“Roses are red, violets are blue,
It’s not Valentine’s Day anymore, so I don’t know why I wrote this intro.”
February was not a month that sent Shrewsbury hearts a-beating, aside from one match in Bristol which put a load of our supporters in hospital. If you don’t know what I’m on about, you really should read the previous chapter of this story.
My blooming love affair with the Shrews hit the rocks somewhat last month, but I’m hoping to reignite the spark in March. This penultimate chapter of my first season at New Meadow will see us try to get back on track for the League One play-offs. I’ll also introduce you to my first youth intake, which is always an exciting milestone in any Football Manager’s career.
SHREWSBURY TOWN vs AFC WIMBLEDON (League One, Match 35)
I wish I could’ve started this chapter on a brighter note. We’d been pretty lucky with injuries at Shrewsbury until Anthony Grant did his knee in just before we hosted Wimbledon. The experienced defensive midfielder would be out for the larger part of two months, and questions would have to be asked about his long-term future.
Having failed to score in his last three games, Lee Angol was benched against Wimbledon, with Fejiri Okenabirhie taking his place up front. However, it was an unproven scorer who would give us the lead after 27 minutes. Charlie Colkett‘s set-piece deflected off the crossbar, and then goalkeeper Tom King’s glove, before crossing the line for his long-awaited first Shrews goal.
We went into the second half with a 1-0 lead, though only after Wimbledon winger Andy Barcham had an equalising goal cancelled out for offside. Despite that, Barcham would help the Dons to draw level 12 minutes into the second period.
A very sloppy throw-in from Shrewsbury right-back Josh Emmanuel was cut out by an alert Barcham, who crossed first-time to Rushian Hepburn-Murphy in our box. Though the on-loan Aston Villa youngster’s first shot was blocked by Joel Coleman, the follow-up easily found the net, and our lead was gone. Josh’s mistake was so unforgivable that I immediately replaced him with James Bolton.
I would need to make another change to my backline 10 minutes later. A couple of rash challenges on Liam Trotter and Hepburn-Murphy saw veteran centre-half James Collins receive our first red card of the season. To fill the defensive void Collins left behind, I had to throw on youth left-back Zac Hartley and shift Brendan Galloway to the centre.
Wimbledon looked to make their extra man count in the 77th minute, but Joe Pigott was flagged offside after slotting in a through-ball from Hepburn-Murphy. The Dons were even more incensed three minutes later, as the flag stayed down when Okenabirhie chased down Colkett’s killer ball and drove it home. Charlie set up another goal right at the end, teeing up one of Greg Docherty‘s trademark long-rangers to give us a 3-1 victory out of nowhere!
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to Shrewsbury’s first signing of next season. Yes, I know I was going to wait until the summer until I started my big squad overhaul, but you can perhaps see why I made an early move for Robbie Muirhead.
Muirhead is a reasonably young target man who’d enjoyed a decent season with Scottish Championship side Dunfermline. His contract was due to expire at the end of May, and when I got wind that Dunfermline had offered him a new deal, I made my move.
Admittedly, Robbie’s work rate and first touch could be a lot better, and his last spell in England with Milton Keynes didn’t exactly go to plan. What really attracted me to him was his cool and composed finishing, not to mention his aerial ability. He’ll give Aaron Amadi-Holloway competition to be our top target man when Lenell John-Lewis moves on in the summer.
On the subject of future Shrewbury stars, let’s have a look at my first youth intake…
It’s not too bad at first glance; there’s a couple of midfielders who could have something about them. Fans of 1950s comedy will also appreciate that we’ve got a forward called Tony Hancock, though I’m hoping this one can perform for more than a half-hour at a time.
Danny Hughes is probably the most exciting talent in this intake. The local lad (who’s not related to George Hughes, by the way) is reasonably fit and is already a competent passer of the ball. He’s also very determined, though his ‘Realist’ personality suggests he isn’t a particularly gracious sportsman.
My main concern with Danny is that there isn’t an obvious role he could play at the moment. I don’t use any of his preferred roles in my systems, but he’s not versatile enough to be a box-to-box midfielder, and he’s not got the vision required for a playmaker. I’d appreciate any feedback as to what I should do with this kid, because I’d hate to see his talent wasted.
I have a better idea of what Dan Roberts could develop into. This skilful and flamboyant attacking midfielder might make a decent advanced playmaker in the future, but only if he shows a lot more determination. I shall keep a very close eye on Roberts’ development to make sure he stays on track.
