I've Just found out that Shrewsbury have sacked Paul Simpson. It's a total disgrace, how can we ever expect to progress if we keep changing managers every 2 years. It's not as though we are in any danger of relegation, we got to the play off final last year and until the final few weeks of this season were still challenging for promotion, now we have to start again from scratch. Simmo is still a decent manager at this level and will do someone a good job. I Can't see us attracting many top candidates if the board loose patience as soon as results start to go against us and a few fans start demanding the manager's head. I just hope whoever the new manager is they are given a bit of time.

Hopefully his payout hasn't left a big hole in the playing budget.

Good. This season we have played some really negative football especially against the lower teams. The only problem is that we don't get a bigger idiot than Gary Peters.

Sad to see a decent man lose his job.

His efforts were sincere but unfortunately his signings, tactics, man management and fan relationship have all been found sadly lacking.

Other managers at this level are doing as well, if not better, than Simpson on considerable smaller budgets.

The club is not being well run, though and this is another failed managerial appointment under the current chairman and board who seem obsessed with off the pitch matters to the detriment of on the pitch success.

We don't care about being family club of the year or any other meaningless accolade, Roland!

Sack the board too.

Simpson is a decent manager and has proved that. What have the board of this football club done to prove they are successful? We may have a shiny new (and soulless) ground and business may be good for the Sunday lunches but what have they done other than that? They cocked up the Joe Hart deal and have sold a lot of key players, it can't be easy being a Town manager when your best players get sold by the prawn sandwich munchers.

Disgrace. The "fans" of this team are way too fickle. I totally agree with John (comment 1). We never give managers a chance. Ridiculous. It's hardly a bad thing. We're not bottom of the league, and with some of the players we have, such as Bright and Langmead (who are both useless) it's quite an acheivement to get 12th. We were never going to be able to replace Holt and Davies.

Had to go, dismantled a team low on confidence and replaced them with a team low on ability, then blamed everyone but himself for poor finish this year.

I'm not fickle as i think we'd have been i league one by now if we'd have kept Gary Peters..

Finally... As per Proud Salopian his signings, tactics and man-management have been short of those required. The squad last season SHOULD have been good enough for automatic. Simpson did not replace Tierney, the focus of the team changed (full backs less effective going forward) and the midfield more rigid. Not surprised Holt left after seeing who he was going to be playing with at the training camp in Spain!!!

This season has been awful apart from Notts County away and Possibly half of the Bournemouth game... Grimsby away was absolutely DIRE. (I wasn't at Aldershot)

Yes we need to start again but Simpson was going to have to this summer anyway. Onwards and hopefully UPWARDS!!!

good news i say for afc telford fans paul simpson would be a great manager for us at the bucks head

What a bunch of idiots..... over priced expensive club with whinging fans.

Hardly a disgrace to sack him, he was very lucky to be in job after losing at home to Staines!

In reality last season was a bigger indictment of his failings. We spent a lot of money, had some of our best players in years (Holt and Davies) and would have finished 9th if it wasn't for other team’s points deductions.

This year he's really suffered for his poor recruitment. We lost a lot of goals in the summer and he replaced them with Bright, Elder and Robinson, none of whom have a record of scoring regularly.

Not really a surprise, but to be honest I have to agree with the comments about changing managers too often.

Of course a club needs ambition, but I would have been tempted to give Simpson another season.

Granted some of the football has been dire and some of the signings not the best. But, play off finals last year and mid table this isn't really that bad is it?

To give a really common example, how successful would Man Utd have been if Ferguson had been sacked after 2 seasons?

I'm afriad he had to go - too many awful performances - Staines, Darlington and then had a pop at the fans.

Most had lost confidence that there would be any improvement next season.

bring back gary peters to sort this mess out and bring back togetherness an spirit. LEGEND

None of this matters now, its about who comes in. Sometimes the appointment of a new manager can be a bit of an anti-climax because of the rumours circulating about big names coming to the club. Whoever it is, they've got a problem. The expectations are high these days, but the squad isn't up to the task.

Wycherley should go now to as he was the one who sold our best players!!.

i no he blipped but i feel it was fans an board pressure that was to blame for peters wrong doing. madjo looked alright i thought, an same can be said of constable. just ask OXFORD. peters made the town a lot of money and brought a strong side together. here is a list of players i thought was good signings of peters. LANGMEAD. ASHTON SYMES COOKE DAVIES HUMPREYS RYAN HIBBERT HART who was brought through youth team. EDWARDS he brought on in talent.TIERNEY DRUMMOND MOSS ASA HALL ASSAMOAH PUGH MCINTYRE HERD HOPE.many more im sure that did or could play league 2 football.i believed that things would of worked for peters if he was given contiunity. THERES ONLY 1 GARY PETERS

Shame, we have lost a dam good manager, I hope the boo boys are proud of themselves, the board only pulled the trigger because they new him staying would have an effect on season ticket sales and the boo boys would have been on his back from the off next year. At least with a new man its renewed optimism and higher ticket sales. lets hope the so called supporters get behind the new man and his team, we may then see some progress, to many games at home this season we have had to play the opposition and our own crowd.

