What On Earth Is Going On At Scunthorpe United?

Scunthorpe United spent three seasons in the Championship just over a decade ago, and only four years ago, they were losing semi finalists in a League One play-off campaign.
Now the club has been relegated from the Football League - or the EFL - for the first time since entering the league 72 years ago, becoming one of the worst League Two teams of all time, and there are major fears about the club's prospects even in the National League.
So in this documentary, HITC Sevens takes a look at the extraordinary rise and fall of Scunthorpe United, from a fantastically run debt free little club, to a poster boy for failure and financial mismanagement, in an attempt to figure out - where did it all go wrong?

[@bchesh94]

*Finishes video* *Clicks like button* *Loads up Football Manager* “You’re in safe hands now Scunthorpe”

[@kylecampbell1766]

I started a FIFA 22 campaign w/ Scunthorpe and won the FA Cup and got promotion to League One after one year

[@Jim-so3zm]

@@kylecampbell1766 Tbf winning the Cup - or any trophy for that matter - is easy on Fifa. It's partly why I don't play anymore.

[@kylecampbell1766]

@@Jim-so3zm True. As were speaking, I managed to somehow win the Europa league with them in league one and get promotion to the champions league and championship in England

[@seandelap8587]

Bolton and Portsmouth both went from playing European football to dropping down to the 4th tier so that's a pretty big drop.

[@MenWithVen]

I'm pretty sure Alfie has done videos on those teams

[@zerofox641]

@@MenWithVen Portsmouth yes but I don’t think he’s done Bolton (yet) tbf there are so many clubs in turmoil and Alfie can only make so many videos at once

[@shawklan27]

It's depressing really

[@infrasleep]

It's NOT a recent phenomena ; Huddersfield went from Division One to Division Four in just over three years (1972 to 1975) and were stuck in the fourth tier for five years and took over 40 to get back to the top flight. Wolves and Bristol City went from the top tier to the bottom in successive seasons in the 80's , Sheffield United Division One to Four (1976-81) Burnley won the First Division title in 1960. Just 27 years later they had to win their last game and PRAY others lost in order to stay in the Football League. Bolton have done top to bottom Division TWICE in their recent history as have Portsmouth. And to be honest-using Leeds as an example and including all these other clubs-when Leeds spent like mad to get in the CL and it all caved in-name ONE Leeds (Portsmouth Wolves etc etc) fan who WOULDN'T have done a Risdale ? "No ambition" "Boring" they scream when the books are balanced and they're mid table, Not ONE Portsmouth fan questioned anything when their clubs PL income was £50m and they were spending £60m on wages (a £10m LOSS BEFORE anything else was paid for-electric,hotels,transport ground upkeep)

[@razerow3391]

@@zerofox641 that's because Stunt Pegg already has, and tbh she is one of the most respected football KZbinrs in terms of her peers. I think Alfie hasn't done it for that fact... He isn't Thogden. He doesn't need to steal content and thumbnails from young girls.

[@JamesRB10.]

STAT: Since losing in the 2018 League One playoffs, Scunthorpe have won just 39 out of 175 league games. That’s a 22% win rate across four seasons.

[@MenWithVen]

Love this series. One day I'd love to see an episode about Sunderland. We've been a mess pretty much constantly for 20 years, when we broke the lowest Premier league points total for the first time. We are basically a verb at this point, nobody wants to "do a Sunderland"

[@magicalhikari5859]

I mean, you could be ‘pulling a Bordeaux’

[@saltmerchant749]

I mean, 'Sunderland til I die' pretty much laid it bare to the world and what we saw wasn't pretty.

[@MenWithVen]

@@saltmerchant749 STID only covers about 20-30% of the story. It doesn't cover the literally hundreds of millions blown in the Premier League with nothing to show for it. The disgraceful situation surrounding Adam Johnson l, the Ricky Alvarez saga (which Alfie has mentioned in "worst transfers" types of video). In fact we could have named a meme first 11 and bench based dreadful transfers (see Emmanuel Eboue to Sunderland). The waste and incompetence despite 10 years of Premier League money was staggering l. STID just showed the eventual culmination.

[@samrosenberg67]

I don’t think Alfie covers many stories mainstream media covers so probably won’t do this- same with that 1 AFC Wimbledon guy

[@mrkipling2201]

Or doing a Derby County in 07/08??