ROCHDALE vs SHREWSBURY TOWN (League One, Match 36)
I reverted to a 4-4-2 during this rainy afternoon in Rochdale. Amadi-Holloway took just six minutes to justify his selection as a target man, delicately flicking in a cross from Bolton into Josh Lillis’ net. The Dale keeper had hurt his wrist in training a few days earlier, but he confirmed his fitness with an excellent save to stop Abobaker Eisa from putting us 2-0 up in the 9th minute.
The hosts would have several chances to equalise in the first period. A vicious strike from homegrown midfielder Andy Cannon cannoned off the our crossbar in the 18th minute, three minutes before he fired another effort into the side netting. With centre-back Harrison McGahey also going close, it seemed like it would only be a matter of time before our lead erased.
Sure enough, Rochdale’s left-back would drive a dagger through our Hart four minutes into the second period. Sam Hart’s long ball into the Shrews box found Finnish teenager Marcus Forss, who half-volleyed his shot past an onrushing Coleman. That strike earned Dale a precious point in their bid for survival, with substitute Angol missing several chances to grab us a second consecutive victory.
PLYMOUTH ARGYLE vs SHREWSBURY TOWN (League One, Match 37)
And then came Home Park, where it really was a case of ‘one and done’ for Plymouth. The returning Collins gifted them what proved to be the game’s only goal in the first minute – after 32 seconds, to be exact. The ageing Welshman intercepted Kai Naismith’s right-wing cross, only for the ball to then be volleyed past another – Danny Coyne – by Scouse midfielder Conor Grant.
I’d given John-Lewis his first start of the season up front, but the former vice-captain once again failed to impress. His only shot on target – in the 10th minute – was a soft header that Matt Macey made light work of. Strike partner Angol fared little better in all fairness, only troubling Macey with a speculative effort eight minutes later.
Amadi-Holloway took John-Lewis’ place in the second half, but he also had a day to forget. A robust challenge from Plymouth right-back Joe Riley in the 73rd minute left both players nursing ankle injuries, with Aaron coming off worse. He was ruled out for at least a month, and our weakened attack failed to worry the Pilgrims thereafter.
SHREWSBURY TOWN vs WYCOMBE WANDERERS (League One, Match 38)
For a long time, this looked like being another of our blunt attacking displays. I persisted with the out-of-form Angol up front, but he would not repay my faith in him. Though a couple of his shots drew saves out of Wycombe keeper Ryan Allsop, another two missed the target completely.
Nevertheless, we continued to attack the Wycombe goal frequently. We created several chances from inside their box, but Allsop was putting in an excellent performance between the sticks to deny us. Fortunately for us, the Chairboys lacked the injured Adebayo Akinfenwa up front and were not as effective on the counter-attack as they perhaps could’ve been.
I threw on Docherty after 69 minutes, hoping that the Scottish box-to-box midfielder would be the man to break through a stubborn Wanderers defence. Within three minutes, ‘The Doc’ had prescribed the perfect medicine, curling in a sumptuous Colkett-assisted shot from the edge of the box.
Ollie Norburn effectively secured us the points on 88 minutes, the defensive midfielder scorign his first Shrewsbury goal in spectacular fashion. After Wycombe defender Alex Pascanu headed away a deep cross from Arthur Gnahoua, our record signing proceeded to rocket in a breathtaking 35-yard volley! Then, just to rub further salt into the visitors’ wounds, Gnahoua headed in Alex Gilliead‘s injury-time cross to make it 3-0.
SHREWSBURY TOWN vs PORTSMOUTH (League One, Match 39)
A couple of misses from Okenabirhie could’ve been costly for us against mid-table Portsmouth. Fortunately, the visitors could not take advantage, despite enjoying significantly more possession and creating more chances from close range. Our goal lived a very charmed life when midfielder Ben Thompson and forward Andre Green each hit the crossbar in either half.
Just like against Wycombe, we needed to bide our time to find a way through Pompey’s defence. When a gap opened up for substitute midfielder Josh Laurent to shoot through in the 69th minute, he took full advantage, driving a low 25-yarder in off the post.
Victory was secured two minutes later from a Colkett corner that Portsmouth could not clear. Gilliead struck a powerful volley, and goalkeeper Luke McGee could only help the ball into the net. The goal was actually credited to Okenabirhie, whom the ball might have struck on the way in, though it didn’t appear that way to me.
