Salop Social: Just how will Shrewsbury Town recover from Covid-19 outbreak?

Read our Salop Social contributors ahead of the St Mary's tie, as they address the recent outbreak, recovery and momentum.

Nathan Rowden

As a child professional football players were my heroes. Win, lose or draw, they were untouchable. Everything from their stature as athletes to the skill on the field mesmerised me. There is still a bit of this as an adult football fan ­— but if there’s one thing this pandemic has taught me is that footballers really are just normal people.

The recent Covid-19 outbreak at Shrewsbury was worrying for all involved at the club. The health of players and staff needs to be an absolute priority, and I have no doubt this has been the case throughout at Shrewsbury. These are our extended family and we want them to all stay safe.

The 90-minute game of football itself is secondary during this pandemic, and authorities and football clubs need to be completely flexible. Football can’t remain as rigid and set in its way anymore.

Shrewsbury's FA Cup third-round tie with Southampton was a prime example of this. There was absolutely no way that game was going to be played last weekend, and it would have been irresponsible to have let it go ahead.

Credit must be given to the Premier League, the FA and Southampton, Shrewsbury and Leeds, for making sure this tie can be played in place of a Premier League fixture, no doubt discussions must have been incredibly tough.

This really does set a precedent though. The football calendar simply cannot just continue as though nothing is happening — it’s delusional to think otherwise. Shrewsbury won’t be the last, clubs will have outbreaks, fixtures will need to be moved, and while this might be frustrating, it’s probably going to be the way for at least the rest of the season, if not next too.

However, what the last week has shown is that where there is a will to change the schedule, it can be done, and that doing so keeps players, our heroes, safe, while also maintaining the integrity of the sport we all love.

Steve Jones

It’s hard to believe Shrewsbury aren’t even half way through this season.

Let that sink in for a moment. It already feels like so much has happened.

There are still 26 matches to be played before May 8, when the 20/21 season is scheduled to finish – and that doesn’t include FA Cup games.

For comparison, Shrewsbury had played 24 times in the league this time last year.

There are 18 weekends left to squeeze in the remaining fixtures, assuming there are no further postponements. And seven weeks are already taken up with midweek games.

Shrewsbury will be playing a match every four days on average from Tuesday until the campaign ends.

That’s a lot of football.

It’ll be interesting to see how Town get on when they make a welcome return to matchday action after a full three weeks away.

Hopefully it hasn’t killed their momentum.

Perhaps, then, it makes Southampton even more of a free hit.

It could be a chance to get back up to speed, with the added incentive of another potentially lucrative draw should they win.

Chris Hudson

Shropshire has suffered less than most parts of the country during the coronavirus pandemic – yet its premier football club is just coming out of one of the biggest outbreaks the Football League has seen.

How much of an impact that outbreak has had, we will only truly find out in the coming weeks and months.

We now know our manager Steve Cotterill has been laid low by the virus. He’s a fit guy, but it seems he's been seriously ill. It's a sobering reminder of the threat that covid-19 carries, and I just hope he now enjoys a rapid recovery.

We know, too, that many of our players were affected, possibly a dozen or more. We cannot assume they will all be fully recovered. Just look at Newcastle, where two players - captain Jamaal Lascelles and winger Allan Saint-Maximin – have been laid low for several weeks.

It will have been nearly three weeks since Shrewsbury last kicked a ball in anger by the time they run out at Southampton in the FA Cup third round tomorrow.

That the cup tie goes ahead at all is good news – and a credit to the Premier League, and to the Saints and Leeds United for postponing Wednesday’s scheduled league match.

Shrewsbury ended 2020 in fine form, looking up the table rather than down. There was even growing optimism that a stunning play-off push was not beyond the realms of possibility.

We can only wait and hope that covid does not achieve what any of their recent opponents couldn’t – and halt Town’s momentum.