[@tdyerwestfield]

You talk about rapid demises, Yeovil Town were in the Championship as recently as 2014, but were relegated from the Football League in 2019. They're set to spend their 4th consecutive season in the National League in 22/23, with protests over the running of the club, particularly the despotic chairman, a weekly occurance.

[@BALHAM69]

Adding to what you said, the National league the fifth tier of English football which is known as non league, it is a difficult league

[@miggygetright6344]

Yeovil Town? More like Yawnvil Town

[@JakeHancke]

Yeovil are an interesting one, as they were in the 5tth tier for years until the early 2000s, I saw them a few times playing at Telford before they went into administration (another story in itself of a shady owner injecting money into a club and building a new stadium while his other businesses were failing). I remember being surprised at how far Yeovil shot up so quickly

[@highnoon7097]

Yeovils nadir must surely be appearing on pro evo. Under a fake name of course, probably West Yeoman Greens or some shit

[@jacobepicmay]

Yeah I am a Yeovil fan and we dropped quicker and are close to being no cub as don't own our ground anymore with a dodgy own

[@lawlore]

As a Gillingham fan, clubs like Scunthorpe are exactly the sort of story that sends a shiver up my spine, because it could just as easily be us- the bulk of the existence in the bottom two tiers, a season or five in the second tier, and the ever-present threat of being two seasons away from falling into non-league, or a dodgy owner away from falling into non-existence. It's a completely different story to, for example, Derby and Sunderland, where big clubs overspend to try and get back to the promised land, because at the end of the day, who's really going to notice if the league table doesn't contain Scunthorpe? Or Bury? Or Rochdale? Or Gillingham?

[@psy-lion]

who cares? it's just a name and crest... in the end of the day it's all about money

[@myfasmarine]

@@psy-lionlet me guess. You’re a fan of a club that will never be relegated aren’t you? It’s usually only those kinds of fans that don’t care about the rest of the pyramid.

[@deanbrown29]

It's strange that both local teams Grimsby and Scunthorpe got a rich man at helm and both ended up from championship to non league. Just shows you really as a fan got to be careful what you wish for!

[@lsr3794]

💯

[@razerow3391]

Or rather you can't make a team big by spending money. Man City weren't massive but the point is Manchester really is. Even with Wolves, West Ham and Leicester.... They are huge cities with a big area around such as Staffordshire, greater London or the Midlands in general where Leicester is concerned. Scunthorpe probably has a limit to attraction. It's all a knock on thing. It's why West Brom struggle... It's not a city. They don't have as many fans or the prestige. It's all linked.

[@CtrlZ2024]

@@razerow3391 very good

[@BALHAM69]

Grimsby town trust have a say in the club from what i know 😊

[@Eibarwoman]

@@razerow3391 At least not spending money the way Scunthorpe was. Eibar is probably the best model for smaller area success and even Eibar has more favorable geographic positioning with a rail line and highway between Bilbao (10th largest city in Spain) and San Sebastian/Donostia (43rd largest), two quite large cities in Northern Spain when compared to what the nearest cities and towns to Scunthorpe are in Hull and Doncaster. Edit: Villarreal kind of also did quite well, but the scale of the wealth in Villarreal's ownership is drastically higher magnitude to ownership of Scunthorpe as well as is the captive audience with no quality team for a long ways from Villarreal as only Valencia exists as an competitor.

[@magicalhikari5859]

Bruh imagine your club being Scunthorpe and seeing that your relegation was so bad that it warrants a 32 minute video

[@petergilkes7082]

It really warranted an investigation into playing a 17 year old goalie who had one previous appearance. I think they deserve to stay where they are - or lower for a long time.

[@e2k14n6]

needs more than that imo.. going to ye games has given me depression almost

[@papacarrott4127]

It was that bad 😂

[@carlisroy6666]

@@petergilkes7082 And how do you propose he gets more appearances if he doesn't play?

[@petergilkes7082]

@@carlisroy6666 I no longer care. But, perhaps, not playing in such an important game. I would think he was destroyed by the experience. Anyway, I hope sCUNThorpe enjoy being non league for - ever?

