Dave Edwards: The winds of change are blowing through Shrewsbury
With Brian Caldwell and Keith Burt both gone and Steve Cotterill uncertain over his future, it feels as though change is coming to Shrewsbury Town.
Only time will tell whether it is the right change.
For the moment, I think there needs to be trust in chairman Roland Wycherley making the right decisions. He’s done a wonderful job in his time at the club. When you look at how far it has come with him at the helm, it really is unbelievable.
Whatever calls he makes will be in the best interests of the club. He always puts it first.
From Steve Cotterill’s comments after Sunday’s defeat at Lincoln, he’s clearly unsure about where he personally stands.
Keith Burt is someone he brought to the club and you have to say he did a terrific job when you consider the players they have signed over the past couple of years.
But then you hear the club has made an approach for Micky Moore, the director of football at Cheltenham, and it will be fascinating to see how it plays out. I am not sure Cotterill is used to working under a director of football. We will just have to see.
I can understand why the chairman would want a director of football. I think it would give the club a bit more stability.
The chairman does not like firing managers. John Askey is probably the only one who didn’t get much time at Shrewsbury in recent years.
When you have a change of manager in the lower leagues it usually equals a big turnover of players. A director of football being in charge of the recruitment makes the structure that bit more stable and makes sense from a sustainability point of view.
It is difficult to comment on what is wrong and what is right at this point.
From the outside, people will look and see a team doing well, who have just secured the highest league finish for five years. We have a good group of players, an excellent manager in charge and things seem to be moving in the right direction.
But we don’t know what the situation is behind the scenes, in terms of finances and relationships.
Shrewsbury is not a massive club. We are well supported in the community but when things are going well we get 6,000 home fans and we always have to work within a structure. I imagine by setting up a new football board the chairman is trying to position things by giving the club the best possible chance of success while also keeping within the financial constraints.
Sometimes decisions aren’t popular, but the chairman has always tried to steer the club in a good direction. I think that is why you have to put your trust in him because he has always put the club first and done what he feels is in its best interest.
I think everyone was a bit shocked to see the departure of Brian Caldwell and I want to put on record my personal thanks to him. Brian was excellent with me when I was at the club and I know he made a big impact at Shrewsbury.
That includes the work he has done with the Foundation, of which we are both trustees. I worked closely with him on that side and he is a terrific guy. It is sad to see him go from a personal view but the chairman is obviously looking at the bigger picture and for the sustainability of the club, changes are going to have to be made.
