This weeks Fan Of The Week is a MASSIVE Dean Henderson Fan and Shrewsbury Town supporter, Oscar Saxton.

Where are you from?

Wem.

How old are you?

I’m 9, 10 in November.

Who do you play football for?

I play for Shawbury Tornados Under 10’s.

What position do you play?

I usually play as striker, but I sometimes play anywhere else I get told to play (my dads the coach so I dont have a choice)

How long have you supported Shrewsbury?

About 4 years, well as far back as I can remember really.

What was the first game you went to?

I can’t remember my first exact one, but a game I remember being one of my first was Shrewsbury v Crystal Palace away in the FA Cup.

Who is your favourite Town player of all time?

Deano, he came to my birthday party, and he was really really nice to me.

Who is your favourite Salop manager of all time?

Well Micky Mellon was in charge when I started supporting, so theres only been 4 for me. Paul hurst has to be my favourite though, he did really well, and we nearly got promoted, which was really exciting.

What has been your favourite away game?

Shrewsbury away at Cheltenham when we got promoted from League 2. We were sat really close to the pitch, after the game when we were all on the pitch we all sang happy birthday to Jayson Leutweiler. It was ace!!!

What has been your favourite moment as a Shrewsbury Town fan?

My favourite moment was when we went to Wembley for the Playoff Final against Rotherham. Although I was upset because it was Deano’s last game, to watch Shrewsbury at a stadium like Wembley was amazing!

What is your favourite Salop kit?

I really liked the black third kit from last season. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to get one, but I really liked it!

Where do you think we will finish this season?

I think we will finish 4th, then make it through the Playoffs and get promoted to the Championship.

Why do you love supporting Shrewsbury Town?

I just really enjoy going to the games and it’s much better to support my local team than a big Premiership team full of millionaires.

Oscar reviews Shrewsbury Town games on his YouTube channel OscarMineo OJS , follow this link to watch his awesome videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5L3d3hE6S826G73bsAh31w and join his Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/138780823438710/ to keep up to date with his videos.

Massive thanks to Oscar for answering our questions and for being this weeks fan of the week. If you fancy becoming a fan of the week just drop us a message on either our Facebook page https://m.facebook.com/GoingDownTheOteleyRoad/ or on Twitter @GDTORsalop

Daz Carding

“Going Down The Oteley Road”

https://goingdowntheoteleyroad.home.blog/

We asked the Salopian super fan, Bizzy for his thoughts on our FA Cup game against Bradford City.

“Utterly frustrating and im not talking about my non exsistant quest for owd udder laden sproutage. Been a very good three game period with the Wycombe,Mackems and Posh games but a little bit of reality dawned on us yesterday. I’ve seen worse performances but our inability to break down Bradford was the annoying thing. Ever since I watched Salop its always been the same we always seem to excel against open attractive sides, the Peterborough game the perfect example but despite a glut of midfielders we are still missing that magical creative one, the one who can take the game by the horns and bloody take it to them. We had him last season and he was the main reason for beating the drop call it living in hope and Mr Caldwell can work his magic in January with Brookside’s finest Stevie G.”

“Despite it being a mainly average Saturday’s fayre there were some decent patches, lacking in quality the midfield worked really hard, lots of effort from Norbs and the ever improving Josh Laurent. Some of our football was too predictable at times, Bradford did there homework on us and stifiled us a bit.”

“Apoligies its not much of a report but had a few owd jollops to encounter the numbing cowd of the day, some daft owd foreskin forgot his coat. An average 90 minutes but seen worse. I’m now off to watch such classics as Big Jugs, Swedish Lesbians in Blackcurrant Jam and The Furry Honeypot adventure with my Aunt Mable. Good day to all Salopian ballbags n sprouts everywhere.”

“Love n jollops Biz”

Be sure to follow our resident Shrewsbury Town super fan on Twitter @Bizzylad

Bizzy

“Going Down The Oteley Road”

https://goingdowntheoteleyroad.home.blog/

Our young inspirational reporter and massive Shrewsbury Town fan Corbin gives us his thoughts on yesterday’s FA Cup draw with Bradford City.

