With the lockdown extended for three more weeks I’ve decided that instead of moping about the prospect of being stuck inside, save for work, I’d focus my energy into another blog post, so without further ado here’s my “Top Five Shrewsbury Town Players”
- Sam Aiston
Born in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Sam Aiston was my favourite player as a child. A tricky winger, Sam was our version of Ryan Giggs, and I can still remember him sliding down the Gay Meadow pitch on his backside, with the ball at his feet in our Football League Trophy tie with Carlisle, I’m still not sure how he managed to keep control of the ball.
Unfortunately, Sam suffered from a number of injuries, seemingly suffering badly with his knees, and I feel if he’d been luckier with the injuries then he could have played at a higher level. In fact he did play at a higher level than Salop, as he represented Sunderland on twenty occasions. Starting his career with his hometown club, Newcastle United, Sam joined Sunderland in 1995 where he remained until 2000, when he joined Shrewsbury Town on a permanent deal. During his time at Sunderland, Aiston spent time on loan at Chester City, Stoke City and Shrewsbury Town. Playing for Chester during 1997 to 1999, Sam made twenty-three appearances, before going on to play six times for Stoke City.
It was at Shrewsbury Town that Sam found his feet, and after playing for Salop ten times on loan, we paid Sunderland £50,000 to make his loan deal permanent, and in my opinion that has to be the best money the club have ever spent. In a five-year spell at Salop, Sam played one hundred and sixty-seven times, finding the net on seven occasions. Despite our relegation to the Conference in 2003, Sam remained loyal to Shrewsbury and was instrumental in us regaining our rightful place in the Football League.
Following the 2004/2005 season, Sam was released by Shrewsbury and he moved onto Tranmere Rovers, where he played thirty-six times and scored three goals. Aiston’s spell at Tranmere was to only last a season, and in 2006 he joined Northampton Town, where he made twenty-two appearances in two years, also spending time on loan at Burton Albion, playing five times, and Wrexham, making eight appearances. Injuries had hampered his time at Northampton and in January 2008, Aiston’s loan deal at Wrexham was made into a permanent deal.
Despite being transfer-listed in May 2008, when Wrexham were relegated to the Conference, Sam made thirty appearances before moving to Stafford Rangers with who he played eighteen times. After leaving Stafford, Sam moved to Hednesford Town where he again played eighteen matches. In February 2010, Sam moved to his final club, Gainsborough Trinity where in fifty-three appearances he scored five times.
In 2011, Sam made the decision to retire from football, and since retiring he has moved back to Shrewsbury where he is now the headteacher, and a very good one by the looks of things, at a Primary School.
- Stephen Jagielka
The older brother of Phil Jagielka, Steve made most of his Shrewsbury Town appearances from the bench, and for me those cameos were normally the highlight of watching Shrewsbury Town between 1997 and 2003, when it has to be said we played some dire football. I’m not sure exactly why I took to Steve Jagielka as I did, though I suspect it has something to do with his “exotic” surname which would have stood out to me on the back of the programme.
Usually utilised as a central midfielder, Jagielka possessed enough pace to cause trouble for the opposition defence as he had a habit of making late runs into the box, and for what Steve lacked in natural talent he more than made up for in hard-work.
Starting his career at Stoke City, Jagielka made no first team appearances for the Potters, and in 1997 he joined Shrewsbury Town where he was to remain until November 2003, when he was released after falling out of favour with the then Shrewsbury manager Jimmy Quinn. After making one hundred and seventy five appearances for Salop, scoring eighteen goals in the process, Steve made his way to Sheffield United, where he linked up with younger brother Phil Jagielka. Under the tutelage of Neil Warnock, Steve was to remain with the Blades from November 2003 to June 2004, making no appearances for Sheffield United, despite impressing in a number of reserve games.
Following his time at Brammal Lane, Steve joined Accrington Stanley (Who are they?), where he made sixty-eight appearances in two years, scoring a total of nine goals. In the 2005/2006 season, Jagielka helped Accrington Stanley back into the Football League as they won the Conference National. Released by Accrington Stanley in the summer of 2006, Steve moved on to Droylsden where he made thirty-three appearances, and contributed three goals. Unfortunately, the logistics of running a plumbing business in Shrewsbury and travelling to Droylsden didn’t work out for Jagielka, and after helping Droylsden to gain promotion to the Conference National, Steve left for AFC Telford.
