Scunthorpe Utd v Rochdale ... I was there.

My excuses for going are  A:  we didn't have a game  B: my mate is a big Scunny supporter  C: I wanted to glorify in their current plight.

I met my buddy at the Sands Venue stadium and was duly charged £5 to enter the car park. We proceeded to walk to the front of the ground which was waterlogged in many places  (probably needed the drainage sorting out .... but that would cost money)
     We went to the ticket office and there was a bloke in there who hadn't been for a while (there are plenty like that at Scunny) and was buying a 2022 calendar. 'most of the players in it aren't here anymore' said the woman behind the counter. The bloke said he wouldn't know many of them anyway. 'maybe these two gents would know some of them' she replied ... pointing to me and my mate. 'I haven't got a clue' I said. I so wanted to ask if John McAtee played for them, I really did..... but I was in a hornet's nest.
     Anyway, we walked into the ground ............ and what a depressing sight greeted me. We think Blundell Park is bad, but by jaysus, this place looks tired and neglected ....... it really does. A lick of paint would most definitely make a difference (but that costs money). The scoreboard doesn't work and hasn't done all season  (it would cost money to replace ... 14 grand apparently). No programmes available (they cost money to print so its digital versions only).
     The pitch look in a half decent shape but the stretch where the linos run was waterlogged. The referee was Bobby Madley and he was a little concerned and mentioned it to a groundsman with a pitch fork who did absolutely nothing about it.
     FIRST HALF: Rochdale came out wearing Black & White striped shirts, black shorts and socks..... I really couldnt believe it. Match kicked off and within two minutes the lino on the other side of the pitch slipped and went down on his ar$e but was okay after a few minutes.
     I wasn't very impressed with Rochdale, in fact I was totally disappointed with them. They were so bad in the first half that they made Scunthorpe look good and it was no surprise when the home side took the lead (I remained on my seat when they did btw). Some of the home support were thinking that their team were playing well  .... they weren't, it was because Rochdale were offering absolutely nothing.
     SECOND HALF: I didn't realise that former Town player Robbie Stockdale was the manager of Rochdale. Whatever he had said at half time certainly worked as they were totally the opposite of the team that had struggled so badly in the first half. Scunthorpe couldn't handle this rejuvenated 'Dale' and had no answers whatsoever.
     When the equaliser came, I actually kind of cheered but then (realising where I was) disguised it by berating the home defence for not putting a challenge in. There was only going to be one winner after this and it was never in a million years going to be the iron. When the winning goal came I managed to nullify myself for safety reasons (I really wanted to let myself go and strip off to my Town shirt). Rochdale fans spewed onto the pitch, danced about and then casually went back into their end .... the stewards were poor at crowd control in my opinion.
     Scunthorpe were very poor in the second half, they seemed to accept the inevitable when Rochdale got the equaliser and it was as though they expected to lose the game.
     They are going down without a doubt. Most of their players wont be there next season and most of them probably don't want to be. Keith Hill can talk about committing himself for next season, but I am not convinced that he will be or if the fans want him to be.
     What will Mr Swann do when it happens. The Sands Venue Stadium (which he owns) needs money spending on it. He states that the club can only spend what it generates ....... my mate is looking at the National League as a short stay ... and he is not talking about getting promoted.

MY VERDICT:  They are in for another season of struggle and we will fill their away end next season.
    

😀good read

I can see the Scunts going the same way as Bradford Park Avenue - remember them?

Great piece of reporting, I’m not sure what the ambition of Peter Swan is ( and to be honest don’t really care ) but he seems like Fenty in disguise and just not willing to spend any money on the team or stadium which his company owns. I think he has been using his wife’s money and she has told him No More!!

Quoted from tintowner

My excuses for going are  A:  we didn't have a game  B: my mate is a big Scunny supporter  C: I wanted to glorify in their current plight.

