I’ve said it a million times, I liked the man, but it will surprise nobody to hear that Michael Appleton joked he had turned into a “grumpy old man” before Shrewsbury Town’s 1–0 win over Crawley Town.
Those anti-Appleton supporters only really ever saw that side of him anyway, and after a horror start to life in League Two, it felt like his job might be on the line. However, the result gave Appleton’s side their first back-to-back victories of the season and a third successive clean sheet, lifting them three points clear of the League Two relegation zone.
Not only that, but he also got a helping hand from another former Imp and one that is more universally popular, Sam Clucas.you’d have thought it was Sam, not Michael, that took us to within one game of the Championship.
Grounded Approach Amid Growing Confidence
Appleton revealed he had been deliberately hard on his players in the build-up to the Crawley fixture, determined not to let confidence spill into complacency.
“I was a little bit of a grumpy old man to be fair last Friday,” he admitted. “Maybe because I didn’t want the players to get too carried away or think that what we’ve done is okay.”
That attitude set the tone for another disciplined display. Shrewsbury managed the game well, keeping control after Crawley were reduced to ten men when Harry McKirdy saw red. The pressure finally told when captain Will Boyle powered home a header from Sam Clucas’s corner to secure the points and spark jubilant celebrations inside the New Meadow.
Defensive Solidity Returns
It was the first time since February that Shrewsbury had recorded consecutive wins, and the first sequence of three clean sheets since March 2022: a significant marker for a side that began the campaign among the division’s strugglers. Appleton praised his players’ defensive commitment after the game.
“We defended when we had to, we put bodies on the line,” he said. “That’s three clean sheets now — something to be proud of and something to build on going forward.”
Even with the extra man, Crawley offered flashes of threat, but the home defence, led by Boyle and goalkeeper Marko Maroši, held firm through a series of late corners and long balls.
Back Still To The Wall
Let’s not make any bones about it: Salop are still in trouble and Michael is still under pressure. His win ratio has improved, but is still way off where he’d like to to be. However, having introduced the likes of Clucas and Anthony Scully, as well as former Oxford man Josh Ruffels, it feels like he should have the quality to start climbing the table.
He came across as the grumpy old man at Sincil Bank, and he took us to the League One play-off final, although the following season (Grumpy Old Man II: This Time It’s On The Radio), we did flirt horribly with relegation.
Salop will be hoping that the prequel is more like the original.
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