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Rowley
Mar 15, 2005 21:04:59 GMT 1
Post by The Shropshire Tenor on Mar 15, 2005 21:04:59 GMT 1
OK, I'm going to be a bit controversial here..... All this Arthur Rowley Appreciation Society stuff is fine, to a certain extent. Yes it was agreat achievement scoring his 460 odd goals, yes we should honour him in some way for being part of STFC's history as both player and manager. But...I think the Stanley Matthews comparison is a bit OTT. At the end of the day Arthur scored 290 (ish) of those goals at Leicester, he didn't achieve as much success as Turner as a manager, and at heart he was always a Wolves fan. You should be ashamed of yourself, this is disrespectful of Arthur and of the history of the club you claim to support. How do you know what was in his heart? I'll try to explain why Arthur is a STFC legend and deserves to have a suitable memorial at the new ground. At the end of the 1957/58 season Town finsihed 8th from bottom of the 3rd division south and were 'relegated' to the new division 4. They were dire to watch, in a high scoring era they managed just 49 goals in 46 games and failed to score in 18 of them. Me. my Dad and uncle found ourselves going to Wolves in search of entertainment and were sure that Town were drifting back to the non league status they had so recently come from. we were not alone, gates fell dramatically during the course of the season - 10,000 at the opening game, 3,300 at the last game. Then in the summer came the stunning news that Rowley had been appointed player manager. Make no mistake, he was a big star and had been league top scorer for what seemed like the whole of the previous decade. It was as if today Alan Shearer had come to play for us. Needless to say, we were promoted at the first attempt, scoring 101 goals. He may not have got us promotion, but it was 1 up in those days and we twice finished 3rd under his managership. He also put us on the map as a cup side, we beat Everton and Man City, drew with Sheffield Weds, Arsenal and Middlesboro' and had the epic undeserved defeat at Stamford Bridge. He changed us from a dull side drifting towards re-election to a club known and respected throughout the land. When he retired from playing he brought in England international Peter Broadbent to replace him. When he left the club he was replaced by Man U legend Harry Gregg - that's how much he raised our profile. I haven't mentioned what an influential player he was, not just a goal scorer, his eye for talented players - the list is a long one, and the fact that he scored 167 goals for us - a record that I doubt will be broken. And Town fans voted him 'player of the millenium'. It will be a disgrace if there is not a substantial memorial to him at the new ground, I favour the Rowley Way idea together with a large plaque in a prominent place near to the main entrance.
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Rowley
Mar 15, 2005 21:14:38 GMT 1
Post by stockportershrew on Mar 15, 2005 21:14:38 GMT 1
aside from his standing in the national game, he's our greatest ever player. The rest don't even come near. Probably, my biggest regret as a town fan that I never got to seem him play. (That & the filbert st cup quarter final).
even if our new ground turns out to be fairly non descript - a statue would be one way of giving it some character.
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Rowley
Mar 15, 2005 21:16:25 GMT 1
Post by meoleshrew2 on Mar 15, 2005 21:16:25 GMT 1
You should be ashamed of yourself, this is disrespectful of Arthur and of the history of the club you claim to support. How do you know what was in his heart? I'll try to explain why Arthur is a STFC legend and deserves to have a suitable memorial at the new ground. At the end of the 1957/58 season Town finsihed 8th from bottom of the 3rd division south and were 'relegated' to the new division 4. They were dire to watch, in a high scoring era they managed just 49 goals in 46 games and failed to score in 18 of them. Me. my Dad and uncle found ourselves going to Wolves in search of entertainment and were sure that Town were drifting back to the non league status they had so recently come from. we were not alone, gates fell dramatically during the course of the season - 10,000 at the opening game, 3,300 at the last game. Then in the summer came the stunning news that Rowley had been appointed player manager. Make no mistake, he was a big star and had been league top scorer for what seemed like the whole of the previous decade. It was as if today Alan Shearer had come to play for us. Needless to say, we were promoted at the first attempt, scoring 101 goals. He may not have got us promotion, but it was 1 up in those days and we twice finished 3rd under his managership. He also put us on the map as a cup side, we beat Everton and Man City, drew with Sheffield Weds, Arsenal and Middlesboro' and had the epic undeserved defeat at Stamford Bridge. He changed us from a dull side drifting towards re-election to a club known and respected throughout the land. When he retired from playing he brought in England international Peter Broadbent to replace him. When he left the club he was replaced by Man U legend Harry Gregg - that's how much he raised our profile. I haven't mentioned what an influential player he was, not just a goal scorer, his eye for talented players - the list is a long one, and the fact that he scored 167 goals for us - a record that I doubt will be broken. And Town fans voted him 'player of the millenium'. It will be a disgrace if there is not a substantial memorial to him at the new ground, I favour the Rowley Way idea together with a large plaque in a prominent place near to the main entrance. Exactly the reasons for a plaque, stating his playing/managerial record, people just don't know, I didn't know, he was before my time, first time I heard about his goals record I was really suprised. Its not something that crops up in the media much at any level.
