Thanks, no thanks – Shrewsbury

Thanks – Mark Stallard

Shrewsbury released Mark Stallard. They thought he was at the end of his career. They thought.

Wherever Mark Stallard played, fans loved him. He is revered as a hero in Bradford after just 42 games and 10 goals. He was loved at Notts County after five good years and he was loved in Wycombe for a two-year spell amongst the goals. The scene was set for him to arrive at Lincoln and fail to produce as Joe Allon and Leo Fortune-West had before him.

He didn’t, he produced the goods from his very first kick. He was a typically robust, all-action centre forward, possessing neat flashes of skill and an uncompromising approach to winning and keeping the ball. He was ‘big and hard’ as the song went, but he made sure he brought goals to the party too.

Hereford (2-1), Accrington (3-1) and former club Wycombe (3-1) all felt the force of Mark Stallard as he collected a brace in each game. He bagged two more in the 7-1 destruction of Rochdale and ended that unsuccessful play-off season with 17 in all competitions in a terrifying strike force alongside Jamie Forrester.

In his next season, he struggled to find the same form after being kept out of the first team by Steve Torpey and at one point even Ollie Ryan. Once Schofield was sacked and Peter Jackson came in he found his chances decreasing even more, often seeing Louis Dodds or current Shrews forward Lenny John-Lewis preferred up top.

A red card away at Rotherham signalled the end of Stallard’s Imps career and upon completion of his contract, he dropped down the Blue Square Premier with Mansfield, where it will come as no surprise to find he scored goals.