'They fronted up' - when the Shrewsbury Town bosses met the fans

Town headed into deadline day hoping to make several additions to strengthen their squad ahead of the League One run-in - but aside from Vadaine Oliver, no-one came in. 

And with Shrewsbury already seven points from third tier safety, the prospect of almost 200 fans having an open forum to ask questions would have been a daunting proposition for head coach Gareth Ainsworth, director of football Micky Moore and chief executive Liam Dooley. 

Nonetheless, they fronted up and took everything the Salop fans sent their way in the Sovereign Suite at the Croud Meadow. 

Ainsworth is a rock star, and he looked as fashionable as ever with his red snake skin boots and leather jacket. Every supporter that stood up, thanked him for coming to Shropshire and for the job he has done since he arrived. 

The head coach is media-facing. He is always doing interviews - speaking to the press at least twice weekly. 

The person fans really wanted to hear from was Moore. It has not always gone to plan for Town's director of football since he arrived in Shropshire from Cheltenham in 2023 - he comes in for some steep criticism from supporters. 

Some of that criticism is valid - Salop have been in a difficult spot for some time. Yet some would blame him for everything that goes wrong at the football club - which is entirely unfair. 

Either way, Town fans had the chance to say their bit. They got to ask questions about why certain decisions had been made. And whether they agreed with them or not, they got to hear the logic behind them. 

Seven players left Shrewsbury in January with only five coming in. And some aren't sure if Town managed to strengthen in the market or inadvertently made themselves worse. 

"The players that we have lost, like Charles Sagoe Jr, he did not play," Moore responded. "Josh Kayode was injured throughout his time, and with Tommi O'Reilly, that was Gareth's decision. He wanted him to go back. 

"We lost Jordan Rossiter, Gareth was happy for him to go out on loan. 

"Carl Winchester went home over Christmas and when he came back, he had a meeting with me. He said 'Micky, I need to go back to my family'.

"He was a broken man - nearly crying. I am not going to lie, it broke my heart.

"I spoke to Gareth, and we agreed it was the right thing to do to let him go back to his family. Family comes first. It was a big decision. Was it the right call? I will take full ownership of Carl Winchester. If I should have kept him - then I apologise.

"Gareth is happy with the squad and the business we have done. Would we have liked to have got one more over the line? Yes. We thought we were close to doing that. But Gareth has openly admitted he does not want to get players for the sake of it.

"One of his biggest criteria is people over player. He wants to get the right people in the dressing room."

One of the most contentious points of the window was the decision to sell young star Tom Bloxham - who has just been nominated for the League One player of the month award for January. 

Gareth Ainsworth admitted that losing the 21-year-old has meant Shrewsbury have lost some pace, but the questions about why he was sold were put to Moore. 

"Tom was in the form of his life," he said. "The season before I arrived he had played five games. Last season he played 39. This season he has progressed again and has done really well. 

"If you look at his numbers, Tom scored two league goals last campaign and two FA Cup goals - he scored four this year. 

"People will say it is typical Shrewsbury. They get a bid, and they go and sell. We believe we got the right amount of money for Tom Bloxham and there are lots of add-ons. 

"I appreciate and respect people will believe we should have held out and got more. I understand that, but you also need to read the market and for where Tom is, we believe we got a good price for him."

What does seem clear, according to Moore, is that he is into his second spell as director of football in Shropshire. When Matt Taylor was sacked in January 2024 and Paul Hurst was appointed as head coach it was insinuated that Hurst had been given the keys to the kingdom by chairman Roland Wycherley - and Moore reiterated this. 

He said: "The chairman has come out, owned, and taken full responsibility for the Paul Hurst era. He has come out in his press and statements and said - I take full responsibility for bringing Paul back and what happened. 

"As a football club, if we had followed the director of football model, we should have signed two or three players in February (2024), which we were not allowed to do. For the reasons that I understand and respect. 

"I wanted to sign players whose contracts were running out. Paul did not want to do that in February as we were in a relegation battle, and he did not want to upset the changing room. 

"So we went head coach led. As we sit here today, my role has gone back to how it was under Matt Taylor."

Overall, Moore was on the receiving end of some difficult questions. He has had a challenging time in Shropshire, but his appearance last night, and some of the logic behind the decisions that have been made at least gave fans more clarity if nothing else. 

Some fans he will not win over, but on reflection, Thursday did his reputation no harm.