Dave Edwards: Shrewsbury Town new-season optimism seems a long time ago

It was so disappointing with the way the cup game went last Tuesday night and then how the transfer window finished, with no new players coming through the door on deadline day.

To follow it up with the Accrington result was very tough and all of a sudden that optimism from six weeks ago, given the manager’s heroics last season it’s hard to believe we are here in just a few weeks.

We suddenly look in a real dogfight six games in. You look at the squad and they are one or two injuries away from being in real trouble.

I do expect us to bring a free agent or two but they will need time to get up to speed and depth is required because it’s a long time until January, a lot of games being played. It’s going to need to be a Steve Cotterill masterclass to keep us in a position where we’ve got something to play for come January.

I think the manager and Keith Burt were waiting for the right players to come along, which is understandable in this market, but it got to the case late on where it felt like squad players were needed – a lad in on loan or someone who has League One experience in midfield.

I feel that would’ve been a better long-term option as it’s difficult for players to play out of position for a sustained period of time.

Conceding goals and not scoring is not the combination you want. I feel sorry for the defence a little, you know you’re not going to keep clean sheets in every game. But it’s a lot easier to do so when you know you’ve got something to hold on to – look at our wins at Hull and Lincoln last year.

I always thought 3-5-2 was the best system but I genuinely don’t think we’ve got the personnel in that dressing room to master that, because you need that really creative ‘No.10’ and I still think we’re crying out for that ball-playing midfielder if we’re to be a possession-based team.

It’s about the manager looking at what he’s got in the dressing room to get the best results possible.

Dave Davis went a long while without playing before joining Town last season. He could take a while to get up to speed and might pick up knocks. We hope to God Josh Vela stays fit but he will pick up suspensions, you can tell that by his bookings already.

I think it was obvious we needed another body in midfield, I’m sure they were pushing hard for it. Although the manager says he is happy with the squad I’m sure he’d desperately want another two or three as the squad is not as balanced as it ideally needs to be.

I’ve heard from some frustrated fans and you can understand that. They’d have been looking forward to this season so much because of being away due to Covid, and for the amazing job the manager did when he came in.

I spoke to renewed season ticket holders who feel a bit hard done by having paid their money to see it not spent on the squad. I think it was quite telling to hear Brian Caldwell distancing himself from recruitment in his interview.

You understand it, they pay their money to watch the team and want to be entertained. They don’t want to be fighting relegation every year, it’s been like that for a while and can be a tough watch.

But they say football can be a fickle old game, if Steve can find the winning formula in the squad and go on a bit of a run – which could be tough with what’s available – then the fans will soon get behind things again. Town fans might vent their frustration afterwards but during a match they’ll always get behind their team if they sense that passion.