Spending two seasons at AFC Telford, it seems like Steve made barely any appearances for them, if the internet is to be believed anyway. Some websites state that he played twice in the FA Cup but made no other appearances in any competitions. Hednesford Town were to be Jagielka’s next club, and between 2009 and 2012 he made eight appearances for Hednesford, scoring once. Unfortunately, records of Steve’s career are patchy at best, and after Hednesford there is only the briefest of mentions of him playing for Ellesmere Rangers, however I’m sure that he also played for Market Drayton, as I recall being excited to find that he was listed in the Market Drayton squad.
- Duane Darby
The literal definition of a target man, Duane became an unlikely favourite of mine. In fact I can still remember getting his autograph when we played Rhyl in a pre-season friendly in July 2004. I’d just gotten Luke Rodgers to sign the front of my programme, and as a fourteen year-old I was absolutely buzzing as a result, when I spotted Duane Darby stood behind the goal, if memory serves me correctly he was stood with Martin O’Conner and Darren Tinson, and being a shy kid I felt slightly overawed to approach them, so my mum did. Completely ignoring the fact that Martin O’Conner and Darren Tinson were there, she passed the programme to Martin and asked him to hand it to Duane to sign, which he did. I can still remember the look of bemusement on the faces of O’Connor and Tinson as my mum walked away after getting Duane’s signature, and it wasn’t until I pointed out who they were that she realised her mistake of only getting one player’s autograph. Not that I cared as I now had a programme with both Luke Rodgers and Duane Darby’s signature on.
Born in Birmingham, Duane played as a youth for Halas Hawks Junior FC, where his manager, Graham Barrett, was key in Duane getting his first chance in football at Torquay United, where Darby signed up as a trainee in 1992. After making fourteen games for the Gulls, Darby signed professional terms in July 1992, and in one hundred and eight appearances, Duane scored twenty-six times. In 1995, Duane joined Doncaster Rovers although he remained there for less than a year, making fifteen appearances and finding the net on four occasions. In March 1996, Hull City paid £25,000 for Duane’s services, and he went on to become a hit for the Tigers as he scored twenty-eight times in seventy nine appearances. In an FA Cup First Round Replay, Darby broke the Hull record for most goals scored in one game, as he netted six against Whitby Town in November 1996.
After two years with Hull, Duane moved on a free transfer to Notts County, although his first season with the Magpies was missed as he dealt with injuries. To regain fitness, he returned to Hull on loan in March 1999, where he made eight appearances. Despite starting his second season in good form for Notts County, Darby was transfer listed in March 2000, and despite playing twenty-eight times for the Magpies and scoring five times, he joined Conference side, Rushden & Diamonds in June 2000 for a fee of £100,000.
An instant hit at Nene Park, Duane won the Conference Golden Boot in his first season for the Diamonds, with his goals helping the club win promotion from the Conference into the Football League. In total over three seasons with Rushden, Darby played one hundred and seventeen times, and found the back of the net on forty-seven occasions. In November 2003, Darby moved to Salop as we looked to bolster our attacking options, and it was hoped that Darby would link up well with Luke Rodgers, however his time with Shrewsbury was hindered by injuries which meant he struggled to get a consistent run in the league. Yet despite his injuries, Duane soon became a crowd-favourite at the Gay Meadow as his determination made up for a lack of pace, and like a dog after a squirrel, Duane chased down every loose ball as if his life depended on it. Scoring the equalising goal against Aldershot in the Conference Play-Off Final, Duane firmly cemented his status as a Shrewsbury legend.
Unfortunately, Duane struggled to get into the team when Salop returned to the Football League, and this wasn’t helped by Gary Peters wanting to rebuild the team around younger players. Despite this, Darby played a few times for us in the Football League, and I can remember him scoring against Peterborough, a day which sticks in my mind more for the song we sang about Joe Hart and a certain Spice Girl*. After making fifty-one appearances for the Shrews, and scoring thirteen goals, Darby was released in February 2006.
