Five talking points from Shrewsbury Town's Bantams loss
We bring you five talking points from Shrewsbury Town's defeat to Bradford City.
Decisions on the left side
Omar Beckles at left-back and Stefan Payne on the left side of an attacking three came as a surprise to some Town fans.
Centre-half Beckles, who did such a sturdy job on the left side of defence last season, looked uncomfortable against Bradford.
He was surely competing with Kieran Kennedy to start alongside Mat Sadler with new-boy Ryan Haynes out at left-back.
Payne, a centre-forward, is not at his best on the left side and may find himself battling with newcomer Aaron Amadi-Holloway for the lone position in attack.
Askey is still getting a feel for what works best.
Centre-half pairing
While it was perhaps a surprise to see Kennedy get the nod over Beckles in the heart of Askey’s defence, it must be said that the summer signing from Macclesfield coped largely well with everything thrown his way.
The 24-year-old is a commanding figure and uncompromising defender – he headed and kicked most that Bradford tossed forward.
Kennedy, however, did not look the quickest defender so Shrewsbury may be short of a bit of pace in that position if Kennedy and Sadler are a long-term pairing.
Town are in the hunt for another centre-back to add to their ranks.
Midfield promise
Charlie Colkett and Josh Laurent were two of the bright sparks and real positives from Town’s opening-day Bantams reversal.
Chelsea loan man Colkett, 21, looks every inch a stylish and accomplished footballer and is a natural left-footed ball-player with confidence to move the ball forward.
Laurent, 23, who joined from Wigan this summer, is a midfield powerhouse with guile to match his stature.
He enjoys bursting forward and joining in with attacks by arriving late in the box and came within inches of an equaliser but instead found the crossbar.
The duo look an exciting pairing.
What a cameo!
Many may have predicted exciting signing Alex Gilliead to start in the opening League One game but he had to make do with a 16-minute cameo from the bench.
It may have been short, but the 22-year-old direct and pacy winger definitely made the most of his time impressing the Salop faithful.
He immediately began heading for the byline and putting in dangerous crosses before a superb 25-yard strike rattled the crossbar against his former side.
His fellow winger Shaun Whalley may have won man of the match, but Gilliead really made his mark on his competitive Town bow.
Askey’s favoured system
The boss prefers using a 4-3-3 and, with the correct players up to speed in each position, it could be an exciting and attack-minded formation for Town this season.
It is likely that Gilliead and Whalley will establish themselves as Salop’s main wide options this term, leaving Payne, Amadi-Holloway and Fejiri Okenabirhie to battle out the top spots.
The midfield pairing of Colkett-Laurent worked well.
Doug Loft behind them provided a base and, once he’s fit, Anthony Grant will inject some steel into Town’s play.
On this evidence Shrewsbury won’t be shy in attacking this season.