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Rowley
Mar 15, 2005 21:33:01 GMT 1
Post by telfordSHREWS on Mar 15, 2005 21:33:01 GMT 1
Lets also not forgt that Arthur Rowley was a regular down the Meadow. Infact his last game was an entertaining 0-0 against Bournmouth, he passed away a few days later. He may have been a wolves fans, but as Dave said He scored a record amount of goals for STFC, broke the goal scoring record whilst with STFC, Scored a record amount of goals in a season for STFC, Played for us, Managed us, Had two testimonials, and continued to watch Salop untill the very end. I'd say he was as much a supporter of the club, as Jamo is, I am, and all other STFC fans. Legend, After all how many other clubs have such a strong link with such a momentus footballer? Post of the day
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Rowley
Mar 15, 2005 22:04:33 GMT 1
Post by wiganshrew2 on Mar 15, 2005 22:04:33 GMT 1
I got most of my information about Arthur Rowley from a back number of 4-4-2. In the world of Football, he is definitely significant. His contributions should be recognised in Shrewsbury, and, as Meole Shrew says- recorded for future generations. The Powers that Be make such a big deal about Darwin. I know his Theory of Evolution and "Origin of the Species" has made a HUGE impact on the Scientific World- but you could argue that all he actually did for Shrewsbury was live in the town, when he wasn't sailing round the Galapagos Islands on HMS Beagle. It's only certain people in Shrewsbury that decided to celebrate the fact that he lived in the town. The spin-off in tourist trade..etc... was what future generations did. I know I'll get shot down for some kind of blasphemy against Science, or something- and people will think there's no comparison. But- in Stoke- they celebrate Josiah Wedgewood and the famous potters- AND Stanley Matthews. I'd say that Arthur Rowley is also part of Shrewsbury's "History." Also that, secret Wolves fan or not, by doing something to put our Football Club on the map, he did something good for the town of Shrewsbury. I'm sure the achievements of Arthur Rowley would be of more interest to the children of the area. I didn't know much about him, till I read about him in 4-4-2- and I was just amazed. I got really interested, then I found out more from the History Of STFC on The Shropshire Star site. I'm amazed that Shrewsbury Town had a long association with a man who made Footballing History, and DOESN'T use that association to "promote" the Club more. Shrewsbury Town has a proud history- and yet we allow so many people to "Talk us down"!!! Turner also deserves recognition, of course he does! We were in the old division 3 (now the Championship) under Turner - well- let's celebrate HIS achievements, too. Maybe when we start to really appreciate these things, and find ways of letting future generations know. When it becaomes MORE than just dry statistics bandied about by enthusiasts, and becomes publicly owned knowledge to be celebrated by Shrewsbury as a whole, THEN we might get more of the people of Shrewsbury interested in our Football Club, our new stadium...etc.. Who knows, when we begin to celebrate old triumphs, then we might just have more to celebrate in the future. Sorry if this sounds like one of my more tub-thumping articles! It's something I feel strongly about. Living outside Shrewsbury sort of gives me a long view, somehow. Like if I was trying to promote Shrewsbury Town F.C- and it's new stadium- how would I do it? If you're enthusiastic about what you've got, and make it exciting- then other people get excited about it too. It IS exciting, believe me. So let's celebrate!
