It’s fair to say I wasn’t a happy Easter bunny after the last chapter. Yet more dismal home form for my Shrewsbury Town side resulted in a miserable 30th birthday in-game, and a keyboard that temporarily lost a few keys in the real world.
You’ll be glad to read that I have now calmed down following that debacle. It’s full steam ahead as we try to launch one final push for the play-offs and chase that elusive promotion to the Championship. Will the Shrews be popping champagne corks come the final whistle, or will we have to ponder another year in League One?
THE RUN-IN
Here’s how things stood in League One, with four matches still to play. Bolton were promoted as champions, and Sunderland looked set for automatic promotion too. Milton Keynes and Fleetwood were close to securing play-off places, while we were effectively in a four-way battle with Scunthorpe, Luton and Coventry for the two remaining spots.
Our run-in looked simple enough on paper: Yeovil (H), Coventry (A), Bristol Rovers (H), Port Vale (A). Three of those teams were ranked 16th or lower, but our visit to the Ricoh Arena to play Coventry looked like being absolutely massive.
5th-placed Scunthorpe had two favourable home games, and a couple of potentially sticky away fixtures: Wimbledon (H), Milton Keynes (A), Mansfield (H), Luton (A).
Luton had a tough run of games ahead of that potential decider at Kenilworth Road, hosting both Bolton and in-form Portsmouth before going to Bradford. If the Hatters hit a rough patch, and either we or Coventry made a late surge, they would be vulnerable.
And lastly, let’s look at Coventry’s run-in. Our duel was sandwiched between a couple of away days at Accrington and Charlton, which would be followed by a home game against Fleetwood on the final weekend.
SHREWSBURY TOWN vs YEOVIL TOWN (League One, Match 43)
And so our final push for a play-off place began at New Meadow against Yeovil. With the Glovers having gone six games without a win, surely we wouldn’t lose a FIFTH home fixture on the trot here?
The first half saw plenty of attacking action – mostly in Yeovil’s penalty area. Our box-to-box midfielder Josh Laurent came close to driving in an opener from distance after 26 minutes. That was followed by a couple of close-range efforts from winger Rafa Mir, who was twice thwarted by Glovers gloveman Steven Benda. There would be no lucky 13th goal of the season for Rafa here.
Yeovil added some Brazilian flair to their attack for the second half by bringing on Fernando Henrique, who scored goals aplenty in the Cypriot second division last season. Luckily for us, it turned out that manager Michael Flynn hadn’t stumbled upon the new Ronaldo, or even the next Alexandre Pato. The 29-year-old journeyman didn’t even get a shot on goal during his cameo.
In contrast, our frontman Lee Angol managed four shots on target in total. Three were saved by Benda, but the one effort that did beat the German goalkeeper came – ironically – from the penalty spot after 72 minutes. After captain Omar Beckles was pushed in the six-yard box by Yeovil forward Paddy Madden, Angol calmly slotted in his penalty to finally give us the lead.
Madden had already been booked in the very first minute, and the Irishman narrowly avoided a second yellow for that penalty incident. A shove on Arthur Gnahoua in the 83rd minute was the final straw for the referee, who issued Madden with his marching orders. That was one of four bookings the visitors received in the closing stages, during which we kept our cool to end a six-match winless run.
If other results went as expected, then Luton would have lost their match against Bolton, and thus we would’ve bumped them out of the play-off spots on goal difference. The Hatters surely couldn’t have beaten the league champions, could they?
Oh my God, they only went and beat ’em 1-0 – with a 92nd-minute winner from Luke Berry! Having inflicted Bolton’s third league defeat of the campaign, Luton were now three points ahead of us. So too were Scunthorpe, who came from behind to draw 1-1 at home to Wimbledon. Typical.
COVENTRY CITY vs SHREWSBURY TOWN (League One, Match 44)
It was a victory at the Ricoh Arena against Coventry that secured our play-off place last season. While we obviously couldn’t repeat that here, another win over the Sky Blues would certainly help our charge towards promotion.
These days, the Sky Blues were managed by Paul Warne, who took the helm in January after previous incumbent Alan Pardew returned to Crystal Palace. Yeah… I probably should have mentioned that Pardew was in the opposite dugout when we beat Coventry 5-1 in December, shouldn’t I?
