Back to the Future
On 29 April 2003, Shrewsbury Town lost 3-2 at home to Carlisle United. It was the result that confirmed, beyond mathematical doubt, our relegation from the Football League. As I walked from the Riverside onto the Wakeman End to make my way out of the ground, I’m not ashamed to say I shed a few tears. I’m not an emotive man. I wish I was, but I tend to keep my feelings bottled up. My wife will tell you there weren’t even tears of joy on our wedding day. It’s just not my way. But, under the Gay Meadow lights that night, I welled up and tasted the salty tears that rolled slowly down my cheeks into my mouth. Football does this to us. Shrewsbury Town does this to us. It shouldn’t matter so much, but it does. As this agonising, wretched season goes on, as we stumble from one gut-wrenching low to the next, I find myself thinking about that night more and more. The future isn’t written yet, of course, but we can all see that abyss opening up before us, and it leaves me feeling anxious. Helples...