Shrewsbury CEO Liam Dooley sticks to his word after busy season at the Meadow

It is hard to criticise the Town chief executive, who inherited a fairly hopeless situation at the Croud Meadow when he took the job last October after leaving Sheffield Wednesday.

Joining a club that made £3million losses in the financial year before his arrival has led to the CEO doing more firefighting than anything.

Continuing to reduce costs was mentioned in his most recent address to supporters.

But from the fans’ perspective, the thing they will be most pleased about is he is trying to keep them informed. He promised to communicate from the outset and to his credit he has delivered to this point, and for that, you cannot fault him.

The club have been looking at ways they can try to bring in extra revenue, and Dooley revealed in his letter renting out the pitch has helped to fund renovations on the Meadow turf.

He said: “As the men’s first team season drew to a close, there were more games at the Croud Meadow that allowed us to showcase how we want to operate as a club.

“On April 28, we saw the women’s first team play their first West Midlands Premier Division match in the stadium.

“That game saw a record attendance of 912 supporters attend to support our women’s team.

“This was then followed by the opportunity to celebrate the life of club legend Marvin Morgan in what was a fantastic occasion with the launch of the inaugural Marvin Morgan Memorial Cup.

“Here we got the opportunity to raise money for both the club and charity while also testing out the idea of hosting YouTuber games at the stadium.

“For those who attended – the women’s game and the Marvin Morgan game – I’m sure you will agree they were both fantastic spectacles and events we will look to do again each year.

“It wasn’t just former players and YouTubers that enjoyed the hallowed turf this year, our academy kids all got the chance to enjoy playing on the pitch.

“So did our foundation and club staff and last – but not least – our commercial partners as we successfully re-introduced Play on the Pitch.

“This gave more than 300 people the chance to play as part of pitch rental packages.

“The revenue raised from the games has managed to contribute heavily towards the main pitch renovations and those at the training ground – these renovations, in turn, will give the playing staff the best possible facilities for next season.”

The club also brought back their end-of-season awards night and black tie dinner in an attempt to generate more revenue, so they are trying to find ways of getting themselves on a more even keel financially.

The decision to freeze season ticket prices has also been well-received. At one point they were going to increase them but after resistance from fans they, perhaps wisely, agreed to freeze.

Ultimately the biggest cost is always on football, and even the best run off-field operation will get criticism if results don’t go well on the pitch – but Dooley seems to be doing a decent job in the circumstances.