Shropshire Star

Shrewsbury Town's decade in League One: Recap of the 2015-16 campaign

Shrewsbury Town will start next season in the fourth tier of English football - a level they have not played since 2015. 

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Salop have spent 10 years in League One with many highs and lows along the way. 

Over the next few weeks, the Shropshire Star is going to delve into the ups and downs of Town's 10-year spell in the third tier. 

First, the 2015-16 season under Micky Mellon, where Town narrowly escaped an immediate relegation to League Two - they finished 20th, four points clear of 21st-placed Doncaster. 

What happened in the 2015-16 campaign?

Town had been promoted under Mellon the year before as they finished runners-up to Burton Albion, Bury were the third club to achieve automatic promotion, while Southend did it the hard way, coming up in the play-offs. 

They beat Wycombe in the play-off final, who, of course, were being managed by Gareth Ainsworth back in 2015. After last season, and him walking out on Salop to join Gillingham, he is an unpopular figure in Shropshire. 

Town's campaign in League One got off to a losing start as they were beaten 2-1 at home by Millwall. 

James Collins had given Salop the lead, but a goal from Steve Morison and a Lee Gregory penalty saw the visitors come back for victory. 

It was a tough start to the campaign for Mellon's men. They failed to pick up a victory in their first five outings. 

However, after that difficult opening, they recovered, and three wins in their next four games - away at Barnsley and Southend, then at home against Blackpool - saw Salop climb to 16th in the table and well away from danger. 

With their league campaign meandering along, that season also saw Salop produce a remarkable FA Cup run.

They beat Gainsborough, Grimsby, Cardiff and Sheffield Wednesday, which eventually set up a mouth-watering fifth-round tie with Manchester United, who made the trip to Shropshire. 

In the end, that was as far as Shrewsbury would go in the competition as Chris Smalling and Juan Mata put United in a commanding position at half-time in the clash. Jesse Lingard scored just after the hour mark to put the tie to bed as the visitors claimed a 3-0 win.   

Town were in great form around the end of their cup run as they went nine matches in the league without losing, until eventually they were thrashed 5-1 at home by Wigan. 

They lost seven out of their last 10 League One matches at the end of that season as the campaign ended disappointingly, but after promotion the year before, it would be regarded as a success to stay in the division. 

Sullay Kaikai was the outstanding player in the campaign for Town. He scored 12 goals in his 26 third-tier appearances. 

That was double the person closest to him. Shaun Whalley and Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro both getting six each. 

Abu Ogogo was the only player to make more than 40 appearances for Mellon's side - he played 42 times in midfield.