Comment: The inside story behind Micky Moore’s Shrewsbury Town departure

Moore has never been popular among the Shrewsbury fanbase, but in 2025 it hit new lows with chants of ‘Micky Moore get out of our club’ constantly ringing around the Croud Meadow, or in fact, whichever away stadium they were playing at.

His time in Shropshire has coincided with the club’s downturn. They have been in wretched form over the last couple of years, which culminated in them being relegated from the third tier of English football after a decade at the level.

Yet what does seem strange is the timing of his departure. It is mid-August, the transfer window has just over two weeks left. A lot of players in head coach Michael Appleton’s squad have been recruited by Moore this summer, so why now?

The start to the season has been poor, there is no getting away from that. Town drew against Bromley but have had bad results and performances against Tranmere and Grimsby.

But three games is not enough to judge success by, no matter how poor the displays have been. So if the club had no faith in Moore, which clearly they don’t, then why wait until his fingerprints are all over the current crop of players?

One explanation could be the growing unrest among the fanbase. Talk of a protest has forced Roland Wycherley into action, and he has fired someone else.

There is no getting away from the fact that Moore’s time has not gone as planned - he would admit that himself. A lot of the signings he has made during his time at the club have not worked. There is no hiding from that, it is backed up by the results on the pitch.

He was appointed in the wake of Steve Cotterill’s departure from Salop back in 2023. The way that situation was handled, with no explanation as to why the former boss had left, meant he started on the back foot.

The appointment of Matt Taylor, who had been sacked by Walsall in the division below, raised eyebrows right from the off. It was a risk, and it did not pay off.

The football was direct, and entertainment for the loyal Salop faithful was at a premium. He should have recruited a more experienced boss at that time.

Taylor’s side were never in the bottom four. But they had finished 12th the season before, their second-highest finish of the decade, and suddenly, with Moore’s arrival, they were regressing.

That was partly explained away by a huge hole in their financial accounts, but still, they could have done better than they did.

Moore was appointed by the chairman, but after Taylor’s sacking, he was effectively placed on gardening leave when Wycherley went over his head to appoint Paul Hurst, with the two not always seeing eye to eye.

The last time the fans turned, it was Hurst who paid the price. He was relieved of his duties after an ugly defeat at Salford in the FA Cup last season.

Moore appointed Gareth Ainsworth, who was well-liked by the Town fans until he left them for Gillingham, and that led to his final appointment, Michael Appleton.

It is still too early to judge the current boss. He was sent into a knife fight with a toothpick last season, but the start has not been great this time around. The pair have worked together to assemble the current squad, which on paper looked relatively strong at the start of the campaign.

Ultimately, whatever the circumstances, results have not been good enough for a prolonged period, and Moore has been on thin ice for some time with fan animosity growing. As director of football, you can change the coach, you can do it more than once, but eventually, when that does not work a different direction is needed.