Shrewsbury Town remind me a lot of where Lincoln were a few years back, they may not be the most skillful squad in the division but they have one of the best TEAMS around at this level.

After being relegated to, and instantly promoted back from the Conference, they have improved on their positon each year since then and last season made the Playoff Final.

After taking an early lead it did appear as though Shrewsbury Town were going to coast to victory as Bristol Rovers couldn't put two passes together. Then the Gas scored against the run of play and ended up winning the game, despite Shrewsbury dominating most of the match. Please note that is what I can recollect from a game that I haven't watched since it was played.

Last season they were one of the few sides to impress me. At Gay Meadow they could have easily scored double figures against us, but just like every other game at Gay Meadow between the sides in the last 3 years, City scored with their only realistic chance on target as Shrewsbury wasted chance after chance after chance. The game at Sincil Bank was basically a reverse, with the Imps having enough chances to win but the Shrews getting an equaliser out of nothing.

What Shrewsbury did well last season was constantly sniffing around the lower reaches of the Playoff places, never losing touch and when other teams such as Wycombe faded away, the Shrews took complete advantage. A huge unbeaten run last from December 30th to March 31st really helped their chances and significantly improved their goal difference. Perhaps if they hadn't drawn the majority of their games in that undefeated run then they might have even troubled automatic promotion.

This season will see the Shrews play in their new stadium for the first time and they will want to make sure that they will be celebrating in their new stadium by the end of the season. They will be hoping to get off to the perfect start with a victory at Sincil Bank this coming Saturday.

The name most familiar to fans of Sincil Bank will be Derek Asamoah. He had a torrid time at Sincil Bank before moving to Shrewsbury at the end of the 2005/6 season when he was released by the Imps. He managed to get 10 goals in 41 appearances for the Shrews last season and that has persuaded Nice to take a look at him....I guess that shows anything is possible in football.

The obvious danger in the Shrewsbury line up is Andy Cooke, the 33 year old scored 12 League goals last season, also getting the goals that sent the Shrews to the Playoff Final against Bristol Rovers.

Other than that the Shrews have a fairly decent squad with Ben Davies having impressed me several times in the past.

As for where they will finish, I'm going to stick from last season and predict them to finish 5th and to make the Playoff Final for a second year in a row.

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