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Rowley
Mar 16, 2005 0:43:40 GMT 1
Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2005 0:43:40 GMT 1
I'd love to see a statue of Sir Arthur built at the New Meadow.
Like Stockporter Shrew, I'm gutted I never got to see him play.
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Rowley
Mar 16, 2005 0:48:28 GMT 1
Post by rob on Mar 16, 2005 0:48:28 GMT 1
Indeed wiggy. Arthur Rowley is one of the few things/facts/people that other people can't rubbish. -Most clubs have been to Wembley, -A lot of clubs have broken the cycle for however many years to play at championship level/above for however long.. -Having a ground that floods often is hardley something to shout about -neither is 50 years of league football, as this is something the vast majority of supporters take for granted without a second thought. But as I said we have a legend, someone in the FA all time top 100 list. A man who managed us, scored a great number of goals for us, lead the club to promotion amongst other things (as Dave said above) and supported the club long after he finished here. Any player who recieves a testimonial is often considered a legend by that set of supporters, wel Arthur Rowley recieved two, If the club can recognise his achievements by giving him 2 testamonials, then surely they can do a statue or something (be it the club or us the supporters) Only here could we have such an important figure, and people be trying to distance the club from him
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Rowley
Mar 16, 2005 13:22:23 GMT 1
Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2005 13:22:23 GMT 1
You should be ashamed of yourself, this is disrespectful of Arthur and of the history of the club you claim to support. How do you know what was in his heart? I'll try to explain why Arthur is a STFC legend and deserves to have a suitable memorial at the new ground. At the end of the 1957/58 season Town finsihed 8th from bottom of the 3rd division south and were 'relegated' to the new division 4. They were dire to watch, in a high scoring era they managed just 49 goals in 46 games and failed to score in 18 of them. Me. my Dad and uncle found ourselves going to Wolves in search of entertainment and were sure that Town were drifting back to the non league status they had so recently come from. we were not alone, gates fell dramatically during the course of the season - 10,000 at the opening game, 3,300 at the last game. Then in the summer came the stunning news that Rowley had been appointed player manager. Make no mistake, he was a big star and had been league top scorer for what seemed like the whole of the previous decade. It was as if today Alan Shearer had come to play for us. Needless to say, we were promoted at the first attempt, scoring 101 goals. He may not have got us promotion, but it was 1 up in those days and we twice finished 3rd under his managership. He also put us on the map as a cup side, we beat Everton and Man City, drew with Sheffield Weds, Arsenal and Middlesboro' and had the epic undeserved defeat at Stamford Bridge. He changed us from a dull side drifting towards re-election to a club known and respected throughout the land. When he retired from playing he brought in England international Peter Broadbent to replace him. When he left the club he was replaced by Man U legend Harry Gregg - that's how much he raised our profile. I haven't mentioned what an influential player he was, not just a goal scorer, his eye for talented players - the list is a long one, and the fact that he scored 167 goals for us - a record that I doubt will be broken. And Town fans voted him 'player of the millenium'. It will be a disgrace if there is not a substantial memorial to him at the new ground, I favour the Rowley Way idea together with a large plaque in a prominent place near to the main entrance. Dave - thanks for the history lesson. Actually I'm fully in favour of the suggestion in your last para - Rowley Way and some kind of memorial at the ground (but probably not a statue) would be excellent. It's your first paragraph I have to take issue with, and in the absence of a smiley-winky thing I'll have to take it at face value - (the inherent dangers of a single channel huh?): 1) No I'm not ashamed of myself for raising an important point in the debate about how we should celebrate our history. 2) Disrespectful to Arthur? - I can't think of a more eloquent reply than "bollox". 3) Disrespectful to the history of the club? - Ditto. 4) "the club I claim to support" - sorry if nearly 30 years only amounts to 'a claim' to supporting the club. 5) How do I know what was in his heart? - I don't of course. But it's well documented that he was a Wolves fan. I also had the pleasure of meeting Arthur on a number of occasions, and spent several pleasant lunchtimes discussing football with him over a glass of wine. So what's your point?
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