Shrewsbury Town squad of the century: The defenders

But with such a range of talent having turned out for Town – who would make the ultimate Salop squad from those who have played for the club over the past two decades?

With the country in lockdown – and with fans looking for their football fix – we asked Shrewsbury supporters to put together a dream team of players who have performed from January 1, 2000, onwards.

In keeping with a World Cup format, there were just two rules.

The first was that they had to name three goalkeepers, while the second was that the squad had to be balanced with every position covered in the event of an injury or suspension.

Forty-three supporters spent time mulling over their heroes to whittle down their squads to just 23 names.

The results are being revealed in the Shropshire Star throughout this week. Today, in the first segment, we unveil which defenders made the cut.

Defenders: Jermaine Grandison, Darren Moss, Connor Goldson, Mat Sadler, Ian Sharps, Toto Nsiala, Joe Jacobson, Marc Tierney

There has been no shortage of popular, loyal and committed stoppers to have plied their trade at both Gay Meadow and Montgomery Waters Meadow over the last 20 years.

Both in the heart of defence and at full-back, plenty of defenders have given a numbers of years' service to Salop – and in some cases gone on to play at a higher level – while most of those who commanded votes are remembered fondly.

We've selected the eight most popular defenders, four full-backs and four centre-halves.

Winning the starting berth at right-back is Jermaine Grandison – who also provides handy cover in the middle – with 32 votes. The two-time League Two promotion winner is hugely popular at the Meadow and still sang about often.

Not only remembered for being a solid stopper, but also a rampaging attacker, Grandison arrived untested from Coventry's academy but earned a fine reputation at Town, where he made 174 appearances for the club.

Has since been back at Shrewsbury to train, but is currently without a club.

Grandison's back-up at right-back is two-time Shrewsbury defender Darren Moss, who won 24 votes. The Welshman originally joined Town in 2001 and kept his reputation despite relegation to the Conference, where Moss shone as Town bounced back.

He left for Crewe in 2005 but returned two years later, scoring a couple of memorable goals and playing a key role in the run to the play-off final in 2009.

The most popular defender and a guaranteed starter in the middle is academy graduate Connor Goldson, with 41 votes from 43 fans.

Goldson made his debut in February 2011 and from the 12/13 season enjoyed three campaigns as a virtual ever-present, earning rave reviews for his power, pace and poise. Made 120 appearances before switching to Brighton for £750,000. Now at Rangers.

Mat Sadler was second centre-back, with 27 votes, narrowly edging another former skipper, Ian Sharps, with 26.

Sadler's switch from left-back to centre-half proved fruitful as the experienced stopper marshalled Town's defence expertly. He made 213 appearances for the club over two spells before leaving for Walsall last summer.

Sharps was the leader as Town earned League Two promotion in 2012. His vial experience was priceless in Graham Turner's side. Supporters appreciated his commitment to the badge.

Toto Nsiala, with 21 votes, is the fourth centre-half. A snip from Hartlepool, he was a huge part of the League One play-off side and went on to bring a huge profit when bought by Ipswich.

Town's two World Cup left-backs are Joe Jacobson (32 votes) and Marc Tierney (25 votes).

Jacobson, 33, is still a highly talented League One left-back and was a big hit in Shropshire, fans particularly appreciating his gifted left foot, deadly over set-pieces, and committed defending across three seasons and 119 appearances.

Covering Jacobson is the very capable Marc Tierney, a January 2007 signing from Oldham. Tierney helped Town to the play-off final that season and earned personal accolades despite a disappointing following year for the club. Well remembered for his dependable displays.

Those to win double-figures for votes but just miss out were Ben Herd (16), Kelvin Langmead (11) and current stopper Aaron Pierre (11).

Left-back Junior Brown won nine votes, Conference promotion winner Darren Tinson got eight, Shane Cansdell-Sherriff and James Bolton seven, centre-back duo Omar Beckles and Nat Knight-Percival six and full-back Jack Grimmer five.

Making up the numbers at the back were utility man Pete Wilding, Ro-Shaun Williams and Neil Ashton (two) while there was a vote each for Ryan Giles, James Tavernier, Graham Coughlan, Sagi Burton and Trevor Challis.