“The magic of the FA Cup returned once again, a home game against League 2 Bradford a team that beat us home and away last season and got relegated. We thought on our way to the ground the team would have several changes but just one Goss in for Edwards other wise the same team as Tuesday night. It was very cold and wet and I was wrapped up well with my thermal skin on looking forward to the game.”

“The game itself wasn’t the best game maybe the conditions and who we were facing played it’s part. Bradford had a chance to score in the opening minute as they went on the front foot straight away, Murphy with a comfortable save. Whalley at the other end early on was trying everything and had a shot blocked quickly followed up with an attempt at goal. Then with just 20 mins gone a very poor header back towards Murphy by Pierre was pounced on by their winger who chipped it over our keeper before slamming ball home, 1-0 to the visitors, that goal seemed to wake us up and we started to string some passes together. Love down the right played it back to Whalley who swung the ball to the far post with Goldbourne unmarked who headed back across goal and Laurent had a tap in (his first this season) we levelled up at 1-1 less than 10 mins after conceding and that made us feel better the goal gave us belief and we started playing better. Laurent flashed one over moments later as he run from deep and would have been in for number two but the linesman flagged it didn’t look offside, Goss worked their goalie with a tame shot but just before half time Bradford surged forward and a decent save from Murphy kept the scores level.”

“Early in the second half Bradford beat our offside trap but a last ditch Beckles tackle stopped their striker who looked certain to score, moments later from a set piece the cross caused havoc with a back header hitting the post. The opposition were on top there were screams for a penalty from the visiting fans and we tried different things but our final third decisions let us down, our subs made little difference and were almost like for like with our last sub Edwards coming on for Goss. The only positive was that Whalley spent most of the second half out wide and was causing Bradford problems with crosses backed up from Love, one chance fell to Edwards who just couldn’t stretch enough to poke it home. Ebanks Landell surged forward himself trying to grab a winner and shooting wide, Fejiri who had earlier replaced Cummings also shot wide. The game came to an end with neither team able to find a winner, little cheer at the end with a crowd of less than 4,000 with 400 away fans probably happier than us home fans.”

“The game today lacked a lot of the quality from what we showed on Tuesday night against Peterborough maybe that was because Bradford didn’t come to just play for a draw. The game wasn’t a classic and won’t be remembered by me or by a lot of home fans who felt disappointed we didn’t get a result at the first time of asking. There was something very funny a play fight between Billy Bantam and Lenny The Lion before the game with Penny the Lion (Mrs Lenny) running over to tell Billy off!”

“So its now back to Bradford a week on Tuesday for the replay and with no game next Saturday, the players minus Norburn, Pierre and Beckles should be ready to go again.”

“My Man Of The Match was Donald Love, this player that Sunderland said was rubbish is improving all the time he has added going forward to his defensive work and is showing lots of quality going forward. When Whalley plays out wide he is a great support act, today both going forward and covering his back 3 he was very good at times.”

Thanks to Corbin for his thoughts on the game against Bradford.

Corbin Davies

“Going Down The Oteley Road”

https://goingdowntheoteleyroad.home.blog/

Our man who travels home and away following the mighty Shrewsbury Town Rhys Gratton, gives his views on Town’s 1-1 draw in the FA Cup against Bradford.

Shrewsbury Town V Bradford City (09/11/2019)

“Today saw a break in league action for Salop who were building up some good momentum as they welcomed league two high-flyers Bradford City in the FA cup. Sam Ricketts clearly takes this competition seriously as was shown in his lineup, with just the one change from tuesday’s win over Peterborough, as Sean Goss replaced Dave Edwards in a like for like swap.”

