article: Media playback is not supported on this device Ahead of Monday's fifth-round tie at the Greenhous Meadow, the League One side's boss Micky Mellon has already gathered a battle plan that cannot fail to strike a chord with the competition's romantics. No-one loves roughing up the elite more than Sam Allardyce (just ask Arsene Wenger) so it is fortunate that Mellon is big pals with Big Sam. Friends from having played under Allardyce at Blackpool, Mellon has the perfect inside track on how to upset the odds. The current Sunderland boss is the last man to beat United domestically, thanks to their 2-1 win last Saturday in the Premier League, and Mellon admits he will use all his old manager's know-how. "I'm seeing Big Sam and see what his plan was and if there's any help we can get from that then we will," he told BBC Radio Shropshire. "I'm a big schoolboy when it comes to football and to be able to prepare my team to face Manchester United is a fantastic moment in my career." Perhaps the magic and miracle of cinema can also provide a source of hope. If Shrewsbury had Pele up front, Ossie Ardiles in midfield and Bobby Moore at the heart of the defence, they could well afford Michael Caine at left-back and still beat Manchester United, or anyone else for that matter. But, unlike the Germans in the iconic 1981 film Escape to Victory, they did defeat a side that contained more than a hint of that heroic Allied XI. Russell Osman, John Wark, Kevin O'Callaghan and Paul Cooper (body double for goalkeeper Sylvester Stallone in the film) were all in Bobby Robson's stylish Uefa Cup-winning Ipswich side that lost 2-1 to Shrewsbury in the fifth round in February 1982. But if it is all going pear-shaped at half-time on Monday for Town, in keeping with the film, they can always dig an escape tunnel under the bath. In addition to the Tractor Boys of '82, Shrewsbury saw off another top-flight side Manchester City on their way to the sixth round in 1979 - still their best run in the competition to date. More recently, it was Kevin Ratcliffe's side that wrote the third-round headlines as two goals from Nigel Jemson, including a last-minute winner, dumped Ratcliffe's old club and five-time winners Everton out in 2003. It gave a 17-year-old Wayne Rooney an early introduction to the FA Cup's capricious nature. If you only looked at the visitors' FA Cup record, you would tell the Shrewsbury squad to stay in, watch their favourite box-sets on Monday, and give the tie a wide berth. Only Arsenal can boast a better record than United's 11 Cup wins, but Town fans will point to the fact that they have not won the famous old trophy since beating Millwall in Cardiff in 2004. And like a lot of the big boys, they have not been immune to the odd upset over the years. Bournemouth's famous win over holders United in the third round in 1984 still ranks as one
summary: Shrewsbury Town will not be short of inspiration when they try to knock Manchester United out of the FA Cup.