[@footyfactsasmr]

Videos like these are great! They make us aware of clubs who we may not know a lot about and remind us how sad it is to see clubs get ruined by financial mismanagement

[@davidtron5740]

It's sad to see the decline of clubs like this. On a positive side as a Gateshead FC fan Im looking forward to see Scunthorpe United playing us this season

[@vincentavery6598]

They need to iron things out tbf

[@seandelap8587]

Luton Town, Notts County, Oldham Athletic, Stockport County, Grimsby Town, Tranmere Rovers, Bristol Rovers etc have all dropped out of the football league as well and some of those clubs have played top flight football at some point so its not that unusual to see clubs bigger than Scunthorpe crash out of the football league.

[@chlcrk]

This is true, and yet to fall from the League One play offs in 2018 to crashing into the National League in 2022 is a pretty wild disintegration

[@KingofWolves3277]

@@chlcrk less of a wild disintegration, more of a complete implosion

[@nathanlycett7769]

County had a crap manager at the time and they ent bigger

[@mrkipling2201]

Luton and Notts County were relegated from the First Division in the 1991/92 season. Just before the start of the Premier league. Talk about bad timing!!

[@nathanlycett7769]

@@mrkipling2201 mark noble what a wanker

[@lincsmassive5616]

Thank you for this as a Scunthorpe fan born and bred in the town. Another archetypal downfall as a result of shambolic ownership. And the less said about the EFL the better. Praying for better days for the Iron us townspeople love.

[@xxdan0099]

Up the iron

[@xxdan0099]

Hope we get back in

[@coreynixon2685]

up the mariners

[@BALHAM69]

a documentary on the afc Wimbledon on the nine promotions in eleven years, how they’re a fan own club and how they have a stadium in plough lane now. The story of they lost the club, how the F A allowed that and won’t allow that anymore. How they were very close to moving to ireland How they went up the English football leagues. It would be a good documentary video if you can do this. #thepeopleschannel

[@Pulsarnix]

I think this needs a part two now. I know it's an unusual request, but things have gotten even crazier.

[@asherpr1nce700]

Re-watching this again with 9 games to go in this season - looks like we'll be in the National League North next season - well less travelling I guess...

[@F1Krazy]

As a Millwall fan, I have fond memories of that League One play-off final against Scunthorpe. Gary Alexander scored an absolute screamer for us and we were 2-1 up, but Scunthorpe fought back to win 3-2. I have to admit I was a little annoyed about us losing out to such a "small" club, but looking back, I have to admit it's nice to see smaller clubs like Scunthorpe doing as well as they did back then, and it's a shame to see them fall this far and this fast. Plus we got to go back to Wembley the following year, so it wasn't all bad.

[@cameronlings5076]

Probably one of the best games i have seen in person, great atmosphere from both teams! Plus you beat us at glanford park in more recent playoffs too

[@jackmumby1255]

I was there that day as a scunthorpe fan, what a day and a hot one at that. Very fond memories indeed. The noise when Alexander hit that thunderbolt my god, I'd never heard such loud celebrations before.

[@violet6991]

Hey I have a question, I watched Green Street and wanted to know if you guys fans really that bad? Really fascinated by the whole ‘firm’ thing clubs have is that still a thing also?

[@F1Krazy]

@@violet6991 I don't think we're as bad now as we used to be. We still have plenty of fans who are like that, but I don't think we have as many of them as we did when Green Street was made. As for "firms", I believe they are indeed still around, but they're much smaller and less powerful, and don't cause many problems anymore.

[@jono_high]

I remember watching the final, and even as an Iron fan, I still think Gary Alexander's goal was one of the best goals Wembley has ever seen. Just fell utterly perfectly for him and he managed to strike it so cleanly. Had to feel for him that day, he put in an absolute shift.

[@NuRetroReactions]

9:28 Trinity is my local side and they are not doing to good. Trinity basically signs local clubs rejects. For example they signed a young lad from Lincoln. He was a goalie and he let 4 goals in a training match. The match was only 20 minutes long. Soooo....

[@Plumazz96]

Have a subscribe from a fellow trinity local 👋

[@r.blackford9739]

I saw you guys at Whitby a few months ago, thought you looked a good side with great fans. Here's hoping you get to the National League someday.

[@oscarcrampton2941]

As a Scunthorpe fan it hurts to watch our decline

[@GenialHarryGrout]

Be positive, at least you weren't owned by Ken Richardson.