I met my buddy at the Sands Venue stadium and was duly charged £5 to enter the car park. We proceeded to walk to the front of the ground which was waterlogged in many places  (probably needed the drainage sorting out .... but that would cost money)
     We went to the ticket office and there was a bloke in there who hadn't been for a while (there are plenty like that at Scunny) and was buying a 2022 calendar. 'most of the players in it aren't here anymore' said the woman behind the counter. The bloke said he wouldn't know many of them anyway. 'maybe these two gents would know some of them' she replied ... pointing to me and my mate. 'I haven't got a clue' I said. I so wanted to ask if John McAtee played for them, I really did..... but I was in a hornet's nest.
     Anyway, we walked into the ground ............ and what a depressing sight greeted me. We think Blundell Park is bad, but by jaysus, this place looks tired and neglected ....... it really does. A lick of paint would most definitely make a difference (but that costs money). The scoreboard doesn't work and hasn't done all season  (it would cost money to replace ... 14 grand apparently). No programmes available (they cost money to print so its digital versions only).
     The pitch look in a half decent shape but the stretch where the linos run was waterlogged. The referee was Bobby Madley and he was a little concerned and mentioned it to a groundsman with a pitch fork who did absolutely nothing about it.
     FIRST HALF: Rochdale came out wearing Black & White striped shirts, black shorts and socks..... I really couldnt believe it. Match kicked off and within two minutes the lino on the other side of the pitch slipped and went down on his ar$e but was okay after a few minutes.
     I wasn't very impressed with Rochdale, in fact I was totally disappointed with them. They were so bad in the first half that they made Scunthorpe look good and it was no surprise when the home side took the lead (I remained on my seat when they did btw). Some of the home support were thinking that their team were playing well  .... they weren't, it was because Rochdale were offering absolutely nothing.
     SECOND HALF: I didn't realise that former Town player Robbie Stockdale was the manager of Rochdale. Whatever he had said at half time certainly worked as they were totally the opposite of the team that had struggled so badly in the first half. Scunthorpe couldn't handle this rejuvenated 'Dale' and had no answers whatsoever.
     When the equaliser came, I actually kind of cheered but then (realising where I was) disguised it by berating the home defence for not putting a challenge in. There was only going to be one winner after this and it was never in a million years going to be the iron. When the winning goal came I managed to nullify myself for safety reasons (I really wanted to let myself go and strip off to my Town shirt). Rochdale fans spewed onto the pitch, danced about and then casually went back into their end .... the stewards were poor at crowd control in my opinion.
     Scunthorpe were very poor in the second half, they seemed to accept the inevitable when Rochdale got the equaliser and it was as though they expected to lose the game.
     They are going down without a doubt. Most of their players wont be there next season and most of them probably don't want to be. Keith Hill can talk about committing himself for next season, but I am not convinced that he will be or if the fans want him to be.
     What will Mr Swann do when it happens. The Sands Venue Stadium (which he owns) needs money spending on it. He states that the club can only spend what it generates ....... my mate is looking at the National League as a short stay ... and he is not talking about getting promoted.

MY VERDICT:  They are in for another season of struggle and we will fill their away end next season.
    

Interesting.............. I hope you showered when you got home.

Quoted from Spurn boy

Great piece of reporting, I’m not sure what the ambition of Peter Swan is ( and to be honest don’t really care ) but he seems like Fenty in disguise and just not willing to spend any money on the team or stadium which his company owns. I think he has been using his wife’s money and she has told him No More!!

Swanny thinks of himself as a well heeled playboy and expects people to fall at his feet. Think Mrs Swann prefers horse racing to football!

I remember Scunthorpe fans saying they were  coming to the Barnet home game, to watch town go down . We won to prolong the agony .

Most relegated teams believe that they will come straight back up from NL.  They will be in for a rude awakening.  

Yeah, I was surprised when I saw the goals on Quest. Looked like they were playing Town.

Quoted from rancido

I can see the Scunts going the same way as Bradford Park Avenue - remember them?

No.

Quoted from tintowner

My excuses for going are  A:  we didn't have a game  B: my mate is a big Scunny supporter  C: I wanted to glorify in their current plight.

I met my buddy at the Sands Venue stadium and was duly charged £5 to enter the car park. We proceeded to walk to the front of the ground which was waterlogged in many places  (probably needed the drainage sorting out .... but that would cost money)
     We went to the ticket office and there was a bloke in there who hadn't been for a while (there are plenty like that at Scunny) and was buying a 2022 calendar. 'most of the players in it aren't here anymore' said the woman behind the counter. The bloke said he wouldn't know many of them anyway. 'maybe these two gents would know some of them' she replied ... pointing to me and my mate. 'I haven't got a clue' I said. I so wanted to ask if John McAtee played for them, I really did..... but I was in a hornet's nest.
     Anyway, we walked into the ground ............ and what a depressing sight greeted me. We think Blundell Park is bad, but by jaysus, this place looks tired and neglected ....... it really does. A lick of paint would most definitely make a difference (but that costs money). The scoreboard doesn't work and hasn't done all season  (it would cost money to replace ... 14 grand apparently). No programmes available (they cost money to print so its digital versions only).
     The pitch look in a half decent shape but the stretch where the linos run was waterlogged. The referee was Bobby Madley and he was a little concerned and mentioned it to a groundsman with a pitch fork who did absolutely nothing about it.
     FIRST HALF: Rochdale came out wearing Black & White striped shirts, black shorts and socks..... I really couldnt believe it. Match kicked off and within two minutes the lino on the other side of the pitch slipped and went down on his ar$e but was okay after a few minutes.
     I wasn't very impressed with Rochdale, in fact I was totally disappointed with them. They were so bad in the first half that they made Scunthorpe look good and it was no surprise when the home side took the lead (I remained on my seat when they did btw). Some of the home support were thinking that their team were playing well  .... they weren't, it was because Rochdale were offering absolutely nothing.
     SECOND HALF: I didn't realise that former Town player Robbie Stockdale was the manager of Rochdale. Whatever he had said at half time certainly worked as they were totally the opposite of the team that had struggled so badly in the first half. Scunthorpe couldn't handle this rejuvenated 'Dale' and had no answers whatsoever.
     When the equaliser came, I actually kind of cheered but then (realising where I was) disguised it by berating the home defence for not putting a challenge in. There was only going to be one winner after this and it was never in a million years going to be the iron. When the winning goal came I managed to nullify myself for safety reasons (I really wanted to let myself go and strip off to my Town shirt). Rochdale fans spewed onto the pitch, danced about and then casually went back into their end .... the stewards were poor at crowd control in my opinion.
     Scunthorpe were very poor in the second half, they seemed to accept the inevitable when Rochdale got the equaliser and it was as though they expected to lose the game.
     They are going down without a doubt. Most of their players wont be there next season and most of them probably don't want to be. Keith Hill can talk about committing himself for next season, but I am not convinced that he will be or if the fans want him to be.
     What will Mr Swann do when it happens. The Sands Venue Stadium (which he owns) needs money spending on it. He states that the club can only spend what it generates ....... my mate is looking at the National League as a short stay ... and he is not talking about getting promoted.

