Football Season Guide

Gary Neville was something of a shining light as the Covid-19 pandemic hit the North West in Spring. The football pundit allowed his Manchester hotels to be used by NHS staff during lockdown. It was a gesture which drew a stark reflection to the cut-throat business of professional. Meanwhile his Salford City side saw their inaugural Football League season come to a premature end, with an 11th-place finish in League 2 decided by the PPG method. The season still hasn’t quite ended however, as they face Portsmouth in the final of the EFL Trophy at Wembley, on a date still to be decided. It was a frustrating league campaign for everyone at Moor Lane, including manager Graham Alexander, who was unable to find an answer to this side’s inconsistency, especially at home. They invested heavily again, with several players struggling to justify that investment. One of the success stories came in striker Brandon Asante-Thomas, who burst onto the scene before Christmas with some exciting displays. Alexander has looked to Vaclav Hladky to solve his goalkeeping problems, having enjoyed a stellar season with St Mirren. Centre-backs Jordan Turnbull and Tom Clarke and striker Ian Henderson look to be excellent additions to a strong squad and they should be challenging for the top seven this time around.