In order to look ahead to the new season, REP has been talking to supporters of the teams that will join League One in August.
This time, it’s the turn of Scunthorpe United…
The fans
Thanks to the opinions from members of the Iron-Bru.com website including Iron Man, Lakesman, Alcazar and Iron Boot;
Last season
1. Best player last season?
IRON MAN – Sean McAllister
LAKESMAN – Slocombe for me, kept us in many games.
ALCAZAR – Sean McAllister and Sam Slocombe.
IRON BOOT – Sean McAllister, special mentions for Sam Slocombe (and Niall Canavan) for most improved – they are two players that have come up through our youth setup to become solid first team starters.
(Reporters note: great to see old Vale player Sean McAllister getting a lot of praise).
2. Highlight(s) of last season on the pitch?
IRON MAN – Battering Rochdale at home (and away!)
LAKESMAN – Taking six points off Rochdale
ALCAZAR – As above: Home and away wins against Rochdale.
IRON BOOT – Beating Rochdale 3-0 at home with youngster Hakeeb Adelakun scoring his first goal for the club. That stirred up the loudest crowd reaction I heard at GP all season.
3. Worst moment(s) of the season on the pitch?
IRON MAN – York away, all of it.
LAKESMAN – Accrington Stanley what a s**t hole
ALCAZAR – Getting knocked out of the FA Cup, at home, by our most hated rivals.
IRON BOOT – From an emotional perspective, definitely losing to rivals Grimsby at home in the FA cup replay. From a technical standpoint, our loss at home to Accrington Stanley was our worst performance.
4. Sum up the season in a sentence or two?
IRON MAN – We could have very easily ended up finishing mid-table. The decision to get rid of Laws has proved to be a good one and we recovered well from a more than average start.
LAKESMAN – Better than I expected but I was disappointed not to be promoted as champions.
ALCAZAR – Much better ending than I predicted at the start, but then we had Laws. It was a disappointing finish… if Wilcox had any idea at all, we would have been champions with two weeks to go.
IRON BOOT – I expected us to do well having been in the Championship only a couple of seasons previous and having been rather unlucky to get relegated from League One. Coupled with an ambitious chairman not afraid to splash out a bit when needed, and a reasonably strong squad at the start of the season, I was confident. Once Brian Laws got sacked, Russ stepped in and he was a revelation.
5. Your view on off-field affairs last season?
IRON MAN – Swann is an improvement from Wharton. The club is more open and seems to appreciate the fans more.
LAKESMAN – I was very disappointed with the treatment of Ribeiro by two Managers but especially Laws who didn’t even have the balls to publicly apologise to the player after publicly criticising him and the Chairman for not supporting him. Still if rumours are right he might be heading your way.
ALCAZAR – Peter Swann is 100% better than Wharton ever knew how to be… but then, Wharton’s performance wouldn’t take much beating.
IRON BOOT – Positive and ambitious promises from the new chairman, including a new stadium (supposedly ready for the 2015/16 season). The social media the club has been putting out is also a step forward, someone in the commercial department has done a great job.
Next season
6. What are your expectations for next season?
IRON MAN – Mid-table, maybe.
LAKESMAN – Top six at the very minimum.
ALCAZAR – If we keep with Russ Wilcox: mid to low table, maybe we’ll flirt with relegation. If we lose him quickly enough, mid to upper table.
IRON BOOT – Promotion. Back to back promotion was, and still is, the aim of the chairman and the manager. If we don’t get promoted but start playing good football under Russ, I think it would be fair to give him another season. If we finish in the bottom half of the table I think Russ’s position will be under fire from not only the fans but also the chairman.
7. Where do the club need to strengthen on the pitch?
IRON MAN – We need a centre half and perhaps a forward.
LAKESMAN – A replacement at least as good as Hayes who along with Ribeiro should have been retained. Two players who can actually play at a higher level. Someone to distribute the ball in Midfield after we have done all the hard work getting it back.
ALCAZAR – FOOTBALL players… we’ve let four decent players go…
IRON BOOT – Cover at both left and right full back, a couple of midfielders (preferably a playmaker and a midfield general who runs the centre of the park), and another striker for cover.
8. If you could take one Port Vale player for next season who would it be?
IRON MAN – Honestly I don’t know many Vale players, but Pope seems quite good.
LAKESMAN – I always liked your left-back Dan Jones, but he’s gone to Chesterfield
ALCAZAR – Sorry, I really don’t know Vale, wrong division last year.
IRON BOOT -Tom Pope, good goal scorer at league one level, looks strong too.
9. What do the club need to do off-field to improve?
IRON MAN – Stop claiming we’re after players like Matty Fryatt, fake ambition isn’t good.
LAKESMAN – Encourage the crowds back to Glanford. The equation is simple; play good football, win more than you lose, and crowds will support you.
ALCAZAR – Make sure the new stadium goes ahead, and keep up the improvements… the staff don’t seem to know they are SUPPOSED to be improving!
IRON BOOT – Peter Swann’s already tried his best to create extra income for the club in the way of improving the off-match facilities for the public, including the restaurant and giving people the ability to rent out areas for private events. However, the easiest way for the club to meet the chairman’s ambitions is to ensure the new stadium gets built, and with all the facilities needed to make it a seven day a week facility.
10. If you were granted one wish for next season, what would it be?
IRON MAN – Promotion.
LAKESMAN – To take points off Donny at their place.
ALCAZAR – Promotion… but it’s a distant dream, especially if we keep Russ Wilcox.
IRON BOOT -Promotion, obviously.