On the eve of the new season, Alex Cole (@alex_scunny) ponders if this is the year the Iron finally get back on track following a turbulent 5 years.
Here we go then, the pitch lines have been marked, the e tickets are at the ready and the big question on everyone’s lips… will there be any food left at halftime?
Tomorrow will signal the start of another page being turned in the chapter of Scunthorpe United Football Club. A chapter where you can have pints and your dog at the pitch side… because that’s cool and all…
On a serious note, as I enter my 15th year watching this beloved club of ours, I cannot recall a time where expectations and pressure to deliver has been higher. Everybody at the club must be able to deal with the pressures that will follow us around all season from Tamworth to Gloucester.
Whether tongue in cheek or not, I’ve seen people say they’re going to lump on at 2/1 for the Iron to win the league. Not to be a spoilsport but please don’t do that, there are many variables that can affect a whole seasons outcome and at such short odds it’s simply not worth the risk.
This league we’re about to head into will be eye opening with small capacities and tight, poor-quality pitches. Furthermore, we will be the team to beat in this division with our stature relative to the level and financial clout the club has. We must respect this division and treat every opponent the same to minimise the risk of a shock.
We have no right to assume we’re going to go invincible and be champions by Christmas. This is a club conditioned into losing and a quick start to this season is imperative as we look to get out of this footballing rut we currently find ourselves in.
In a sense though, it’s almost refreshing to have this level of expectation on us on the eve of a new season. It certainly makes a change compared to the previous years where we’d be sat here on the eve of a new campaign hoping for the best, but fearing the worst.
Boss Jimmy Dean is out to prove a point following the most dismal end to last season where the Iron lost their last 6 games in a row.
Unlike relegation from the EFL to the National League last season though, any chance of a hangover this time rounds seems unlikely. This is because the club acted quickly and decisively following relegation to the National League North by releasing 16 players and signing 11.
Much has been made by fans and outsiders of the club alike about the quality of players brought in. It almost seems like the club have gone for a National League North galactico style approach.
February target and keeper Ross Fitzsimons signs from National League playoff finalists Chesterfield. Defender Will Evans joins us from National League playoff semi-finalists Boreham Wood where their defensive record in recent years is well renowned.
His likely centre back partner Maxim Kougoun signs from York where he earned promotion out of the 6th tier while at the club. Michael Kelly and Ross Barrows join us from Eastleigh and Altrincham respectively with the latter also enjoying a fruitful spell at Kings Lynn.
Utility man Tyler Denton and midfielder Michael Clunan bring that National League North experience and both join us from Kings Lynn, who were defeated in the play-offs last time out. Energetic midfielder Kian Scales arrives from Bradford with a healthy amount of experience in the 6th tier having played 40 games for Farsley Celtic.
The lower league lovers were sent into shock when the winger Callum Roberts signed from Aberdeen. Roberts enjoyed a brilliant couple of years at Notts County notching 16 goals in his final year which earned him the move south of the border.
Jason Law signs from Mansfield where ,despite being a squad player, he earned positive reviews throughout his time at the Stags. Finally, Danny Whitehall signs from Eastleigh where he has been a pillar of consistency netting 12 and 11 goals respectively in each of his two seasons there.
Pre-season results and performances have only fuelled expectation and excitement for the season ahead. The Iron rather stumbled out of the blocks early July drawing 2-2 at Brigg Town followed up by a 1-0 defeat at Winterton Rangers.
We then blitzed past Ilkeston and Gainsborough and continued that by more than holding our own against EFL sides Doncaster Rovers and Hull City. All the preseason work was then culminated with an impressive 2-1 win over Burton Albion.
It seems, from the home pre season games at least, that Jimmy Dean has opted for a 4-1-4-1 shape to begin the season with. One thing that has also been evident is how high up the field we have been playing so far. The midfield 4 and lone front man have almost been playing on the dee of the 18-yard box from opposition goal kicks.