That would be a head-scratcher for the Dubious Goals Committee, but there was little doubting that we deserved this win. Our third consecutive victory at New Meadow took us back into 3rd and edged us further towards qualifying for the play-offs.
A few days later, though, the big news surrounding us was about uncertainty off the pitch, rather than our improved performances on it.
Hmm… I’m not sure if a 34-year-old journeyman such as Mat Sadler could be described as having “the potential to go to the very top”. And there’s a good reason why we’ve not discussed a new contract with him yet.
Technically, Sadler is still a very strong defender for League One. It’s his declining physical abilities, and his increasingly error-strewn performances, that I’m more worried about. Experience is all well and good, but if you don’t have anything like enough pace to keep up with opposition strikers, then I might as well have a sack of potatoes in my starting XI.
You’ll probably have noticed that Mat had only played in one of our previous five matches (the 1-1 draw with Rochdale). With Omar Beckles taking over leadership duties at centre-half, Kyle Howkins making a surprisingly instant impact, and Collins providing big-match experience, Sadler had become obsolete. He would still feature occasionally until the end of the season, at which point I would let his contract run out.
Staying on the subject of has-been (former) defenders leaving Shrewsbury…
MAMMA MIA!
Well, it was fun having Patrik Andersson on our payroll while we did. I was really hoping he’d stick around and use his knowledge of European football to help us find some continental gems in the summer. Alas, when the biggest club in Sweden (and the club where Andersson started and finished his playing career) came calling, Shrewsbury didn’t seem quite so attractive after all.
That left me needing to find a replacement scout. I put out an advert for the job, but the applicants were underwhelming, to say the least.
The best candidate was a 61-year-old Wearsider named Tony Henry, who actually played in midfield for Shrewsbury during the 1991/1992 season. However, I decided not to offer him the job. For one thing, he looked like a man who could keel over at any moment. For another, he’s currently serving a 12-month ban from football for being a little bit racist – and by “a little bit”, I mean “very”.
Instead, I decided to look around various lower-league clubs to find someone who had Henry’s keen eye for talent without the obvious bigotry. Oh yes, and they would have to be younger. A lot younger.
Graham Younger, in fact. I’m not sure why exactly the 29-year-old former Bolton youth coach and Cardiff analyst had been working for Hungerford in the National League South. Younger’s judgement of players’ abilities was wasted in non-league football, and a scout with his adaptability would do a fine job wherever in the world I sent him. Obviously, I sent him off to watch a load of League Two matches to begin with.
The transfer window might have been shut, but if anything, our scouts were working harder than ever. They were spending the last few months of the season primarily looking at players in the British and Irish leagues whose contracts were set to expire.
It was our Scottish-based scout Tom Stratful who’d alerted us to Muirhead’s availability. Scotland could become a popular hunting ground for me, especially as I can approach players with expiring contracts much earlier than I can in England. Expect us to uncover some more gems from north of the border.
SOUTHEND UNITED vs SHREWSBURY TOWN (League One, Match 40)
Oh, Brendan, what were you thinking? After just seven minutes, Galloway lunged in two-footed on Southend’s defensive midfielder Timothée Dieng to pick up a very early red card. Ryan Haynes had started this match on the left wing, but he would now have to drop deeper to cover his ill-tempered colleague, who was banned for the next three games.
Our remaining 10 men almost conceded after nine minutes, but Southend’s veteran striker Simon Cox saw his shot come back off the post. The Shrimpers continued to waste opportunities throughout the match, though they also found Coleman in fine form in the Shrews goal.
Some great counter-attacking chances came our way after the break. Gilliead barely missed the target in the 57th minute, before Okenabirhie was twice sent through on goal during the next seven. Fejiri’s first effort was stopped by the onrushing Mark Oxley, but the second somehow missed the target.
That was a demoralising period of play for us, but worse pain would be inflicted in the 75th minute. Southend’s long-awaited breakthrough came when Cox crossed from the right for 19-year-old midfielder Dru Yearwood to hammer in the winning goal. Though their hopes of reaching the play-offs were fading, this was still a huge result in terms of their survival.
We had again swapped places with Scunthorpe in the table, slipping behind the Iron on goal difference. As it so happened, we would open up April by taking on our fellow promotion contenders at New Meadow. And that gives me the perfect excuse to link you to this clip of current Scunny manager Stuart McCall.
