Four players to watch for Shrewsbury Town this season
With Shrewsbury Town’s League Two campaign set to kick off this weekend, the Shropshire Star has taken a look at four players who could be instrumental in the team’s season.
Sam Clucas
It is hard to sign a player who has made more than 50 Premier League appearances in their career and not find it intriguing to see how they perform during their time at Shrewsbury.
The former Swansea City, Hull and Stoke man is a veteran in league football, having played at every level.
What is undeniable is his footballing ability. You do not play at the level that he has over a prolonged period of time without being good.
It will be a long season, and he has plenty of miles in his legs already, but he could be essential to Michael Appleton’s style of play.
He wants to play through the thirds, and the only way to do that is to have players who are comfortable taking possession of the ball in tricky situations. Clucas will do that.
Will Boyle
A summer arrival, who, like Clucas, has played at a very good level during his career. The last two seasons have been injury-hit for the former Huddersfield man.
If Shrewsbury can keep him fit, then he adds lots of experience to the team. He is also left-footed, which means he will add balance to the back three.
He has good pedigree, it is all about whether he can stay fit and play enough games over the course of a 46-game season.
What he will also do is offer a threat in the opposition’s box with a decent goal record behind him.
John Marquis
The former Portsmouth man looks like the most likely candidate to wear the armband. He has worn it ever since Carl Winchester departed in January this year.
He scored 11 league goals last season in the third tier, which is an excellent return in a team that finished bottom of the league by a comfortable margin.
He has proven that if you give him chances, he will score, and that could be vital for Shrewsbury as they drop down a level.
Logic suggests that if he could put the ball in the net last year, then he should, at the very least, be able to match that this time out.
But it does not always work that way.
Elyh Harrison
After three years of Marko Marosi, it was a little bit unsettled between the posts for Shrewsbury. Toby Savin started in goal, but after a few bad games, he was replaced by Jamal Blackman. He was steady initially, but in the end, he struggled too, and he was released at the end of the season.
Players do not tend to be loaned to a club from Manchester United unless there is the intention for the youngster to play, so it would be reasonable to assume Harrison will play a lot of football for Shrews this year.
He is highly rated at United, but ultimately, he is just 19, so there is always risk. The last time it happened, when Dean Henderson arrived in 2017, it turned out to be a masterstroke.