MY VERDICT:  They are in for another season of struggle and we will fill their away end next season.
    

Tintowner - stop it, you are in danger of me pitching a tent. It’s a good job I’m at home, I would be arrested if out in public……

Did you double their attendance?

its got to be C surely

Sounds a thoroughly depressing environment. I remember some Scunts fans coming on here to rub it in when they were riding high and gloating when we went down first time.

I think the lesson here is to take care when start gloating, you never know when it could happen to you.

I feel sorry for some of their decent fans, but to the gloaters I have to say that it’s a kind of karma.

What goes around comes around.

What was the attendance? I haven’t seen scunny this year but I’ve seen Oldham, who are absolutely terrible but won yesterday somehow. I think Scunny are absolutely down and I do think that the best teams in the NL are superior to the worst in L2 this year.

Quoted from RonMariner

Sounds a thoroughly depressing environment. I remember some Scunts fans coming on here to rub it in when they were riding high and gloating when we went down first time.

I think the lesson here is to take care when start gloating, you never know when it could happen to you.

I feel sorry for some of their decent fans, but to the gloaters I have to say that it’s a kind of karma.

What goes around comes around.

Yep, I remember them gloating, same as some Lincoln fans and Hartlepool fans when they took some of our players. I replied by saying, "what goes around, comes around".

Think Lincoln were relegated to non league a year after us and Hartlepool the year after we came up.

Now It's the turn of Scunny. No way are they avoiding relegation.

I think they’re gone, but the other place looks less certain. Not many points between the bottom 7 or 8. Carlisle now second bottom after Oldham’s little revival recently. To be honest, when I saw Oldham at Harrogate recently (when they were easily and comprehensively dismantled) I thought they looked nailed on for relegation and that our current team would have turned them over without too much trouble.

Quoted from chaos33

What was the attendance? I haven’t seen scunny this year but I’ve seen Oldham, who are absolutely terrible but won yesterday somehow. I think Scunny are absolutely down and I do think that the best teams in the NL are superior to the worst in L2 this year.

2548… but I guess nearly 1/4 of them were from Rochdale! Oh, and 1 was a lost town fan!

Quoted from thefish

2548… but I guess nearly 1/4 of them were from Rochdale! Oh, and 1 was a lost town fan!

The support there is completely apathetic. The one thing you'll always give to our support, they turn up when were in a relegation dog fight

Quoted from tintowner

My excuses for going are  A:  we didn't have a game  B: my mate is a big Scunny supporter  C: I wanted to glorify in their current plight.

