Loanee Taylor Moore to shore up Shrewsbury Town's midfield
Manager Steve Cotterill has outlined his plan for Taylor Moore in Shrewsbury Town’s midfield this season.
Moore, 25, primarily a defender at parent club Bristol City, penned a season-long loan at Montgomery Waters Meadow as one of six new recruits so far this summer.
But the versatile Moore has played in a defensive midfield role, in front of Town’s back three, in two of three friendlies so far.
“Taylor has come here as a central midfield player,” Cotterill, a former Bristol City boss, explained. “Taylor can do two positions for us, that’s vital with our budget, I think Taylor hasn’t quite fulfilled his potential in the Championship at centre-back.
“So somewhere along the line something has to change, I’ve spoken to him numerous times over the summer, we met and discussed this.
“He started as a central midfield player. It’s not foreign to him that we stuck a centre-back in midfield. I signed him as a central midfield player.
“You need somebody that can look after the space in front of that back three. They haven’t got to be best footballer or silky, when he starts getting his angles right – and I think there’s a huge improvement in him now from the first game he played. And when you take the opposition on board the improvement is as big as we could’ve hoped.
“He’s a great lad, good footballer, he will settle down there.”
Shrewsbury is a sixth loan deal for former England under-20 international Moore, who has won glowing references from spells with the likes of Cheltenham, Southend and Blackpool.
Cotterill explained that Town’s squad required the type of ‘defensive-minded’ midfield option, something different in the Shrews ranks. David Davis and loanee Tyrese Fornah, who played those roles last term, exited this summer.
“When you look at our midfielders, Shippers (Shipley) runs hard, Bayliss runs hard, Leahy runs hard but they haven’t really got too much defensive side, they all want to shoot off,” the manager added.
“We need somebody to look after that area, there are two or three other midfielders who haven’t moved yet, but they will go to bigger clubs.
“Everybody wants that (N’Golo) Kante that sits in front of the back four, mops up with little tidy passes, I think he did that against Cardiff.
“He’ll grow into the role, and when he gets fitter it will help. His fitness is down and when changing position he’ll find it even harder.
“He’s a great kid, a work in progress in that area.”
