Author: Chris Fuller

After a few days off from blogging following a family bereavement, I’m back with the latest installment of “Floreat Salopia”. Just to recap, Shrewsbury Town have made another strong start to a League One campaign, giving fans hope that 2019/2020 could be a season of promotion.

This chapter will take us through September and October 2019, which also includes our first couple of matches in the Pointless Trophy. But before we return to action, let’s have a look at my 11th and final summer signing, whom I got through the door just before the transfer window closed…

Continue reading “Floreat Salopia: Season 2, Part 3” →

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!

Continue reading “Floreat Salopia: Season 2, Part 2” →

July is always an exciting time in British football. A new season gives everyone a chance to forget about the past – whether they won the league, claimed promotion, suffered relegation, or were Everton – and look ahead to the future.

I for one am completely over last season’s last-minute Play-Off Semi Final defeat to Oxford. Every now and then, I wake up from a nightmare in a pool of sweat after imagining Gavin Whyte running into our penalty area. I’ve also occasionally wandered the streets of Shrewsbury carrying a club and looking for a Northern Irishman to attack out of revenge. Other than that, I’ve entirely forgotten about it!

With my first year as Shrewsbury Town manager now in the history books, I now have the freedom to assemble my own team. Established Shrews favourites (such as Messrs Colkett and Angol in the title image above) are being joined by a bunch of new signings, who could turn these play-off contenders into promotion material.

But before we welcome those players who have arrived, we must bid a final farewell to those who have moved on…

Continue reading “Floreat Salopia: Season 2, Part 1” →

My first season in charge of Shrewsbury Town is in the history books. I arrived at New Meadow in the summer of 2018, inheriting a team that had changed dramatically since losing the League One Play-Off Final just weeks earlier. Mounting another promotion charge would be a big ask for a rookie manager like me.

This post will recap how the Shrews got on over the course of the 2018/2019 season, tracking our progress in League One and the three domestic cups. I’ll also provide some statistics, as well as a development update on our younger talents, before laying out my plans for the upcoming transfer window. Finally, we’ll trawl through the various leagues and cups in England and elsewhere in a general season round-up.

Continue reading “Floreat Salopia: Season Review 2018/2019” →

My first season with Shrewsbury Town has almost come to its end. In just four, six or even seven matches’ time, we will know whether we’ll be remaining in League One, or leaving that division for the Championship.

Thanks to Angoal’s firepower, Charlie’s creativity, and Brendan’s… ahem… brilliance at the back, a ticket to the League One play-offs is within our reach. However, there’s still a chance that we can go up automatically, without having to take the more scenic (and perhaps lucrative) route.

If you haven’t caught up on Part 6 yet, please have a read of that first. For the rest of us, let’s get into the run-in without any further delay!

Continue reading “Floreat Salopia: Season 1, Part 7” →

“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.

Continue reading “Floreat Salopia: Season 1, Part 6” →

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…

Continue reading “Floreat Salopia: Season 1, Part 5” →

2018 has been quite the year for Shrewsbury Town. After two losing visits to Wembley and a change of manager, the Shrews will surely end the year like they started it – challenging for an unlikely promotion to the Championship.

This chapter picks up from the aftermath of our FA Cup Round 1 tie against Dover. Following a recent decline in form, I have opted for a risky mid-season change of tactic. It could get us back on track… but then again, it could backfire spectacularly and send us plummeting down the table.

There will be a mid-season report at the end of this post, in which I will also detail my plans for the January transfer window. If things carry on as they have done in recent weeks, then one thing is for sure: we will need some new defenders.

Continue reading “Floreat Salopia: Season 1, Part 4” →

Well… I think any fears that “Floreat Salopia” could be a short story have quickly been laid to rest. In the first few months of my stewardship, Shrewsbury Town have picked up right where they left off under Paul Hurst. While there won’t be a repeat of last season’s incredible unbeaten start, there is plenty of cause for optimism here at New Meadow.

Now it’s time to see if we can carry our excellent early-season form over into the autumn. Are we really set for a truly incredible season, or have I just had some good ol’ beginner’s luck, Football Manager style?

Continue reading “Floreat Salopia: Season 1, Part 3” →

Welcome back to “Floreat Salopia”, where my first season in charge of Shrewsbury Town is just about to get underway. This chapter will take you through August and September 2018, back when Britain was divided over Mike Ashley’s buy-out of House of Fraser and two YouTubers fighting each other… amongst other things.

If you missed Chapter 1 of this new FM19 story, then you might want to read that first before continuing. By the way, I’d like to thank all my readers for their incredible support when that first chapter went live last Friday morning. It’s always great to know that you’re following along.

Continue reading “Floreat Salopia: Season 1, Part 2” →