Super Shaun Whalley on 'perfect match' with Shrewsbury Town and how it all ended at the Meadow
Shaun Whalley doesn’t really believe in fate, but he does believe that he and Shrewsbury Town were a ‘perfect match’ for each other.
The 40 goals in 257 games that the flying winger from Widnes scored for Salop between 2015 and 2022 put him into the category of a modern day legend for some among the fanbase.
The 36-year-old, released last year, is still turning in quality displays for Accrington Stanley, where he has netted five times in 24 games this season.
And he’s been reflecting on his time in Shropshire and his seven years at the Meadow as a guest on the latest episode of the Shropshire Star’s Shrews Views podcast.
The goals and victories will always be the big memories for Whalley from his time in Shropshire, but it is the move as a whole and the significance it had on his life and his career that made the biggest impact.
As he explains, prior to joining Shrewsbury, Whalley had left Luton Town under a cloud of off-field issues after two difficult years at Kenilworth Road.
“There is the thing that I look back on now and think if I had got my off-field issues right earlier on, I think I would have had a better career but I can say now I made the most of what I had and the last nine years have gone pretty well,” Whalley told the Shrews Views podcast.
“I was a young lad and everyone goes through those spells. It was drinking and gambling and I regret it in a way and had some tough times, but it was all down to my decisions.
“It was pretty much only when I signed for Shrewsbury and my boy was one that it changed.
“The Accy manager said in a recent Sky interview that I needed to grow up and luckily for me I did it with time left on my side.
“I have always said in interviews it happened at the perfect time and for a reason that I signed for Shrewsbury.