Andrew, why would you be tempted to give him another season?

tactics, development of playes, nous in the transfer market, motiavtional skills?

He seems a decent bloke, but it's very difficult to put a case for keeping him on as a manager apart from blind hope he'd do better next time.

I also agree with Jose, the board have presided over an era of alienated fans and on the pitch stagnation.

Roland needs to ask himself if he is taken the club as far as he can (which, on the pitch, has been absolutely nowhere)

Do the "Geniuses" that made this decision,and the terrace experts not realise that Paul was doing a decent job of building a squad under financial restraints. Can the fickle fans not remember life under Ian McNeil, John Bond, & especially Kevin Ratcliffe?. Best of luck in the future Mr Simpson.

Surely it's time to go down the manchester utd route and start wearing blue and white scarfs and buy the club with support from the monied people from within shropshire?

football is not a charity, and unfortunately mr.simpson failed to achieve his objective, and most of all rubbished supporters, the players he bought in have let the club and the supporters down.

let's hope in new kit next season with a new manager and a new squad we can be successful.

com on y blues

please sing your hearts out on saturday and where your shirts and scarfs with pride.

lets get paul ince as manager , will do a good job and get us promotion, sad to see simmo go good manager who will bounce back and be a success some where else

I was sorry to hear that Paul Simpson lost his job today, I feel he is a good manager and one of the honest good guys of the game.

Although there is the disappointment of not achieving promotion for another season, I live in hope that the next time the Senior members of the football club board publicly state and I quote "Championship football within 3 seasons" that they back the manager with the funds to achieve this success we all crave for.

The section of the supports who wanted him out have got what they wished for.

Thank you, Paul for your honest hard work and Im gutted it didn't work out.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

@ Gary, No chairman in the world could stop Joe Hart going to the Prem, Grant Holt going to league 1 and Marc Tierney going to the Championship..

Although by taking the captaincy off Ben Davies and then dropping him to the bench is the main reason he now stars for Notts County, and Paul Simpson is responsible for that..

The word is that Paul Sturrock is set to be named the new Shrewsbury boss which I think would be an excellent appointment.

Very, very good Manager in the lower Divisions and keen to find a club for the coming Season. Shrewsbury could do alot worse.

Didn't think Simpson was a very good appointment, and the last 2 seasons haven't changed my mind. A club like Shrewsbury needs a manager with good coaching ability who can get in lower league players and improve their game, and employ tactics that suit the players capabilities.

Simpson was fine if allowed to sign good experienced pros like Coughlan or Holt, but paying the fees and wages of players like them was never going to be sustainable at our level, and I'm afraid Simpson hasn't the coaching or tactical ability to work with lesser players in the way that someone like Hill at Rochdale has managed. The fact that players like Ryan, Constable, Pugh and Symes have all gone on to have good seasons for their new clubs showed the talent was at the club but that he wasn't able to develop it. Its been clear for sometime all was not well at magerial level and a change should have been made earlier. The next boss needs to be someone with better coaching skills and a sound knowledge of the lower leagues.

Paul Simpson was the right man for the job but the boards very little investment and injuries this season have lead to him been sacked.i only hope Jake Simpson will stay because hes going to be a very good player.So good luck Paul in the future because i think the Shrewsbury board and fans will regret this decision.

Simpson was a good man and still is, we don't need Sturrock. I hope he goes on to great things to prove the boo boys wrong

Last season we failed because of a terrible away record

The trouble is the people above him and those who were in power under his leadership in not extending contracts last season even though our away record was terrible

May as well give David Hughes the job and wait 2-3 years for the youngsters to blossom in the first team

in this credit card age, people expect instant success - people don't understand recessions affect the clubs income and budgets are cut

@ Sid - is Paul Simpson in your family or something? Little investment from the board - are you crazy??? We had the third highest budget in League Two this season. Get a grip.

Can't say I agree about Jake Simpson becoming a "very good player". He could become a useful squad player.

So once again, another lower league minnow sacks it's manager after a dreary mid table season.

The Chairmen in the lower leagues are nothing but deluded halfwits who have ambitions way beyond the reality, thinking their club is the most important in the world, get real!

