Scunthorpe.

It's all bringing back memories of our first season down there, and to be fair, its bloody great from an outside point of view!

Quoted from RonMariner

Wow, this has gotta be hurting their fans.

I was pleased when they got relegated, mainly because it felt like payback for the gloating some of their fans did when we were at rock bottom. But I wouldn't like to see them disappear completely because the occasional derby game against them is always a lively event, For the foreseeable future it looks like this will only happen in a cup competition as I doubt they will be back in the EFL for a while.

Regarding any takeover, the problem is going to be the ground.  Swann's company owns it and effectively paid £11 million for it. So a prospective buyer faces the choice of buying the club without a ground, which Swann might not agree to, or agreeing a price with Swann for the ground.

From  Swann's perspective he can either accept a few million for the ground or, alternatively, sell the club only, and then sell off the land the ground stands on for development. It would depend on which gave him more cash unless he is feeling generous.

I have no idea how much the ground is worth as real estate. But it looks like a similar situation to the Derby County saga. Mel Morris bought the ground for £80 million as a way of getting funds into the club without breaching fair pay rules. In the end I think the new owners paid him around £22 million for it, which is probably less than it would cost to build a new one.    

I could see a scenario where a consortium buys the club without the ground, and then has to ground share for a while. Not a great prospect, but at least they would be debt free. The problem is that ground sharing, as we saw with Coventry City, inevitably drives gates down.

Boy oh boy. Yet another club wrecked by poor ownership. It might have been us.

I'm pretty sure we all know how lucky we were when 2 tyre kickers bought Town. Those at Glanford Park are now looking up at us.

Quoted from RonMariner

Wow, this has gotta be hurting their fans.

I was pleased when they got relegated, mainly because it felt like payback for the gloating some of their fans did when we were at rock bottom. But I wouldn't like to see them disappear completely because the occasional derby game against them is always a lively event, For the foreseeable future it looks like this will only happen in a cup competition as I doubt they will be back in the EFL for a while.

Regarding any takeover, the problem is going to be the ground.  Swann's company owns it and effectively paid £11 million for it. So a prospective buyer faces the choice of buying the club without a ground, which Swann might not agree to, or agreeing a price with Swann for the ground.

From  Swann's perspective he can either accept a few million for the ground or, alternatively, sell the club only, and then sell off the land the ground stands on for development. It would depend on which gave him more cash unless he is feeling generous.

I have no idea how much the ground is worth as real estate. But it looks like a similar situation to the Derby County saga. Mel Morris bought the ground for £80 million as a way of getting funds into the club without breaching fair pay rules. In the end I think the new owners paid him around £22 million for it, which is probably less than it would cost to build a new one.    

I could see a scenario where a consortium buys the club without the ground, and then has to ground share for a while. Not a great prospect, but at least they would be debt free. The problem is that ground sharing, as we saw with Coventry City, inevitably drives gates down.

Boy oh boy. Yet another club wrecked by poor ownership. It might have been us.

I’ve met Mr Swann. He takes arrogant to another level. Karma.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

I’ve met Mr Swann. He takes arrogant to another level. Karma.

It's not him I feel for. It's those genuine fans that will have to live with the consequences of his ownership long after he has gone.

Quoted from GollyGTFC

Scunthorpe were always going to struggle in the National League. When was the last time someone finishing 24th in League 2 did well in their first season down there?

Thanks. My digestive has just plummeted, quicker than the Scunts, to the bottom of my mug of tea over that!

Quoted from MuddyWaters

I’ve met Mr Swann. He takes arrogant to another level. Karma.

I’ve met him aswell but he’s not the worst I’ve met 😎

Quoted from MuddyWaters

I’ve met Mr Swann. He takes arrogant to another level. Karma.

Have you met fenty too? Who was more arrogant in your opinion?

My money would be on Swann.

Quoted from toontown

Have you met fenty too? Who was more arrogant in your opinion?

My money would be on Swann.

When you’ve had the displeasure of meeting Fenty, Swann and Steve Evans it’s impossible to choose…

     I guess I've mellowed in old age and like to think I've got some perspective now. Living here in the US and mostly following Town through the internet and one or two live games on my annual trip to the UK probably plays into this too, but I have to say that the current state of Scunthorpe United gives me very little pleasure. Yes, I'm fine with them being in the National League and learning what it's all about the hard way, just as Town had to do for several years, but I'm not going to be gloating and hoping they drop into the NL North or go out of business. I genuinely hope that at the very least they can avoid relegation, get decent new owners, and start the slow process of building towards at least having a realistic shot at getting back into the football league.

    It took us 6 long years of gradual year on year improvement to get back first time and I'll be perfectly fine if a similar scenario awaits Scunny, but their genuine supporters deserve that, at least. And who knows what the next few years hold for Town? Right now, everything looks positive, and all seems to be heading in the right direction with capable people who know their business in charge both behind the scenes and on the field, but things can change in football and a few poor results can make things look very different. We've been there, we know that, and it hurts. Also, from a Town perspective, games against Scunthorpe have always had a little bit of extra spice about them. It would be a pity to never have that again. Hull City operate in a different orbit these days and Lincoln and Doncaster have never really been seen as the local rivals we all love to hate, so yes, I wish Scunthorpe survival and eventual success. "Eventual" being the operative word!

  

All of this unravelling has been obvious to outsiders. I will never cease to be amazed that Swann’s son was in charge of recruitment and that prior to appointing Cox, they bought a load of players and then expected Cox to mould them into a team. We all knew relegation was nailed on for them last year, and we all knew they’d see their own arses once they’d been beaten by the likes of [insert National league team].

Doesn’t matter who they appoint, they’re copulated. It’s just a case of how far they fall now.