“In the early stages the game seemed to be taking a very familiar shape, with Shrewsbury cautiously feeling out their opponents. That was until Aaron Pierre massively underhit a simple header back to Joe Murphy, allowing Aramide Oteh, on loan from QPR, to lift the ball over him and give himself the simplest of finishes to put the underdogs one nil up in typical FA cup style after just a quarter of an hour. That lead did not last long however, barely ten minutes in fact, as Shaun Whalley put in a deep cross towards Scott Golbourne, who layed it off to Josh Laurent for another very simple finish. The rest of the first half drew to a close with not much more action, with both sides seemingly struggling to string many passes together in the extremely cold conditions. As a result of this the match as a spectacle was very poor with both teams resorting to long balls to try and get some momentum back into their attack and conceding pointless fouls to break up the prospect of any attack.”

“The second half didn’t start much better either, as no one looked willing to take a risk, and so, for a large part of the second half once again no chances were created, and to this point it had certainly not been what you’d describe as a classic cup tie. However the latter stages went some way towards making up for the rest of the game, as both teams realised that a replay was far from ideal with their already packed schedules, and so set about desperately trying to find a winner, with goalscorer Oteh continuing to be the main threat to Town’s defence. Meanwhile up the other end, Okenabirhie had replaced Cummings with the hope of adding some more energy up top. This did not happen however, with Fejiri clearing struggling for confidence not able to make any sort of impact other than a couple of stray passes and a shot from the edge of the box that was immediately blocked. In fact despite the increased intent from both sides there was only one guilt edged oppurtunity, which did fall for the hosts, as Shaun Whalley won a flick on at the front post, putting it on a plate for Dave Edwards in front of an open goal, but he just couldn’t react in time and the ball flashed harmlessly past him and away. The final whistle from the referee confirmed what every Salopian had been fearing for most of the game- it would be a third midweek trip to Bradford in as many seasons for the replay.”

“In a rather dull game, a draw was probably a fair result, seeing as neither side was able to create much. Recently it’s been tough to pick a man of the match for all the right reasons, unfortunately today it’s for the wrong reasons, with a very sub par performance, however mine goes to Josh Laurent, as he was the only one consistently trying to get some forward thrust, as well as scoring that all important equaliser.”

“UP THE SHREWS!”

Rhys Gratton

“Going Down The Oteley Road”

https://goingdowntheoteleyroad.home.blog/

Here at “Going Down The Oteley Road” we will be speaking to fans of our opposition throughout the season. Ahead of our FA Cup First Round game against Bradford City, we had a chat with a Bantams fan.

What’s your name?

Daniel Butler

Where are you from?

Born in Bradford but lived in Telford most of my life.

How long have you supported Bradford?

Supported Bradford since birth pretty much, been a season ticket holder for the last 4 years since I came back up north for uni.

Who is your favourite ever Bradford player? Favourite ever player for Bradford has to be Nahki Wells. When we were in the absolute dumps after nearly getting relegated out of the Football League, Parky came in and Nahki Wells was a breath of fresh air. Completely unheard of, yet feeding of big Jim Hanson was a match made in heaven. He had pace, could finish, scored all sorts of goals for us and scored some pretty big ones too.

Who is your favourite ever Bradford manager?

Manager I think goes without saying, Phil Parkinson! Saved the club, put us back on the map and if it wasn’t for the new owners and everything that happened, I think we’d be in the Championship now not League 2. He revolutionised the club, got a right feel good factor around, made the team solid, got some pace in there too and Hanson and Wells was the perfect front 2. Got us promoted in his second season and got us to the playoffs in League One. Plus he gave Bradford fans memories that will last a lifetime, League 2 club getting to a domestic cup final, beating Sunderland at home in the FA Cup and that magical day at Stamford Bridge which is a memory for all football fans (shame I couldn’t go).

Who should we watch out for from the current Bradford team?

Players to look out for this season for us (not sure which will play in the cup due to our injury crisis). Ben Richards Everton, absolutely collosus at the back, proper no nonsense defender that we’ve been crying out for. Then the 2 wide men, Zeli Ishmail and Dylan Connolly, pace to burn and a decent end product for both. The main man Callum Cooke runs the show and has been man of the match for me for the last few weeks, everything goes through him. If you keep him quiet, we will struggle.

