Here we go, ladies and gentlemen. My second season in charge of Shrewsbury Town is about to kick off in earnest. After some encouraging pre-season results, we’re feeling confident of starting the 2019/2020 League One campaign just as strongly as the previous two.
In this chapter, I’ll assess my new-look squad before taking you through the first seven matches of our league campaign. We’ll also feature in Round 1 of the EFL Cup – the draw for which actually took place in a sensible location, now that the EFL’s chief executive Shaun Harvey has stepped down. There’ll be no more jetting Steve McManaman off to Vietnam and/or staging the draw at 4:00am UK time, thank you very much!
SQUAD REPORT
So here’s how the first-team looks heading into the season. As ever, I’ll quickly summarise each player and provide attribute screenshots for a few of them. If you want to have a closer look at our summer signings, you can quickly go back to Part 1.
First up, we have the two senior goalkeepers. Former England youth custodian Freddie Woodman will don the number 1 jersey after arriving on loan from Newcastle. He’s an agile and confident shotstopper who enjoys big matches, as anyone who saw him at the 2017 Under-20 World Cup in South Korea will attest.
If things don’t work out too well for Woodman, then at least we have Jack Bonham. The former Watford and Brentford keeper – who has represented the Republic of Ireland at youth level – is imposing in the air, though his positioning could do with some work.
The first of our full-backs I’ll be looking at is James Bolton, who’s in his third season with the club. The hard work that this 24-year-old puts in on the right flank often goes unnoticed, but I for one am a fan. Though he’s rather more defensive-minded than his peers, he can still put a killer ball into the box from out wide.
Bolton will serve as backup to a promising young right-back named Kane Wilson, on loan from West Brom. Wilson is an energetic 19-year-old who loves to get forward, though he can also hold his own quite well defensively. His man-marking ability isn’t the best, but we will look to improve that during his time at New Meadow.
At left-back, we have Brendan Galloway again after agreeing a second loan deal with his parent club Everton. I’ve quickly forgiven Galloway for THAT Kieran Trippier-style own goal against Oxford, and the man himself is determined to show the Toffees that he still has a future at the top level. Expect big things from the 23-year-old former England Under-21s defender.
Media reports linking Ryan Haynes with a summer move to Rotherham turned out to be hokum, so he’s staying put for a second season. Haynes doesn’t quite have as much technical ability as Galloway, though he’s less inclined to dive into tackles than his left-back rival. He’s also shown himself to be surprisingly proficient at free-kicks for someone who only scores an 8 on that attribute.
Omar Beckles was Shrewsbury’s vice-captain last season, and the 27-year-old Londoner has earned himself a promotion following Mat Sadler’s retirement. A no-nonsense central defender with great aerial ability, he also has the athleticism to get back and sweep up if required. Beckles’ determination and concentration could be better, but I think I’ve made the right choice to give him the armband.
James Collins will also lead us out on occasion as our third-choice captain. At 35 years old, the former Aston Villa, West Ham and Wales stopper – who joined us in January – has taken over as our elder statesman. Despite his creaking legs, Collins’ resilience and towering presence at centre-half should serve him well in what could be his final season.
Providing some youthful energy in the cetnre of our defence is the highly-rated 21-year-old Tosin Adarabioyo. Tosin has come on loan from Manchester City and will attempt to kick-start his senior career in Shropshire, having seen his development stall of late. His maturity and physicality could set him a class apart in League One.
And then there’s Kyle Howkins, who is pretty bloomin’ good for a fourth-choice. I was astounded at how quickly Kyle settled at New Meadow following his £90,000 January move from West Brom. If this 6ft 5in Black Country boy continues his steady technical and mental improvement, he will surely become a regular starter.
Club-record signing Ollie Norburn had some teething problems in his first season with the Shrews, thanks to injuries and a casual approach to training. When the defensive midfielder was ready and willing to put in a shift, though, his aggression and stamina were real assets. Norburn needs a big season if he’s to stick around for the long term.
32-year-old Anthony Grant will again rival Norburn for the defensive midfield role. He actually agreed a pay cut (from £3,000 per week to £2,000) to stay put for at least one more season. Grant never shirks a challenge and is one of our more consistent performers, so I’m quite happy to still have him around.