[@thomashorsfall6923]

As a Grimsby fan it’s hilarious to see your club crumbling

[@johnclark1348]

Cheats last year, I hope you stop there a long tine

[@hungryhippo6970]

@@thomashorsfall6923 rather be a Scunthorpe fan then a dirty stinking codhead, up the iron!

[@jonathanhall7815]

I remember in 1962 they finished 4th in the old Division 2, almost made it into the top flight. Hard to see that ever happening again. They had some really good players in those days, Jack Brownsword, Barrie Thomas, John Kaye, Brian Godfrey to name a few. Really sad state of affairs right now.

[@GenialHarryGrout]

Swan saw what Doncaster Rovers had done with their move to a new stadium and he wanted the same for Scunthorpe United, but Rovers stadium and redevelopment of the Lakeside area was partly financed by the local council. Swan giving himself a loan then charging interest on the loan seems very suspect.

[@matthiasw8777]

Hey Alfie, could you make a video about the rise of Sc Freiburg? How they have only had 4 Managers in the last twenty years, promote so many youth players and have firmly established themselves in the Bundesliga. Their rise is remarkable and for a Football romantic's is amazing.

[@BALHAM69]

Hello, they have a new stadium too which is good for the Freiburg fans

[@itbelikethat914]

They actually qualified for this seasons Europa League ✨

[@BALHAM69]

@@itbelikethat914 true :)

[@tacogrunt]

Been asking this for months! Chrisitan Streich is a remarkable manager who is beloved in the Bundesliga and isn't afraid to talk about social issues with his lovely Allemanisch dialect

[@liampaterson3424]

Great little team. I went to see the 'Brasilianer' a couple of times when I visited my friend in Freiburg.

[@shawnmason5551]

Thank you so much for this feature on our miserable situation at Scunthorpe United! Woeful isn’t it; must have been a challenge researching it.

[@thomasjohnson2862]

Alfie, would be good to have a video about the Dutch-Belgian merged league proposal, or the ‘Beneliga’. Recently several Dutch clubs dropped their interest in the idea, and I know Dutch and Belgian supporters have their reasons for wanting to stick with traditions, but I think it would be a shame because there’s no way clubs from smaller countries outside the top 5 leagues can realistically and consistently compete unless smaller countries merge their national domestic leagues into bigger, more powerful united leagues, like a Scandinavian, Eastern European league, etc, or like the Soviet league before it collapsed when all the ex-Soviet nations were united in their football league.

[@fadhilideche2831]

It seems like the obvious objection to that would be that it would only favour the biggest clubs in those regions, and engender a greater inequality between them and the smaller clubs.

[@jesuisunstroopwafel]

Alternatively, which first division leagues can benefit from splitting. For example, a Russian league divided by large regions or Basque and Catalan leagues in case the Basque Country and Catalonia split up from Spain.

[@soundscape26]

I've been hearing about league mergers for ages and nothing ever happens. But I reckon it makes for a nice video yes.

[@MiguelTavaresMAT]

Maybe it's time people start caring only about their local team and run these corporate mofos into bankruptcy. The game is ours, i think. Is it still?

[@wolfcrewe7474]

I like the idea of bigger United leagues for smaller countries, but fans won’t like it for the most part. It’s probably because it’s being driven by big business rather than actual fans owning the clubs. I think the potential is there for a competitive and a big standard league. Potential European cup winning teams coming from it.

[@depekthegreat359]

Scunthorpe United are one of my favourite respective footballing clubs in England but I was extremely so sad to them falling from the English Football League system to the Non League Football where I have been watching ever since I was small due to the reasons and the most painful one is the stadium which was not really being owned by them,good friends!!!I fully hope that they would bounce back first time to be promoted to the football league next season with their smart transfer businesses mainly,good friends!!!LONG LIVE,SCUNTHORPE UNITED!!!🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@dylanbackrath4616]

up the mariners

[@CtrlZ2024]

Sad to see I hope they can challenge for promotion straight away 🙏 come on scunny

[@depekthegreat359]

@@dylanbackrath4616 Good friend,which club you support?:-D

[@depekthegreat359]

@@CtrlZ2024 You are extremely so right and come on Scunny,good friend!!!🙏

[@dylanbackrath4616]

@@depekthegreat359 grimsby

[@gabrielsoliz8563]

As various Leagues across Europe starting soon a recommendation for a video: teams that have had a 100pt season in their respective domestic League

[@paleobiology]

As a Celtic fan, yes please

[@adamlennard1828]

@@paleobiology you done need a video for that. Celtic are a championship level team and apart from Rangers the rest are league 1/2 standard.

