Review of the Year: July to December - Lark is a winner but the Ashes are lost

Ryan Mason addressed the media as new Albion head coach, where he underlined his determination to write his own story at The Hawthorns.

Everybody connected with Wolves and Liverpool and the sporting world mourned the tragic passing of Diogo Jota, aged 28.

The Portugal international, a former Wolves favourite, and his brother Andre Silva died in a horror car crash in northern Spain.

Albion tied up the £4.75million transfer of Norwegian striker Aune Heggebo, while Baggies winger Mikey Johnston was poised to move to Brazilian giants Flamengo of Rio de Janeiro, but the Samba club pulled out due to angry fan backlash

Lando Norris won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone for the first time in his career.

Former Shrewsbury Town striker Ryan Bowman was banned from football for three-and-a-half years after admitting 6,397 bets on football between 2015 and 2023 – including 243 he or Salop were involved in.

Jannik Sinner claimed his first Wimbledon title after defeating his great rival Carlos Alcaraz. Iga Swiatek was crowned ladies champion for the first time.

Shropshire hopes for NCCA Trophy cricket glory were dashed in a final defeat to Dorset.

Former Shropshire & Herefordshire golfer Aaron Rai started day two of The Open just two shots off the lead. He finished tied 34th.

England Women became successive European champions. The Lionesses, with former Staffordshire schoolgirl Hannah Hampton between the sticks, beat Spain in the final.

Shropshire swimmer Ollie Morgan, from Ludlow, finished fifth in the World Championship backstroke in Singapore.

The New Saints crashed out of Uefa Conference League at the first hurdle with 2-0 aggregate defeat to Luxembourg outfit Differdange.

August

Wolves’ season got off to a rough start as they lost their first three Premier League matches. 

The main focus, outside of the results, was on the transfer window with the future of striker Jorgen Strand Larsen the subject of serious scrutiny after two big money bids from Newcastle.

Wolves turned down offers of £50million and £55m for the Norway international, with the club making clear he was not for sale. Full-backs David Moller Wolfe and Jackson Tchatchoua joined from AZ Alkmaar and Hellas Verona respectively.

Villa made their first big money outlay of the summer with the signing of Evann Guessand from Nice for an initial £23m but Unai Emery’s team endured a poor start to the season, taking just one point from their first three matches to sit just one place above Wolves in the table.

The month ended with Emi Martinez’s future in serious doubt after he was left out of a 3-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace, with Emery claiming the goalkeeper was not “100 per cent” focused amid reported interest from Manchester United.

West Brom made an impressive start in the Championship, taking 10 points from their opening four matches.

Shrewsbury finished the month without a win and just two points from their opening six games.

England suffered a fifth Test defeat at the Oval as a thrilling series with India ended 2-2.

Chris Woakes, who suffered a dislocated shoulder when fielding on the first day, went out to bat with his left arm in a sling as he looked to help the hosts over the line on a dramatic final morning.

Worcestershire beat Somerset to reach the final of the One-Day Cup.

September

The summer transfer window closed at 7pm on September 1 and there were mixed fortunes for local clubs.

Wolves landed striker Tolu Arokodare but failed to bring in a midfielder, while Villa made the triple signing of Victor Lindelof, Jadon Sancho and Harvey Elliott. West Brom signed Samuel Iling-Junior and Charlie Taylor.

Shrewsbury secured the signing of Bradley Ihionvien as Max Mata, Toby Savin and Alex Gilliead all left the club.

Following the transfer window, and amid Wolves' poor start to the season, club chairman Jeff Shi did an interview with Wolves' internal media team and insisted he was pleased with their transfer business and that owners Fosun still had ambition.

During the international break, England beat Andorra 2-0 and Serbia 5-0 in important World Cup qualifiers.

After Newcastle attempted to sign him in the transfer window, Jorgen Strand Larsen opened talks with Wolves in September over a new contract. It was signed later in the month, until 2030 with the option of a further year, and no release clause included.

Shrewsbury signed striker Chuks Aneke on a free transfer.

The Shropshire Star exclusively revealed that Wolves head coach Vitor Pereira was set to sign his new contract with the club. It was announced by Wolves just days later, as he signed a new three-year deal.

Our Premier League sides had a difficult weekend when Wolves lost poorly at home to Leeds, while Unai Emery blasted his 'lazy' Villa side in their draw with 10-man Sunderland.

But Villa followed it up with a 1-0 Europa League win over Bologna.

England Women, including Ludlow’s Lark Atkin- Davies, enjoyed tremendous success when they beat Canada 33-13 in the Rugby World Cup final.

Telford’s Lilli Ives Campion was also in the squad.

Wolves had less success, however, as they ended the month by conceding a late equaliser at Spurs and missing out on their first Premier League win of the season.

Meanwhile, Shrewsbury owner Roland Wycherley said the club's search for a new owner was continuing after confirming two deals with interested parties collapsed.

October

On the continent, Villa tasted success on the return to the scene of the club's greatest ever triumph and the European Cup win of 1982. Unai Emery's men beat Feyenoord 2-0 in Rotterdam.

Tensions bubbled under at McLaren as Oscar Piastri hit out at team-mate Lando Norris' driving and blasted his team as "unfair" after a first-lap collision in the Singapore Grand Prix won by Mercedes' George Russell.

