Football Season Guide

Shrewsbury were by far the biggest surprise of League One in the 2017/18 season. One of the bookmakers' favourites for relegation before the season started, the Shrews finished their league campaign as third and reached the play-off final, where they were edged out by Rotherham with a 2:1 scoreline. Unfortunately for the Shrews, they were victims of their own success, as their manager Paul Hurst as well most of their key players have been tempted away by other clubs. The miracle-working Hurst has joined Ipswich, while the list of players that departed include skipper Abu Ogogo, winger Alex Rodman, full-back Junior Brown, as well as several on-loan players who were regular starters last season but are now back with their parent clubs. It is therefore back to reality for the Shrews, whose budget does not allow them to compete with most other League One clubs. Their new manager is John Askey, whose previous managerial experience consists of two spells in charge of Macclesfield, while all of their new signings are players who either join from lower leagues or have League One experience only as bit-part players. Tote Nsiala and Jon Nolan are the sole two truly important players from last season's side that remain at the club, although the Shrews face an uphill battle to keep hold of the latter, with Hurst reportedly determined for the midfielder to join him an Ipswich. All in all, this season's Shrewsbury will not have too many similarities with last season's one and it is difficult to see them enjoying anything close to the same level of success.