Shrewsbury Town team of the century: The strikers
There has been a whole host of talent to have played in Shrewsbury blue and amber during the 21st century.
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 final segment, we unveil which strikers made the cut.
Strikers: Grant Holt, James Collins, Luke Rodgers, Nigel Jemson
It was interesting to see most Town fans included a familiar trio in their four forward options in the squad.
One-season wonder Grant Holt was selected by 40 of the 43 fans to vote, the prolific James Collins received 35 votes, with academy graduate Luke Rodgers one behind on 34.
That meant an array of different names rounded off fans’ goalscoring options, with some drop to the fourth-choice forward, FA Cup hero Nigel Jemson, who collected 10 votes.
Holt, who joined from Nottingham Forest in 2008, went on to have a fabulous career with Norwich City, Aston Villa and Wolves among others. But the striker’s one season at Shrewsbury was the second most prolific of his 16-year pro career.
The bustling, strong and deadly forward managed 28 goals in 51 games, including 20 in the league, to help Paul Simpson’s side to the League Two play-off final, where they were just unable to get over the line.
Holt’s goalscoring exploits have him down as the most revered striker in Town’s modern history. His haul included the remarkable five-goal effort at Wycombe one Tuesday night, with a couple of braces for good measure.
The recently-retired hitman struck 15 Premier League goals in his first top-flight campaign with Norwich.
Joining him in our squad is two-time Shrewsbury striker James Collins, who managed 48 goals in 154 appearances across his two spells.
After initially signing as a largely untested 21-year-old from Villa in January 2011, Collins managed eight goals to help Town to the play-offs in 2010/11.
He hit the ground running and was prolific the following year as League Two promotion was secured. Sixteen goals in all competitions, including one at Arsenal in the League Cup, made him a big hit with fans and an integral part of Graham Turner’s squad.
He moved on to Swindon that summer, and then Hibernian, before a heralded 2014 return brought 17 goals and another promotion to the third tier. Collins, 29, since proved his worth in League One with current employers Luton, with 26 goals and another promotion last season. He is in double figures in the Championship this year.
Luke Rodgers managed an impressive 73 Town goals in 203 appearances after breaking through as an exciting youngster at the turn of the millennium. His senior debut arrived in August 1999 before a first goal in April 2000.
He netted seven the following season before a prolific 22-goal campaign in 2001/2002 earned the pocket rocket rave reviews. His 20 goals could not save Town from relegation in 2003, but 15 strikes in the Conference season helped Shrewsbury bounce back at the first attempt.
Rodgers moved on to Crewe in 2005 and later had good spells at Port Vale and Notts County before playing in Norway, Sweden and America. He has moved into football agency since retirement.
Nigel Jemson completes our quartet with 10 votes. After good spells at Forest and Oxford previously – as well as a Wembley brace against Shrews in 1996 – 30-year-old Jemson joined Town in 2000 and made 127 appearances over three years, netting 43 goals, none more popular than his double to humiliate top-flight Everton in 2003.
An intelligent and technical forward, Jemson’s experience was important in the Town sides he featured in, with season tallies of 15, 11 and 17 not to be sniffed at. Jemson left for Northern Ireland when Shrewsbury dropped out of the league in 2003.
Just edged out of the squad were former loanee Carlton Morris (eight votes), Andy Mangan (six) and current hitman Jason Cummings (five).
Andy Cooke and Derek Asamoah commanded four votes each, while three votes went to Tom Bradshaw, Sullay Kaikai, Marvin Morgan and Ryan Lowe.
Two fans voted for Dave Hibbert, with one vote apiece for Michael Symes, Mickey Brown, Duane Darby and Matt Harrold.
