Shrewsbury Town may have to let impressive loan midfielder Sean Thornton return to Leyton Orient because of financial constraints.
Thornton’s initial month at the club, which has proved to be a big success, expires after tomorrow’s League Two match against Port Vale.
And it looks as if the Republic of Ireland man may be heading back to London – unless Shrewsbury and Orient can reach a compromise over the star’s wages.
Town have been paying a proportion of Thornton’s wages but Orient want the club to cover the full amount if he is to stay at the Prostar Stadium.
“We are still discussing whether or not we will be able to keep him,” said Shrewsbury chief Paul Simpson. “The financial side is going to be difficult.
“I’d like him to stay and Sean would like to stay, but at the end of the day it may come down to finances and if we can’t afford him then so be it.
“I’m not complaining as we have really pushed the boat out this year with the extra signings that we’ve made to the squad.
“If we have to pay more than we can afford then we’ll have to thank him for what he’s done, shake his hand and wish him all the best.
Influential
“We will try to do the deal. I think his performances have got better and better – I thought Tuesday was probably his most influential display.”
Orient boss Martin Ling has said that he would be happy for Thornton, 25, to stay in Shropshire for the maximum 93-day period, but that looked unlikely today and the Port Vale match may prove to be his swan song.
Five-goal hero Grant Holt is suspended for the visit of the Valiants and is likely to be replaced by Richard Walker.
Simpson added: “Whoever comes in will have to carry on the workrate of Grant.
“We will obviously miss him, but then you’d think that we’d miss players like Luke Daniels on Tuesday night (at Wycombe) and Glyn Garner has come in and done a great job.
“It’s a case of sticking Tuesday’s performance to the back of our minds now and getting re-focused on the real stuff against one of our closest opponents.”
Daniels and Michael Jackson have recovered from their injuries and are expected to return to the starting line-up.
Marc Tierney has had a virus this week but will train today and should be fit.
By SEAN WOZENCROFT
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4 Comments
This shows the limitations on how far Town can progress. Clearly whilst we are doing very well at present real progress up the leagues will depend on increased gate revenue. I know the Prostar Stadium is bringing in money in other ways but we have to be realistic if we are to survive at a higher level. For that to be possible gates will need to rise from the current average of around 5,000 to an average of around 8,000. Whilst I do not want to pour cold water on further progress I do wonder if gates at that level on a regular basis can be achieved.
It is a chicken and egg situation we will not get gates at that level till we reach the Championship and we will not have a enough money to push for the Championship until gates of that level are reached.
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Denis…..
8000 on a regular basis? Attendance only limps around the 4500 attendance usually, even worse at away games. STFC have some of the most dedicated fans – just as long as they don’t have to travel out of the house that is. Perhaps they could ask more away supporters to attend ….. oh i forgot, nowhere for them to park is there!
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Away support has no bearing on club finances it is only home support that counts.
I do not see parking as an issue after all support is far higher than at the Meadow.
It is more a case of people choosing to use there hard earned money to pay for Sky Sports instead of going to a live match.
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Average attendance last season was 5659 – 19% up on the previous year, and is around the same figure this season.
On this type of average attendance we get bigger crowds than most sides in league 2, and could survive ok in league 1 as many sides don’t get 5000 on a regular basis.
As Denis says its a big step to getting enough fans in to allow us to survive in the Championship. It would be great if we could have a 10 year stay in that league again, but for now I’d be quite happy to see us get promoted this season and then establish ourselves in league 1 for a couple of seasons.
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