I met my buddy at the Sands Venue stadium and was duly charged £5 to enter the car park. We proceeded to walk to the front of the ground which was waterlogged in many places  (probably needed the drainage sorting out .... but that would cost money)
     We went to the ticket office and there was a bloke in there who hadn't been for a while (there are plenty like that at Scunny) and was buying a 2022 calendar. 'most of the players in it aren't here anymore' said the woman behind the counter. The bloke said he wouldn't know many of them anyway. 'maybe these two gents would know some of them' she replied ... pointing to me and my mate. 'I haven't got a clue' I said. I so wanted to ask if John McAtee played for them, I really did..... but I was in a hornet's nest.
     Anyway, we walked into the ground ............ and what a depressing sight greeted me. We think Blundell Park is bad, but by jaysus, this place looks tired and neglected ....... it really does. A lick of paint would most definitely make a difference (but that costs money). The scoreboard doesn't work and hasn't done all season  (it would cost money to replace ... 14 grand apparently). No programmes available (they cost money to print so its digital versions only).
     The pitch look in a half decent shape but the stretch where the linos run was waterlogged. The referee was Bobby Madley and he was a little concerned and mentioned it to a groundsman with a pitch fork who did absolutely nothing about it.
     FIRST HALF: Rochdale came out wearing Black & White striped shirts, black shorts and socks..... I really couldnt believe it. Match kicked off and within two minutes the lino on the other side of the pitch slipped and went down on his ar$e but was okay after a few minutes.
     I wasn't very impressed with Rochdale, in fact I was totally disappointed with them. They were so bad in the first half that they made Scunthorpe look good and it was no surprise when the home side took the lead (I remained on my seat when they did btw). Some of the home support were thinking that their team were playing well  .... they weren't, it was because Rochdale were offering absolutely nothing.
     SECOND HALF: I didn't realise that former Town player Robbie Stockdale was the manager of Rochdale. Whatever he had said at half time certainly worked as they were totally the opposite of the team that had struggled so badly in the first half. Scunthorpe couldn't handle this rejuvenated 'Dale' and had no answers whatsoever.
     When the equaliser came, I actually kind of cheered but then (realising where I was) disguised it by berating the home defence for not putting a challenge in. There was only going to be one winner after this and it was never in a million years going to be the iron. When the winning goal came I managed to nullify myself for safety reasons (I really wanted to let myself go and strip off to my Town shirt). Rochdale fans spewed onto the pitch, danced about and then casually went back into their end .... the stewards were poor at crowd control in my opinion.
     Scunthorpe were very poor in the second half, they seemed to accept the inevitable when Rochdale got the equaliser and it was as though they expected to lose the game.
     They are going down without a doubt. Most of their players wont be there next season and most of them probably don't want to be. Keith Hill can talk about committing himself for next season, but I am not convinced that he will be or if the fans want him to be.
     What will Mr Swann do when it happens. The Sands Venue Stadium (which he owns) needs money spending on it. He states that the club can only spend what it generates ....... my mate is looking at the National League as a short stay ... and he is not talking about getting promoted.

MY VERDICT:  They are in for another season of struggle and we will fill their away end next season.
    

Quite enjoyed that report...at first, for the gloat and it was well put together and quite funny.

Then I moved onto our experiences this season...win, lose or draw, we are OK, we are thereabouts, well supported and we are in a good place, all on board and supporting our team with great new people at the helm. A future.

Then I go back to Scunny and what a f***ing desperate depressing place they are at.
I feel their pain, I really do. No investment. Chairman wants out, but literally no fan base to sell on, no sell- on assets. All I can think to say is this:

Whose that team that comes from Grimsby
Who's that team we all adore
We play in black and white
We're f'in dynamite
And we live in Cleethorpes by the shore.. (doctored version).

Quoted from rancido

I can see the Scunts going the same way as Bradford Park Avenue - remember them?

I do, indeed, remember them.
I’m sure I saw us play them WAY back. 1-0 up at half time, I’d got a new rattle and wrote all the town player’ names on it with a borrowed biro…….we lost 5-1 and I binned the rattle. Pretty sure that Trevor Hockey was in their team. Great big beard n long hair…blimey now HE was a hard sodomist….and this was in the 60’s when hard men were in every team but he stood out!

I realise that referring to things like ‘biro’ and ‘rattle’ will leave most fishy members completely baffled but there’s a few vintage members out there who’ll know what I’m talking about.

I’ll get my coat…..

Quoted from mariners1

I do, indeed, remember them.
I’m sure I saw us play them WAY back. 1-0 up at half time, I’d got a new rattle and wrote all the town player’ names on it with a borrowed biro…….we lost 5-1 and I binned the rattle. Pretty sure that Trevor Hockey was in their team. Great big beard n long hair…blimey now HE was a hard sodomist….and this was in the 60’s when hard men were in every team but he stood out!

I realise that referring to things like ‘biro’ and ‘rattle’ will leave most fishy members completely baffled but there’s a few vintage members out there who’ll know what I’m talking about.

I’ll get my coat…..

Trevor played for City not PA, but I do remember us playing them either late 60s or early 70s. White shirts, with a couple of hoops around the chest, black shorts (I just checked and last time we played them was 69).

Quoted from tanga_the_indestructible

Trevor played for City not PA, but I do remember us playing them either late 60s or early 70s. White shirts, with a couple of hoops around the chest, black shorts (I just checked and last time we played them was 69).

Yeah, TH played for Bradford City (2 seperate spells) I don't think he ever played for PA. It was a massive shock in the late 80's (I think) when he died from a heart attack as he was only in his early 40's

I expect their stadium will be a Currys/PC World with a Premier Inn/Generic Pub within 5 years.

