Bernard McNally column: Nobody gets past the Shrewsbury ‘doormen’
It was my first Town game in a little while after going away and one of the fans made me smile when they said to me that our three central defenders should be known as ‘the doormen’ – they don’t let anybody in. That’s a great analogy!
I was hoping for a little more excitement from Saturday’s game against Burton but it was very frustrating.
Going forward I thought we lacked craft and creativity. You just want somebody that knows where the goal is.
It’ll be interesting to see how Sam plays it. I think Shaun Whalley is better in midfield, now hearing that Fejiri is injured maybe he will give Daniel Udoh a go after his goal at Accrington.
I’d be getting another striker into the club, it looks like common sense to me. You always want someone better than what you’ve got as a manager. We’ve struggled in that position.
These injury runs do happen but fans will be wanting explanations as to why they’re re-occurring.
As a manager you’ll think ‘what on earth is going on?’
I’m sure Sam will be thinking about training, whether it’s a little too hard and some are over-tired.
It’s a little bit concerning to hear Fey is now added to the long list.
The team is doing well in ninth. They have key players out who make us stronger. There will be nobody wishing Ollie Norburn and Ro-Shaun Williams could be back quicker more than Sam, but they’ve got to play it carefully in not doing it too soon.
But he has to be governed by what the physio team say.
We used to have it, and I did too, where fans would say ‘he’s injury prone’.
Sam takes his troops to Ipswich on Saturday. I was surprised to hear I played in the last league game there in 1989! We went there a few times in what is now Championship level and they were a strong side.
Going to places like that there was sometimes less pressure and maybe that will be the case for Sam to tweak something.
Ipswich won the UEFA Cup under Bobby Robson and we played them in the FA Cup a few times in the early 80s and won two. It was a bit like David v Goliath then.
But playing a team like that we wanted to raise our game individually and collectively and we did.
When I heard the Bury news it made me think just how well Shrewsbury is run. It’s a tight ship. We all want them to spend their millions but it won’t happen otherwise you get the scenario of Bury and Bolton.
The chairman deserves praise because he’s running it the right way and we’re in a good position.