Only so many teams can be promoted, it just didn't happen this season for Shrews and other clubs, it does not justify a sacking.

Well, I hope the moaners and groaners are finally happy that our board, however weak they are, have finally succumbed to their continual abuse and calls for the gaffers head. Simmo was, and is one of the best managers that we have had, and could have wished to have at this club. The disgruntled, fickle fans, and the players are totally to blame that he has now lost his job. The players that have let themselves, the fans, and their manager down can now be proud of themselves! Sometimes it's better the devil you know, and making decisions such as this can prove costly! Fergusson didn't do a thing for 3 years and look where he is today! I'm not saying Simmo was going to do the same but a club at Shrewsbury's level needs stability, and a cool, calm man at the helm, Simmo was that man. I sincerely hope that Simmo finds success, and backing at another club soon. As for the players, moaning fans and board - I only hope you know what you have done!!!

I also feel that most of the players that left (excluding the obvious stars like Davies & Holt) were superior to the ones that replaced them and this was down to Simpson.

I do think that the chairman should'nt be getting in the neck. At least the club is on a stable financial footing and has not been run in an insolvent position like other clubs which could at the end of the day lead to the demise of a club at this level. At the end of the day the whole country is in financial turmoil so I for one are glad that the club is likely to be here in years to come. I think the days of small clubs punching beyond their weight is by and large a thing of the past as players do not have the same loyalty of old as money talks at the end of the day.

Lets hope that whoever takes over can generate some exciting football if nothing else.

Shropshire Lad

Hooray! No more having to listen to simmo struggling to come up with excuses and blaming everyone but himself!

Wheel in the next loser STFC!

i have written in another place accusing the board of committing financial suicide by sacking an excellent manager, with season tickets already flagging and gates next season and attendance of 3500/4000 watching town floundering in 19th place fighting a losing battle against relegation, perhaps the board will realise what paul simpson inherited. in my opinion the board should sell the club to a bunch of directors that have this great club at heart. good managers are not two a penny, obviously here today gone tomorrow directors are

Agree with comment 18, the players would have felt that the boos coming from the boo boys were at them because that is the atmosphere there giving out, for a team to play well they need support which isn't booing its cheering them on. So I hope your pour of yourselves!

Sad day for STFC. If reaching Wembley in your first full season in charge, and making the signing of the decade in Holt is deemed not good enough then the board have lost the plot.

Unfortunately STFC is turning into a merry go round. It will be 7 managers in 10 years once a new one is appointed.

Good luck Paul, you'll find work elsewhere and do a stirling job as you've done for STFC.

Maybe now the fickle town fans will stop cheering the away teams goals and abusing the players and management as they have done recently. Shameful.

Very disappointed to hear this news, i wanted Paul in when Gary Peters left. But i cant help but feel that we lacked direction, some of our signings under Simmo have not been the best and we never seemed to be able to finish teams off when we were on top in games. I was gutted when Mr Shrewsbury Gary Peters left and im not far off the same feelings with Paul, we all want the best as proud salopians so lets hope we can do even better next time. Good luck Paul in whatever your future holds for you.

please stop with the paul sturrock thing . it would be a disaster......everyone has there opinions but someone up and coming for me, even if its there first job in managment.... like paul peshisolidos at burton ,getting him would be great but hard, mark cooper or my first time selection would be chris powell the ex derby man who is part of nigel pearsons staff at leicester...

You have to laugh at some of the above comments, specifically the one from meadowmatt

"Simpson hasn’t the coaching or tactical ability"

A nice statement or rather an assumption and based upon no facts whatsoever. Typical.

A decent man and in my opinion a good manager however one or two of his signings were questionable. I would have given him 10 games into the new season before making a decision about his future.

Do we really know the truth about what went on regarding potential signings last year and Rob Bickerton's involvement - it might have made the difference - who knows?

Amazing to hear some people endorsing Gary Peters again.

I'm not sure where fans get the idea Simpson hasn't had financial support from the board?

We have had £100,000 bids for Benson and Flynn this season, and in the summer Simpson brought in players like Elder, Neal and Disley from higher division sides on good wages, together with Button and Cureton on loan & on high wages, meaning our £2 million wages bill is much higher than most sides in league 2.

Simpsons main fault was a lack of good coaching and tactical ability, plus releasing players like Herd, Symes, Pugh and Constable have since prove to be poor decisions.

I'm not a Shrews fan but I keep an eye on them and i think they are a club which highlights the problems with todays game. In order to progress further they need more money, I honestly think promotion would be bad for them. Look at Hereford a couple of years back, promoted and totally destroyed. There are ex-premiership clubs in league one with big crowds and far more money than the Shrews.