Warne’s warriors had more substance than Pardew’s dad-dancers, and the first half was a very frustrating experience for us. I lost count of how many chances we had to take the lead in that first period. While Charlie Colkett and David Edwards were dominating the midfield with some excellent passing, Angol and our other attackers just weren’t taking their opportunities.
Dave took matters into his own hands – so to speak – midway through the second period. The 34-year-old made a late run into Coventry’s box to get his head to Gnahoua’s cross and get it past goalkeeper Lee Burge. That gave us a 1-0 lead, which looked rather precarious when Mickel Miller came within inches of equalising in the 76th minute.
Another attack ten minutes later would give Coventry better fortune. After clearing a Gnahoua corner, the Sky Blues launched a fast-paced counter-attack, which should have ended with Jordy Hiwula equalising from Fankaty Dabo’s left-wing cross. As it so happened, Hiwula’s shot hit the post and deflected invitingly for target man Jonson Clarke-Harris to do the honours instead.
In normal circumstances, I probably would’ve taken a draw. Then I looked at the league standings:
As it transpired, Luton had been beaten 3-1 at home to Portsmouth. Meanwhile, Scunthorpe had succumbed to a 2-0 away defeat against Milton Keynes, who were now set to finish 3rd. Incidentally, Sunderland had now secured 2nd place and would be promoted automatically.
The gap to our two rivals was down to a couple of points. Had we not conceded that late Clarke-Harris equaliser, though, we would have leapfrogged them into 5th on goal difference. Would that goal prove to be a very costly one?
SHREWSBURY TOWN vs BRISTOL ROVERS (League One, Match 45)
This was a typical late-season encounter in which one team had everything to play for and the other had nothing. While we were battling for a play-off place, a recent upturn in form had pulled Bristol Rovers clear of relegation danger. With that in mind, it wasn’t hard to see why the Pirates weren’t quite the same force here as we were used to coming up against.
Things were looking reasonably comfortable for us as early as the second minute. Kane Wilson‘s corner was flicked by Kyle Howkins to the far post, where Bryn Morris was waiting to tuck away just his second goal of the campaign. From that moment, we never looked back.
Winger Alex Gilliead then had opportunities to give us a 2-0 lead, not least when he agonisingly hit the post in the 22nd minute. Fortunately, Angol was alert enough to get to the rebound and convert what was – funnily enough – his 22nd goal this season!
Despite a late attempt at a fightback from Bristol Rovers, we struck a deadly blow in the first minute of stoppage time to go 3-0 up. Gilliead was the architect again, cutting the ball into the penalty area for Edwards to score his 46th… no, sorry, EIGHTH goal of the season. Even at 34, Dave was still as deadly as ever from midfield.
Another Shrew would be celebrating his eighth goal early in the second half. Sullay Kaikai converted a header from Colkett’s cross, which took him into double figures for assists. At 4-0 up, I could now afford to give some gametime to three homegrown youngsters – right-back Ryan Sears, striker Lifumpa Mwandwe, and 17-year-old debutant midfielder Danny Hughes.
With our team now having a more youthful look to it, it wasn’t surprising to see Bristol Rovers grab a couple of consolation goals. The first came from a Kyle Bennett free-kick, which Tom Lockyer knocked down for on-loan West Ham striker Toni Martínez to finish. Another Bennett set-piece inflicted further damage when his corner was headed in by Scott Wharton – a centre-back on loan from Blackburn.
Despite those late goals from Bristol Rovers, I was still delighted with a comfortable win… and delight would soon turn into ecstasy! For starters, Luton had lost again, this time to the odd goal in a five-goal thriller at Bradford. Scunthorpe fell 1-0 at home to Mansfield, and Coventry’s slim play-off hopes were extinguished by a 2-1 win for Charlton at The Valley.
That meant we would head into the final round of fixtures in 5th place!
At first glance, our situation probably looked uncertain. In fact, we were now almost certain to make the play-offs.
Just to remind you, Luton would host Scunthorpe on the final day. As both teams trailed Shrewsbury by a single point and had inferior goal differences, the only way they could both overtake us was if they drew with each other, and we lost 5-0 at Port Vale. In any other circumstance, we would finish in the top six.
