Shrewsbury FA Cup hero Peter Wilding backs Town for another upset

Hammers boss David Moyes was on the wrong end of Wilding’s biggest afternoon in blue and amber, as the local star helped Kevin Ratcliffe’s Division Three strugglers spring a surprise upset on top-flight Everton, writes Lewis Cox.

Now Wilding, who is head scout at Stoke City, believes the televised tie has all the ingredients to cause a shock.

Wilding is synonymous with marshalling then-wonderkid Wayne Rooney out of the Gay Meadow encounter, that ended 2-1 in the hosts’ favour thanks to Nigel Jemson’s double.

It was the standout afternoon of a desperate campaign for Town, who finished rock-bottom of the Football League and were relegated to the Conference for the first time in their 53-year League history with Ratcliffe dismissed.

“I can’t imagine they’ll look forward to coming down here,” said Wilding, 49.

“I think Town have got every chance. They won’t do themselves any injustice whatsoever, I can see an upset on Sunday myself.”

Ex-Town centre-half Moyes has suggested he will make big changes for the third round tie, which will be the third game in six days for the London Stadium side.

Wilding added: “Regardless of level, you look at the numbers West Ham have got in comparison to Shrewsbury’s squad. You could probably put close to eight to 10 players on top of what Town have got, who are still of a good level.

“It’s not a cop out excuse. I can see him resting certain key players like Arnautovic, who have started to pick up real form. But they’re seasoned pros and experienced at the top level.”

The versatile Wilding, who made 218 appearances for Town after joining from Telford United in 1997, explained how – while a few have tipped Paul Hurst’s men to topple the Hammers this time around – there was no expectancy on the then-struggling Division Three side.

“There were no hopes of an upset at all,” he said. “We weren’t doing great in the league. It was a bizarre outcome really.

“I always felt we were playing well and scoring goals, but we were really struggling to keep clean sheets.

“That was ultimately the downfall. We’d have to score three normally to get the draw. It was frustrating.

“It wasn’t on the cards. We had a mixture of players in that team on the day, with Ian Woan, Jemmo, (Mark) Atkins, alongside some very fresh legs with Luke Rodgers, (Jamie) Tolley and (Darren) Mossy.”

Welshman Ratcliffe won an FA Cup, two league titles and a UEFA Cup as Toffees skipper, making him the most decorated Goodison captain in history. Between the manager and his No.2 David Fogg – formerly youth boss at Everton – Wilding recalls how he was prepared for the boy wonder Rooney’s arrival.

“Because of the dip in form in the league with certain players, I was told on the Friday before by Dave Fogg and Kevin Ratcliffe that I’d be starting at centre-back, I think they’d dropped Matty Redmile,” he said.

“Myself and Dave Artell played at the back. Foggy said to me, with them being Everton people anyway, they said that there’s big things around this kid. This kid is going to be pretty special, don’t get too tight, he’s young but he’s really strong, he’s roll you.

“You have all these tips in the back of your mind. You respect what they tell you.

“He was a tough little bugger but his temperament was pretty good. He was young, under pressure, he didn’t get overly frustrated in the game.

“The old Meadow pitch was pretty heavy on the day.”

Wilding watches Town regularly and knows Hurst’s side are in it to win it.

“This is when the adrenaline will kick in,” he insisted. “These guys won’t think about being tired this afternoon. There’s enough energy in the squad anyway, and Paul won’t let them relax even come the start of the game.

“I can’t imagine Paul going out there to enjoy the third round of an FA Cup match. He’ll want to win the match.”

BBC Wales pundit Ratcliffe, 57, remembered the notorious Gay Meadow surface as a key factor.

“The pitch played a part, it was a nightmare,” he said. “We knew what to expect from it – but whatever was in our favour (against Everton) was also our downfall as well.”It was a big part of our downfall. We couldn’t play the way we wanted, in the relegation season, with the players I had.

Ratcliffe recalled, at times during his reign, sitting in Gay Meadow and being able to see just the crossbar above a flood of water on the pitch, as the River Severn again wrecked havoc.

He explained how the pitch would have to be ploughed with detergent and ‘power-washed’, to clear it from disease, should players get cut.

“I knew we had a good chance before the game when I saw the Everton team.

“I was a little unsure where the lad (Peter) Clarke was playing. (David) Weir and (Alan) Stubbs played and I thought Clarke must be right-back when he was a centre-back.

“My two strikers, Jemson and (Luke) Rodgers, did really well against Weir and Stubbs. They had this great understanding.

“Jemmo didn’t even have to look, he hooked balls over his shoulder and Luke would be on to them.

“I just realised why we got relegated. They were too good as footballers to play on that. And maybe not enough to roll their sleeves up and get results by punting the ball in the air for second balls.”

And what of Town’s chances of another upset?

Ratcliffe added: “Dave’s priority is the Premier League. It will most likely be a weakened side.

“But he won’t want egg on his face. Not again. Will it become a jinx of a club to him?

“I’ve not seen Shrewsbury for a couple of years but what they’ve done is quite remarkable and they have an opportunity of promotion, which would be great. Anything’s possible in the FA Cup. For what we achieved, anything’s possible.”