Football Season Review

Following their relegation from the Championship, Scunthorpe entered the season that is now behind us with a sense of uncertainty surrounding them. The squad had underwent a lot of nipping and tucking over the previous 12 months, and the jury was still out on Alan Knill, who's inability to turn his side's fortunes in the Championship was attributed to the squad's insufficient quality to compete in the second tier. While there were no any doubts that the Iron were good enough to compete in League One, the start of the season they had left an impression that they were a decent side with obvious mental problems - they drew nine of their opening 15 games, often from winning positions, and it was already clear at that point that there would be no promotion push for the Iron this season. However, things got worse: a 12 game run from mid October to the end of the year saw the Iron managing only one win, but the club made the choice to stick with Knill, and their trust was eventually rewarded, as the manager heavily exploited the loan market, and some of his signings, such as Jamie Reckford, David Mirfin and Jon Parkin played key roles in the club's end of season surge that eventually resulted in survival in the division. However, there is little doubt that, as a whole, the season was a disappointing one, and the fact that the club released 10 players right after the season ended heralds a summer of busy transfer activity around Glanford Park.

Player of the Season: Sam Slocombe