Former Teammate Jamie Tolley Advocates for Ryan Lowe as Shrewsbury Manager

Jamie Tolley, a former teammate of Ryan Lowe at Salop, has stated that Lowe would be an excellent candidate for the vacant managerial position at Shrewsbury Town. Lowe, a former Shrewsbury striker, concluded his tenure with Preston on August 12. The 46-year-old Liverpudlian, Lowe, commenced his professional playing career at Shrewsbury, having joined from non-league club Burscough in July 2000. With three months having passed since his departure from Preston North End, Tolley views Lowe, who previously managed Bury and Plymouth Argyle, as the perfect choice to take over from the recently dismissed Paul Hurst and potentially prevent Town from being relegated to League Two. Tolley, a former Wales Under-21s international, shared his perspective with BBC Radio Shropshire, stating, “He would do a great job in my opinion.” He added, “My old team-mate. He did a great job with Bury, got promoted with them and then again with Plymouth, got his move to Preston in the Championship and did an unbelievable job there.” He continued, “Everyone knows they don’t have the biggest budget in the Championship but, year in, year out, he had them in the top 10.” Tolley further remarked, “He’s an ex-player, who knows what it means to the fans and the town. And it’s only if he wants the job, that’s the main thing. But, if he did, I would think he’d be a good shout.” Lowe accumulated 707 appearances across his 19-year professional playing career, representing eight distinct clubs. Since transitioning into management as a player-manager in October 2017, he has overseen 334 matches. While assuming control of a Shrewsbury team facing an uncertain financial outlook and a lower league level might appear to be a backward move for Lowe, he gained his initial management experience by guiding Bury to his first managerial promotion in 2019 during a period of instability, only four months prior to the Shakers entering liquidation. Shrewsbury Town is currently positioned 23rd in League One ahead of their upcoming match this Saturday against bottom-of-the-table Burton Albion, who are without a manager. Burton Albion is scheduled to host 22nd-placed Crawley on Tuesday night, and victories in both of their games would result in Shrewsbury falling to the last position.