Josh Laurent could feature in defensive midfield if things get desperate, but he will again play primarily in the centre. I initially struggled to figure out a role for the well-rounded Londoner, who’s now found his calling as a box-to-box player. While Laurent is far from spectacular, he’s another player who’s simply good at doing what he’s told to do.
Bryn Morris is back at New Meadow after a year-long sojourn with Wycombe, and he’s already making an impact. The selfless box-to-box midfielder notched up a couple of goals in pre-season and caught the eye with some silky passing. He has also proven himself to be a capable half-back alternative to the injury-prone Norburn and the ageing Grant.
This season has also seen us welcome back a ‘local boy done good’ in David Edwards, 12 years after he left Shrewsbury to sign for Luton. Back then, Edwards was a young box-to-box midfielder who was about to win the first of 43 caps for Wales. Nowadays, he is a 33-year-old veteran who will serve as our new vice-captain, proving leadership and a tremendous work ethic both on and off the pitch.
The last of our central midfielders is Charlie Colkett, who has made his initial loan spell from Chelsea permanent. The 22-year-old advanced playmaker’s unpredictability – and his record of 15 assists – made him a Salop fans’ favourite last season. More of the same, please, Charlie!
23-year-old Alex Gilliead was a revelation last season, hitting double figures in both goals and assists on the right wing. The explosive north-easterner has not yet picked up in pre-season where he left off, but I’m sure he’ll be back to his best sooner or later.
Sullay Kaikai scored 12 goals in his previous two loan stints with Shrewsbury, where he has returned on a two-year deal after his release by Crystal Palace. Kaikai’s technique and pace could make him a useful presence on the right wing, but I favour playing him on the left, where he can dribble inside and wreak havoc.
Kaikai will need to play well to oust Arthur Gnahoua from the team. Despite having some rather mediocre attributes, Gnahoua was deceptively productive last term, providing nine goals and three assists to earn him a new contract. The left-footed 26-year-old is most at home as an inside-forward, though he can also be deployed as a winger.
This summer has seen me add a second left-winger to the ranks in Danny Redmond, who won the Welsh Premier League with TNS last season. League One is quite a step up from that, so it’s hard to predict how the 28-year-old Scouser will fare with us. With 13+ attributes in Crossing, Dribbling, Passing and Technique, he could become a bargain signing… or he could be gone and forgotten in 12 months.
Despite mainly being a substitute last season, Aaron Amadi-Holloway emerged as our top target man by scoring nine goals. A similar second campaign could earn himself an extension to his original two-year deal. Amadi-Holloway’s physicality and aerial prowess could make him a real handful when he’s on his game, that’s for sure.
Robbie Muirhead is an alternative choice to play the big man up top, though I’m not quite as confident in his abilities as I was when I first agreed to sign him. At first glance, I thought the ex-Dunfermline man was a composed finisher with fine footballing intelligence. Muirhead looked nothing like that in pre-season, and I don’t know how long I can wait for him to fulfil his potential.
And then we come to Shrewsbury’s top scorer for last season. Lee Angol found the net an impressive 24 times last season, though all but three of those goals came before February. If this quick and clinical striker can sustain his form throughout the entire season, he will surely justify the bookies making him favourite to win League One’s Golden Boot.
Fejiri Okenabirhie could’ve moved to Portsmouth in the summer, but he opted to stay and fight for his Shrews place. Though consistency was a problem for Fejiri last season, he has a powerful shot in him and may yet upstage Angol in the long run. If not, though, then maybe opportunity could call for our youngest striker.
Lifumpa Mwandwe excelled in our Under-18s in the first half of last season before scoring seven goals on loan at Harrogate. I will now give the tenacious 18-year-old pressing forward a fair crack at the first-team whip. Having found the net three times in pre-season, Fumpa already looks ready to break through.
Tactically, I’m still using pretty much the same systems I introduced last season. My main 4-1-4-1 DM Wide tactic is largely unchanged, personnel notwithstanding, and will be my go-to system on most occasions. I will sometimes replace the inside-forward with a target man if I feel my advanced forward needs a partner, and I may sometimes switch to a basic 4-4-2 if need be.
