Let's Go to 'head - National League 2022-23

[jwdd27]

Gateshead, that is, one of the few reasonably practical new away trips for me. I'm not much of a Cure fan so thread title improvements welcomed.

No new signings to speak of, but a "recruitment day" later in the month, which shows the level we're at and the budget we're working with.
The "Keith Hill knows what he's doing" hypothesis will really be tested, that's for sure, the absolute best I'm hoping for is to replicate Grimsby - struggle at first, adapt, late run to play offs.
More likely is struggle, brief improvement, crash and burn.

[Jobi1]

As of this moment, to the best of our knowledge (because the club are issuing the barest minimum of information), York have 1 (o-n-e) contracted senior player. Our best player from last season has already delivered the crushing blow of taking up the offer of a better opportunity along the A59 at Harrogate (sigh) and the word is several other of the dozen decent performers from last season's squad who were offered new terms are also set to reject them in favour of better offers elsewhere. Rumours are also abounding that our manager, the best one we've had in a decade, has had enough of our vile "Sporting Director" Dave Penney (you may remember him from thelikesof Doncaster) and is on the verge of quitting too.

In one of the only pronouncements we've heard from any of the club hierarchy in the last fortnight, the generally disliked owner, who the strong hints were was set to leave this summer, has announced that he's now going to stay on for at least another year – although the Supporters Trust are insisting that's not his decision to make, so there's a load of confusion, annoyance and uncertainty there too. Add in to all this the fact that we appear to be the only club in the whole of the top 6 levels in England who have not even announced any details of season ticket (and matchday) prices, much less actually got anything on sale, and it's safe to say that all the excitement, happiness and momentum of winning promotion just 2.5 weeks ago has gone already, thanks as always to the utter rank incompetence of the people running our club (and I use "running" in the very loosest sense).

Obviously, there are still a few weeks for some of these things to be resolved, so it's a little early to be hitting the panic button, but the way things stand, if we are to exit the division at the first time of asking, it seems much more likely to be back down again rather than continuing in an upward direction.

[jwdd27]

A signing! Andrew Boyce (32, CB) re-joins after six years away, the last 5 of them at Eastleigh. He wasn't quite 3rd division standard last time, but neither are we now, and I'm sure he'll be able to "do a job".

Welcome back Boycey. He posed for pics in an unannounced and uncommented on new royal blue shirt, which I *think* is just a training top, but which I think is quite nice
https://www.scunthorpe-united.co.uk/...-for-the-iron/

[Satchmo Distel]

Thread title suggestion: "You Must Be Woking!"

[ad hoc]

Thread title suggestion: "You Must Be Woking!"

You missed the memo about Cure song titles. I was trying to think of some kind of Plainmoor/ Plainsong mashup ("The National League - it's like the cold when you're dead") but I couldn't manage it

[Bizarre Löw Triangle]

Dorking Wanderers referring to a departing player using an anti traveller slur is incredibly grim.

[Bizarre Löw Triangle]

https://twitter.com/AgainstLeague3/status/1538528421868982274?t=v2SNFQRjgCYxEpOGPb9eTg&s=19

[DCI Harry Batt]

That is dreadful. Good on AL3 for calling it out.

[Sean of the Shed]

Seems to be a distinct lack of any acknowledgement of offence or apology from Dorking so far. It seems like they think by deleting it and pretending it never happened it might all just go away.

[jwdd27]

Plus Andrea Pirlo is of Romani descent, so is already a "pikey" in their words.
Isn't there a story about his surname coming from an Italian official mocking his non-Italian speaking grandfather by giving him a surname close to "pirla" (dickhead)?

[Guy Profumo]

Apropos the slur from Dorking Wanderers, there appears to be very little coverage in the wider press and media

Remarkably so

[Bizarre Löw Triangle]

Apropos the slur from Dorking Wanderers, there appears to be very little coverage in the wider press and media

Remarkably so

Yeah, I'd noticed that too. I think this is the only place i can see it reported...
https://fanbanter.co.uk/dorking-slam...sterfield/amp/

[Satchmo Distel]

Plus Andrea Pirlo is of Romani descent, so is already a "pikey" in their words.
Isn't there a story about his surname coming from an Italian official mocking his non-Italian speaking grandfather by giving him a surname close to "pirla" (dickhead)?

Pirlo says in his autobiography that he's not of Romani descent. He's from Brescia, which has a cocktail called a pirlo.

[DCI Harry Batt]

It's been quiet around here, innit?

So what's the background to this story from York City? Are we to welcome the Minstermen to the elite group of righteous football clubs? Or is it, as I saw suggested somewhere, merely a staging post?

