Scunthorpe United F.C.

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Scunthorpe United
Full name Scunthorpe United Football Club
Nickname(s) The Iron
Founded 1899[1]
Ground Glanford Park
Scunthorpe
(Capacity: 9,183)
Chairman J. Steven Wharton
Manager Flag of England Nigel Adkins
League The Championship
2008–09 League One, 6th
(promoted)
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Home colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Away colours

Scunthorpe United Football Club are an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire.

Nicknamed The Iron, they played the 2008-2009 season in the Football League One after one season in the Football League Championship, the first time they played at that level in 45 years. After placing 6th in League One they won promotion to the Football League Championship through the Playoffs defeating London club Millwall 3-2 on Sunday 24 May 2009. They are presently the highest-placed league club in Lincolnshire.

Contents

[edit] History

Scunthorpe United's badge before the 1970s

[edit] Early years

Scunthorpe United, formerly known as Scunthorpe and Lindsey United, among other names, has existed since 1899, but did not join the Football League until 1950 when the league structure was expanded. Their first game was against fellow new entrants Shrewsbury Town.

Scunthorpe were the first club in England to build a cantilever stand, four years before Sheffield Wednesday's at Hillsborough.

[edit] Moving home

In 1988 Scunthorpe United became the first English football club in the modern era to move to a new, purpose built stadium: Glanford Park.

When it became apparent that the Old Showground needed significant investment to maintain its fabric and to make it comply with new regulations introduced in the wake of the Bradford Fire Disaster (which the club were unable to make due to financial difficulties) the decision was made to relocate. The ground was sold to the former supermarket chain Safeway and the search was started for a new location.

Land was secured near the village of Gunness in what was then the administrative area of Glanford meaning that the new ground was outside the boundaries of Scunthorpe (although this changed with the re-organisation of local government in 1994 as both Scunthorpe Borough Council and Glanford Borough Council became North Lincolnshire Council).

At this time there were no grants available and the development had to funded with the cash from the sale of the Old Showground, sponsorship, directors' loans and bank loans. This lack of outsider cash means that Glanford Park was built in a rather simplistic, box-like style, with a significantly smaller capacity than the Old Showground.

The ground was so named because it was sponsored by the Glanford Borough Council. The site of the former ground is now home to a Sainsbury's store and can be found at the junction of Doncaster Road and Henderson Avenue. When the store was opened a plaque was laid where the centre-spot was, just in front of the delicatessen counter; the plaque has since been removed.

The ground, though small, offers some of the best views of the pitch in any league due to the simple layout and aforementioned lack of stands.

[edit] Ups and downs

In 1992, the club made the third division play-off final, at Wembley, losing out eventually on a penalty shootout to Blackpool (see here).

The club again made the play-off final in 1999, again at Wembley, this time beating Leyton Orient 1–0 after a goal from Alex Calvo-Garcia. They were promoted to the Football League Division Two. They were subsequently relegated at the end of the following season.

They started the 2004-05 season in Football League Two, but gained promotion to Football League One. The Club was nearly relegated to the Conference National the season before. In the 2004/5 season they led Chelsea, the Premiership champions, 1–0, in the FA Cup 3rd Round, but were denied as they eventually went down 3–1.

[edit] 2005–2006 season

Before that season began, Scunthorpe were predicted to end up among the relegation battlers, having only been promoted to the division the previous season.

Close season signings included ex-Stockport County captain Jim Goodwin and former Celtic striker Tommy Johnson. The Iron also offered permanent deals to utility man Richard Hinds and central midfielder Richie Ryan. Shortly after the season began, Scunthorpe signed teenage striker Billy Sharp from Sheffield United for £100,000. Scunthorpe lost Paul Hayes and Richard Kell to Barnsley during the summer due to the players being out of contract, although due to Hayes' age, a F.A. tribunal set a fee of up to £150,000 for him. Terry Barwick, Wayne Graves and Russell Penn were released by the club.

Scunthorpe United opened the 2005-06 season away at Brentford F.C., where they lost 2–0. However, after this early setback, things picked up for The Iron, who at a couple of points early in the season occupied first place in the division. Their early season good form hit a peak with away victory to League One high-fliers Huddersfield Town by four goals to one. Teenage strike partnership Andy Keogh and Billy Sharp made a name for themselves at this time.

However, subsequently they slid down the league table somewhat, due in part to two 5–2 defeats, away at Blackpool and Barnsley. The club took Peter Till, a winger from Birmingham City and Michael Rose, a left-back from Yeovil Town on loan, though the former has now returned to his club, as well as Neil MacKenzie, originally loaned from Macclesfield Town before the move was made permanent in the January transfer window.