I was hoping that returning captain Sadler would be steadier on his feet when he made his first appearance in almost a month. Trying not to plant a heavy first touch to the feet of an onrushing striker would be a start, Mat.
SHREWSBURY TOWN vs SCUNTHORPE UNITED (League One, Match 41)
I’ve had my fair share of thrilling encounters with Scunthorpe over my FM career, and this was another. It began with us taking the lead within nine minutes, as Emmanuel’s byline cross was tapped in by Okenabirhie (no doubt about him scoring that one). Another delivery from the right wing saw us double our lead six minutes later, as Gilliead’s searching pass was met by an unstoppable Gnahoua volley.
By the 21st minute, though, Scunthorpe had recovered from 2-0 down to draw level, thanks to a couple of defensive missteps from Beckles. Firstly, he failed to keep tabs on the experienced forward Lloyd Dyer, who drove in a quick pass from Oliver Shenton. Not long after that, Shenton’s through-ball found striker Stephen Humphrys, who proved far too quick for Beckles to handle as he slipped in a delicate angled finish.
Though Funso Ojo came close to completing Scunny’s fightback in the 31st minute, the fifth goal actually went our way. Our wing wonders linked up brilliantly again nine minutes into the second period, with Gilliead’s floating delivery being slotted in at the back stick by Gnahoua. 3-2 to the Shrews!
Arthur would not be the only player to celebrate a brace. Humphrys’ second goal was similar to his first, as he broke free from Sadler to reach Iron defender Cameron Burgess’ long ball and power in another leveller. In retrospect, putting a 34-year-old centre-half up against the deceptively pacey Fulham loanee was not the smartest move on my part.
Yet this game could have had one final twist in stoppage time. A last-ditch counter-attack from the Shrews saw Gnahoua cross to substitute Angol before running onto the return delivery in the box. Arthur just had to volley it past Jak Alnwick to secure his hat-trick – and a 4-3 home win. Alas, he put his shot inches wide, and thus the teams had to share the points after a six-goal epic.
GILLINGHAM vs SHREWSBURY TOWN (League One, Match 42)
In the final match of this chapter, we faced a Gillingham team who were literally at rock-bottom. Having won just ONCE since the start of December, the Gills were already doomed to playing in League Two next season. They’d also burned through two managers in Steve Lovell and Paul Hurst, leaving new coach Darrell Clarke to sift through the smouldering ruins to salvage some pride.
After just 17 minutes, the Priestfield faithful were perhaps thinking, “Here we go again.” A dominant start from Shrewsbury ended with Gnahoua thrashing in his ninth goal of the season. The inside-forward’s tally wasn’t too bad, considering I only considered him to be a backup option at best when I first took the helm at New Meadow.
However, the Gills did not let their heads drop. Young right-winger Elliott List got them back on terms in stunning fashion after 33 minutes, swerving a wicked 25-yard shot in off the woodwork. I couldn’t tolerate us not being ahead against the worst team in League One at half-time, so I barracked my players before the second period. Boy did they respond.
This was Angol’s ninth outing since he last scored for us against Luton, more than two months previous. Our out-of-sorts striker’s shot at redemption came after 66 minutes, when Max Ehmer tripped the 24-year-old as he tried to reach a cross from Emmanuel. Lee stepped up to take the penalty, and he sent Tomas Holy the wrong way for his 23rd goal this season! It’d been very long in coming!
Angol found the net again on 77 minutes, only to be flagged offside after burying Haynes’ cross. Despite that, we would complete a 3-1 victory – our first win away from home since January – just four minutes later. Gilliead stroked a Docherty pass beyond Holy to inflict a 32nd league defeat of the season on a very sorry Gillingham side.
So here’s the situation: with four games to go, we need just a couple more wins to guarantee ourselves a play-off spot. There’s even a chance that we could secure automatic promotion to the Championship, but that would require Burton’s late-season blip to become a full-blown crisis.
While we’re certainly looking good for the play-offs right now, that could quickly change. The first game of our run-in is at Oakwell against Barnsley, who have stormed to promotion and will surely wrap up the League One title soon. If the Tykes tear us to shreds, then it could spell disaster.
Come back next week for the big season finale. Can Shrewsbury secure a play-off place? Can I bring Championship football to New Meadow? And will Lee Angol ever score from open play again?
Fuller FM 
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