Football Season Guide

Shrewsbury's previous season saw them achieve a lower midtable finish, which is perhaps a reasonable achievement following all the turmoil that they had during the 2018/19 season. Sam Ricketts, credited with steadying the ship during that campaign, has now had his first full season in charge as a manager and, while the result he achieved is respectable, his playing style has not been well-received by large sections of their fans. The Shrews have been very tough to break down and never easy to beat, but their scoring record was simply shocking, as they netted only 31 goals in 34 games, with only rock bottom Bolton, who played several games with a youth team, scoring less. For this reason, there have already been calls for the Shrews to part ways with the manager but, with them rarely parting ways with managers by their own will, this does not seem to be on the cards just yet. Three regulars have left in Josh Laurent, Omar Beckles and Romain Vincelot, although Vincelot had his impact limited last season due to persistent injury issues. As they usually do, the Shrews opted to take risks on players unknown in the division, with the exception being Rekeil Pyke, who will be trusted with helping them solve their scoring problems. The criticism he has been receiving does not seem to have gone past Ricketts, with the recent friendlies suggesting that he is looking to play a more attacking-minded brand of football this season. Time will tell if he has the players and the nous to do so.