The club reached the third round of the FA Cup, beating Bury and Aldershot Town before losing 3–1 away to the Premiership's Manchester City after being 1–0 ahead.

In the 2005–06 season the club finished 12th in Coca-Cola League 1 with a record of P46 W15 D15 L16 F68 A73 Pts60 GD-5. Billy Sharp finished the season joint top scorer of the season with 23 league goals, sharing the Golden Boot with Southend's Freddy Eastwood.

[edit] 2006–2007 season

Ins and Outs

Pre-season

Prospects appeared brighter for the club before the start of this season, having remained in League One for a second year. The pre-season friendly results were excellent: unbeaten in four matches, against Brigg Town (4–1), Hull City (1–1), Leeds United (2–1) and Sheffield United (1–0), not to mention winning the San-An Cup and their Lincolnshire Senior Cup semi-final against Boston. However, injuries already started to plague the team, with new signing Ramon Calliste out for up to six months due to an injury against Brigg Town and Andy Butler suffering a shoulder injury against Leeds United.

League One

However the league season itself got off to a poor start, losing 1–0 to Bristol City, and having Steve Torpey sent off for violent conduct in the process. This was followed by 2–2 draws with Swansea City and Crewe Alexandra. Scunthorpe also went down 2–1 to Rotherham United on 19 August, which was followed by a 1–1 draw with Brentford. On 1 September, Scunthorpe gained their first win of the season, 2–0 away to Gillingham. However, Scunthorpe then suffered a 1–0 defeat at the hands of Oldham Athletic. Scunthorpe then won their first home game of the season, beating high flying Port Vale 3–0, quickly followed by a home win over Cheltenham 1–0 after a 90th minute goal from Andy Keogh.

They followed those results with a 1–1 draw at AFC Bournemouth, and an outstanding win against local rivals Doncaster Rovers by 2 goals to nil. Recent games include away wins over Yeovil Town and Carlisle United, and a home draw to Tranmere Rovers. On December 30, the Iron beat Bournemouth 3-2 at home, while rivals Nottingham Forest drew 1-1 with Tranmere. This sent Scunthorpe to the top of the League One table on goal difference. Early new year results saw Scunthorpe move one point clear of the chasing pack, and hopes were high for a promotion to the 2nd tier of English football for only the second time in their history. A series of four successive draws, and wins against Millwall and Bristol City (screened live on Sky Sports, the Iron's third televised game of the season) kept the Iron at the top of League One, albeit with most of their rivals having a game in hand. After the win against Bristol City the Iron went on to beat Rotherham 1-0 at home thanks to Jermaine Beckford's first goal for the Iron on his home debut. The Iron then won 2-0 in a midweek fixture at Swansea after goals by Billy Sharp and Jermaine Beckford. The win sent them 3 points clear at the top of the table.

The Iron then beat Gillingham 3-1 at home and followed that by beating Crewe away 3-1 with Billy Sharp scoring 2 of the goals. The Iron then went away to Brentford and won 2-0 which set a new club record with 7 straight wins and sent them 10 points clear. The Iron set a new club record when they achieved a 16 game unbeaten sequence after drawing 1-1 at Brighton on 17 March 2007. This run continued for another 3 games, setting a new club record of 19 games without defeat, until Northampton Town beat The Iron 2-1, bringing the run to an end.

On April 14, 2007, Scunthorpe beat Huddersfield 2-0, after two goals from Billy Sharp, thus ensuring their promotion to the Coca Cola Championship. They also clinched the title on 28 April 2007, despite a 3-1 defeat at Blackpool. Scunthorpe recorded another 3-0 home win and later were crowned champions of League One.

2006-2007 was arguably the Iron's best season to date. The number of points achieved (91) and the number of goals scored by Billy Sharp (30) were greater than those achieved by any other team in the Premiership and the Football League.

Cup Competitions

A 4–3 extra time home win against local rivals Lincoln City in the Carling Cup earned the Iron a big money match against Premiership side Aston Villa, at Glanford Park. The tie was screened live by Sky TV, earning the club a reported £100,000 payday. Aston Villa won the match 2–1, with Juan Pablo Ángel scoring twice, once from the penalty spot and another with a header. Billy Sharp scored the goal for Scunthorpe, with a header from a corner. In the FA Cup, the Iron beat Cheltenham Town 2-0 in a replay, goals from Billy Sharp and Ian Baraclough, after a 0-0 draw in the original tie at Whaddon Road, Nigel Adkins' first game in charge. In the second round they lost to Wrexham 2-0, missing out on the third round for the first time since the 1999/2000 season. The Iron also lost to Port Vale on penalties in the second round of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.