What has been your best moment as a Bradford fan in the FA Cup?

FA cup moment was Chelsea away, 4-2 win in style after being 2-0 down.

What do you know about Shrewsbury Town?

Know quite a bit about Shrewsbury itself having lived in Telford but the football club not too much. Town always seemed to be that boomerang team between Leagues 2 and 1. Seem to have sured up their position in League 1 over the last few years and went so close to the Championship under Paul Hurst. Always seem a solid, hard working team who can hold their own against anyone. Thought Steve Morison was a great signing even if he’s on his way out and I expect a tough game on Saturday.

What do you think the score will be?

Scoreline wise, I think it’ll be a very tight game, can only see 1 goal separating it as neither team are exactly free scoring and we are a bit light up front and midfield is cursed with injuries so have no idea what squad Bowyer will play. Going to go 2-1 Bradford but feel like it could easily be the same score in reverse.

Big thanks to Daniel hope you enjoy the game.

Daz Carding

“Going Down The Oteley Road”

https://goingdowntheoteleyroad.home.blog/

Sam Northwood previews today’s home FA Cup First Round game against Bradford City.

Town will host Bradford City in the Fa Cup 1st round with both teams looking for a cup run.

Last time the two clubs was last season when Bradford won 4-3, Okenabirhie scored all 3 on the day which should of been a memorable win for Town.

Bradford sit second in League 2 after having a decent start to their campaign after getting relegated. They have rebuilt their whole squad and look to bounce back first time.

After another win for Town on Tuesday a play off place is looking even more likely. They will want to carry on the form this weekend.

Predicted XI’s

Shrewsbury Town:

Murphy

Ebanks Landell

Pierre

Beckles

Love

Norburn

Goss

Golbourne

Edwards

Cummings

Whalley

Bradford City:

O’Donnell

Henley

O’Connor

Richards Everton

Wood

Akpan

Cooke

Pritchard

Ismail

Vaughan

Oteh

Score Prediction: Shrewsbury Town 1-0 Bradford City

Sam Northwood

“Going Down The Oteley Road”

https://goingdowntheoteleyroad.home.blog/

Long time Town fan and a man who knows a lot about his Salop history, Adam Rodgers takes a look back at the history of Town in the FA Cup.

The ground is covered in freshly fallen autumn leaves, we’ve got rid of the trick or treaters, fireworks are going off every night and even the tightest amongst us have got our heating on full blast. It must be early November and that can mean only one thing, the magic of the Fa Cup is in the air!

It’s a brief break from league action this weekend as Bradford City roll into town.

A lot has been said in recent years about the magic of the cup diminishing as it becomes less and less important to those clubs in the higher echelons of the English pyramid. I don’t feel that is the case though for league one and two clubs. The fa cup draws live on the BBC are as exciting as they every where as fans of every club in the land watch and wait hoping for that plum draw. The aim in these early stages is of course to remain in the hat for the third round draw and hope to meet one of the big boys like Liverpool or Man City, even a mid table Premier league side like Man Utd would be decent!

Towns cup record in recent years has been really impressive with plenty of scalps of clubs from higher divisions. The likes of Stoke and Sheffield Wednesday have been dumped out and we’ve enjoyed some exciting battles with Wolves, West Ham and Man United.

I think this weeks game provides a welcome break from the pressures of league football and the weekly scramble for points. Bradford are flying high in league two and I’m hoping that with the shackles off town’s sometimes workmanlike play we will see an entertaining game and of course a place in the hat for round two. Whether Sambo decides to rotate the squad or not remains to be seen.

Adam Rodgers

“Going Down The Oteley Road”

https://goingdowntheoteleyroad.home.blog/

We’ve been lucky enough at “Going Down The Oteley Road” to speak to some ex Shrewsbury Town players, this week Daz Carding spoke with ex defender and now football agent Kevin Sharp.