[@BrianStorm742]

Can't imagine that'd be a long video. In the Eredivisie or Bundesliga, you can only afford 1 draw in total and zero losses to achieve 100 points.

[@Alex-xn2pj]

Day 6: A detailed look at the state of Crotone would be nice, going from Serie A in 20/21 with a 20 goal a season striker to Serie C by 22/23. Two relegations in a row, something surely has to be wrong at that club.

[@declangaming24]

I think they will win the Serie C or finish in the play off

[@georgehall7059]

You do realise that Alfie might've acknowledged any of your previous five posts, but actually has to, you know, schedule/research/write the script for/find relevant images/edit the video?

[@sukhdevr3489]

@Stephen C 33 people disagree.

[@buckokid5930]

You know when a small club is planning a “sporting complex”, things are not good

[@timewithoutconsequence4611]

See Southend.

[@e_o_zoca]

I love the long videos Alfie! Keep them coming!!

[@itzzblaze7948]

Once again, I like it how he show watmores Jersey for what more

[@createmistakes]

I don't know whats more scary the Scunthorpe story or finding out a naked man has just been whispering into my ear through my headphones for the past 30 mins lmao. In all seriousness it's always sad to know that this is happening to more and more community clubs. I decided a couple of years ago to stop buying the new Liverpool home shirt every season and support a well run community club each season by buying there shirt instead.

[@paulie-g]

That's sound, although it'd be better to buy tickets for a few games or a scarf or summat - the split clubs have with kit manufacturers is not great even at the top level (hence why Liverpool's deal is non-standard), and will be absolutely atrocious at non-league.

[@ballshippin3809]

Hard to believe they were in the championship a few years ago. Looks like they are going to be in the national north division next year!

[@CamBuck.]

I absolutely love your content, lad!!

[@blue1984]

Fantastic documentary yet again. For Football Geeks like you & I, this is the channel to follow. HITC puts real effort & research Into his videos. Great stuff.

[@esillydotcodotuk]

You want to be careful with this, Swanny will come and sue you 😂 excellent video though, thank you for bringing our situation to National media attention - Peter Swann the club killer

[@Account_CB]

Love your content 👍🏻

[@dannydarkspace]

I've been watching Alfie's videos for years now and this is the first time I've ever put headphones on and heard background music. Nice.

[@iron_born]

Thank you for covering this #UTI

[@OJViews]

Listened to this alongside my boss (born there and supports them) and she was teary about the big club statement 😅

[@dejankulusexy4472]

Scunthorpe are my second team and this hurts! it hurts a lot. Thanks for the vid alfie!

[@hikerwoody182]

very interesting, didn't realize it was such a dire situation. I remember seeing Ian Botham play for them at Villa Park in the 80s

[@Giovanniditessitore]

Your analysis is superb 👌

[@bradleyguestscunthorpe5885]

Absolutely brilliant video

[@r.blackford9739]

For me Scunthorpe's biggest problem is all for all their success, they never truly attracted a big fanbase. Even when they were in the championship, higher attendances were common even in league two.

[@mrkipling2201]

I hope Scunthorpe United manage to sort it out and get back into the Football League. My best friend was born there and we went to a couple of games at Glanford Park when we were visiting his family. I remember when they moved to Glanford Park after moving from the Old Showground after the Bradford fire disaster and the Popplewell report. Their ground was mainly made up of wooden stands so it was cheaper to build a new ground.

[@danielwalker1673]

as a season ticket holder from 14/15 to 19/20 i felt as though my club really fell apart on the sacking of graham alexander I think had we given him the rest of the season maybe the play offs and the finances could’ve potentially been different. these things happen though and I hope to see my club back up. (you can also see me at 27:35)

[@The31stAli]

The General on the Thumbnail. That's earned a like

[@bokanglekhuleni4169]

Finally we get another episode in this series.

[@angistiew1689]

Now about to drop to the sixth division

[@Bromulus]

As a York fan, we got a shit owner and came flying down from L2 through NL all the way to National League North. It took a couple of years to get back out and in our first season back in the national league, we got to watch Yeovil and Scunthorpe fly through just like us.

