Shrewsbury Town v Oldham: New owner ‘couldn’t be more excited’ to welcome fans on landmark day

Scott Davidson insisted he “could not be more excited” to start his reign as Shrewsbury Town chairman with Saturday’s home clash against Oldham.

The new chairman and owner, as well as sporting director Brad Friedel, will be at Croud Meadow for the visit of the Latics for the first fixture since rubber-stamping the takeover this week.

Ticket sales have gone well this week as the club took advantage of United States-themed discount offers, with 6,000 home tickets shifted by the close of play on Thursday to back Gavin Cowan’s men in the League Two clash.

Davidson, whose takeover ended Roland Wycherley’s historic three-decade long tenure at the helm, is hopeful the sense of occasion and start of a new era could bring back some supporters who have been away from Croud Meadow for some time.

“Well, I couldn't be more excited, and I couldn't be more excited to see how many fans here,” said Davidson.

“So we're really excited to see if we can reintroduce the folks who haven't been here recently to the club to let them see the excitement.

“We're going to have some special stuff, we hope. But really, it ultimately comes down to the football on Saturday, doesn't it? So that's what we're excited about.”

Chief executive Liam Dooley joined Davidson and Friedel in addressing the media at the group’s public unveiling at Croud Meadow on Thursday afternoon.

Dooley is keen for the numbers to continue to rise on a momentous day for Shrewsbury.

“We'll be over 6,000 tickets by the end of today, which is really good from where we are at the moment,” added Dooley.

“What we want to do is keep pushing that number. So it is almost a play of saying, if you know people that used to come to the game with you, get them, bring them down, tell them what's happening.

“If they're not already getting it from this press conference, we want you to help us to get us where we want to get, get bums on seats, and to Scott's point, put money back into the club to help us make it better.”

Saturday’s visitors Oldham sit 18th and are managed by a former promotion-winning Shrewsbury boss.

Micky Mellon has been at the helm at Boundary Park since 2023. The Scot led Town to League Two promotion in his first season of a two-year stint from 2014.

Mellon, 54, may not be in the away dugout at Croud Meadow after he was shown a red card for misconduct during last weekend’s FA Cup win over Sheffield Wednesday,

He was charged by the Football Association this week and had until Friday to appeal. Mellon could serve a three-match touchline ban if guilty. Oldham are 18th after four wins from 14 games.