[edit] 2007-2008 season

Ins and Outs

Scunthorpe started strengthening their squad for the new season in the Championship by signing Kevan Hurst permanently for a club record £200,000 from Sheffield United. The Iron then signed Paul Hayes back from Barnsley F.C. for a fee that was eventually decided (but remained undisclosed) in September 2007, without the need to be decided by a Football League tribunal. Nigel Adkins' third summer signing was defender Izzy Iriekpen from Swansea City on a two year deal, with an option on a third. On a day of frenzied transfer activity, Adkins captured Martin Paterson from Stoke City, with the fee to be decided by tribunal, and Jonathan Forte from Sheffield United. Adkins also signed French defender Kelly Youga on a 6 month loan from Charlton Athletic, young Cameroon midfielder Alex Morfaw on a one year deal, and Chelsea youth team captain Jack Cork on loan until January. However, returning to Bramall Lane was leading marksman Billy Sharp for £2 million. Other departures included Steve Foster to Darlington, Richard Hinds to Sheffield Wednesday, Lee Ridley to Cheltenham Town and veteran Steve Torpey was released and subsequently signed for local rivals Lincoln City. Defender Dave Mulligan was sent on loan to Grimsby Town to gain first team experience, as he had not been figuring in the United starting XI.

Championship

Scunthorpe's return to this level began with an away match against newly relegated Charlton Athletic. The first match between these sides in 33 years resulted in a 1-1 draw at The Valley with an attendance of over 23,000.

This was followed a week later with the first home game played by United in the second tier of English football for 43 years with Burnley being the visitors. The game ended 2-0 in Scunthorpe's favour, with Martin Paterson scoring his first goal for the club with a second scored by Jim Goodwin.

Scunthorpe enjoyed a good start to the Championship season, rising as high as 4th at one point, they earned respectable results against teams such as Sheffield United (3 - 2 victory), Sheffield Wednesday (2 - 1 victory), Preston North End (2 - 1 & 0 - 1 victories) and only narrowly lost at home to run away leaders West Brom and Watford (both 2 - 3 defeats).

However their form, especially during the second half of the season faltered, in the reverse fixture against West Brom, they were defeated 5 - 0, they also suffered to losses to Stoke City, (Both 3 -2) despite leading in to extra time in the home match before Stoke scored two late goals, and being 2 - 0 up at half time in the away match, before they went on to lose 3 - 2.

In the January transfer window, manager Nigel Adkins was subject to much criticism, players that were signed included a loan move for veteran Sheffield United striker Geoff Horsfield, who failed to score in any match he played, Kevin Horlock, who didn't make a single appearance before leaving to go to Mansfield, Mamadou Seck and Shelton Martis, who came on loan from Sheffield United and West Brom respectively, both making disappointing performances, a permanent contract for Ben May, signed from Millwall, who many fans believed was unjustified having not proved himself, Leeds midfielder Curtis Weston, who failed to score in any game he played in.

The more positive transfers made in January were that of Jack Hobbs, who came on loan from Liverpool, Grant McCann, who is now an established regular midfielder and a Northern Ireland international, signed from Barnsley, and Andrew Wright, a utility player who played for West Virginia University, he makes occasional appearances for Scunthorpe.

They managed to earn some wins in the second half of the season, notable against former Premier League club Charlton Athletic and promotion chasing Plymouth Argyle. On 12 April 2008, their fate was sealed 4 matches prior to the end of the season with a two - nil loss away to play-off candidates Crystal Palace, ironically, as seen with many teams, their form picked up after they had been relegated, possibly due to the lack of pressure now on the team, they won at home to play off chasing Cardiff City, and former Premier League club Watford.

They finished second from bottom in the final table with 46 points, drawing their final game of the season 3-3 with bottom-placed Colchester. [1]

Cup Competitions

Scunthorpe were knocked out of the Carling Cup after a first round 2-1 home defeat to Hartlepool United.

The Iron were also knocked out the FA cup in the 3rd round after a 1-0 defeat away at Preston North End, the reverse result of the same matched played a week before, with Scunthorpe winning 1 - 0.