With all that in mind, let’s swiftly move on to our first match of the season. In a repeat of the 2018 Play-Off Final, we pitted our wits against Paul Warne’s Rotherham, who had returned to League One after just one season in the Championship. Would the result at the New York Stadium be different from our Wembley defeat 15 months earlier?
ROTHERHAM UNITED vs SHREWSBURY TOWN (League One, Match 1)
The first half saw a series of narrow misses, with Rotherham eventually making the breakthrough just before the break. It came when Adarabioyo tried to head a Ryan Williams corner out of our box, only for Matty Palmer to flick it back towards goal. Palmer’s midfield partner Dominic Ball got the final touch, and it was 1-0 to the Millers.
Two minutes into the second period, though, Ball went from hero to zero. He pushed Beckles shortly after Colkett curled a free-kick into Rotherham’s area, prompting the referee to point to the penalty spot. Angol stepped forward, and then sent goalkeeper Mirco Miori the wrong way to get our campaign up and running.
Miori made a series of excellent saves later on to try and stop Angol from doubling his tally, but it would be to no avail. In the third minute of stoppage time, with a draw seemingly looming, Gnahoua cut inside from the left and entered the area before playing the ball short to our number 9. Lee then slipped his shot underneath Miori to secure us an unexpected 2-1 away win!
Incredibly, 10 different teams won by single-goal margins on the opening day of the League One season. Hull had also come from behind to win 2-1 against Accrington, and the second-favourites for the title hoped to claim three more points when they went to New Meadow in midweek.
SHREWSBURY TOWN vs HULL CITY (League One, Match 2)
Part of me expected this match to be a mauling… but I never thought we would be tearing our visitors apart! Hull’s humiliation started in the seventh minute, when Salop captain Collins got his first goal for us. The evergreen Welshman headed in an excellent corner from Colkett to rattle the Tigers’ cage.
Collins also had a role in our second goal, driving a long ball upfield to send Angol through on goal. Lee was eventually forced wide by Hull defender Reece Burke, and his attempted cut-back to Colkett was intercepted by a slide tackle from midfielder Daniel Batty (no relation to David). Not to worry, said Angol, who reclaimed the loose ball and slipped it home for 2-0.
That began a late goal glut from the Shrews, with Gnahoua also getting on the scoresheet by heading in a Bolton cross in the 43rd minute. It was our fourth goal that summed up the chaos in the Tigers’ backline. Goalkeeper George Long charged from his penalty area to try and get to Adarabioyo’s through-ball before Angol, only to miss it completely. That left Lee with a wide-open goal in which he could easily secure back-to-back braces.
Francesco Guidolin’s side already looked vanquished at 4-0 down, though they did at least try to fight back after the break. San Marino forward Filippo Berardi’s corner was slid home by Batty, but the goal didn’t count, as the officials had spotted a foul from Burke on Norburn.
Burke then cost City a goal in another sense four minutes from time. His interception of Norburn’s late free-kick was a poor one that Adarabioyo nodded against the crossbar. A hopeless Long then fumbled the ball after it bounced down towards him, and Angol took advantage with a simple point-blank finish! That completed a sensational 5-0 win – and a first Shrewsbury hat-trick for our main man!
Suffice to say, we were now nicely-placed at the top of the League One table on goal difference. The excitement amongst Shrews fans on social media was palpable:
I see Freddie’s distant Salopian cousin was quite satisfied with that result. I’ll admit that I was pretty excited as well at full-time. If you can make such light work of such a highly-fancied Hull team, then you’ve got to be in the promotion conversation at least. Now go and watch us lose to Peterborough, who’d kicked off with back-to-back defeats…
PETERBOROUGH UNITED vs SHREWSBURY TOWN (League One, Match 3)
Nah, actually, I always knew we’d do a job on Steve Evans’ lot! The narrow scoreline doesn’t say everything, because believe me – we absolutely battered Peterborough at London Road! We didn’t even need Angol, who was rested after bruising his shin late on against Hull.