Knew it was going wrong for them when they/Swann Jr signed a load of players just before Neil Cox was appointed. In the words of Peter Cook, "That's no way to run a f**king ballroom".

There's always that shitty little athletics ground on the other side of the railway track

Quoted from AdamHaddock

There's always that shitty little athletics ground on the other side of the railway track

Dont you denegrate the wonderful Quibell Park, spent many great nights as a teen watching speedway, and summers doing inter school sports

Quoted from rancido

I can see the Scunts going the same way as Bradford Park Avenue - remember them?

That would be the team that is currently just one division below us. I remember them knocking us out of the FA cup and being absolutely gutted.

Scunny fan. Before I begin, I must say that I am not one who gloated at past Grimsby misery (you can check my posting history if you don't believe me).

But, yeah, the club is in an absolute state and too many, including myself, have been too oblivious to the nature of Swann. It should have been a warning sign when he started egotistical legal actions against anyone remotely critical, started hounding the local press or when he appointed his own flipping son as chief scout (and claimed it was the manager's choice, in some Trumpian word play). However, we were too giddy about his false promises and competing at the right end of league one to notice.

He will no doubt blame everything on covid, but we're not unique or say that he gave it a go this January with some signings. However, it's too little too late. The damage has been done with the shambolic transfer policies of the past. Who in their right mind would want to come here now?

And it's not just the squad. As poor as the transfers have been and abysmal handling of contracts (which was a problem when we were in league one) there is the off field disasters. The scoreboard doesn't work, the drains are blocked, the toilets clogged, seats covered in bird poo, food is awful (literally a hot dog in a bun with no onion, mustard, ketchup or anything else) and is often out of stock. Then there's the shoddy bar service, where staff would rather have a chat among themselves than serve you.

Some of these may seem trivial, but they all add up to a perception that the club is run amateurishly. Stuff like poor food can be forgiven if everything else is fine, but it isn't. Clogged toilets and blocked drains are indicative of institutional rot. Then there's the fact  Swann has asset stripped us and has us bang to rights with owning the ground via his company. But, he says he will give it back at the end of the season. Though, he previously said it protected us for 99 years. God knows what he intends, but everything is contradictory and untrustworthy. The guy is an irascible and arrogant egoist whenever he is interviewed. This shameless chancer has destroyed everything about this club. It no longer feels like a club with spirit or community feel. It feels like a zombie club somehow clinging on.

I think everyone's jaded. He even destroyed what protest spirit we had. Back in October there was growing discontent with protests being mooted, then he promised to change and everyone just hoped. Now it feels dead and powerless. I hope something changes soon, hopefully our more boisterous fans let their feelings known soon, because it looks like more false promises and disaster under Swann. Especially, if (as many fear) he wants to scrap our stadium for his apartment plans.

Quoted from RonMariner

Sounds a thoroughly depressing environment. I remember some Scunts fans coming on here to rub it in when they were riding high and gloating when we went down first time.

I think the lesson here is to take care when start gloating, you never know when it could happen to you.

I feel sorry for some of their decent fans, but to the gloaters I have to say that it’s a kind of karma.

What goes around comes around.

Surely it depends on the nature of it? I remember joking with a Grimsby acquaintance about whether Town are playing the Dog and Duck this weekend back when Grimsby first went into non-league.

However, ultimately, I didn't mean any malice with that and would rather us be in the same division, ideally in league one or somewhere, not the conference.

Quoted from Lee Hodges Burger

Scunny fan. Before I begin, I must say that I am not one who gloated at past Grimsby misery (you can check my posting history if you don't believe me).

But, yeah, the club is in an absolute state and too many, including myself, have been too oblivious to the nature of Swann. It should have been a warning sign when he started egotistical legal actions against anyone remotely critical, started hounding the local press or when he appointed his own flipping son as chief scout (and claimed it was the manager's choice, in some Trumpian word play). However, we were too giddy about his false promises and competing at the right end of league one to notice.

He will no doubt blame everything on covid, but we're not unique or say that he gave it a go this January with some signings. However, it's too little too late. The damage has been done with the shambolic transfer policies of the past. Who in their right mind would want to come here now?

And it's not just the squad. As poor as the transfers have been and abysmal handling of contracts (which was a problem when we were in league one) there is the off field disasters. The scoreboard doesn't work, the drains are blocked, the toilets clogged, seats covered in bird poo, food is awful (literally a hot dog in a bun with no onion, mustard, ketchup or anything else) and is often out of stock. Then there's the shoddy bar service, where staff would rather have a chat among themselves than serve you.

