Chey Dunkley named new Shrewsbury Town captain
New Shrewsbury Town skipper Chey Dunkley embodies everything good at the football club – according to boss Matt Taylor.
The former Sheffield Wednesday man has been named as Town’s new captain on the eve of the League One season – taking over from Luke Leahy, who departed this summer.
Dunkley started every single league fixture last season and was a rock playing in the middle of Town’s back three.
And with the former skipper, Leahy, moving on this summer, Taylor has given the armband to Dunkley saying he is the perfect man for the job.
He said: “Chey Dunkley will be captain. The players have known that for a period of time now.
“It is the right decision for the football club, I think he embodies everything that we want. He is a leader, and he is a stalwart of the team.
“He plays with his heart on his sleeve and he wants to win. He is polite, he is courteous and he is a good person. He has the best interests of the football club at heart, and a lot of our players look up to him.”
Town take on Cheltenham Town this weekend in their EFL curtain raiser at the Croud Meadow, which is a game Dunkley will not be involved in. The 31-year-old has been battling with an Achilles injury so has not featured in pre-season, but he is also suspended for the clash against the Robins after being sent off during the closing stages of last season at Lincoln.
The Town boss says they have lots of leaders on the pitch, but in Dunkley’s absence, Ryan Bowman will captain if he is selected.
He continued: “What I must say, and I must make this known to everybody, is that the vice-captain will be Ryan Bowman along with Elliott Bennett, who I put in that category as well.
“What we have at this football club with Tom Flanagan and Morgan Feeney is we have not just got one captain and I look at that and I think it is a wonderful position for us to be in. We have got a lot of players here with a lot of experience and that is fantastic.
“While Chey will wear the armband, I do not just want one captain on the pitch we want four or five.
“Ultimately, we are all in the boat, we all have an oar and we all need to be going in the same direction. It is really simple for me.
“If he is selected Ryan will captain the team because Chey is injured.”
