[Hayfever_Iron]

The aim at the present should quite rightly be the first team, then (and if) we regain our FL status and the funding that goes with it, re-establishing the academy / youth system (call it a what you like) should be a priority.

Sadly, since the closure of the academy we have lost a generation of local talent in the town to the likes of Lincoln, Doncaster, Hull, Grimsby.

Lincoln literally have a set up camp at Bottesford Town and cherry pick the best talent from the local area.

We’re pretty much a one sport town (football) and have an array of local footballing talent right through the age groups – I’ve witnessed this first hand.

We are also VERY well geographically situated to capture the not quite and nearly made it youth players from Leeds, Barnsley, Sheffield, Hull, Doncaster etc.

The talent on shown in even the top-tier grass roots teams from these places is astounding.

In my opinion to rule out a youth system completely is short sighted and is the building blocks of a sustainable, lower league football club.

We should be looking to provide a conveyor belt of local talent, that can be developed and sold on.

Yes, it’s not an overnight plan, but long term I believe this should be the bedrock of our plan to be a sustainable, lower league club.

The caveat is that we need to be in the FL to start this journey, which appears a distant dream at present.

P.s in terms of facilities, the option would be to partner with a local senior school, college etc that’s what some local teams do and do well..

[Hayfever_Iron]

Agree with most, if not all of this.

[Hayfever_Iron]

Rene Artois wrote:

MK Iron wrote:

ironfromafar wrote:

Speculate all you want one line ups but Butler is arrogant and more clueless ..

I have to ask why the feck he started with 3 of his back 4 out of position?

Does he pick the team using a dice?

Magic Robot picks the team :-)

It’s a well known fact that the team is picked using Tarot cards.

Don’t blame Butler, blame neo-occulltism.

Our luck will change and things will come together half way through September.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Rene Artois

[Hayfever_Iron]

1-2

Gale 68 mins
Other lot 85
C Howe 90+5

[Hayfever_Iron]

saleiron wrote:

For the masochists among you… Warning: AI may have played a role in the authoring of this piece.

https://scunthorpe-united.co.uk/news/2026/august/statistical-review-southend-united-1-0-iron

That “article” is a complete waste of computing power.

2 users thanked author for this post.

BigLeftToe, Awaywego

[Hayfever_Iron]

WonderGoals wrote:

Barrows should never have been offered a fresh contract. It wasn’t needed. Ogle is even more baffling as Butler’s gone out of his way to sign him, which was nonsensical. Fair enough Starbuck has problems with injuries but JB from what I gather is fit, we could have signed a short term cheap loan to tie us over for a month or two if needed.

JB, Starbuck, Rose, Ogle and Barrows is absolute madness. Barrows and Ogle money should have been spent on a capable GK and a good CM player. I understand he see’s Rose as a CM player, but he could still cover there if needs be.

This squad is an absolute shambles.

Crying out for a capable GK, but Butler’s stubbornness has put that to bed. Replaced Ewing with Richards who looks way worse than Rose and Rowley and still light up top.

Even Matt Dean was commenting and laughing about our collection of right back. It’s farcical. This squad is as unbalanced as it has been for quite a while.

I have no idea how a half decent manager, or shall I say one with an ounce of managerial ability signs players relatively early, mostly on permanent contracts and has a full pre season and yet they have zero team cohesion, team bonding and look like they’ve been randomly picked from the PFA training camp the day before the season started and have lined up on match day.

No familiarity between them whatsoever.

How the hell has this been allowed to happen ?. This is the whole point of having a pre season. Some questions needs asking and they need answering internally because I fail to understand how you can draft in your own players and have a whole pre season and end up like this.

This needs to be studied.

As above I could understand utilising Barrows as a utility, back-up defender who can play across the back 4 with one eye on him helping us rebuild the academy.

It can’t be denied that he does have significant links with young, talented players in the region.

Alongside this utilising him as a player / coach.

Not necessarily as first choice and using his behind the scene skills to help fill what can’t be denied big gaps that are needed to achieve being a sustainable, FL club.

This approach makes sense to me.

Bringing in Ogle, with his fitness and injury record is baffling at best.

1 user thanked author for this post.

alcazar

[Hayfever_Iron]

WonderGoals wrote:

What’s the most worrying the complete lack of team cohesion. Butler got all the players in relatively early and most “nearly all” on permanent contracts in a bid to get them bedded in. Two games in and it looks like he’s picked 11 players at random and their all strangers.