Next up for Duane were Nuneaton Borough, with who he spent a season making twenty-seven appearances and scoring nine goals. Despite being a regular for Nuneaton, Duane was released in 2007, and joined Halesowen Town for a brief stint of four matches with Darby scoring once. After Halesowen came Bromsgrove Rovers, where Duane found himself appointed player-manager following the sacking of Rod Brown, mere days after he had joined Rovers. Taking his first steps into management seemingly limited Duane’s time on the pitch and he made six appearances for Bromsgrove, scoring once. Unfortunately, Darby was unable to keep Bromsgrove in the Southern League Premier Division, and Rovers were relegated at the end of the 2007/2008 season. After a poor start to the following season, Darby was sacked in August 2008.
Stourbridge Swifts were the next club for Duane, and he started the 2008/2009 season for the Swifts, although I’ve been unable to find out how many appearances he made for Stourbridge. Finishing the 2008/2009 season with Hednesford Town, Darby made two appearances for Hednesford before moving on to Evesham United, however his time at Evesham was to be short and in October 2009, Darby joined Alvechurch of the Midland Football Alliance. Darby’s final club as a player was to be Redditch United who he joined in October 2010.
Following his playing career, Duane moved into management, taking the reigns at Cradley Town in January 2013, although he soon left this role in May 2013, as he took a place on the coaching staff at Bromsgrove Sporting. Currently Duane is the manager of Redditch United a role he has held since November 2019.
- Neil Ashton
In my opinion Neil was Gary Peters’ best signing for Shrewsbury Town, a versatile player who could play in defence and midfield, Neil endeared himself to me with his consistent performances and his penchant for the occasional long-range goal. In fact, I reckon there’s a number of Shrewsbury fans who would also list Ashton within their favourite Salop players, as shown by the reception he received before the League Two Play- Off Semi Final Second Leg against Bury in 2009. In the First Leg, Neil scored the only goal of the game, which was an unfortunate own goal placing Bury into a commanding position. At Gigg Lane when the players came out to warm-up, there was only one chant from the Shrewsbury fans which lasted for the entirety of the warm-up, “There’s only one Neil Ashton.” Again when the players came out for the match itself, we made sure to let Ashton know how much we loved him and the support from the fans spurred him on as Shrewsbury overcame the deficit to win the match on penalties, although the less said about the Play-Off Final the better…
Starting his career at Tranmere Rovers in 2001 as a youth player, Ashton signed his first professional deal in 2003, and he was a member of the first team squad at Prenton Park for two seasons, making one substitute appearance. During the 2004/2005 season, Neil moved on loan to Shrewsbury Town to provide competition to Trevor Challis. In his loan spell with Salop, Ashton made twenty-four appearances. His loan deal was made permanent in 2005, and Ashton remained with Salop until 2009. In his four years with Shrewsbury Town, Ashton made one hundred and thirty-three appearances, scoring three times and being part of two different Shrewsbury squads who made it to Wembley, in 2007 and 2009. In a bid for first-team football during the 2007/2008 season, Ashton joined Macclesfield Town on loan in January 2008, where he made nineteen appearances and scoring once.
Following his departure from Shrewsbury Town, which broke my heart, in 2009 Neil joined Chester City, where he was unfortunate enough to play for the Vaughans. Most will know the story of the 2009/2010 season for Chester City, and I can remember watching everything unfold on “Deva Chat”, whilst I was in my second year at University. For those perhaps unaware, the Vaughans were a bunch of [REDACTED] who [REDACTED] Chester City as the Vaughans were [REDACTED] and ran a [REDACTED] through the club. In 2009, Chester were relegated from the Football League, and were handed a ten-point deduction in May 2009, as they entered administration. Somehow Chester managed to start the 2009/2010 season, albeit with a twenty-five point deduction, as they were initially declined a trading licence by the FA. Only allowed to join the Conference as a result of a unanimous vote from the other clubs of the Conference, Chester City chairman/owner Stephen Vaughan Snr became the first person to fail the FA’s Fit and Proper Owner Test, and with money running low, the players went unpaid from October. In fact I can still remember reading that Neil was earning a living working as a cab driver during this period, and in February 2010 the Chester City players refused to board the coach for their away game with Forest Green in protest over their unpaid wages, there were rumours that it was Ashton who led the protest, but I can’t confirm that. Eventually, Chester City were expelled from the Conference on the 26th of February 2010, leaving Ashton and many others without a club.