Some of these may seem trivial, but they all add up to a perception that the club is run amateurishly. Stuff like poor food can be forgiven if everything else is fine, but it isn't. Clogged toilets and blocked drains are indicative of institutional rot. Then there's the fact  Swann has asset stripped us and has us bang to rights with owning the ground via his company. But, he says he will give it back at the end of the season. Though, he previously said it protected us for 99 years. God knows what he intends, but everything is contradictory and untrustworthy. The guy is an irascible and arrogant egoist whenever he is interviewed. This shameless chancer has destroyed everything about this club. It no longer feels like a club with spirit or community feel. It feels like a zombie club somehow clinging on.

I think everyone's jaded. He even destroyed what protest spirit we had. Back in October there was growing discontent with protests being mooted, then he promised to change and everyone just hoped. Now it feels dead and powerless. I hope something changes soon, hopefully our more boisterous fans let their feelings known soon, because it looks like more false promises and disaster under Swann. Especially, if (as many fear) he wants to scrap our stadium for his apartment plans.

i remember Swann saying " dont you dare compare me to him"- Him Being John Fenty

they are exactly the same

Feel for people like yourself Lee who have to suffer as we did. Nice Post and welcome back here, hopefully people will see you're a genuine concerned fan and not on here to cause disruption

Quoted from Lee Hodges Burger

Scunny fan. Before I begin, I must say that I am not one who gloated at past Grimsby misery (you can check my posting history if you don't believe me).

But, yeah, the club is in an absolute state and too many, including myself, have been too oblivious to the nature of Swann. It should have been a warning sign when he started egotistical legal actions against anyone remotely critical, started hounding the local press or when he appointed his own flipping son as chief scout (and claimed it was the manager's choice, in some Trumpian word play). However, we were too giddy about his false promises and competing at the right end of league one to notice.

He will no doubt blame everything on covid, but we're not unique or say that he gave it a go this January with some signings. However, it's too little too late. The damage has been done with the shambolic transfer policies of the past. Who in their right mind would want to come here now?

And it's not just the squad. As poor as the transfers have been and abysmal handling of contracts (which was a problem when we were in league one) there is the off field disasters. The scoreboard doesn't work, the drains are blocked, the toilets clogged, seats covered in bird poo, food is awful (literally a hot dog in a bun with no onion, mustard, ketchup or anything else) and is often out of stock. Then there's the shoddy bar service, where staff would rather have a chat among themselves than serve you.

Some of these may seem trivial, but they all add up to a perception that the club is run amateurishly. Stuff like poor food can be forgiven if everything else is fine, but it isn't. Clogged toilets and blocked drains are indicative of institutional rot. Then there's the fact  Swann has asset stripped us and has us bang to rights with owning the ground via his company. But, he says he will give it back at the end of the season. Though, he previously said it protected us for 99 years. God knows what he intends, but everything is contradictory and untrustworthy. The guy is an irascible and arrogant egoist whenever he is interviewed. This shameless chancer has destroyed everything about this club. It no longer feels like a club with spirit or community feel. It feels like a zombie club somehow clinging on.

I think everyone's jaded. He even destroyed what protest spirit we had. Back in October there was growing discontent with protests being mooted, then he promised to change and everyone just hoped. Now it feels dead and powerless. I hope something changes soon, hopefully our more boisterous fans let their feelings known soon, because it looks like more false promises and disaster under Swann. Especially, if (as many fear) he wants to scrap our stadium for his apartment plans.

So many parallels.

Quoted from Lee Hodges Burger

Scunny fan. Before I begin, I must say that I am not one who gloated at past Grimsby misery (you can check my posting history if you don't believe me).

But, yeah, the club is in an absolute state and too many, including myself, have been too oblivious to the nature of Swann. It should have been a warning sign when he started egotistical legal actions against anyone remotely critical, started hounding the local press or when he appointed his own flipping son as chief scout (and claimed it was the manager's choice, in some Trumpian word play). However, we were too giddy about his false promises and competing at the right end of league one to notice.

He will no doubt blame everything on covid, but we're not unique or say that he gave it a go this January with some signings. However, it's too little too late. The damage has been done with the shambolic transfer policies of the past. Who in their right mind would want to come here now?

And it's not just the squad. As poor as the transfers have been and abysmal handling of contracts (which was a problem when we were in league one) there is the off field disasters. The scoreboard doesn't work, the drains are blocked, the toilets clogged, seats covered in bird poo, food is awful (literally a hot dog in a bun with no onion, mustard, ketchup or anything else) and is often out of stock. Then there's the shoddy bar service, where staff would rather have a chat among themselves than serve you.