No patterns of play and looks disjointed. Not sure what he’s been doing with them during pre season, but whatever it is, it clearly hasn’t worked.

The squad is a jumbled mess. GK problem hasn’t been solved due to Butler’s stubbornness. A raft of RB’s and natural left wingers, when we’re short of a quality CM playerm striker and obviously GK. Jones is a fantastic shot stopper but falls way short in all the other goalkeeping areas, distrubution, claiming high balls e.t.c.

Butler was asked during a DAZN interview whether he has a preferred style of play, which he resonded “No. I just like winning football”. When you actually think about it, we never have had a style of play since he’s been at the club. We basically pass around the back countless times and hoof it forward in an attempt to play off the scraps.

Only problem is we haven’t got a Callum Roberts playing 2/3 levels below his ability level who’s going to drift into spaces. pick the scraps up and do the unthinkable. Butler is playing in the same manner without the magic on the pitch which get’s us out of trouble.

Only way really to circumvent the lack of Roberts would be to play two up front. If Butler thinks he can keep playing in the same way in the hope of a player coming up with a moment of magic game in game out, he’s in for a rude awakening. Brennan came up with one against Yeovil, but he’s not Roberts, we can’t be hanging our hat on him every week.

I’ll make a prediction even from this early on that Butler will be found out and he’ll end up getting sacked. We are still witnessing odd team selections, so not sure he’s really learnt much. Howe out wide against Yeovil despite having 4 wide options and leaves Rowley out against Southend for the anonymous Richards, who has looked absolutely abysmal so far.

Spent most of the budget and we’ve ended up with the same basic problems of last season as nothing has been addressed. Only now we don’t have star players who are able to paper over the cracks. This squad is the most unbalanced it’s been in distant memory.

Why he re-signed Barrows and went for Ogle when we have Jb, Starbuck is odd the say the least. Jb and Starbuck are miles ahead of those two. Completely wasted the budget.

Granted it’s very early on in the season, but it’s not looking good at all. After watching us in the last two games, something certainly isn’t right. Team Cohesion/ bonding should have been fostered in pre season. I haven’t seen any evidence whatsoever of us having either.

At the time I understood the Barrows re-signing.

My thoughts were that he’d been retained to be a utility player across the back to be used as cover, also with one eye on him helping us rebuild the much needed junior academy, with his deep links and access to high level junior footballers in the region.

Plus, all said and done he’s a solid enough defender, you’ll never get anything exciting, but that’s fine for a guy who can cover across the back 4.

What I can’t understand was bringing Ogle into a position we were already loaded up on..

This position should have been used to bring in a striker or to bolster the weakened CM position.

[Hayfever_Iron]

I’m a proud Iron Insider, who is patiently awaiting penetration.

UTI!

[Hayfever_Iron]

I’ve joined to share my news anonymously to a wider audience.

I’m hoping to let the family know over Sunday dinner at Take a Gander this coming Sunday.

[Hayfever_Iron]

Thanks for your honesty Phil, it’s quite liberating to know what I’m not on my own.

I’m thinking of taking close family members to Take a Gander this Sunday to break the news.

Wish me luck..

[Hayfever_Iron]

I’ve been an insider all along, well from the very first time the scheme was announced.

I’ve only told one other person (a work colleague).

I’m dreading telling the family..

Do any other insiders have any advice for breaking the news to their loved ones?

[Hayfever_Iron]

Hi Phil, have you broken the news to your family yet that you’re an insider?

I’m dreading it personally..

[Hayfever_Iron]

I admire the sentiment, but unfortunately don’t believe the amount raised will reach anywhere near enough for a decent statue.

Should this be the case I’m not quite sure what will happen with the monies – but the trust members will vote on this.

[Hayfever_Iron]

One of my good friends on Twitter, Fiddlers Elbow seems to think we’ll do ok and he seems pretty clued up.

Personally, I think we sneak into the playoffs with some ups and downs along with way, make it to the final and lose (but I’m somewhat of an optimist).

[Hayfever_Iron]

I’m not quite sure what formation we were playing, but there looked to be 3 people playing CB’s..

Whatever it was didn’t work.

All at sea defensively and created nothing going forward.

First half was decent enough though, but Spalding did look dangerous going forward throughout.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Awaywego

[Hayfever_Iron]

I was there. Jones was probably the stand out player, Barrows scored a free kick from our own half. Changed formation in the second half and looked defensively weak and offered very little going forward. I think Jones has secured the no.1 jersey – make of that what you will…

2 users thanked author for this post.

Sanfran49, Awaywego

[Author]

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