Scunthorpe United F.C.
| Scunthorpe United Logo | |||
| Full name | Scunthorpe United Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Iron | ||
| Founded | 1899 | ||
| Ground | Glanford Park Scunthorpe | ||
| Capacity | 9,183 | ||
| Chairman | J. Steven Wharton | ||
| Manager |  Nigel Adkins | ||
| League | League One | ||
| 2005–06 | League One, 12th | ||
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Scunthorpe United F.C. are an English football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England.
Scunthorpe United's official team mascots are the Scunny Bunny and the Scunny Hunny Bunny, who wear the same claret and blue kit as the team's players do. Nicknamed The Iron, they currently play in Coca-Cola League 1.
Kevin Keegan, the former Liverpool and England striker, began his career with Scunthorpe during the late 1960s.
In 1988, Scunthorpe became the first English club in more than 30 years to build a new stadium when they relocated from the Old Showground to Glanford Park. Their original ground had been home to the first cantilever stand in the country, which was built in 1958. It was demolished along with the remainder of the Old Showground after efforts to move it to the new grounds proved impractical.
History
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. Their first game was against Shrewsbury Town. At this time, their ground was the Old Showground.
Scunthorpe were the first club in England to build a cantilever stand, four years before Sheffield Wednesday's at Hillsborough.
Until the entry of Boston United in the Football League in 2002 the club was considered the smallest of Lincolnshire's then three professional clubs. And despite enjoying its greatest success in over four decades by gaining promotion out of the basement league and avoiding immediate relegation it is (with the exception of relative newcomers Boston) the least successful of the county's sides with no major honours and no notable exploits in Cup competitions.
Moving home
In 1988 Scunthorpe United became the first 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 the club made the decision to relocate. The ground was sold to the 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 (just) 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.
The ground was so named after it was sponsored by the then 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.
Ups and downs
In 1992, the club made the third division play-off final, losing out eventually on a penalty shootout to Blackpool.
The club again made the play-off final in 1999, this time beating Leyton Orient 1–0 after a goal from Alex Calvo-Garcia. They were promoted to the Football League Division Two.
Their stay in this division was a short one and they were relegated again at the end of the following season.
They started the 2004/2005 season in Football League Two, but gained promotion to Football League One after a startling comeback season. 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.
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, an 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 2005–2006 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 an 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 F.A. 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.
2006–2007 season
Ins and Outs
- Players signed in the pre-season include goalkeeper Joe Murphy, right-back Dave Mulligan and young striker Ramon Calliste.
- Brian Laws left the manager's job at Scunthorpe to take over at Sheffield Wednesday on 6 November 2006, taking with him assistant boss Russ Wilcox. Nigel Adkins was put in temporary charge and subsequently took over the role permanently.
- Andy Keogh was sold to Wolverhampton Wanderers on 23 January 2007 for a club record £600,000. The deal also includes a further £250,000 to be paid if Wolves achieve promotion to the Premiership whilst Keogh is at Molineux, and a 15% sell-on clause. It is worth noting, however, that Leeds United recieve 25% of the transfer fee due to a sell-on clause.
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 30th, 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 are high for a promotion to the 2nd tier of English football for only the second time in their history.
Cup Competitions
A 4–3 extra time home win against local rivals Lincoln City in the Carling Cup earnt 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 Angel 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, Nigel Adkins first game in charge. In Round Two, 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.
Notable players
Over the years, their team has included such celebrated players as Kevin Keegan, Ray Clemence, Peter Beagrie and even cricketer Ian Botham.
Playing squad
As of 27 January 2007: Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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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. The same applies to matches between Grimsby and Hull.
Records
Attendances
Record Attendance (Old Showground)
- 23,935 v Portsmouth FA Cup 4th rd. 30 January 1954
Record Attendance (Glanford Park)
- 8,775 v Rotherham United, Division 4, 1 May 1989
Scores
Record Victory
- 8–1 v Luton Town, Division 3, 24 April 1965 Team: - Sidebottom, Hornstead, 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
- 0–8 v Carlisle United, Division 3 (N) 25 November 1952 Team: - Malan, Hubbard, Brownsword, McGill, Taylor, Bushby, Daley, Haigh, White, Whitfield, Mosby
Transfers
Highest Fees Paid
- Steve Torpey - £175,000, from Bristol City F.C.
- Billy Sharp - £100,000, from Sheffield United F.C.
- Ian Helliwell - £80,000, from York City F.C.
- Jamie Forrester - £50,000, from Grimsby Town F.C.
- Andy Keogh - £50,000, from Leeds United F.C.
Highest Fees Fees Received
- Andy Keogh - £600,000+, to Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Neil Cox - £350,000, to Aston Villa F.C.
- Chris Hope - £250,000, to Gillingham F.C.
- Richard Hall - £250,000, to Southampton F.C.
- Matt Elliott - £220,000, to Oxford United F.C.
- Paul Hayes - (up to) £150k, to Barnsley F.C.
External links
- http://www.iron-bru.net - fan site
- http://www.scunthorpe-united.co.uk - official site
- http://www.studyunited.org.uk/ - Study United FC, Scunthorpe United's Study Support Centre
- http://www.claretandbluearmy.tk - fan site
- http://www.ygriffiny.com - Official Y Griffiny fan site
- http://www.ironunion.net - Independent Supporters site