[@Strangegloves]

as a bristol rovers fan as much as it was a great day for us, i did have a degree of sympathy for them, their fans were amazing and super respectful at the mem !!!

[@Strangegloves]

@Ian Thompson sorry bud.

[@Strangegloves]

@Ian Thompson i actually appreciate that m8, the amount of folk i ve had claming the whole thing was a fix, yet that kay goal was the most important of the afternoon.

[@Strangegloves]

@Ian Thompson i can admit the scoreline looks convnient, and the fact we played 15mins over knowing ur game had finished definatly was an advantage. i did hear from another town fan that ypur boys seemed ignorant after going 3 up n that after we scored the 7th there was no ergancy to score a 4th.

[@Leftfield71]

I do watch a lot of these video's because they are very informative and entertaining, although I doubt they would be for the supporters of those clubs. I hope I never see one of them about my club, Carlisle United, they were part of the relegation battle last season with Scunthorpe, Oldham, Stevenage and Barrow and it wasn't until Paul Simpson took over as manager that we were able to distance ourselves from that fight. I hope we see Scunthorpe back in the Football sooner rather than later.

[@francispeters850]

As a fellow Carlisle fan I dread the day to mate. I fear it will be more likely be about our stadium being under water again, rather than our rapid decline. Staying in the same league for 15 seasons isn't exactly a decline. Shame to see a more 'local' side to us go out of the division. I fear we may not see Scunthorpe for a very long time. Looking back on last season, that win in January against them was absolutely crucial for us staying up. COYB!

[@bury_the_elite65294]

Fun fact; Scunthorpe Utd's average attendance in the most recent season is roughly the same as the current season for Melbourne Knights - a side playing in the 2nd tier of the Australian game (National Premier League - Victoria). Former Socceroos striker Mark Viduka once played for the Knights.

[@Eibarwoman]

What on earth is going on at Huesca? The team went from beating out Eibar and being the best team relegated to 14th in La Liga 2/Segunda Division while losing their best player Jaime Seoane on a free transfer to Getafe, a La Liga side. It feels like something is seriously wrong in Aragon as they look like a Spanish Scunthorpe at this rate with the roster unraveling.

[@acheekymeesh]

Thanks, I now can't unsee Scunthorpe United after mentioning the AOL issue

[@russhubbard72]

Very interesting piece about a club very local to me. Enjoyed it very much

[@robertmccormack1208]

"so sit back, relax...." so cathartic in the morning thank you. and thank you s****horpe

[@chengliu872]

I bet the fans thought that they hit bedrock when they were relegated into the National League only to be relegated from that.

[@declanmcghie1559]

A video on Southend would be great. Its been an eye opening last 5 seasons

[@BarkingLondon]

Criminal what’s gone on there.

[@giggachad1000]

Now they are relegated to the national league north 💀

[@emilfrederiksen.1622]

Scuntphore has just been relegated to National league North the 6th Division of English football what a sad decline.

[@benflyde2877]

Please do Bradford City next. I love these sort of videos

[@rohithraman6488]

Video suggestion for Alfie - given that the World Cup is fast approaching I would love it if you did a video on the history of African countries at the World Cup

[@bricktop.]

Short version : Turned up, got mainly battered, but did some nice dances by the corner flags.

[@rohithraman6488]

@@bricktop. So many memorable moments - Roger Milla, Cameroon 1990, Senegal 2002, Gyan missed penalty, vuvuzelas, etc

[@mrkipling2201]

@@bricktop. as well as cutting some Argentinian players in half and giving England the fright of their lives!!

[@steve-bk1qd]

been through this with Oxford United...we've gone full circle since 1983...from the 3rd tier up to the top tier...down to the bottom half of the 5th tier...back up to where we are now...also rans in the 3rd tier and going nowhere (up) in the foreseeable future..

[@V79K]

Lol... remember when Richard Harris said, 'Even Scunthorpians don't know where Scunthorpe is'😂😭🤣

[@thomasisking]

Shows you how ignorant was Harris. It's Scunthonian.

[@connorupton4200]

Another banger Alfie

[@adampark4238]

Like Motherwell the closure of the steel works affected the area eventually leading to problems with the local clubs

[@sophiewilder7803]

not sure we needed to know that last bit! :D

[@startingfingerstyle]

My hometown team! I left Scunthorpe aged 13 years in 1970. Used to watch Scunny at The Old Show Ground and Ashby Institute from the Midland League, playing at The Screeds. I'm guessing Ashby FC are long since gone, but it's a real shame to see United out of the Football League. Hoping for better times soon.