England boss Thomas Tuchel insisted he had no problem with Jude Bellingham despite leaving the Black Country-born Real Madrid superstar out of his squad for the October internationals.

The Three Lions beat Wales 3-0 – with Villa’s Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins on target – and confirmed their place in next summer's World Cup with a 5-0 rout in Latvia.

Local football mourned the death of hugely popular football and fitness coach Steve Wynn aged 56. 'Wynner' twice served AFC Telford United with distinction under Rob Smith and Larry Chambers.

Shrewsbury Town signed experienced left-back Josh Ruffles after a protracted deal.

Shrews won at home for the first time since February for just a second league victory of the campaign by seeing off Cambridge 2-0.

AFC Telford chalked up a remarkable 6-0 FA Cup success at Darlington.

Toto Nsiala departed Shrewsbury citing "family reasons" after more than 100 appearances across two spells.

Chants of "sacked in the morning" and jeers rang around Molineux as Vitor Pereira confronted angry fans following Wolves' disastrous 2-0 defeat against Burnley.

November

Shrewsbury Town began November with their first defeat in five games in League Two after losing 3-1 at Crewe Alexandra.

They emerged 1-0 victors over Newport County a week later and finished the month with a 3-1 defeat at Fleetwood and a 3-3 home draw against Gillingham.

AFC Telford United were eliminated from the FA Cup following a 2-1 defeat at Sutton United in the first round, as Shrewsbury progressed with a 3-1 success at non-league South Shields.

The Bucks also lost to Merthyr Town and Marine in the National League North, as well as drawing with Macclesfield and South Shields. They responded with a thumping 4-0 triumph over Oxford United, before ending the month with a 2-2 draw at Radcliffe.

The club also confirmed the departure of promotion-winning captain Luke Rowe.

Wolves sacked Vitor Pereira following a 3-0 defeat at Fulham in early November. The Portuguese left Molineux with Wolves rooted to the foot of the Premier League having failed to win any of their opening 10 games. Former boss Gary O'Neil was linked with the post, but turned down the chance to return to the club.

Instead, Wolves turned to former defender and coach Rob Edwards, who left Middlesbrough to sign a three-and-a-half-year deal.

His debut ended in a 2-0 home defeat against Crystal Palace and was followed by a narrow 1-0 defeat at local rivals Aston Villa courtesy of Boubacar Kamara's match-winner.

Villa had started the month with a 2-0 setback at Liverpool, but responded with a thumping 4-0 demolition of Bournemouth at Villa Park.

They went on to beat Leeds United at Elland Road and prevailed 2-1 at home to Swiss side Young Boys in a Champions League tie that was marred by crowd trouble in the away end.

Meanwhile, Villa frontman Ollie Watkins was left out of the England squad for their final two World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania respectively. The Three Lions won both 2-0.

West Brom conjured up a mixed bag of results – losing 1-0 at Charlton, beating Oxford 2-1 and drawing 0-0 against Sheffield Wednesday before the international break.

They went on to lose 3-2 at Championship leaders Coventry City, drew 1-1 at home to Birmingham City, before coming from two goals down to beat Swansea City at Hawthorns.

Cymru Premier leaders The New Saints beat Flint Town and Caernarfon Town but lost to Cardiff Met, before crashing out to the latter in the Welsh Cup.

Telford Tigers plummeted down the rankings in the NIHL National Division following seven defeats in 10 games during November.

Former Shropshire & Herefordshire junior Aaron Rai held his nerve to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship after beating Tommy Fleetwood on the first play-off hole.

In the wider sporting world, England lost the first test in Perth after Australia emerged winners by eight wickets.

December

Jeff Shi finally paid the price for Wolves’ decline as he left his role as executive chairman.

The 48-year-old stepped down from his role on the eve of a 2-0 home defeat to Brentford which left Wolves winless and with just two Premier League points at Christmas.

Shi had increasingly become a target for fan protests which ramped up a gear before and during a 4-1 home defeat to Manchester United.

He then caused further anger and alarm during an interview with local radio in which he described relegation as a “kind of technical word” and said: “Inside the club it is not as serious as some views from outside, which league we will play in next season.”

Villa thrust themselves firmly into the Premier League title race with a dramatic last-gasp win over Arsenal. The win over the Gunners was part of a 10-match winning run in all competition, the first time Villa had achieved the feat as a top-flight side since 1914.

In the Championship, Albion’s woeful away form continued as they lost at QPR, Southampton and Hull to make it eight straight defeats on the road.

Shrewsbury remained in deep trouble in League Two after failing to win any of their first three matches in the month.

There was less positive news in Australia, where England succumbed to Ashes defeat inside just 11 days of cricket.

After being beaten in just two days in the first Test, Ben Stokes’ team went down by eight wickets in Brisbane before losing by 82 runs in Adelaide.

England gained some consolation by winning the fourth Test in Melbourne inside two days.

Shrewsbury ended the year just outside the relegation zone following a 1-0 defeat at Grimsby.

AFC Telford’s final game of the year ended in a 3-0 loss at Kidderminster Harriers.

Wolves claimed their third point of the season thanks to an impressive 1-1 draw away to Manchester United.

Villa's club-record-equaling 11-game winning streak came to an end when they went down 4-1 to leaders Arsenal.