After leaving Bristol Rovers, former Lincoln City striker John Marquis signed a two-year contract with Shrewsbury Town.
At this level, the 32-year-old used to score goals frequently, but in recent seasons, he has struggled to find the net. With an average of 0.43 goals per game while at Doncaster, he is considered by many to be a “proven striker.” He has, however, found it more difficult to play after then: 0.29 per game at Pompey, 0.25 per game for us, and 0.20 while he was with the Gas. That’s one in five; in 35 League One games played last season, there were just four.
In January 2022, he signed a contract with the Imps that seemed very much like a loan. Initially, he looked to be just what we required. After signing, he scored three goals in three games, one of which came when we defeated Plymouth at Home Park for the first time in thirty years.
Then, in 18 games, he scored twice, helping us defeat Sheffield Wednesday 3-1. To be honest, it wasn’t a very good City team; even players like Morgan Whittaker had trouble leaving an impact, and it seemed like Michael Appleton was finishing up (though I didn’t realise that at the time). Even so, we did appear listless with Hopper and Marquis up top. Although many praised a two-up-top lineup, I was frustrated by two apparently capable and dedicated football players acting in different ways.
Surprisingly, I was at Salop when I made the definite decision that it wouldn’t be in our best interests to keep Marquis, and he was released two months later.
Undoubtedly, Marquis shown his commitment by making sure to acknowledge the supporters during a period when there was occasionally tension between them and the players. If you remember, this was the season that Chris Maguire spoke to supporters a lot and the success of 2020–21 was overshadowed by expectations following the COVID-19 pandemic. Many factors made the season difficult, but for a little while, John Marquis offered us some optimism. He was brilliant from January 22 to February 5, but in the end, he was just another striker on the long history of so-called prolific players who weren’t that productive at City. Sadly, he nevertheless tied Morgan Whittaker for third place in our scoring total.
I don’t wish to defame a player who might be a huge success at Shrewsbury, and I think they may have an upgrade after watching Ryan Bowman blunder through Imps games, using just his elbows to differentiate himself from a Sunday League player. A two-year contract, though, is a very significant gamble for a 32-year-old who has been steadily losing goals per game since 2018.
Since I appreciate a team of their (our) size for persevering in the third division and have friends among the Shrewsbury supporters, I will be honest and say that I am concerned about them this season. Although I see some optimism among a couple of their fans that they could have a good season, if I were a betting man right now, I would put my money on a bottom-four finish this upcoming season.
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