[@yourmum955]

Ashby might still exist, there's a club called Ashby Ivanhoe founded in 1948 that play within the midland league level

[@startingfingerstyle]

@@yourmum955 Hi, just done some googling! Ashby Ivanhoe are based in Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, so a completely different team. The Institute was formed in 1917 (can't have been many men around due to World War 1) and dissolved in 1989, according to Wikipedia. Things looking very bad for Scunny just now. Visiting some friends in Nottingham in March, and have tickets for County v Scunny. The way things are going it might be the last time I ever see United! Shame!

[@yourmum955]

@@startingfingerstyle Ah ok, yeah I'm not familiar with that region of England so had no clue. Man that's really upsetting, just seen they had a winding up order served but also potential new owners coming in so hopefully they can survive it, I've started managing them on football manager the other week and just completed a pretty great escape from relegation in the National League so I've built a bit of a liking for them now. Hopefully the club can survive

[@MikulinSalford]

Best players to make the switch from non-league / semi pro to professional after the age of 21...

[@NuggetTMxx]

I'm from Scunthorpe. I remember them being in the championship when I was in primary So sad to see them fall

[@Captain_Aardvark]

It's a problem with business in general where those ultimately in charge are allowed to enrich themselves at the expense of the business itself.

[@richardg8376]

I've always had a soft spot for Scunthorpe, they were the first ever lower-league I tried managing in Football Manager, when I first played the '05 version. Billy Sharpe and -Gary Hooper- Andy Keogh scored a combined 50+ goals during that season for me.

[@johnmcglone8114]

That is strange as Billy was with us 2005-2007 & Hoops was 2008-2010. They never played together!!

[@richardg8376]

@@johnmcglone8114 Ah crap you're right. I'm sorry, I meant Andy Keogh. No idea where Gary Hooper came from.

[@lawrancesalter1665]

Sounds like I found my team for FM23...here we go!!!!

[@todplatinum5789]

Exactly my thoughts too!

[@Stratega1982]

Great job with another video for low tier club. Keep it going buddy

[@polskasausage762]

How is this not criminal? Surely the deliberate growing of debt on scunthorpe by the chairman with little to no hope of paying it back , Then when the obvious happens and he transfers the land / stadium with planning permission to one of his companies in exchange for "writing" off the debt and then obtaining a mortgage on the property. It's disgraceful how the league/fa can sit there and continually allow this to happen at numerous clubs

[@dannyh6336]

As a scunny fan it’s disappointing to see the drop over all the years

[@bravosierra2447]

I love these ‘What on earth…’ series.

[@TheatypicalLife]

Really glad to hear some positive things about Nigel Adkins! He's currently at Tranmere and he's been fantastic for us so far

[@JamesSomersetActor]

Why did you use an old picture of Edgeley Park, home of Stockport County, for the line "many of whom are still yet to return"? We're back!

[@glennbaker5430]

2014 My team Bristol Rovers we dropped out the football League But we came straight back up and up again the next season. Boy it was great you will be a big club there

[@Nathan-ke3dn]

Don't know if you remember Altrincham and Braintree away though, two absolutely horrible away days where we got dominated by part timers. We got lucky because we had DC and recruited well, but with the state Scunthorpe is in, I think they'll have a lot more Braintrees and Altrinchams than not

[@glennbaker5430]

@@Nathan-ke3dn Remember few fans caused trouble at Braintree When they got a penalty And one game they got on the coach to shout at are players. Well Joey Barton said they shucked pork pies at him They did not start well but they got there in the end.

[@andypotter6886]

My local team been watching almost 40 years now and all what has happened due to the owner Swann selling off the club's best players and not reinvesting the money into the club. It's awful to see what has happened over the last few years

[@BOABModels]

The S****horpe problem also stopped Arsenal fans from writing their name or Arsene Wenger's name on the BBC 606 forums about 20 years ago!

