I talk to a Shrewsbury Town fan, and find out how they will settle in in their new stadium.
Tell us a bit about your season last season firstly. Would you say it was a success or failure? Did you achieve anything throughout the season, and were the fans happy with the end result?
We had a fantastic season last season, we finished in the playoffs which nobody expected us to do and reached the final beating MK Dons to get to Wembley. Sadly we missed out on promotion due to the excellent finishing of Walker of Bristol Rovers but we had a brilliant time in rainy London and thoroughly enjoyed the weekend. Overall the season was a success and the fans though a little disappointed at missing promotion were happy enough.
Obviously every close season sees players leave. Who left your club and were you happy with the decision to let those players go by your boss?
Well I am little sad to see Dave Edwards leave but we have got a great deal for him from Luton Town of £250k now with another £150k later and a sell on clause. Good luck to him.
Richard Hope was our captain last season and he has joined Wrexham, will do a good job for them even though his legs are going a bit.
Sagi Burton has gone to Barnet and will do a decent job for them in the bottom half of the table if he controls his temper.
Mike Jones, Scott Shearer and Leo Fortune-West were all on loan and went back to there clubs though Shearer and Leo have changed clubs this summer.
It also looks like Derek Asamoah is moving to Nice which is a remarkable move for him, won`t be missed that much though as for all his promise he failed to deliver often enough.
So obviously, with players going out, some have got to come in. Who has come in for you, and do you expect them to do well? Tell us a bit about these lads?
Glynn Garner is our keeper from Leyton Orient, knows what getting promoted takes, good acquisition.
Darren Moss returns on a free from Crewe after a couple of years away and will be one of the best right backs in the division.
Darren Kempson also from Crewe has looked impressive in pre season and will start alongside Langmead in the heart of our defence.
Colin Murdock is experienced and adds more depth to our strong back line.
Marc Pugh has looked superb in pre season, will excite the fans with his pace and trickery. Bury`s loss is our gain.
Dave Hibbert from Preston is a young striker who looks quite lively. Big things expected of him.
Dave Hunt has been injured so we haven’t seen him.
Who are going to be your star players this season then? Who`s going to get the goals, and who`s going to stop them?
Kelvin Langmead will be the star man again I expect, he has been transformed since he went into defence and is one of the best defenders in this league. Michael Symes will score goals if he stays fit and Andy Cooke will get his share too. Our defence has a very solid look to it and we will be hard to beat and Garner is a great last line to have.
Season ticket sales help the club at the beginning of the season to stabilise the place and give it a bit of extra income. How many season tickets have your club shifted these season so far, and what do you expect the average attendance to be throughout the season?
Record season ticket sales this season of around 2,500 which is obviously helped by moving into the new ground. I expect our average attendance to be around 5,000 this year as we should get more away fans coming just to see the ground so they can criticise us for selling our soul by moving.
Tell us a bit about your gaffer and his backroom staff. Do the fans like the gaffer, or can you see him being out of a job after a run of bad results?
Gary Peters is loved by many but he does have some fans who dislike him for being a grumpy git, his number 2 is Steve McMahon’s brother but our physio is worth a look, the lovely Rachel Greenley. I can’t see him being out of a job as he has the excuse of moving ground and settling in if results go badly.
This question is split into two. What do you BELIEVE your club can achieve this season, and what do you HOPE your club can achieve this season?
Promotion. Promotion. We missed out at Wembley last season and have a far stronger side now so there is no reason why we can’t go up.
Finally, whom do you expect to win the division, who do you think will go up with them and who do you think will be relegated?
Peterborough will win it, they have the squad and the cash to do it. MK Dons and us to follow them up with Stockport or Chesterfield via the playoffs.
As for relegation Barnet have lost all their best players and not really replaced them with much and Mansfield like Torquay last year are an accident waiting to happen.
