Salop Social: Shrewsbury must turn possession into points

Chris Hudson

Possession is nine-tenths of the law, so the saying goes.

Well that’s a complete lie, of course – and Shrewsbury reminded us again on Tuesday why it means virtually nothing in football, too.

In going down 1-0 at home to Bristol Rovers, they kept the ball for almost 67 oer cent of the game according to the official match stats.

It’s become a trend this season – boss Sam Ricketts has worked on a more expansive style and suddenly a team that was possession-light last season is very much possession-heavy. We’ve achieved 60 per cent or more in pretty much every game.

The problem is that we’re not making it count.

It’s all well and good making crab-like passes across the defence and midfield, but we’re not managing to do enough in the final third.

Even on Tuesday, when we did create more openings, we struggled to test the goalkeeper. We only managed two efforts on target all game.

Done well, possession football can be both brilliant and devastatingly effective. Think Ajax or Holland in the 1970s, Spain or Barcelona 10 years ago. The reality is, though, that we are not a team of Johann Cruyffs or Lionel Messis.

I admire Sam’s ambition to do it differently, but if we want to be in possession of a few more points then we have to do better.

Steven Jones

So, Shrewsbury’s only recognised left-back is injured – who didn’t see that coming?

The transfer window opened on July 27, with regular stand-in Omar Beckles expected to depart at that point, leaving ample time to find a replacement.

It’s inexcusable that Ricketts didn’t.

He said his transfer strategy is like going shopping and making sure you don’t spend too soon in case something better appears in another aisle.

That makes sense, but he’s kept his hands inside his pockets gripping his money too tightly and for too long – and missed out completely.

Still relatively new to management, was he seeking perfect players that don’t exist? The free transfer market may be the lifeline he needs, but that is complicated by the EFL’s new squad registration rules.

The iFollow stream worked well enough to show puzzled and panicked faces when Golbourne got injured.

Vela got the nod after seemingly volunteering, but it had the feeling of a Sunday league-style reshuffle after the ‘keeper takes a whack.

It’s another issue on a growing list of problems for the boss to resolve, but this one is self-inflicted.

Nathan Rowden

The most interesting thing about Saturday’s 1-0 win way at AFC Wimbledon were the post-match comments.

Firstly, a stony-faced Sam himself admitted that his players didn’t do what he had asked of them during the game, despite having two weeks on the training pitch to work on a game plan.

Then the question was asked over Leon Clarke’s positioning from the corner in which he pinched the winner in the 91st minute.

For all the talk of Clarke gambling, or using his experience and finding a different position in the box, the question needs to be asked – why was he and the other players not doing as instructed?

Is it that the message is not getting across clearly? Do the players disagree with what they’re being asked to do? Are the players not capable or comfortable with their role in the side? On that point, I look at Jason Cummings, who seems pretty ineffective in a wide position.

A win away from home of course is never a bad thing, but I do feel the reaction to that result may have unearthed a few potential issues which could be starting to raise their heads.

However, all it takes is a couple of performances and positive results to put this kind of thinking to bed, and the games are about to come thick and fast.