Mwandwe made his first EFL start, and he could’ve had a maiden goal after just three minutes, but his strike from just outside the area was caught by Aaron Chapman. Disappointingly, our next ten efforts on goal all failed to trouble the target, and the lads knew they would get a tongue-lashing from me at half-time.
Our breakthrough eventually came four minutes into the second half. Wilson’s corner prompted a desperate, typically lower-league scramble in the Peterborough box. Laurent and Gnahoua each had shots blocked by Posh defenders before the latter’s second attempt flew past Chapman.
Chapman made some fine saves to keep the scoreline down, though Woodman at the other end wasn’t a total bystander. In the 69th minute, he palmed behind a vicious shot from Ivan Toney that could’ve got Peterborough level. Thanks to that save, and some excellent defending from Galloway and Beckles, we held on for a third consecutive win and stayed top.
We then went back to the New York Stadium, visiting Rotherham for the second time in 11 days. After our last-minute triumph in the league, could we knock the Millers out of the EFL Cup?
ROTHERHAM UNITED vs SHREWSBURY TOWN (EFL Cup, Round 1)
No. Edwards captained a largely second-string Shrews side, but the experienced midfielder had a mare. It began after six minutes, when his sloppy header was intercepted by Williams. The Australian winger launched the ball forward to Kyle Vassell, who then surged up the left flank before his square ball across our area was shinned into the net by strike partner Dominic Samuel.
Dave had another moment to forget roughly half an hour later. Debutant Redmond lost the ball with a heavy first touch, and Edwards’ inability to quickly regain possession was punished when Vassell volleyed in a Williams cross. A miserable first period ended with us going 3-0 behind, to ex-Aberdeen defender Clark Robertson’s header from Nathan Thomas’ free-kick.
I demanded a response from my underperforming players in the second half, and I got one after about nine minutes. Gilliead crossed to Gnahoua, whose header was difficultly parried by Miori. Okenabirhie was onto the rebound like a flash, and he thrashed in the first of three goals we needed to draw level.
Unfortunately, there would be no late heroics. Redmond came within inches of narrowing the deficit to 3-2 after an hour, and Laurent missed the target late on, but that was it for us in the EFL Cup. To make matters worse, Collins had gashed his leg in a tackle from Samuel and would sit out our next few games.
SHREWSBURY TOWN vs AFC WIMBLEDON (League One, Match 4)
This was frustratingly similar to our previous league match, against Peterborough. Our positive brand of football put Wimbledon on the back foot almost immediately, but some profligate shooting meant we couldn’t break the deadlock before half-time. Angol came closest when his 26th-minute header was caught by Dons goalkeeper Matija Sarkic, whose crossbar received a grazing from Grant a minute later.
As some typically British August rain lashed onto the New Meadow pitch, I brought Amadi-Holloway on to accompany Angol up front in the second half. The change worked to a degree, as Aaron was involved in the passing move that clicked us into gear after 62 minutes. The final pass was played by Colkett to the hitherto out-of-form Gilliead, who swerved a shot past Wimbledon left-back Nathan Ralph and left Sarkic standing.
That moment of magic would be decisive. Sarkic – on loan from Aston Villa – showed immense courage to stop the likes of Gilliead and Adarabioyo putting us further ahead. However, his team-mates created hardly anything going forward, and so we coasted to another victory that was rather easier than the scoreline suggested.
Only two teams in League One had won their opening four matches – us, and Wimbledon’s bitter rivals from Milton Keynes. At least one of those 100% records would be wiped out three days later, when we headed east to Buckinghamshire. I was quietly confident about making it a fantastic five wins, especially with Gilliead back to his…
…best. That is just Alex’s luck, isn’t it?
MILTON KEYNES DONS vs SHREWSBURY TOWN (League One, Match 5)
As it turned out, neither team could maintain their perfect starts. A cagey match at Stadium MK failed to live up to the billing, and neither home manager Paul Tisdale nor I would be particularly happy to spare the spoils at full-time.