[edit] 2008-2009 season

Ins and Outs

After relegation from the Championship, Scunthorpe released some players, the most notable of which was midfielder Jim Goodwin who had played most of Scunthorpe's games, also leaving were Alexander Morfaw and Dave Mulligan. After much speculation about his future, Andrew Butler refused to sign a new contract and instead opted to join League One rivals Huddersfield. Joe Murphy was quoted as wanting to return to the Championship to further his dream of playing as the Republic of Ireland's number one keeper, however he decided to see out the last year on his contract stating that if Scunthorpe did not make a swift return to the championship, he would leave. Top scorer Martin Paterson was subject to much speculation; initially Scunthorpe rejected a £400,000 bid from Burnley and rejected a personally handed transfer request from the player. Burnley increase their offer and on Monday 23 June 2008 he completed his move and signed a four year contract being worth £1 Million for Scunthorpe up front and up to £300,000 extra based on appearances.

On 27 May 2008, midfielder Garry Thompson was signed on a free transfer after rejecting a new contract from Morecombe, he was brought into replace former right sided midfielder Cleveland Taylor, who left in January to join League One club Carlisle United for a nominal sum (believed to be £85,000). On Friday 4 July, Scunthorpe signed defender Kenny Milne from Falkirk on a free transfer, who was ambitious to play in the English leagues, having played in the Scottish league, mostly with Falkirk, all of his football career. On 14 July 2008 Scunthorpe completed the siging on Gary Hooper from Southend United for a fee believed to be around £175,000.

For their pre-season games, Scunthorpe have brought in some trialists, the most notable whom was former Manchester United trainee Michael Lea.

David Mirfin was signed from League One rivals Huddersfield Town for £150,000 on August 11.

Kayode Odejayi was brought in by the Iron on loan from Barnsley F.C. to strengthen their attacking presence with Forte currently on loan and Ben May sidelined with an injury. The Iron also brought in Henri Lansbury from Arsenal F.C. in the January transfer window to strengthen their midfield.

Current Season

Scunthorpe were drawn at home for their first game of the season, losing 2-1 to Leeds United. They also lost to Walsall and Hartlepool in the League Cup, since that their form picked up, with wins against Peterborough, Stockport, Brighton and previously unbeaten Carlisle. They picked up more wins against Hereford and Yeovil, before a 2 - 2 draw with Leyton Orient prevented a club record 8 wins in a row, they wont their next match against Crewe 3 - 0 and were then top of the Coca-Cola League One, they beat Cheltenham 2 - 1 away from home, to make it 10 wins out of 11 games, they drew at home with Southend United, before beating their nearest rivals Millwall 3 - 2 at Glanford Park, their unbeaten run came to an end when they lost 3 - 0 away to Oldham Atletic, their next game was a pulsating 3 - 3 draw at home to Swindon Town, they won the next game 2 - 1 away to Bristol Rovers, buy then suffered successive defeats to Leicester City and Tranmere Rovers, 2 - 1 and 2 - 0 respectively, they picked up a surprise 0 - 2 win at MK Dons, earning then F & C performance of the week, their next match was an entertaining 4- 4 draw with Northampton Town. Scunthorpe United went 2 - 0 against Swindon away from home only to have David Mirfin and Cliff Byrne sent off both for second bookable offences and United consequently lost 4 - 2. United lost 4 games on the bounce including away trips to Southend and Leeds in February. The defeat at Leeds was unfortunate for the iron in two ways. The iron were the better team for the majority of the game and the defeat meant they dropped out the playoffs/automatic spots for the first time in 5 months. After a month of hovering in and around the play-offs, they secured the final play off place at home to Tranmere Rovers when they drew 1 - 1. They secured a place in the Championship with a 3-2 victory over Millwall in the final.

Cup Competition

In the League Cup, Scunthorpe were for the second time in a row drawn against Hartlepool (away) which they lost 3 - 0.

They were drawn away to Walsall in the first round of the FA Cup, they beat them 3 - 1, this game also saw Ishmel Demontagnac get a red card which made Walsall lose patience with him and terminate his contract.

In the second round they drew non-league side Alfreton Town at home, they beat them 4 - 0, they have been drawn away to Watford for the third round.

In the Football League Trophy they won the first round against Notts County (2 - 1) with both goals coming in stoppage time. They were drawn at home to Grimsby in the second round, whom they also beat 2 - 1, and were drawn at home for a third time to Rochdale in the Northern Quarter finals. United then beat Rochdale 1-0 and were drawn against Tranmere in the Northern Semi Finals who recently beat them 2 - 0 in the league, but this time around Scunthorpe beat them 2-1 and played Rotherham United in the Northern Final, which was a 2 legged affair. United beat The Millers by Two goals to Nil in the first leg. United continued the form showed in their home leg and a late goal by Gary Hooper secured United's progress to the final of this competition. They beat the Millers 3 - 0 on aggregate and went on to play Luton Town in the final. They lost 3 -2 after extra time to Luton, Gary Hooper and Grant Mccann scored in normal time to take it to extra time before Luton scored a winner in the first half of extra time.

