Shrewsbury Town fan rep hopes club is kept at heart amid takeover talk
Shrewsbury Town fan chief Mike Davis hopes for ‘more of the same’ as talk of the club’s future ownership continues.
Town chairman Roland Wycherley is considering the future of the Montgomery Waters Meadow club as it is understood he is set to call time on a 25-year tenure.
Co-chairman of the Town Supporters’ Parliament and supporter liaison officer Davis feels fans’ chief concern is that any would-be owner has the club and its supporters at heart.
Wycherley, who turned 80 this year, has won praise for guiding Shrewsbury to become one of the best run clubs, with some of the most secure finances, in the Football League.
The club’s new vice-chairman, Shropshire businessman and Town fan Paul Delves, appointed on the board of directors almost two years ago, is believed to be lined up as successor.
Davis said: “We’ve seen it at certain clubs, where chairmen and owners have run the club into the ground.
“So it’s always a worry that you get the right person to take over.
“From a supporter point of view I would always rather the local person, who has an affinity with the club, take over, rather than somebody coming in that either wants to make a quick buck or throw a lot of money at it to get bored and leave the club in turmoil.
“So more of the same, I think really, certainly from my point of view. I speak to a lot of fans and we’ve seen what’s happened with clubs of a similar size as us who have gone out of business or dropped through the league.
“We just want to see stability, when it happens a new owner who has the club and fans at heart so we can kick on.”
Town fan Davis, who alongside his colleagues at the Supporters’ Parliament brought safe standing to Shrewsbury in 2018, added: “If it is Paul (Delves), who takes over, then fans know Paul’s name, he’s a local businessman, he’s got local business interests, I don’t think there’s any concern at all with Paul taking the club, but it’s difficult to comment when you don’t know the ins and outs.”
Shrews have endured a struggle in League One so far this term and sit second-bottom after 12 games.
“The chairman has given everything to the club, 25 years of his life, none of us would want to see the chairman go out on a sour note, he doesn’t deserve that,” Davis said. “He deserves the praise and to go out on a high, whenever he does decide the time’s right.”
