Football Season Review

The Shrews entered the 2012/13 season with anxiety and hope, as it was the club's return to the third tier after a 15 year absence. Their fans' fears were increased following the summer departure of key players James Collins and Shane Sherriff, but it was widely expected that Shrewsbury would manage to steer to safety thanks to their home form, as they started the season following a period of 11 months without a home defeat. However, the Shrews soon learned that League One is a completely different proposition to League Two, as their first home defeat came in their third home game, when they lost to Scunthorpe, and their home form was never particularly impressive. In the early stages of the season, Shrewsbury gained the reputation of being a side that plays good football but did not get the results their play deserves - which obviously had a lot to do with the form of their strikers Marvin Morgan and Terry Gornell. With his side still in a relegation scrap midway through the season, Graham Turner finally started doing what he does best - exploiting the loan market. Gornell was frozen out of the squad before being allowed to leave on a free transfer, while Morgan had to compete for his starting place with several strikers that arrived on loan - with Bolton loanee Tom Eaves making the best impression and scoring some crucial goals in the Shrews' battle for promotion. The injury suffered by important central defender in January also forced Turner to search for on loan defenders, and Shrewsbury played the majority of their final 20 games of the season with two or even three on loan defenders playing in their lineup. As a result, the Shrews went through the entire season without having a particularly good or a particularly bad run of form - they were always five points or more above the drop zone, and secured their survival with two games to spare. With Graham Turner being a manager who always heavily relies on the loan market, it is impossible to make any predictions regarding Shrewsbury's chances and ambition for next season at this stage.

Player of the Season: Chris Weale