Port Vale had just been condemned to relegation and were bereft of confidence. Even if we produced our WORST performance of the season (and believe me, we’d set a very low bar), I couldn’t see them beating us by five goals. Unless both our senior goalkeepers got injured and we had to play a teenager between the posts…
Well, one of them did. Thankfully, it was only our second-choice keeper Jack Bonham who hurt his groin, rather than our number 1 Freddie Woodman. Even so, it meant that I had to do everything I could to keep Freddie fit in this final stretch. If anything was to happen to him, it really would spell disaster.
18-year-old Sam Agius would take Bonham’s place on the bench for the foreseeable future. Agius was a National League-standard keeper at best, so I was understandably hoping that was as far as he got to seeing action.
PORT VALE vs SHREWSBURY TOWN (League One, Match 46)
With the first leg of our Play-Off Semi Final set to take place four days after this match, I chose to rest some of our best players. Edwards and Omar Beckles were left at home, which meant 36-year-old defender James Collins captained us in his final game before retirement. As Wilson needed time to rest his dodgy arm after playing against Bristol Rovers, Sears got another start at right-back.
One player who did feature from the outset was Angol, who needed just one more goal to equal the 23 he scored in the last regular season (not including his play-off goal against Oxford). Lee was a lively presence midway through the first period, though a couple of promising efforts were kept out by Scott Brown.
As far as I was concerned, it was important that we hadn’t let Vale score an early goal to jangle our nerves. It was even more important that we settled those nerves by finding the net in the 24th minute. The killer ball was crossed from the touchline by left-back Ryan Haynes, who picked out Gilliead and then watched his colleague score from a tight angle.
The Valiants then lived up to their nickname by pushing for an equaliser before half-time. Their most potent threat was Matt O’Riley – a 19-year-old Fulham loanee midfielder who twice skimmed the crossbar. However, the hosts would lose another young middleman just before half-time, when Shaun McWilliams hurt his ankle in an overly enthusiastic slide tackle on Gilliead.
Angol appeared to have given us a more comfortable lead in the first minute of the second period, when he ran onto and stabbed in a through-ball from Laurent. Alas, Lee made his run past Vale’s hardman centre-back Jake Buxton just a split-second too early and was caught offside. That was the closest he would come to getting on the scoresheet before Mwandwe took his place up front on the hour mark.
By the 72nd minute, Mwandwe had removed the last shred of doubt that we would make the play-offs. When Gnahoua weighted a pass into the area, the 19-year-old used his pace to get past Vale defender Nathan Smith and goalkeeper Brown before applying the finish. It was Fumpa’s fourth goal in an often-difficult first season in the senior set-up, but perhaps it would be the one that really kick-started his career.
And so, after a very frustrating season in which we did our level best to throw promotion away, we eventually secured 5th place – and a Play-Off Semi Final against 4th-placed Fleetwood. We would host Joey Barton’s side in the first leg on 6 May, before visiting Highbury Stadium for the rematch four days later.
But who would face Milton Keynes in the other Semi? Scunthorpe had to beat Luton at Kenilworth Stadium to qualify, and they looked good when Nicky Ajose put them ahead after six minutes. However, Berry equalised early in the second half before Danny Hylton settled the tie five minutes from time, sending Luton through as 2-1 winners. Scunny had missed their chance to atone for last season’s Play-Off Final defeat to Oxford.
Meanwhile, five teams battled it out to avoid the three remaining relegation places. Supporters of Wimbledon and Yeovil were breathing sighs of relief at full-time, but those of Accrington, Plymouth and Wycombe shed tears at the realisation that League Two now beckoned. I wasn’t even slightly sorry to see Stanley go down!
A few days after the regular season concluded, the play-offs got underway with Luton hosting local rivals Milton Keynes, while we welcomed Fleetwood back to New Meadow. Having previously endured two draws and two defeats at the fins of the Cod Army this season, this was a great chance to exact revenge – and take control of the tie.