After the demise of Chester City, Neil moved to Wrexham signing for the club for the 2010/2011 season, after impressing then-Wrexham manager Dean Saunders. Endearing himself to the Wrexham fans as much as he had to the Shrewsbury Town fans, Ashton made two-hundred and four appearances for Wrexham scoring nine goals, in a five year period with Wrexham. In the 2012/2013 season, Ashton helped the club to win the FA Trophy, and he was part of the Wrexham side who finished runners-up in the FA Trophy in the 2014/2015 season.
Seven appearances for Barrow followed his release from Wrexham, and Ashton spent the 2015/2016 season with the Bluebirds before leaving for Southport who he spent the 2016/2017 with. Making twenty appearances for the Sandgrounders, Neil enjoyed a decent season at Southport, before joining Cefn Druids in 2017, where he still plays to this day. So far, Neil has represented Cefn Druids on twenty-nine times, scoring once. Now playing more as a central defender, Neil’s experience has proved invaluable for the Druids.
- Sir Mickey “Sent the Chester down” Brown
To finish this blog we have my favourite all-time Shrewsbury Town player, Sir Mickey Brown. “Knighted” by the Salop fans for his goals against Exeter City which helped Salop pull of our “Great Escape” in 2000 which sent Chester City down to the Conference. A smooth, silky winger with more tricks than a magician, Mickey was an absolute joy to watch.
Starting his career as an apprentice at Shrewsbury Town in 1986, Mickey played one hundred and ninety times for the Shrews in his first spell for the club between 1986 and 1991, during which he scored nine goals for Salop. In August 1991, Bolton Wanderers paid £100,000 for his services, and Mickey made thirty-three appearances for Wanderers, finding the net on three occasions. Despite costing Bolton £100,000 in 1991, he was allowed to leave for £25,000 in December 1992, as he returned to Shrewsbury Town. During his second spell at the Gay Meadow, Brown scored eleven times and made sixty-seven appearances, helping Salop to win the Third Division title in 1994, before leaving for Preston North End in November 1994. Costing Preston £75,000, Mickey made sixteen appearances for North End between 1994 and 1997, scoring only once, although he was part of the Preston squad who won the Third Division in 1996.
Allowed out on loan to Rochdale in 1996, Mickey made five appearances for Dale, before returning on loan to Shrewsbury Town where he made another five appearances, before Salop paid £20,000 for his services in January 1997. With his loan deal made permanent, Mickey became an integral part of a struggling Shrewsbury Town side, and it was during this four year spell with the club in which Mickey was to firmly cement his placed in Shrewsbury Town’s list of legends. To call the football played under Jake King poor would be an insult to the word poor, and for years we narrowly avoided relegation, culminating in King being sacked in November 1999, with Kevin Ratcliffe taking the managerial role. On the final day of the 1999/2000 season, Brown scored twice (Yes, the history books have it recorded that one of the goals was an own goal, but that’s unfair on Mickey) to save Salop from relegation. Mickey was to leave Shrewsbury Town for the final time in 2001, as he moved onto Boston United.
Spending a single season at Boston, Mickey made twenty-six appearances, scoring once, as Boston were crowned Conference champions in 2002, which saw them promoted to the Football League. Ironically, Brown’s next club were the club who he had “sent down” in 2000, Chester City. Again, only staying for a year, Mickey made twenty-three appearances in the 2002/2003 season, before leaving for Nuneaton Borough where he spent the 2003/2004 season, however there are no records of how many appearances he made for Nuneaton. Leaving Nuneaton in 2004, Brown moved to Newtown where he spent three seasons, making thirty-five appearances and finding the back of the net on five occasions. Mickey’s final club were to be Shawbury United who he joined in 2007, he remained with Shawbury until 2009 when he retired.
After football, Mickey became a personal trainer and in 2009 he returned to Shrewsbury as a part-time fitness coach. Alongside this Mickey has worked as a men’s underwear model.
*For those interested, the chant was: “Victoria’s a slapper, she really is a tart, when she’s shagging Beckham, she thinks of Joey Hart, she wants him in the bedroom, she wants him round the house, and when she’s feeling dirty she wants him up the arse.” This blog does not condone these words, yet when I was younger I found the chant hilarious.
David's Adventures in Groundhopping 