[@AngryAnt0]

I'm a Coventry fan but spent a few years living near Scunthorpe (and used to get destroyed by people I knew as they would routinely beat us), I've always got a bit of a soft spot for it and used to think it was a great run club that clearly cared about the community around it. It's a shame that this has happened to them as while no one deserves it, they certainly didn't. Fingers crossed they can climb back into the leagues, although at the moment of writing they are now in an even lower division. As a side note, would love a video on Coventry's rise, fall and rise again. Some things thats happened to the club have just been horrific.

[@austa1999]

Love an update on Hull City... the new ownership is making interesting moves that I'd love your fan's opinion on

[@BALHAM69]

Hopefully he can do that when he can

[@paulfarman2939]

Totally true appraisal of the Club. Shame to see my loved club in this state. It shouldn't be allowed. It looks like swann was just trying to find land to build on at the expense of the club

[@paddywalsh247]

scary how clubs can fall away so quickly, hope they come back up soon and don’t collapse completely

[@Rushfelt33]

Being a Sunderland fan and Scunthorpe being my wife's team you bet our house has been a barrel of laughs in recent years. Great video though, Thank-You.

[@mitchellstefano803]

not a scunthorpe fan but hoping for a revival sooner rather than later, the football league needs them

[@BaWBarmy]

It doesn't though does it?

[@mickharrison9004]

Like an hole in the head ,it's obviously not a football town .

[@tja_tv]

The irony that their first game in the NL was against Yeovil. Another team to have fallen from the Championship to National League as of 2022. Now they're both in the 6th tier which is regional so they can't even face each other. From hosting massive ex-Prem clubs weekly in the Championship and automatically entering the FA Cup 3rd Round to visiting the likes of Tamworth and Tonbridge Angels and entering the FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round is a sad demise. At least Scunthorpe have has a takeover and are sitting top.

[@marioluna6992]

I know its a pretty unknown soccer country but a good video of the same series could be El Salvador. They are pretty closed to facing a FIFA suspension because of a possible government intervention which could get in the way of the best chance they have of qualifying to the World cup for 2026.

[@erosion271]

Peter Swann that's what. We were one of three clubs in the whole of the EFL not in any kind of debt until he took over. The attendance has been low due to the ticket prices for the last decade yet he was busy chucking 300k at players and preparing for a new 15 million stadium. Then when all that fell through the slimy git transferred ownership of the existing ground from the club to his personal business. The guy bought a racing horse for a few mill that ended up being clueless. Legit destroyed the club and any chance of anyone being interested in buying it.

[@alastairnicolson4992]

Peter Swann was part owner of Sands Of Mali, a racehorse who was far from clueless, winning prize monies totalling £727,000 after being purchased for £75,000. Swann's Cool Silk Partnership sold part of the horse in the winter of 2018/19 after he'd won one of the biggest sprint races in Europe, then bought back the share it had sold the following December (the valuation for the whole horse at that time being £630,000). Sands Of Mali is now standing as a stallion in Ireland at a fee of €5000. He covered 152 mares in 2021. Given normal fertility, this would yield a income of around €600,000 per year.

[@abbasismayilov2323]

Please try to make video about FK Karabakh of Azerbaijan. A club who haven't played at home for 30 years. Managed to qualify to Group Stages for 8 years running including the Champions League groups, Europa League groups and finally Conference League groups (qualifying from the group stages). You will be surprised. Thank you in advance.

[@mikemcguane6200]

Great article - pre season results for Scunny bode well but Swan needs to go ASAP

[@Timcoe4]

I remember watching Scunthorpe when they were in the championship, it was great.

[@starkers1997]

And now they’re in the National League North.

[@KaneWarren]

you should do one of these for southend in the vnl

[@melvinthirkell7720]

I feel really guilty now. More honestly I wish the club and its supporters well.

[@roachburglar]

As A Grimsby fan, I took great joy in Scunnys relegation to the conference. But what they are going through now and the damage Peter Swann has caused is criminal. I hope they can get through this, even if it means starting again as a phoenix and working their way back up the pyramid. Its not fair on the fans that Swann has literally gambled the club to its death. It might take decades, but I do hope to see Scunny back in the football league one day.

[@macalad8486]

Please do a video about Jack greenwell ( former English footballer amd barcalona manager) he's relatively unknown and his story needs to be heard 🙏

[@Samuel-vv3dw]

Would love some more Scottish football content

[@scatterbrain92]

You should do a follow up video.. they are currently on relegation zone on the sixth tier of English football