The Iron became the unlikeliest of promotion winners when they stormed into the Championship via the Play-Offs; it was something that would only happen in a 'Roy of the Rovers' comic strip. They narrowly beat Tranmere Rovers on the final day of the League One season to pip their opponents to that last play-off place.
As outsiders to win the mini-tournament they cam up against the mighty Milton Keynes Dons whom they eventually dispatched went through on penalties; whilst they beat Millwall 3-2 in the grand finale at Wembley.
With Nigel Adkins they have become a useful outlet since he became their boss, taking over from Brian Laws in November 2006 and has made steady progress in the clubs history! They have become a yoyo club in recent years after dropping out of the Championship during the 2007/08 season after just one year butI'm sure this time will be different.
The Glanford Park club have allowed Michael Lea, Joe Wilcox and Ian Morris to leave the club whilst Michael O'Connor (Crewe Alexander), Rob Jones (Hibernian) and Adam Boyes (York City) have joined the club; Jones became the clubs' highest transfer paid when they shelled out £350,000 for the Hibs captain.
The North Lincolnshire club have begun their pre-season with a 12-0 hammering of Brigg Town, with Ben May netting five. This season is going to be a long hard campaign and may need Championship survival on the final day of the season, but after past experience in the league I'm sure that they will scrape it.
Blades-Mad Predicted Finish: 20th (just stay up)
| Betting Odds: | |
| Promotion: | Relegation: |
| 40/1 | 6/4 |
2008-09 Players Statistics
| Player Name | Position | DoB | # | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Murphy, Joe | Goal | 21 Aug 1981 | 1 | 53 | 0 |
Milne, Kenny | Defence | 26 Aug 1979 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Williams, Marcus | Defence | 08 Apr 1986 | 3 | 34 | 0 |
Crosby, Andy | Defence | 03 Mar 1973 | 4 | 8 (+1) | 0 |
Byrne, Cliff | Defence | 27 Apr 1982 | 6 | 57 | 2 |
Sparrow, Matthew | Midfield | 03 Oct 1981 | 7 | 38 (+12) | 6 |
Thompson, Garry | Midfield | 24 Nov 1980 | 8 | 21 (+11) | 3 |
Hayes, Paul | Forward | 20 Sep 1983 | 9 | 51 (+6) | 20 |
Hooper, Gary | Forward | 26 Jan 1988 | 10 | 55 (+1) | 30 |
Baraclough, Ian | Midfield | 04 Dec 1970 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
Lea, Michael | Defence | 04 Nov 1987 | 14 | 2 (+1) | 0 |
Mirfin, David | Defence | 18 Apr 1985 | 15 | 43 (+1) | 1 |
Woolford, Martyn | Midfield | 13 Oct 1985 | 16 | 44 (+8) | 7 |
McCann, Grant | Midfield | 14 Apr 1980 | 17 | 54 | 10 |
Togwell, Sam | Midfield | 14 Oct 1984 | 18 | 43 (+8) | 4 |
Forte, Jonathan | Forward | 25 Jul 1986 | 19 | 3 (+13) | 0 |
Slocombe, Sam | Goal | 05 Jun 1988 | 20 | 0 | 0 |
Picton, Jake | Defence | 06 Jan 1991 | 21 | 0 | 0 |
Lillis, Josh | Goal | 24 Jun 1987 | 22 | 7 (+2) | 0 |
Hurst, Kevan | Midfield | 27 Aug 1985 | 23 | 15 (+11) | 3 |
Wright, Andrew | Midfield | 15 Jan 1985 | 24 | 21 (+13) | 0 |
Winn, Peter | Forward | 19 Dec 1988 | 25 | 0 | 0 |
Morris, Ian | Midfield | 27 Feb 1987 | 27 | 11 (+21) | 2 |
Wilcox, Joe | Midfield | 18 Apr 1989 | 29 | 0 | 0 |
May, Ben | Forward | 10 Mar 1984 | 30 | 7 (+22) | 4 |
Pressman, Kevin | Goal | 06 Nov 1967 | 40 | 0 | 0 |
* Statistics up to and including 26 May 2009