Angol and his Milton Keynes counterpart Chuks Aneke each had chances to claim their sixth league goals of the season, but neither could hit the target in the opening half. When Franchise FC did take the lead on 28 minutes, it was with a goal created by their central midfielders. Alex Gilbey’s flick-on was drilled in from the edge of the box by ex-Chelsea youth product Jordan Houghton, who well and truly upstaged Colkett here.
Muirhead came off our bench at half-time, making his Shrewsbury debut against his former employers. The Scot helped us find the net after 55 minutes, when he sprayed the ball out right to Wilson, who crossed into the box. Former Portugal right-back Sílvio could only nod it on to Edwards, who would’ve been celebrating his first competitive goal back with the Shrews had Angol not been caught offside.
Lee apologised in some style after 60 minutes. He stood at the near post to receive a floated corner from Wilson, which he headed home after a missed interception from MK left-back Jordan Moore-Taylor. That goal earned us a point, with only Lee Nicholls’ 87th-minute save from Muirhead denying us the other two.
Angol had now scored six goals in our first five league outings, emulating his blistering start to the previous campaign. Next up was a home meeting with his previous club Mansfield, who – just like Milton Keynes – had made a strong start to life back in League One.
SHREWSBURY TOWN vs MANSFIELD TOWN (League One, Match 6)
Hmm… we appear to be slow starters. For the fifth game in a row after our 5-0 thrashing of Hull, we failed to score in the opening 45 minutes. It was once again a case of poor finishing from the likes of Angol and Kaikai. The former did have a 40th-minute free-kick saved by Mansfield keeper David Martin, but Sullay really was next to useless, rarely getting a touch of the ball.
Amadi-Holloway came on in Kaikai’s place for the second period, and the Welsh target man would make the desired impact. After Ben Watson and Alex MacDonald missed chances to give the visitors an unlikely away lead, we found a way through their defence 12 minutes from time. Morris’ cross to the edge of the six-yard box was nodded in by Amadi-Holloway, who left Martin helpless.
Aaron then secured all three points with another A-star finish in stoppage time. The Stags made a mess of trying to remove the danger caused by a cross from another Shrews substitute in right-back Wilson. Amadi-Holloway took all advantage, carving in a clinical shot to send us three points clear at the summit!
LUTON TOWN vs SHREWSBURY TOWN (League One, Match 7)
And then we saved our worst performance of the month for last. To be fair, Nathan Jones’ Luton had made a pretty strong start to the season and were one of my outside bets for promotion. They were positive and clinical at Kenilworth Road; we were anxious and wasteful.
The warning signs were there when Woodman had to save early efforts from Luton forward Danny Hylton and on-loan Ipswich midfielder Flynn Downes. At the other end, a 14th-minute strike from Angol manoeuvred Marek Stech into what would be his only save of the match.
Then began a catalogue of Shrewsbury defensive errors in the 30th minute. A lethargic Haynes at left-back failed to intercept a long ball from Hatters centre-half Matty Pearson to striker Ched Evans. Evans then cut the ball across our goal and found Hylton, whose shot was helped into the net by the slightest of deflections off right-back Bolton.
Ten minutes later, our afternoon descended into farce. Woodman rolled the ball short to half-back Grant, who played it back to him. Unfortunately, Freddie struggled to control the ball as it slowed on a waterlogged pitch. One-time Manchester City striker Evans used his strength to nick the ball and tap it into the net, leaving us 2-0 behind.
Haynes and Grant were both subbed at half-time after their goal-costing mistakes, but the game was already up. Another City misfit condemned us to a first league defeat in the 58th minute, as Stephen Ireland rocketed in a half-volley after Bolton weakly intercepted a cross from Jack Stacey. Mercifully, Luton kept the final scoreline at 3-0, but I wouldn’t have complained if they’d scored even more.
We ended August still sitting in 1st place, though our heavy defeat had allowed goal-happy Milton Keynes to close the gap. Coventry and Mansfield had also started strongly, while 6th-placed Bolton were the only side still undefeated after their first seven matches.
All in all, that’s another positive start for the Shrews. Lee’s still got plenty of Angoals left in him, though we need to find a way to score before half-time. I suspect some tactical fine-tuning might be in order for our next few fixtures. Come back next week to see how we get on!
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