Blast from the past
West Ham United have never met Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup before, so today’s focus falls on a previous league meeting between the two clubs.
John Lennon was number one with ‘Woman’, the first Lennon single released after his death two months previously and knocking his re-released ‘Imagine’ off the top spot in the charts; Neil Diamond and Laurence Olivier were in UK cinemas in The Jazz Singer; and actor Tom Hiddleston was born two days later as FA Cup holders West Ham United took on the Shrews in a Second Division match on 7th February 1981. It was the fourth, and most recent, occasion that the two clubs have met – Shrewsbury had done the double over West Ham in 1979/80, winning 3-0 at home and 3-1 at Upton Park, just two weeks before the Hammers lifted the last of their three FA Cups, but the Irons gained revenge in 1980/81, beating Graham Turner’s Shrews 3-0 at the Boleyn before this 2-0 win at Gay Meadow in February 1981, courtesy of goals from Alan Devonshire (pictured below) and David Cross. Devonshire would score six goals in 56 appearances in 1980/81, with ‘Psycho’ Cross finishing as the club’s top scorer with 33 goals from 60 matches.
The Irons would end the 1980/81 season as champions of the Second Division, securing a return to the top flight after a three-year absence. They also reached the League Cup Final but were knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round in a second replay by Wrexham. The Hammers also reached the third round of the European Cup Winners’ Cup only to be knocked out by an outstanding Dinamo Tbilisi side. Shrewsbury finished 14th in Division Two and were knocked out of the FA Cup in a fourth round replay by Ipswich. Tottenham won the 1981 FA Cup.
West Ham United: Phil Parkes, Ray Stewart, Alvin Martin, Billy Bonds, Frank Lampard, Jimmy Neighbour, Geoff Pike, Trevor Brooking, Alan Devonshire, Paul Goddard (Bobby Barnes), David Cross.
Club Connections
West Ham United manager David Moyes was a player with Shrewsbury Town between 1987 and 1990. The Hammers’ on-loan goalkeeper Joe Hart made 58 appearances for the Shrews, with whom he started his career in the Conference National and League Two as a teenager. Other players to have represented both clubs include:
Midfielders: John Arnott and Jimmy Lindsay.
Striker: Mark Watson.
Ken Brown and John Bond both played for West Ham and managed Shrewsbury. Jimmy Quinn played for both clubs and managed the Shrews.
Today’s focus though is on an outside-right who played for West Ham United before departing for Shrewsbury Town. Bill Edwards was born in Aston, Birmingham in 1896 and joined the Hammers from Newport in 1923 in an exchange deal which saw fellow outside-right Bill Charlton sign for the Welsh club. Edwards made his debut for the Irons in a 5-1 win at Crystal Palace on 31st March 1923. This would be his only appearance in the Hammers’ promotion season of 1922/23 and he would play no part in the club’s run to the first FA Cup Final staged at Wembley.
Edwards’ best run in the first team came in the First Division in 1923/24 when he made 27 appearances. His first goal for the Hammers came in a 2-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest on 15th December 1923. He scored twice more that season, in a 2-1 triumph over Everton at Upton Park on 15th March 1924 and a 3-1 home win over Preston on 12th April 1924. His playing time was reduced over the following two campaigns as he played only seven matches in 1924/25 and just four games in 1925/26 before departing for Shrewsbury. Edwards (pictured) had scored three goals in 39 appearances for the Hammers.
Edwards returned to Wales after his spell with the Shrews, moving first to Llanelli before returning to Newport. He retired from football to become a licensee in Hereford. A very good bowls player, Edwards was a leading light in the Hereford Bowls Club and a member of their team which won the English Bowling Association’s triple championship in 1950. Bill Edwards passed away on 4th June 1952.
Referee
Sunday’s referee is 37-year-old Paul Tierney. The Lancashire-based official has refereed the Hammers twice before, first in the 1-1 draw with Everton in November 2015 which saw James McCarthy’s tackle on Dimitri Payet put the Frenchman out of action for two months (pictured below). His most recent Irons appointment was for our 0-0 draw at West Brom in September 2017, when he chose to issue just a yellow card to Ben Foster for his late tackle on Chicharito.
Possible line-ups
It was only two years ago that Shrewsbury reached the fifth round of the FA Cup, only to be knocked out by Manchester United. The Shrews also knocked out David Moyes’ Everton in the third round back in 2003 and reached the FA Cup quarter-finals in 1979 and 1982. Shrewsbury beat Aldershot 5-0 in the first round and Morecambe 2-0 in the second round to reach this third round tie with West Ham United. 24-year-old goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray, who kept clean sheets in the previous two rounds, will be in goal as Dean Henderson has not been given permission to play by parent club Manchester United. 43-year-old manager Paul Hurst, who has managed Shrewsbury for the last 14 months and is attracting interest from Championship side and boyhood club Sheffield Wednesday, is likely to start with a 4-1-4-1 formation. The club narrowly avoided relegation to League Two last season. In a remarkable turnaround of fortunes Shrewsbury, who beat Oldham 1-0 on New Year’s Day, are currently second in League One, in an automatic promotion spot behind Wigan. Shrewsbury have lost just one of 13 home matches in the league and FA Cup this season and have conceded just four goals in those games at New Meadow this season. They last conceded at home on 25th November, when they lost 1-0 to Bradford.
West Ham United could rest a host of players for their first cup tie with Shrewsbury and their first ever game at New Meadow. Former Shrewsbury goalkeeper Joe Hart is likely to start between the posts while Ben Johnson, Reece Burke, Moses Makasi, Domingos Quina, Josh Cullen, Sead Haksabanovic and Toni Martinez could all come into consideration. Sam Byram, Jose Fonte, James Collins, Aaron Cresswell, Edimilson Fernandes, Marko Arnautovic, Michail Antonio and Diafra Sakho are all expected to be out while Reece Oxford is a doubt. The Hammers are three-time winners of the FA Cup in 1964, 1975 and 1980; they were also runners-up in 1923 and 2006.
Possible Shrewsbury Town XI: MacGillivray; Bolton, Nslala, Beckles, Sadler; Ogogo; Whalley, Godfrey, Nolan, Rodman; Payne.
Possible West Ham United XI: Hart; Johnson, Burke, Oxford, Rice, Masuaku; Haksabanovic, Quina, Cullen, Ayew; Martinez.
Enjoy the game – Up The Hammers!