Taming of the Shrews?

Firstly, apologies for the lack of a post last week. Being in the North East for the weekend, I watched (via the BBC) as Stockport fell 3-1 at Stevenage; a disappointing result and a missed opportunity to continue the unbeaten run. Saying that, 2 of Stevenages' goals were real belters, and the third was, shall we say, a bit iffy - when they go in you really know it's not going to be your day. About the only good thing that seemed to come out of the trip was another goal for Donnelly. It may be early in the season, but I dread to think what would happen if he gets injured any time soon.

This weekend it's another of the anticipated big guns of League 2 - Shrewsbury Town - who make the (relatively) short trip to Edgeley Park. Shrewsbury are unbeaten in the League so far this season, and come into the game having narrowly lost away to Stoke City in the League Cup. They also come with an expectation that they will be up amongst the promotion contenders at the end of the season. Once again, there is a touch of additional spice to the match; Shrewsbury are another of Paul Simpson's former teams.

The big question for County supporters is which version of their team will turn up? If it's the side that came so close to beating Wycombe then there is a real chance of 3 points. However if it's the side that turned up for Stevenage last weekend, the story may be markedly different.

The key - as always - appears to lie within the midfield. Questions are still being asked about the Tansey-Turnbull partnership in the middle (who is the ball winner and who is the creator?), while the on-loan Proctor could do with a decent performance to win over those fans not exactly enamoured with his (thus far) selfish and lacklustre displays. Furthermore, do you go for the adventurous-but-raw Danny Pilkington or the solid-if-unspectacular David Poole on the right? Either way, support is needed for the blossoming Conlon-Donnelly partnership - given the right service, these two could score plenty of goals.

My gut feeling at the moment is that the Shrews may have a bit too much for a still bedding-in County. A win would be fantastic, so would a draw if I was being honest; but I just think we may be waiting another week before celebrating 3 points.