andy Hessenthaler when you need him? (Actually, he’s doing a marvellous job at Dover. The team who almost knocked us out of the FA Cup are pushing towards promotion from the National League.)
So, can we get out of our rut in the final quarter of the season, or will our play-off dream die a long and agonising death? Come back soon to find out.
In the meantime, feel free to let me know your thoughts about my January business and our recent results. If you happen to support Bristol Rovers, I’d suggest you keep your opinions to yourself.
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