How did it feel making your debut for Shrewsbury Town?

A great honour and added bonus to lead the team out as captain.

What was the highlight of your time in Shropshire?

Probably playing with such a good young crop of players and that some have developed to be top class.

How was it to be made captain of the club?

A real honour and a privilege.

What was it like playing at Gay Meadow?

It was always a pleasure, great in the summer months but like many older grounds the pitch cut up heavily which didn’t help our playing style at the time.

Who was the best player you played with in Blue and Amber?

I would have to say Joe Hart,at times he earned us points/results on his own, his shot stopping was remarkable coupled with his excellent distribution.

Who was the best player you came up against for Shrewsbury?

There were two at that time that stood out Rickie Lambert and Grant Holt as they complimented each other very well,we played Rochdale the first game of the season at the Meadow and they were both excellent, causing us relentless problems.

You played under Gary Peters while at Town, how was that?

Gary was a very interesting character on and off the field, he was very old school in his approach to his style of play and management style. It worked for some and didn’t for others.

What made you decide to be a defender?

I never started out as a defender I was always a midfielder. I got converted when I was playing for England U18s in 1993 during the European Championships, we were about to play France and warming up at the Victoria Ground(Stoke), Ben Thatcher went down injured,I was due to play midfield,I was asked to fill in his place and Paul Scholes came in to take mine. I had a good tournament,so much so and to my frustration my club Leeds at the time monitored my performances and on my return continued to keep me as a left back.

Who was the biggest influence on your career?

My Father who has supported me throughout my life/career. Frank Roper my old youth football manager, he instilled very important information in relation to the game that I only knew was so relevant as I progressed through my career.

Who was the biggest joker in the changing room at Shrewsbury?

There was a few to be honest, some great lads and characters in my time there. Gav Cowan, Stu Whitehead, Joe Hart, Jamie Tolley, Dave Edwards ,Mark Stallard to name a few.

Which players from the current Town squad do you like the look of?

im a big fan of Dave Edwards since I played with Davie, but also I like Josh Laurent who like Davie is the type of technical player I’m keen on. Good energy, football intelligence, range of passing and don’t look to complicate their play.

Where do you think Shrewsbury will finish this season in League One?

With the squad and the recent additions I would say they will be in the mix for the play offs for sure.

What football team do you support?

Always been a Man Utd fan, not easy to acknowledge this too much living in Leeds as I do, the rivalry is fierce.

Who was your favourite player as a child?

Bryan Robson, the old style all round centre midfielder. He did it all, assisted, scored, protected the back four and tackled with box to box energy. Now we have a player for each of them specifics I mentioned.

Why do you love football?

Its the best game of the world that I’ve always known since 5/6 years of age. It’s a game that brings all types of personalities together with all so different opinions which is what’s great.

Huge thanks to Kevin for chatting with us about his time at Shrewsbury and for bringing back some great memories from years gone by.

For more content like this keep an eye on our our Facebook page https://m.facebook.com/GoingDownTheOteleyRoad/ and on Twitter @GDTORsalop

Daz Carding

“Going Down The Oteley Road”

https://goingdowntheoteleyroad.home.blog/

Our young inspirational reporter and massive Shrewsbury Town fan Corbin gives us his thoughts on yesterday’s victory over Peterborough.

“I was very excited pre match as I was one of three mascots, I could walk out with my current idol Omar Beckles, I hope Dave Edwards wasn’t too disappointed. The game against free scoring Peterborough, I met Sir Alex Ferguson’s son Darren pre match he seemed a nice guy and not as scary as Sir Alex. The line up was the same with two differences Ebanks Landell in for Ro Shaun who was suspended and Joe Murphy in goal to replace Max who had a niggle.”