Some of these may seem trivial, but they all add up to a perception that the club is run amateurishly. Stuff like poor food can be forgiven if everything else is fine, but it isn't. Clogged toilets and blocked drains are indicative of institutional rot. Then there's the fact  Swann has asset stripped us and has us bang to rights with owning the ground via his company. But, he says he will give it back at the end of the season. Though, he previously said it protected us for 99 years. God knows what he intends, but everything is contradictory and untrustworthy. The guy is an irascible and arrogant egoist whenever he is interviewed. This shameless chancer has destroyed everything about this club. It no longer feels like a club with spirit or community feel. It feels like a zombie club somehow clinging on.

I think everyone's jaded. He even destroyed what protest spirit we had. Back in October there was growing discontent with protests being mooted, then he promised to change and everyone just hoped. Now it feels dead and powerless. I hope something changes soon, hopefully our more boisterous fans let their feelings known soon, because it looks like more false promises and disaster under Swann. Especially, if (as many fear) he wants to scrap our stadium for his apartment plans.

What is his reason for giving the ground back at the end of the season rather than now? Be interesting to see if he follows through with that promise.

So many parallels between Swann and the man he hates being compared to but in many ways, Swann is a lot worse.

For all his faults, Fenty never flogged Blundell park and wasted what money he got.

Once we've paid him off he is gone. It won't be that easy for scunny to pay off Swann and buy the ground back, and that is if they can find someone to take it on.

I know a lot of scunny fans and I feel for them. Yes we had banter but the ones I know never rubbed my nose in it.

They are in a lot worse mess than we were, but we got lucky, in that there were a couple of fans that took it on.

This is were the EFL fall down for me, yes Swann owns the clubs etc, but with neglect there should be a kick him out clause or if the club was mistreated then the club gets re-processed and handed to the trust etc or something like that.  I can see Swanny being a little sh*t if the fans decide to protest more and more.  i fear what will happen next for Scunny.  Some wont give two hoots, but i generally feel for the fans we are rivals and this shouldnt be ignored (rivalry is important).  I'm not sure without someone willing to pay him off were i see a future for them.

Swann Out

Just think, if Fenty had still been in charge now, and our crowds were down to 2500, with none of the improvements made since May, there’d be people on here who’d be saying “be careful what you wish for, we could be in Bury’s position or Scunthorpe’s”.

Quoted from mimma

For all his faults, Fenty never flogged Blundell park and wasted what money he got.

Once we've paid him off he is gone. It won't be that easy for scunny to pay off Swann and buy the ground back, and that is if they can find someone to take it on.

I know a lot of scunny fans and I feel for them. Yes we had banter but the ones I know never rubbed my nose in it.

They are in a lot worse mess than we were, but we got lucky, in that there were a couple of fans that took it on.

1878 had to stump up £1.5m of their own personal money and their company had to underwrite the £1.5m loan so that's £3m they committed to pay between them. I know football fortune has settled a large portion of those loan repayments but they still had to guarantee the repayments.

Now that's a lot of money for a club heading into the fifth tier of English football and the only fixed asset of any major value being a 123 year old stadium in dire need of repair or replacement.

Whilst it's a lot of money, it's a drop in the ocean compared to what it would cost to get Scunthorpe into a similar position.

Quoted from Lee Hodges Burger

Scunny fan. Before I begin, I must say that I am not one who gloated at past Grimsby misery (you can check my posting history if you don't believe me).

But, yeah, the club is in an absolute state and too many, including myself, have been too oblivious to the nature of Swann. It should have been a warning sign when he started egotistical legal actions against anyone remotely critical, started hounding the local press or when he appointed his own flipping son as chief scout (and claimed it was the manager's choice, in some Trumpian word play). However, we were too giddy about his false promises and competing at the right end of league one to notice.

He will no doubt blame everything on covid, but we're not unique or say that he gave it a go this January with some signings. However, it's too little too late. The damage has been done with the shambolic transfer policies of the past. Who in their right mind would want to come here now?

And it's not just the squad. As poor as the transfers have been and abysmal handling of contracts (which was a problem when we were in league one) there is the off field disasters. The scoreboard doesn't work, the drains are blocked, the toilets clogged, seats covered in bird poo, food is awful (literally a hot dog in a bun with no onion, mustard, ketchup or anything else) and is often out of stock. Then there's the shoddy bar service, where staff would rather have a chat among themselves than serve you.

Some of these may seem trivial, but they all add up to a perception that the club is run amateurishly. Stuff like poor food can be forgiven if everything else is fine, but it isn't. Clogged toilets and blocked drains are indicative of institutional rot. Then there's the fact  Swann has asset stripped us and has us bang to rights with owning the ground via his company. But, he says he will give it back at the end of the season. Though, he previously said it protected us for 99 years. God knows what he intends, but everything is contradictory and untrustworthy. The guy is an irascible and arrogant egoist whenever he is interviewed. This shameless chancer has destroyed everything about this club. It no longer feels like a club with spirit or community feel. It feels like a zombie club somehow clinging on.