[edit] Notable former players

[edit] Players

As of 10 July 2009.[2]

[edit] Current squad

No. Position Player
1 Flag of Ireland GK Joe Murphy
2 Flag of Scotland DF Kenny Milne
3 Flag of England DF Marcus Williams
4 Flag of England DF Andy Crosby
6 Flag of Ireland DF Cliff Byrne (captain)
7 Flag of England MF Matt Sparrow
8 Flag of England MF Garry Thompson
9 Flag of England FW Paul Hayes
10 Flag of England FW Gary Hooper
11 Flag of England MF Ian Baraclough
15 Flag of England DF David Mirfin
16 Flag of England MF Martyn Woolford
17 Flag of Northern Ireland MF Grant McCann
18 Flag of England MF Sam Togwell
19 Flag of Barbados FW Jonathan Forte
No. Position Player
20 Flag of England GK Sam Slocombe
21 Flag of England DF Jake Picton
22 Flag of England GK Josh Lillis
23 Flag of England FW Kevan Hurst
24 Flag of England MF Andrew Wright
25 Flag of England FW Peter Winn
27 Flag of Ireland MF Ian Morris
29 Flag of England DF Joe Wilcox
30 Flag of England FW Ben May
40 Flag of England GK Kevin Pressman
Flag of England FW Adam Boyes
Flag of England DF Rob Jones
Flag of Northern Ireland MF Michael O'Connor
Flag of England MF Josh Wright

[edit] Local rivals

The team's local rivals include Grimsby Town, Hull City, Lincoln City and Doncaster Rovers. Matches between Hull and Scunthorpe are often referred to as Humber Derbies, due to the fact that the teams lie either side of the river Humber.

[edit] Records

[edit] Attendances

Record Attendance (Old Showground)

Record Attendance (Glanford Park)

[edit] Scores

Record Victory

  • 8–1 v Luton Town, Division 3, 24 April 1965 Team: - Sidebottom, Horstead, Hemstead, Smith, Neale, Lindsey, Bramley (1), Scott, Thomas (5), Mahy (1), Wilson (1).
  • 8–1 v Torquay United, New Division 3, 28 October 1995 Team: - Samways, Housham, Wilson, Ford (1), Knill (1), Hope (Nicholson), Thornber, Bullimore (Walsh), McFarlane (4) (Young), Eyre (2), Paterson.

Record Defeat

[edit] Transfers

Highest Fees Paid

  1. Martin Paterson - £425,000 from Stoke City
  2. Kevan Hurst - £200,000 from Sheffield United
  3. Steve Torpey - £175,000 from Bristol City
  4. David Mirfin - £125,000-£175,000 from Huddersfield Town
  5. Martyn Woolford - £125,000 from York City
  6. Billy Sharp - £100,000 from Sheffield United


Highest Fees Received

  1. Billy Sharp - £2,000,000 to Sheffield United
  2. Martin Paterson - £1,000,000 to Burnley, will raise by £300,000 depending on future appearances
  3. Andy Keogh - £600,000+, an extra £250k is expected to be paid byWolverhampton Wanderers after their promotion to the Premiership in 2009
  4. Neil Cox - £400,000 and 1600 seats, to Aston Villa
  5. Chris Hope - £250,000 to Gillingham
  6. Richard Hall - £250,000 to Southampton

[edit] Women's football

The women's football club, Scunthorpe United L.F.C., who play in the Northern Combination Women's Football League, is affiliated with Scunthorpe United F.C.

[edit] Mascots

Scunthorpe United's official team mascots are the Scunny Bunny and the Scunny Hunny Bunny,[3][4] who wear the same claret and blue kit as the team's players do.

[edit] Chants

The most played is Sunny Scunny Tripitakas. Also played is Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag, Hi Ho Silver Lining by Jeff Beck, Tom Hark [as many clubs]. A song associated with Scunthorpe United is Any Old Iron, though it is rarely sung as a chant. More common are songs indicating disdain for Grimsby Town, or suggesting that Joe Murphy ought to be the Republic of Ireland first choice goalkeeper. In 2006, the club's fans began a new football chant "Who needs Mourinho, we've got our physio" after Nigel Adkins, the club's former physio replaced Brian Laws as manager, eventually to lead United to promotion.[5]

This chant was taken from the one sung by Sheffield Wednesday during their promotion from league one "Who needs Mourinho we've got Paul Sturrocko "

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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