Fans' Survey: Keep Micky Mellon and make more Shrewsbury signings

Shrews bury Town fans have voted in their droves in our fans' survey, both online and via post over the last two weeks, with around 600 responses.

And the clear messages which have emerged show that while fans want Mellon to continue as manager (72 per cent), they want a more settled team, with 75 per cent unhappy at the continual changes to line-ups and formations that saw Salop field 36 players during the League season and employ seven different systems.

But while they were unhappy at Mellon's tinkering, an overwhelming 98 per cent believe a major summer makeover is necessary to improve Town's League position next season.

Sixty-one per cent think Mellon needs to make seven or more signings this summer, with 37 per cent claiming four to six recruits are needed.

Most Salopians were happy with how long-serving chairman Roland Wycherley is performing with 62 per cent backing him, but supporters were split over the job Mellon is doing.

Forty-five per cent were in the 'yes' category saying he has rejuvenated the club and suffered through having to rebuild, with the rest in the' no' camp claiming he should have done better with what was the ninth highest playing budget in the division.

Much of that money was tied up in the salaries of 15 players' salaries who earned 20 per cent rises after being part of the League Two promotion-winning squad.

A convincing 74 per cent of fan believe League One is the right level for Town, with one in five saying they should be be in the second tier, where they spent a decade from 1979-89.

Exclude

After a season flirting with the drop, 72 per cent said they were unhappy with Town's final league position of 20th, one place and four points above the relegation zone.

Not far off half the fans thought Town were better off without both strikers returning from loans, James Collins and Tyrone Barnett.

Forty-three per cent said the club should exclude both from their plans, with 22 per cent saying Collins deserves another chance after helping Northampton to the League Two title, and one in five saying both should pull on the blue and amber again.

Off the field, fans were pretty unequivocal in their opinions on the Lidl and training ground developments.

Three-quarters of people are happy that revamping the Sundorne facility will give the club more identity and help attract potential signings.

But if most believe the long-term thinking behind having their own training ground is good for the future, the majority hold the opposing view when it comes to plans for a Lidl supermarket at the Greenhous Meadow.

Almost the same proportion – 71 per cent – believe that funds from the sale of the land should be directed to the short-term aim of increasing the playing budget for a couple of years.

Improving the matchday experience (52 per cent) was the winner to attract more season ticket holders and just under a third say the best way to do that is by establishing a supporters' bar.

One area where fans were convinced was which permanent signing impressed them most.

Double player of the year Abu Ogogo was the overwhelming choice of the nine full-time signings made by Mellon who played (Elliot Grandin never featured), totalling 52 per cent of the vote, with left-back Junior Brown his nearest rival with 16 per cent.