I think everyone's jaded. He even destroyed what protest spirit we had. Back in October there was growing discontent with protests being mooted, then he promised to change and everyone just hoped. Now it feels dead and powerless. I hope something changes soon, hopefully our more boisterous fans let their feelings known soon, because it looks like more false promises and disaster under Swann. Especially, if (as many fear) he wants to scrap our stadium for his apartment plans.

If you think it's bad now, wait until you are in non league (you are definitely heading there) and some team that was never previously on your radar puts 5 goals past you.

I remember what one fan posted on here when we got relegated in 2010. He was a fan of a long established non league team and he said "welcome to the league, pull up a chair by the fire, get comfortable, you will be here for a while". Stuck in my mind ever since.

He was right of course.

Going on last seasons final League 2 table Scunny now need more than 1.5 points per game to stay up, that's a tough call when they've only picked up 3 points of a last possible 30.

Assuming Scunny get relegated I think they have a big shock coming in the National League, the mighty Chesterfield nearly got relegated again first season in it.

Great bit of undercover reporting and a good thread to read. Was curious about how stockdale was getting on at rochdale and went to read their forum, on the latest matchthread they were talking about the pitch invaders and someone said

"The pitch invading at all levels has grown too much momentum. Cocaine, Stella, Stone Island and a U in your GCSE’s is a vicious cocktail. Unless something changes we will be seeing metal cages/screens installed in pre-season. It ruined the moment for our players."


Which I thought was interesting in relation to all the press we got before

Quoted from promotion plaice

Going on last seasons final League 2 table Scunny now need more than 1.5 points per game to stay up, that's a tough call when they've only picked up 3 points of a last possible 30.

Assuming Scunny get relegated I think they have a big shock coming in the National League, the mighty Chesterfield nearly got relegated again first season in it.

We won 10 games and drew 13: we finished bottom. They have won four all season and even if they did take 1.5 PPG from now, that would give them 43 points, which was the same points total as we got finishing last.

To get the 1.5 PPG, they would have to win 7 their remaining 14 games (obviously) and that still wouldn't be enough to guarantee getting off the bottom.

So yeah, they need considerably more than 1.5 a game. It aint happening.

Quoted from tanga_the_indestructible

Trevor played for City not PA, but I do remember us playing them either late 60s or early 70s. White shirts, with a couple of hoops around the chest, black shorts (I just checked and last time we played them was 69).

I remember seeing us play them at home but I'm sure they wore amber with 2 claret hoops. Think it was quite foggy. We played them at home twice that year in March and December. I think it was the March game as I can't see mum would have let me go on my own on Boxing day at 11 years old walking from our home on Hainton Avenue.

Quoted from thefish

2548… but I guess nearly 1/4 of them were from Rochdale! Oh, and 1 was a lost town fan!

I would have sympathy for Scunthorpe fans if they showed more passion. That attendance against a relegation rival was pathetic.

Six of their last nine defeats have only been by one goal. Rochdale's winner was a bit of a goalmouth scramble. A large, vocal crowd can influence the referee. It shouldn't do, but it often does.

The Iron have two tough games vs Northampton and Sutton. After that, their opponents are Crawley, Colchester, Barrow, Salford, Harrogate, FGR, Mansfield, Leyton Orient, Stevenage, Bradford, Hartlepool, Bristol Rovers. They will probably lose to Salford, FGR and Mansfield, but that still leaves a potential 27 points.

Quoted from White_shorts

I would have sympathy for Scunthorpe fans if they showed more passion. That attendance against a relegation rival was pathetic.

Six of their last nine defeats have only been by one goal. Rochdale's winner was a bit of a goalmouth scramble. A large, vocal crowd can influence the referee. It shouldn't do, but it often does.

The Iron have two tough games vs Northampton and Sutton. After that, their opponents are Crawley, Colchester, Barrow, Salford, Harrogate, FGR, Mansfield, Leyton Orient, Stevenage, Bradford, Hartlepool, Bristol Rovers. They will probably lose to Salford, FGR and Mansfield, but that still leaves a potential 27 points.

They’re all tough games when you’re in Scunny’s position.

Quoted from Lee Hodges Burger

Surely it depends on the nature of it? I remember joking with a Grimsby acquaintance about whether Town are playing the Dog and Duck this weekend back when Grimsby first went into non-league.

However, ultimately, I didn't mean any malice with that and would rather us be in the same division, ideally in league one or somewhere, not the conference.

You sound like a decent guy Lee, one of the genuine fans I feel sorry for.

Both of our clubs have been run into the ground by dreadful owners. It happens to a great many clubs. They get taken over by people with big ideas who ultimately bail out once their vanity project turns sour. These guys can clear off, but we fans are left with shattered clubs in dire straights.

We aren't the first and we won't be the last.    

£5 to get in the car park? That’s ridiculous. I haven’t paid that since my dogging days