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Official S####horpe United Thread- Iron, hot! (1 Viewer)

There was potential for a historic Yanks abroad meet up yesterday at Glanford Park when Sunderland traveled to North Lincolnshire for a friendly. Georgia native Duane Holmes was a late sub for the Iron, while Lynden Gooch didn't make the lineup for Sunderland. Ended 0-0.
Is gooch hurt? Or has he dropped that far?

 
The comment I saw was that he's been starting for Sunderland in the preseason friendlies so far and it was unknown why he was off the teamsheet yesterday. Apparently, they've been playing him at striker.
Sunderland has a bunch of Forward options and just brought in Lewis Grabban on loan. 

Relegation is a big opportunity for Gooch.  There's new management and Simon Grayson will be looking for young talent for their next run at the top tier as well as removing some of the dead wood of Moyes' squad.

 
Not sure where this goes - but key match today:

Scunthorpe v. Wimbledon 

@El Floppo   v. @Eephus

Scunthorpe draws first blood - 6' Goal!  Scunthorpe United 1, AFC Wimbledon 0. Conor Townsend (Scunthorpe United) left footed shot from outside the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Josh Morris.

 
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here you go, ####s. from the football lab.

S####horpe fans who called for the departure of Mark Robins as manager midway through their 15/16 campaign have certainly been vindicated. Largely the same squad the Lancastrian worked with in the bottom half of League One went on to win 36 out of 66 in his absence. Is this the best squad the Iron have had in a decade? Supporter Matt Blanchard from the excellent Iron Bru talks to The Football Lab ahead of the new season.

I think you’d have to give that accolade to the 2009/10 squad that managed to stay up in the Championship, but on paper it is certainly up there. When you compare the two squads, there is very little between them but we are still a Gary Hooper or a Billy Sharp away from our best squads in my opinion.

When I think of you under Robins, Paddy Madden was the star goalscorer who started every game. Is it a sign of the attacking depth you’ve now got that he’s no longer your sole threat?

Madden was inconsistent last season but he picked up quite a nasty injury and he never really recovered to reach the heights we know he is capable of. It was great in the early part of last season in particular that other players were weighing in with goals. They did ultimately dry up but I think you have to question how we approached some of the games as the season progressed- particularly the play off home tie with Millwall. We seemed to be less concerned about attacking and playing with flair and more concerned about not loosing games which started to annoy the fans.

The last time a non-striker scored 19+ goals in the third tier was back in 04/05 (Stuart Elliott got 27 for Hull City). A hugely impressive campaign for Josh Morris?

He started like a house on fire and although the goals did dry up he still contributed with plenty of assists. It was a great campaign on paper, but you can’t help but feel it could have been even better. After Christmas, he became less of a winger, drifting inside all to often where he was at best largely ineffective. He seemed reluctant to take players on or have as many shots on goal as he did at the start of the campaign and in turn we didn’t see the same player. A return to the attacking winger we saw early doors last season will be welcomed by all – he has the talent to do it, so hopefully his attacking threat is not curbed by ridiculous tactics.

First choice stopper Luke Daniels has left for Brentford while back-up Joe Anyon has gone to Colchester. Are you happy with the signing of Matt Gilks?

Daniels was a bit of a marmite player, mainly because he was sent off on his debut for a silly elbow a couple of years ago. I always thought he was a decent keeper and certainly much better than his predecessor Sam Slocombe. He proved how good he was last season and earned a well deserved move to the Championship. I think with Gilks you are getting a keeper who has been there and done it at a high level. His experience will be key and should form a solid defence.

Centre-back Murray Wallace played every minute of every game under Graham Alexander’s watch. Is he a model of consistency?

Murray wasn’t just on the pitch for every minute of every game, but he consistently gave us 8/9 out of 10 performances. He really is a class act and we are lucky to have him. Promotion is a must this year, otherwise I think we would struggle to hang on to him. How he doesn’t make the Scottish side remains a mystery- one of the best defenders I have seen in my time watching the club.

21-year-old Cameron Burgess has signed on a three-year deal while Rory McArdle joins from direct League One competitors Bradford. Have these additions at centre-back quelled the disappointment of losing David Mirfin?

Mirfin was a firm favourite of mine and it was a real shame that he was shown the door. I can understand the reasoning as he did have a habit of picking up niggly injuries that were taking longer and longer to heal, but I would have kept him on for another year. He was a fantastic servant and top player in his time here. I’d honestly put him firmly up there with some of the Iron greats and Mansfield have a great defender on their hands. Burgess looks to be a talented youngster and was well thought of at Bury where he spent time on loan last year, so I am looking forward to seeing what he can bring.

