TAMING OF THE SHREWS
That’s the aim of Stratford boss McCrory in Shakespeare country now he’s back in love with football
EXCLUSIVE BY
AFTER spells running Swindon Town and Worcester Warriors rugby club, Jed McCrory admits he fell out of love with sport.
But the “emotional” urge to aid his stricken local football club Stratford was too strong when the Bards were six weeks away from administration in 2019. The subsequent rollercoaster ride with the part-time Southern League Premier Central side has rekindled McCrory’s love affair with sport.
The town famous for Shakespeare’s quill is now in the national spotlight for football.
League One Shrewsbury are the visitors tomorrow in the FA Cup first round live on ITV 4, which has earned the hosts £50,000.
It is the biggest tie in their history with the 2,800 tickets for their maiden first-round appearance selling out in two hours.
For McCrory, it is a sweet moment after the trials and tribulations of professional sport. He said: “It has been incredible. Our online ticket seller told us we could have sold over 8,000.
“It has definitely caught the imagination of the community.
“Stratford is well known for Shakespeare but it has brought football to the town. We want to put on our own version of ‘The Taming of the Shrew’.
“This tie has given people the ability to dare to dream about the football club. Knowing what it means to the club and all the volunteers, it is closer to me than any other achievement in sport.
“It was an emotional decision to get involved. I could have retired and played golf. But it is great fun and you have to work out how to do things differently.
“I have invested my money and hopefully my skill-set has helped as we have rebranded and re-marketed the club.
“We are happy to be involved in 5-3 games as we try to play football the right way and entertain our fans.”
McCrory rose to prominence when he headed a consortium that took over Swindon in 2013. But it ended with an acrimonious boardroom battle that went to the High Court in 2015.
He then led a consortium that took control of the loss-making Worcester in 2018 before leaving just months later. But his ties to Stratford run deep as McCrory lives locally and his five-year-old son Max (the pair, left) even plays for the juniors.
He added: “Over the last three years there has been a build-up of support because it is more than a football club. It has rugby, table tennis, girls’ archery and we run an education programme for kids.
“We probably have a footfall of 1,200 people a week coming through.
“It has become a real community hub. Now the money from the cup run can help us invest in facilities to engage more with the community.”
Town have a side made up of players including plasterers and bricklayers who, McCrory says, “are not greedy lads”.
He has promised to fund a memorable end-of-season trip if they reach the second round. “If they beat Shrewsbury we will pay for them to go to Ibiza,” he added.