This in turn means as soon as a goal kick is played, everyone squeezes up and we look to strangle the opposition into giving us the ball back. There seems to be a structured press in place with each player knowing when to go and when to stay in their place to stay together as a team.
Defensive solidarity and organisation has been another plus point throughout pre-season. In the games against all 3 EFL opposition, they were restricted to half chances and long rangers at best. I cannot recall a moment of play where we ever were pulled out of shape in anyway and the keeper forced into action.
Below is a picture of how we could shape up this season. One of the biggest decisions Dean must make is to which Danny he fields upfront, Elliott or Whitehall.
The two have different skillsets which may see them regularly swap in and out depending on the opposition. Elliott is a more natural athlete and can run in behind to stretch opposition defences. Whitehall is more of that focal point upfront and can bring others into play by holding it up and play cute touches off himself.
Thanks to this very handy preseason minutes graphic again pictured below from the excellent @iron_stats on twitter (or whatever we’re calling it nowadays!) it would seem that Elliott is slightly ahead in the pecking order as it stands.
As such, I would expect to see him leading the line from the start tomorrow. Either way it is an embarrassment of riches that Dean has available to him in the forward line and whoever plays up there will no doubt do a good job.
Ross Fitzsimons looks assured in goal pulling off a fine save from a free kick against Doncaster. Tyler Denton has been one of the top performers in pre season and looks a smart signing at fullback.
No nonsense aggressive centre backs Maxim Kouogun and Will Evans look to be developing a rock solid partnership. Reagan Ogle has had a mixed pre season, spending some of it injured, but has looked sharp in the games he has played.
In his latest show of flexibility, Alfie Beestin is operating in a new role as a lone number 6 in the middle as he looks to get back to his best following a difficult few years post his COVID struggles. New midfield arrival Michael Clunan has not set the world alight yet but is very much proven at this level with 14 assists last season and an inclusion in the team of the year.
Fin Shrimpton has excelled in his new role playing as one of the two number 8s operating high up the field, and has developed a little bit of an eye for goal this summer. Kian Scales has impressed massively as another one of the two 8s with his tenacity off the ball and looks more than capable on it.
Jason Law arrived as an attacking midfielder but looks an able deputy out wide to Callum Roberts. The form of winger Cameron Wilson could have major impact on the season outcomes. Wilson has been electric in preseason bagging 4 goals and after temporarily leaving in the summer, before committing his future to the club the winger will look to kick on and establish himself as one of the league’s best.
There is the usual disclaimer though that pre-season doesn’t totally correlate for how the season will play out. We know this better than anyone as we also beat Burton 2-1 in the summer of 2021 before embarking on one of the worst campaigns every produced by an EFL team.
We tbeat Sheffield United 3-2 last year, Colin Daniel turned into Paul Daniels, we then got relegated to the National League North while Sheffield United won promotion to the Premier League.
This year just feels different though, doesn’t it? We look hungrier, fitter and sharper at this time of year than we’ve seen in seasons gone by. There is a synergy building between fans and players which will certainly roll into Tamworth and hopefully beyond that too. Scunthorpe United by name, Scunthorpe United by nature.
Despite the overwhelming positives ahead of the new campaign, we must consider that events off the pitch may undermine the attempts on it. Uncertainty swirls around where home games will be played this season.
If the worst was to happen, then there is the possibility of all 46 games being played away from Glanford Park, which would put us at a disadvantage both financially and sportingly. We can only hope for a positive outcome on that front.
Owner David Hilton and boss Jimmy Dean have both made no secret that promotion is the aim for this season. The tools have been provided to Dean for him to deliver and it is over to him to do that with the consequences for him almost inevitable if we don’t get off to a quick start.
This season is shaping up to be an era defining one for the football club. Promotion would see us in with a chance of pushing for a return to the EFL next season.
Stagnation however could see us follow the same fate as Stockport and York and we could end up spending many years in this division thus falling further and further off the footballing map.
For now though, there are lots of signs that this upcoming campaign could be one that signals the rebirth of Scunthorpe United Football Club.
Up the Iron,
@alex_scunny