At 21, Burgess is definitely one for the future whilst Rory McArdle is a solid, experienced League One player. Bradford fans were less than happy to see him leave so I think that says it all – he should be a big signing for us. With the signings we have made I think we probably have one of the best defences in the division and that can only bode well for the season.

Like Mirfin, another experienced battler leaving the club is Stephen Dawson. Was the club wrong not to offer him a long-term deal, or does Neal Bishop give you similar qualities?

I think with Dawson the deal to Bury was sealed well before the summer. There were rumours of a bit of unrest in the dressing room around Christmas time over new contracts and it transpired that Dawson was one of the players that were hammering on the Chairman’s door for more money. He was a good player for us and was a proper captain and time will tell if we replace him, but you can’t blame him for leaving. Nor can you blame the club for not matching what quite frankly is a brilliant deal for the player (if not slightly crazy on Bury’s part). I’d have been questioning the club if we had matched a three year deal for a 31 year old who would probably struggle with Championship football. That said, we’ve done the same with McArdle, so I guess its swings and roundabouts. Bish will always give you 100% and has been great for us, but at times last season particularly after Christmas he really did struggle and started to make lots of mistakes. We definitely still need to strengthen in that area.

At the time of writing, are you hoping for a midfielder to come in? Can Sam Mantom step up another level?

Mantom has the talent to be a big player for us. He is really good on the ball and I am hoping he can have an injury free season to show everybody what he is all about. I still think we need a midfielder or two to come in. Matt Crooks is the player that all the fans would like and his performances towards the end of last season showed why. It would be a real shame if we missed out. A creative player in the mould of one of our better midfielders of recent times, Grant McCann, is another high on my list.

Scott Wiseman has left for Chesterfield and Harry Toffolo has gone back to Norwich. Does that pave the way for Jordan Clarke and Conor Townsend to be your first choice full-backs?

I’d imagine so. We also have Levi Sutton who can fill in at right back and has always played well there. I wouldn’t be surprised to see us try and bring another full back into the building, just in case of injuries as Clarke and Townsend both missed a number of games last year. A full back on loan, as we did with Toffolo last year, would probably be the best option.

The club is planning to build an expensive new stadium soon. What are your thoughts on this?

It has been in the planning stages for some time. The club have been messed around with regards to the land it is going to be built on, but thankfully seem to have secured another site across the road. Once we get the first spade in the ground I will be a little bit more excited about it all as we have had a few false dawns since it was announced that we were going to build a new stadium. It will be fantastic when it happens, but when that will be is anybody’s guess.

What are your thoughts ahead of the League One season as a whole? Any potential dark horses for you?

I am interested to see how Bury get on. They’ve signed loads of players and are up there with the favourites for promotion in the eyes of many, but I have a feeling they may come unstuck. Southend are the ones to watch for me – they are building a very good squad.

Where will you finish?

I think it’s going to be a tougher season on the whole with plenty of teams strengthening really well. I think the play offs has to be the aim. We are still two or three good players away from challenging the top two, in my opinion.

The Football Lab’s Verdict

McArdle’s arrival to partner Wallace means S####horpe will start the season with League One’s best back-line, while Morris provides quality in wide areas. Promotion chances depend on Dawson’s replacement and whether the team opens up to help Madden find his mojo. 3rd

 
Huge EFL Cup game today at Glanford Park against the Sunderland U21's. Very important to take all the points in the first group stage game and set the tone in the Northern Section Group H.  C'mon you beautiful cunnies!!

 
omgomgomgomgomg. COME ON YOU ####S!

new favorite name. Van Veen

just feels good to say. 
Lol...we had an old Dutch bricklayer who worked for my Grandfather...the irrascible Martin Van Veen..."If it ain't Dutch, it ain't much!!" 

 
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omgomgomgomgomg. COME ON YOU ####S!

new favorite name. Van Veen

just feels good to say. 
Lol...we had an old Dutch bricklayer who worked for my Grandfather...the irrascible Martin Van Veen..."If it ain't Dutch, it ain't much!!" 

Edited just now by Kafka
Lol...just remembered how much he hated the fact i was half-Irish
yeah... I"m sure that's the part that he hated.

 

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