“We started the game brightly stopping Peterborough with their only really attacking force was Maddison with an ambitious long ranger but we looked positive on the ball passing it comfortably around the back and midfield trying to find the gaps. A long punt upfield by Ebank Landell and the defender missed it, Dave Edwards got to the ball first and on the half volley smashed it narrowly wide our first real chance!!”

“Late on in the half a scramble in the box we had a shout for handball for a penalty turned down, Peterborough were offering very little going forward both Eisa and Toney were very quiet thanks to our defenders. Donald Love then had a half chance saved by their goalie and then in added time Whalley floated a free kick into the box Omar stuck a leg out and it hit the post bounced back and Ebanks Landell reacted quicker than the defence to poke the ball home 1-0 to The Town! Utter mad scenes around the ground even in Block 6 (not my normal Block 18 seat)”

“Second Half we became a solid unit defending as a team every man doing their job both Goldbourne and Love offered width and Whalley was often switching the ball between Love and himself. Whalley was his number 7 again rather than a number 10. Ivan Toney who should be in the circus threw himself to the ground after feeling Beckles touch his back, Ref pointed to the spot penalty to Peterborough. Up stepped Maddison 10 mins into second half but Murphy saved his tame penalty the score stay 1-0 as the second half went on chances were slim,Toney flashed one wide and Eisa dragged his shot wide and for us another lung busting run into the box by Laurent he hit his shot into the side netting. After 5 mins of added time the ref blew his whistle and we had won the perfect end to a brilliant night. A solid team performance and my mascot experience so so happy.” My Man of The Match was Ebanks Landell, to come back after injury to play 90 mins and to keeping Peterborough’s main goal threat quiet and being the fox in the box, he gets my vote. But to be honest a number of players deserved the award tonight. Think that’s what a professional performance looks like, we might not score loads of goals but we look solid at the back. Sam has got it right it seems just perhaps need a few tweaks up front and we will be surprising a few more teams just like we did in 17/18.”

“Finally thanks to Daz Carding and everyone at Going Down The Oteley Road for my amazing prize raising money for a good cause and giving something for the fans, I cannot thank you all enough.”

Thanks to Corbin for his thoughts on the game against Peterborough.

Corbin Davies

“Going Down The Oteley Road”

https://goingdowntheoteleyroad.home.blog/

We asked the Salopian super fan, Bizzy for his thoughts on our League 1 game against Peterborough.

“I’ve been critical with the cautious style of play that Ricketts introduced this and last season but fair play it come up trumps last night, a masterstroke of a performance maybe not overly pleasing on the eye but very effective. Posh have been scoring for fun last night and to snuff them out like we did was a monumental effort, the most pleasing game of the season so far easily. We did have our moments though yet again Donald Love grows in stature every game and I can see the confidence in the lad rising every 90 minutes he plays, some lovely runs and skill from him.”

“Ivan Toney who has been scoring for fun hardly got a kick, Ebanks utterly superb well all three centre backs were, Ro Shaun will struggle to get back in and Beckles is another who is shining. Midfield stifiled Posh’s attacking threat also, Davy Edwards again putting in hell of a shift despite his veteran years he’s still got the class and its an utter pleasure to see him donning Salop colours, we actually looked a bit more adventorous when Louie Thompson came on.”

“No doubting that since the bore draw against Gillingham, Sir Samuel of Ballbagshire has been more positive, a performance very similar to games under Hurst showing we can compete with the very best in the division. If only we were more positive in front of goal maybe we could talk of play offs.”

“Great to write a report without any moaning or negativity, hopefully we can push forward now. Two clean sheets against the divisions best is testament to how solid we are at the back. Roll on the FA Cup game Saturday, i suspect it may be a more open affair and maybe a chance for Sam to try something different. Man Of The Match was Donald Love, god bless the new Salopian gristle gripper widener.”

“Love n jollops Biz”

Be sure to follow our resident Shrewsbury Town super fan on Twitter @Bizzylad

Bizzy

“Going Down The Oteley Road”

https://goingdowntheoteleyroad.home.blog/