SHREWSBURY TOWN vs FLEETWOOD TOWN (League One, Play-Off Semi Final – Leg 1)
While we were unbeaten in five matches, Fleetwood’s end-of-season couldn’t have been much more different. Barton’s boys forgot to win after mid-March, drawing seven of their final eight fixtures. The exception in that sequence was a 3-1 home defeat to Yeovil on the penultimate weekend of the season.
Though Fleetwood understandably lined up in a more cautious 4-3-3-esque formation than us at New Meadow, they had the game’s first shot on target after just five minutes. Kyle Dempsey – the most advanced of their midfielders – curved a shot into Woodman’s hands from inside our ‘D’.
Our opponents’ pragmatism frustrated our attacking efforts. Ex-Sunderland and Middlesbrough midfielder Grant Leadbitter blocked a couple of shots from Kaikai and Edwards, who were at least getting themselves into the game. By contrast, the Cod Army had done a fine job of subduing Mir on the right wing and shutting Angol out of contention.
I switched to a 4-2-3-1 prior to the second half, shifting our midfield three around instead of making any changes in personnel. Before we could get a chance to attack Fleetwood, though, they put us firmly on the back foot. Leadbitter floated a corner towards his fellow defensive midfielder Alfie Jones, who hit the bar. Our left-back Brendan Galloway almost got to the rebound, but he was just pipped by visiting centre-half Cian Bolger, whose header made it 1-0.
We now had to really push forward, for losing the first leg at home would surely be decisive, even bearing our better away form in mind. Fleetwood goalkeeper Alex Cairns had been a constant thorn in our side in previous meetings, and he was so again here. Midway through the second half, Colkett had a couple of efforts saved by Cairns, who also kept Kaikai at bay… though not for long.
In the 71st minute, Edwards played an excellent ball up to the right wing for Mir, whose cross was then cleared by Bolger. Dave quickly pounced on the rebound and knocked it into the area for substitute striker Mwandwe, who’d just come on to complement Angol. Fumpa laid the ball off first-time to Kaikai, whose powerfully-struck ninth goal of the season silenced the boisterous away fans.
Angol then had a couple of opportunities to secure us a narrow first-leg lead. However, the occasion got to Lee, who tamely chipped a shot into Cairns’ hands in the 78th minute before screwing Mir’s cross wide four minutes later. Even so, we would head into the second leg with the scores level at 1-1, and with every chance of going through.
This Semi Final was still up for grabs, but the same perhaps couldn’t be said of the other. Luton were in irresistible form on home soil, demolishing Milton Keynes 4-1 to leave Steve Evans licking his lips at the prospect of another Wembley outing.
FLEETWOOD TOWN vs SHREWSBURY TOWN (League One, Play-Off Semi Final – Leg 2)
We renewed acquaintances with Fleetwood four days later, travelling to the Lancashire coast for our sixth and final meeting of the season. It would take a great effort to get a long-awaited win on the board, but I always backed my boys to do well.
Playing a direct 4-4-2 had frustrated Fleetwood on our last visit to Highbury Stadium, so I went for the same approach here. That meant Kaikai was amongst four players to be dropped from our starting XI for the first match, with Wilson, Gilliead, Mwandwe and Danny Redmond all coming in. Barton’s only change to his line-up was in defensive midfield, where 36-year-old Dean Marney replaced Jones, who’d fractured his ribs in the closing stages at New Meadow.
Continuity seemed to suit Fleetwood early on, as a third-minute shot from forward Conor McAleny gave Woodman a stern test. After that, though, they wouldn’t get close to troubling our goalkeeper until five minutes from half-time. A cross-field ball from McAleny found Adrian Popa in space, and the hard-working Romanian winger’s angled shot was pushed behind by Woodman.
We only had one attempt on goal to show for our first-half efforts. This was turning into another frustrating afternoon for Angol, who headed a Wilson cross into Cairns’ hands in the 27th minute, but otherwise did little else.
I initially persisted with the 4-4-2 for the second half, but after Popa and then Dempsey hit the woodwork, I realised that something was not right. We went back to the good ol’ 4-1-4-1, with Kaikai coming on to replace a nervous Mwandwe. Redmond also felt the pressure after being shifted from left wing to central midfield, so he would soon be replaced by a more natural advanced playmaker in Colkett.