[ad hoc]

Discussed in part, here https://www.onetouchfootball.com/for...e2#post2626518

[Jobi1]

Fixtures are now out. Notts away final game of the season could be fun! My dream of doing Scunny away on the 350 bus appears to be over though, as we're due to be away on holiday over that weekend.

[jwdd27]

Home to Yeovil first up, then Maidenhead away on the Saturday, followed by Woking away on the Tuesday. Just leave your bags on the coach, lads.

Chesterfield are our Boxing Day/New Year's Day double header. Somewhat surprisingly they are our closest neighbour.

A mixed bag for my away trips - Gateshead is on Good Friday so I'll more than likely be working. Halifax is a Tuesday night which is fine, but so are Oldham and Altrincham, which is not.

I'll be able to do York on March 11 though, that's the start of Cheltenham week so I'm definitely available then.

[Guy Profumo]

How to schedule your Boxing Day and New Year fixtures

Local (or as near as you can make them) derbies back-to-back

https://mobile.twitter.com/nonleaguepaper/status/1544592703907930114/photo/3

[jwdd27]

How to schedule your Boxing Day and New Year fixtures

Local (or as near as you can make them) derbies back-to-back

https://mobile.twitter.com/nonleaguepaper/status/1544592703907930114/photo/3

https://mobile.twitter.com/nonleague...930114/photo/3

Oldham-Notts County is a festive outlier there, Notts should probably be Chesterfield's opponents, and Altrincham should be with Oldham. But that would leave York, Halifax, Gateshead and Scunny to be paired up. York would fit with all 3, but Gateshead only fit with York. Scunny-Halifax would have been fine, not that much of a longer trip than Chesterfield.

[Jobi1]

Maidenhead away on the Saturday, followed by Woking away on the Tuesday. Just leave your bags on the coach, lads.

We've got one of those in March – Dagenham away on the Saturday followed by Bromley away on the Tuesday.

Just booked train tickets for our trip to Maidenhead at the end of August, in the hope that BT Sport don't think that fixture sounds too attractive.

[jwdd27]

Elliott Whitehouse has joined Scunny after release from Forest Green. Midfielder who has previously been at Sheff Utd, York, Lincoln and Grimsby so maybe some opinions from OTF on him?

I don't think he's Dane's son, but I can't find anywhere that says he's not, either.

[Jobi1]

Don't really remember a lot about him when he was with us, although in fairness I was out of the country for a fair chunk of the time. He was with us on loan for the first part of the fabled 2013-14 play-off season, i.e. he was in the team in the period when we lost most weeks and were a point or two off relegation when he left, before the incredible upturn in form. What I do remember is him celebrating unnecessarily in front of the home end at Bootham Crescent after scoring for Lincoln against us. A little sh*tbag, but in fairness probably one of those that you're delighted to have on your team. Certainly is effective at this level (or at least was 5 years ago when I last saw him).

[Jobi1]

First set of TV games have been announced. Any travel plans affected?

Saturday August 6 - Scunthorpe United v Yeovil Town (5.20pm) Saturday August 13 - Oldham Athletic vs Dorking Wanderers (5.20pm)
Wednesday August 17 - Solihull Moors vs York City (7.45pm)
Saturday August 20 - Notts County v Chesterfield (5.20pm)
Saturday August 27 - Woking v Wrexham (5.20pm)
Monday August 29 - Barnet v Eastleigh (5.15pm)

[jwdd27]

More signings

Kgosi Nthle re-signs after a couple of years at Barrow following his trial, predictably enough as he's yet another Hill Rochdale alumnus. Decent player but injury prone, hence he's only been given a 6 month contract. It's (roughly) pronounced as Sinclair with a silent S.

And goalkeeper Marcus Dewhurst arrives on a season long from Sheff Utd, also after a trial. Only 21 but he'll be competing with an 18 year old (Owen Foster) for the jersey.
He's the son of Rob Dewhurst, who started out at Blackburn (alongside Keith Hill, of course!), but was most prominent over the river at 'Ull.
He also played a single league cup game for Scunny in 2000. He got sent off in his only game, the second Scunthorpe player that I know off to have that distinction - the other being Chris Marples who arrived on loan from York, was straight in the side for the big game v Burnley, and got sent off late in the second half with Scunny desperately clinging on to a 2-1 lead, for thumping a Burnley striker* who tried to get the ball off him and stop him timewasting. Burnley equalised in the last minute.

*It's on YouTube, so I can confirm it was Mike Conroy. Steve Davis got the equaliser.

[jwdd27]

And the "much travelled" Colin Daniel (34, LB/LWB/LM/LWF) joins the project. Most recently loaned to Aldershot from Exeter. Seems a solid sort.