Shrewsbury Town takeover completed as Friedel joins as sporting director
A US-led consortium has finalised its purchase of 87.4% of Shrewsbury Town, ending Roland Wycherley's 30-year tenure and bringing Brad Friedel in as sporting director.
Shrewsbury Town's protracted takeover has been completed, with a US-based consortium acquiring 87.4 per cent of the League Two club's shares and ending long-time owner Roland Wycherley's three-decade association with the Shropshire side. The share purchase agreement with Scott Davidson's Biscayne ST LLC, which includes former United States goalkeeper Brad Friedel, has been finalised.
Friedel, who played for Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur, joins as sporting director and will work alongside manager Gavin Cowan. Miami-based businessman Davidson is joined on the new board by New York financier Will Dotson and Craig Graham, chairman of Edinburgh-based Scottish League Two club Spartans.
Wycherley, who succeeded Ray Bailey as chairman in the summer of 1996 and is now 85, can retire. The Shrewsbury-born lifelong supporter first signalled his intention to sell more than five years ago, when the club was still in League One.
The process was drawn out because Wycherley insisted on a deal he was convinced would secure the club's long-term future. BBC Radio Shropshire reported that his determination made him a tough negotiator, prolonging talks to the frustration of supporters.
The takeover shifts control of the club from local ownership to an American-led group, with Friedel's arrival adding a prominent football figure to the new structure. Further developments are expected.