Eventually, though, Fleetwood’s intelligent attacking play would give them the edge. In the 78th minute, substitute forward Ashley Hunter sprayed the ball out left to wing-back Ben Purrington, who delivered a deep cross into the penalty area. Popa then centred it first-time to pick out a late run from Hunter, who caught his marker Wilson unawares as he clinically stabbed it into the net.
We had one chance to erase our hosts’ narrow advantage and take the tie into extra-time. With six minutes remaining, Colkett aimed a corner delivery to the near post, where Mir got above a couple of defenders to flick it to the far post. When Angol converted it like the poacher he is, it appeared that we’d pulled ourselves from the brink… until the offside flag cut short our celebrations.
The officials’ decision – while correct – was a devastating blow. We were unable to get ourselves back level, and so – for the third season in a row – our play-off exploits ended in tears.
Ah well. Fleetwood now had the best part of three weeks to prepare for the game of their lives – the Play-Off Final against Lu… hold on. It says here that Milton Keynes beat Luton 5-1 after extra-time in the second leg, overturning their first-leg deficit and going through 6-5 on aggregate! Crikey!
Excuse me while I shed a few tears for Steve Evans.
REFLECTIONS
Okay, I’m going to be brutally honest with you. This has not been an enjoyable season for so many reasons, and I’m actually quite glad that it’s over.
Having made such a strong start, I believed for a while that we were promotion material. Then we started to go off the rails in October, particularly at New Meadow. Frankly, if you lose NINE home league games in a season and somehow stay in play-off contention, then you’re very lucky.
Then my in-game issues were put into perspective by a real-life family crisis. On Thursday 28 February, my grandad Fred suffered a heart attack and a stroke while in hospital. I went up to see him for one final time later that evening, and he passed away peacefully a couple of hours later, aged 84.
My grandad’s death badly affected me physically and mentally, and I was in quite a bad situation for a while. After taking a few days off from FM, I resumed my Shrewsbury save, which helped take my mind off things but also led to some wild mood swings. The Charlton defeat from the previous chapter – during which I angrily slammed my keyboard against my desk (dislodging a few keys) after Michal Zyro made it 3-1 – was as bad as things got.
At that point, I seriously considered jacking the save in, and maybe even calling it a day as far as FM19 was concerned. I persevered, and the late-season surge you saw above has helped rekindle my love for the story. I’m now determined to ensure that the 2020/2021 season is a more successful one, not to mention a happier experience.
I’ll explain my transfer plans in more depth in the Season Review later this week. I can tell you, though, that there will be a significant shifting of dead wood. While we have a starting XI to compete with the best of League One, our overall squad depth is sorely lacking, and we have too many mediocre players who are simply not up to scratch.
You may be glad to hear that Angol will not be leaving Shrewsbury in the summer. I tied the 25-year-old striker down to a new two-year contract just before he went away on his holidays, and with good reason.
Yes, Lee can be fantastic one game and frustrating the next, but he has a natural goalscoring talent that few other players in this division can match. His 22 goals would have seen him claim League One’s Golden Boot had his main rival – Milton Keynes’ Chuks Aneke – not pulled ahead in the play-offs.
Angol was League One’s 3rd-highest scorer in 2018/2019. He came 2nd in 2019/2020. At this rate, surely 2020/2021 will be the season in which he becomes the cream of the third tier.
League One’s Manager of the Year award went to GQ’s Best Dressed Man of 2020 – Paul Tisdale of Milton Keynes. The king of cravats had also become the king of comebacks, as MK twice came from behind at Wembley to beat Fleetwood 4-2 and secure back-to-back promotions.
That means we’ll have to play Joey Barton and his merry men again next season. HOLY S-
The Season Review will hopefully be ready for publication later this week. In that article, I will stew over nine months of hope and frustration before detailing my transfer plans for the upcoming campaign. Here’s hoping that will be the one where I make it third time lucky.
Also, if any of my comments regarding mental health and wellbeing have resonated with you, and you want to talk things over with me, then I’m happy to help. As always, you can find me on Twitter @Fuller_FM, where you can drop me a Direct Message if you so wish.
Fuller FM 
You must be logged in to post a comment.