Post by Mark on Jul 19, 2006 12:23:26 GMT
Welcome back to the Meadow for the first pre-season game in the build up to what will be our last season at Gay Meadow. The New Meadow is well under way and when finished will be a fantastic venue to watch the Shrews take on all comers!
The summer of football ended prematurely for us English, did any of us truly believe that we would win the World Cup? I feel it was a case of real hope and desire to succeed rather than expectation. Myself and Skally watched the games from the Boathouse which became a fantastic venue to watch the action from. Ever the optimist we strolled down to the pub sat in ‘our’ seat with reserved table and even got the chance to win free beers! The idea was simple, every time you purchased a drink you put your name down on a board against which time you thought the first goal of the game would be scored. At one point we had from the fifth to the fifteenth covered, but yes you guessed it no goal was scored so no victory dance from the TMS twins!
My own personal view is that collectively England were not good enough, the two Cole’s, Terry and Ferdinand shone for me, but too many of our other big names simply did not perform like we know then can for their clubs. It was just so disappointing to go out in the manor that we did. As soon as Wayne got himself sent off then you could just sense that it would go the distance. Ricardo, the Portugal goal keeper, said that our players had fear in their eyes when taking the penalty kicks. I knew it was all over when Jamie had to re-take his kick. It might sound strange but I bet many of you thought the same as me, as soon as he re-spotted the ball you instantly thought ‘missed.’
How much blame should Ronaldo get though? I agree what he did was wrong, but Wayne should not have got into that situation in the first place. Wayne has to take some of the blame and he is lucky that the majority of fans and the media have not turned on him like they did to Beckham a few years ago.
Anyway back onto the more important footballing issues and our beloved Shrewsbury Town. It seems an absolute age since Hopey and Co were undressing in front of the travelling fans at Chester in our last outing. Since the coach ride home I have been looking forward to the first friendly, living and breathing all things Shrewsbury Town is only a good thing during the football season, the summers just seem so long!
There will be many new faces on show this evening and I would like to formally wish each and every one of them a successful and happy stay at Shrewsbury Town. The signing of Ben Davies is one of the most exciting in terms of creativity, everybody by now knows that I was a big fan of Ben Smith and it’s nice to see that Gary has brought in a player who is able to produce that moment of skill to unlock a defence or create effective scoring chances. This is the type of player that we lacked in the second half of last season and I’m sure that he will prove to be a real asset for us, certainly Chester’s loss is our gain!
As is the way in football the greeting of new faces follows the departures of others and it would be amiss of me not to wish those who have left the club all the very best. Joe Hart’s departure to Manchester City was naturally the biggest of the summer and what an achievement for the young man. Ever since Joe hit the first team you could see what a talent he was and knew that he would at some stage reach the top tier of the English leagues. The move came a year sooner than I was expecting as I believed that Joe would be with us this season, but he has a fantastic opportunity and im sure there will be a few ‘Hart 25’ Man City shirts on show around Shrewsbury during the coming months. Everybody at Shrewsbury Town wishes Joe well for the future and it will be a proud moment when a former Town player and local lad makes his Premiership bow.
It’s not all doom and gloom in the keeper position though as Gary has worked his magic and brought in two fine stoppers. Chris is a player who has always played well against us, especially when he was at Telford, and to have a player who has been involved with the Scottish International set up and played in the SPL last year competing with him for the number one spot is great business from GP.
I’m really excited about the coming season, lets get behind the lads and send off the Gay Meadow in style!
Enjoy the game,
Up the Town!
Mark Fielden
www.themightyshrew.co.uk
The summer of football ended prematurely for us English, did any of us truly believe that we would win the World Cup? I feel it was a case of real hope and desire to succeed rather than expectation. Myself and Skally watched the games from the Boathouse which became a fantastic venue to watch the action from. Ever the optimist we strolled down to the pub sat in ‘our’ seat with reserved table and even got the chance to win free beers! The idea was simple, every time you purchased a drink you put your name down on a board against which time you thought the first goal of the game would be scored. At one point we had from the fifth to the fifteenth covered, but yes you guessed it no goal was scored so no victory dance from the TMS twins!
My own personal view is that collectively England were not good enough, the two Cole’s, Terry and Ferdinand shone for me, but too many of our other big names simply did not perform like we know then can for their clubs. It was just so disappointing to go out in the manor that we did. As soon as Wayne got himself sent off then you could just sense that it would go the distance. Ricardo, the Portugal goal keeper, said that our players had fear in their eyes when taking the penalty kicks. I knew it was all over when Jamie had to re-take his kick. It might sound strange but I bet many of you thought the same as me, as soon as he re-spotted the ball you instantly thought ‘missed.’
How much blame should Ronaldo get though? I agree what he did was wrong, but Wayne should not have got into that situation in the first place. Wayne has to take some of the blame and he is lucky that the majority of fans and the media have not turned on him like they did to Beckham a few years ago.
Anyway back onto the more important footballing issues and our beloved Shrewsbury Town. It seems an absolute age since Hopey and Co were undressing in front of the travelling fans at Chester in our last outing. Since the coach ride home I have been looking forward to the first friendly, living and breathing all things Shrewsbury Town is only a good thing during the football season, the summers just seem so long!
There will be many new faces on show this evening and I would like to formally wish each and every one of them a successful and happy stay at Shrewsbury Town. The signing of Ben Davies is one of the most exciting in terms of creativity, everybody by now knows that I was a big fan of Ben Smith and it’s nice to see that Gary has brought in a player who is able to produce that moment of skill to unlock a defence or create effective scoring chances. This is the type of player that we lacked in the second half of last season and I’m sure that he will prove to be a real asset for us, certainly Chester’s loss is our gain!
As is the way in football the greeting of new faces follows the departures of others and it would be amiss of me not to wish those who have left the club all the very best. Joe Hart’s departure to Manchester City was naturally the biggest of the summer and what an achievement for the young man. Ever since Joe hit the first team you could see what a talent he was and knew that he would at some stage reach the top tier of the English leagues. The move came a year sooner than I was expecting as I believed that Joe would be with us this season, but he has a fantastic opportunity and im sure there will be a few ‘Hart 25’ Man City shirts on show around Shrewsbury during the coming months. Everybody at Shrewsbury Town wishes Joe well for the future and it will be a proud moment when a former Town player and local lad makes his Premiership bow.
It’s not all doom and gloom in the keeper position though as Gary has worked his magic and brought in two fine stoppers. Chris is a player who has always played well against us, especially when he was at Telford, and to have a player who has been involved with the Scottish International set up and played in the SPL last year competing with him for the number one spot is great business from GP.
I’m really excited about the coming season, lets get behind the lads and send off the Gay Meadow in style!
Enjoy the game,
Up the Town!
Mark Fielden
www.themightyshrew.co.uk