Shropshire Star

Salop Social: ‘The Special Mon’ weaves his magic

The latest Salop Social brings tidings of comfort and joy from Shrewsbury fans as the Steve Cotterill revolution continues.

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STEVEN JONES

Without getting carried away, it’s time for Shrewsbury to start looking up rather than down.

The brilliant turnaround under Steve Cotterill – ‘The Special Mon’ – has catapulted the team into mid-table with breathing space between them and the relegation places.

Despite some teams below Town having games in hand, it’s always better to have points on the board. Besides, Shrewsbury can only control what they do. There’s no point worrying about things they can’t influence.

The transfer news on incomings also suggests Cotterill isn’t hanging around waiting for the bubble to burst and the subsequent slide down the table.

Last year’s 15th-placed finish was the second-highest league position Shrewsbury have achieved since the 1984/85 season.

While the 89-point haul of 2017/18 is almost certainly out of reach, bettering 2019/20s effort is not.

Despite the manager and players insisting mid-table is nothing to celebrate, it would definitely mark a successful year given the circumstances.

NATHAN ROWDEN

It may have been sub-zero freezing temperatures at The Meadow, but Tuesday night’s 1-0 victory over in-form Blackpool was enough to warm the cockles of every Town fan.

The win was a real statement of intent from Salop, who are now eight games unbeaten in the league and becoming one of the in-form teams in the country.

The Steve Cotterill revolution shows no signs of slowing up, with confidence now coursing through the side, which has spilled into the stands too.

The South Stand was rocking and I even heard the utterance of play-off chances mentioned after the final whistle.

Personally, I don’t think we’re quite there. A solid mid-table finish would be a great achievement for this side and the boss. However, the fact an eight-point gap to the play-offs is seen as attainable does show unity and belief that is now swirling around the club stronger than Storm Bella.

Football at The Meadow has become fun again. I was delighted we were able to take in this post-Christmas match, especially following the news that Shrewsbury is now in Tier 3 and fans won’t be allowed in for the foreseeable future.

I’m also looking forward to seeing what Cotterill and his staff do in the January transfer window to improve on this crop, but if the turnaround in the first couple of months is anything to go by, then we should be very excited indeed for the prospect of what the rest of the season has in store.

CHRIS HUDSON

We entered December five points adrift of safety in League One – and we will now go into 2021 sitting five points clear of the relegation zone.

What Steve Cotterill and his team have achieved in an action-packed month has been nothing short of remarkable.

Having won three away games in a row against some of the division’s best teams, we have now got a huge monkey off our back by recording our first home win.

Against Blackpool on Tuesday, we saw a lot of the work that Cotterill has done coming to fruition.

Our match-winning goal came in a spell of sustained pressure, where we showed some real quality on the ball.

And in the second half, when the Seasiders attempted to ratchet up the pressure, we defended resolutely. Pierre, Ebanks-Landell and Williams are once again looking the unbreachable barrier that they did in the early stages of last season. Norburn and Vela were our dogs of war in midfield.

Credit too, to the wing-backs – Charlie Daniels showed his Premier League class on the ball, while Josh Daniels gave a terrific account of himself.

New faces appear to be imminent, and that just gives further cause for optimism. With more than half the season still to go, I’m now reading the table from the top down, rather than the bottom up.