Shrewsbury average around 4000 for a home game and if they are lucky that must bring in around £100k. If you pay a player £1000 a week it probably costs another £1000 a week in, National Insurance, Pension, and all of the support that goes towards enabling him to play. That means that if all of the first team squad average £1000 a week then nearly half of the gate money has gone. When you factor in other costs involved there isn't much left for good quality players.

The only way for Shrewsbury to survive is to produce players like Joe Hart every few years and sell them on.

I don't know where the answer lies but the truth is that Shrewsbury although they aspire to move on, promotion would be financially disastrous for them. The investment needed to stay on at the next level is beyond a club with their means and fan base. Look at the Wolves last venture into the Premiership, no investment meant straight back down and almost down again the season after. This time they spent nearly £20M and managed to just stay up a massive achievement.

Unless a benevolent multi-millionaire moves in then surviving in League 2 maybe all there is to look forward to for the Shrews. Not much to look forward to mid-table mediocrity, but it may be that or bust!!

he was poor at rochdale as well,he should of stayed at blackburn u 8s as that is his level,preston have not missed him

you will never get a successfull team if you change your managers to often it the board who make the dessions to hire these peaple and so far they have hired 5 and got it all wrong so maybe its them who have to look at themselfs yes the club is well run but they cant hire the right manager

Have a look at someone like Liam Daish, an up & coming manager. If the Shrews appoint Ince or Sturrock, bang goes the transfer budget to pay their wage.

Wycherley needs to take a long hard look at himself. A new stadium does not make a club.

Be fair he lost the fans a while ago, when he said we were a disgrace when he should of accepted the mistakes he made which he never could, in the end he left the Board with no choice. I'm sure Paul is a decent man, but lacked any humility and the ability to accept his mistakes always blaming anyone else. Personally its been a really disappointing season and not good enough

I find it unbelievable that Paul Sturruck is being banded about in some quarters as a possible candidate for the vacancy, FOR HEAVENS SAKE STURROCK IS NO BETTER THAN SIMPSON !

I suspect this call for Sturrock may be coming from the same individuals who pushed and succeeded in swaying STFC to appoint Simpson?. Will they please back-off.

Sad day for Shrewsbury Town. Simmo is a good guy and his willingness to give youth players a chance instead of bringing in a series of loan players could have laid the foundation for the club's future success. The boo boys want a lucky not a good manager, because to have success within 2 years, which is usualy the time allotted to football managers, you have to be lucky. The clubs that give their manager the time to build a team are usually the most successful ones. Thanks Simmo for all the work you've done for Shrewsbury Town and for the patience you've shown in dealing with so much abuse from some sections of fans. Best of luck for the future.

I heard they would be promoting from within!

David Hughes would fill the managers position and Pete Wilding moves to his position.

Sorry to see you go paul and good luck in your next managers job in football.

Sadly let down by having no foward/strikers for the season! Its the board that should hang thier heads in shame.Shrewsbury town f.c

have the money to start things off.

Loaning players from Midland clubs (so they will come in the first place) Buying from lower leages inc. ireland, scotland and wales and a youth set up that draws the youth from shropshire and wales, these are the foundations.Shrewsbury town now have the ground and set up to be proud, but a little thought for the board and we can move it on.

I have not been to one match this season i gave up after being told to `sit down and be quiet` at wembley as the `shrewsbury fan for the day` was on a day out! Only supporting my team mate..........

Trouble with all these new shrewsbury `fans` is they don`t know football or how to support it.......

Thanks Paul for all your efforts at Town, I'm sure you know what a managers situation is if you don't succeed and there lies the reason for your leaving Town, after Grimsby and Darlington I doubt if it was a surprise of your meeting with the Boss and he's the one now who has to answer to the most important people at the New Meadow the fans.

It's only a countdown to the day the club go bust due their failure to meet the chairman's target of championship football in 4 years, the time has run out with the money going the same way. The manager is responsible for his teams actions and performances but cannot be responsible for the poor execution of his instructions by his players. New manager same problems unless something is done to address the problems the club has as a whole.

I can't belive that some are sayig the Board didn't provide the funds! Have you forgottn £170k for Holt and the £100k bids for benson & O'Flynn as well as the money spent on Elder? few League 2 clubs have had that sort of money made available. No, Simpson had more than enought moneyto spend and he didn't use it wisely, plus couldn't motivate those who were already here.

Yes Simmo should have probably gone but we are missing the point. Look at STFC statistics. Had we been in league one are gate average would be 14th! our merchandise is similar. Its not Gay Meadow but it is a stadium that challenges most league one sides. We are clearly a mid table league one side on all accounts so why are we not there?