LASTSEASON
LEAGUEONE23rdFACUPSecondRound
LEAGUECUPFirstRoundTOPSCORERLeeNovak(13)LASTSEASON
LEAGUE TWO 10th FA CUP First Round
LEAGUE CUP First Round TOP SCORER Kurtis Guthrie (14)84 Season Preview 2019-20 FourFourTwo
SCUnTHORPE UnITED STEVEnAGE
2019-20
SKY BET LEAGUE TWO
FFTVERDICT
5TH FFT VERDICT
17TH
Paul Hurst has an excellent record
in the lower leagues and should
be the right man to steady the
Scunthorpe ship after relegation.
A large squad needs trimming
but there’s plenty of quality, and
once Hurst imposes his system
the Iron will be difficult to beat.Stevenage threatened a play-off
place with a superb late run under
the entertaining and intense Dino
Maamria (left). The concern is that
it may be difficult to replicate what
was perhaps an overachievement,
given the side’s struggles to create
chances consistently in open play.This season will be different because
last season was seen by many as the
worst in living memory. It stemmed
from a really poor summer: our tour of
Austria was a disaster and we had to
cancel a friendly as we didn’t have the
players. The new manager, Paul Hurst,
builds sides on a foundation of fitness,
so we should be fit if nothing else!
The player I’d happily drive to
another club is our captain, Rory
McArdle, closely followed by James
Perch and Cameron Burgess. A lot of
last season’s underperforming players
are still under contract. McArdle was
a complete donkey, to the point that
I actually felt sorry for him.
The best away ground is Leyton
Orient’s. The fantastic Birkbeck Tavern
is a real favourite with Iron fans.
Our most underrated player is Lee
Novak [below]. He divides opinion, but
his goal return for a side who created
next to nothing in the final third last
season was pretty remarkable.
Our key player will be Ryan Colclough
[above]. He missed much of 2018-19
with a really nasty injury, but when he
gets up to speed he should run rings
around most League Two defences.
Look out for Jordan Hallam. He joined
us from Sheffield United in January
and I think we have a real player on
our hands. Also, Tom Pugh recently
scored on his Wales Under-21 debut.
The one recommendation for away
fans is to try the Honest Lawyer’s
real ales and good atmosphere in
the town centre before the match.
Save the date for Grimsby [away on
December 21]. It’s been 15 long years
since we last met in the league, and
we owe them one for dumping us out
of the FA Cup a few years ago. I’m sure
Humberside Police won’t be as keen.
Did you know that our nickname
used to be the Knuts.
The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is
that Hurst needs to be backed and
allowed to shape the squad, which
might take a few windows to get
right. He certainly talks a good game.
We’ll finish 3rd, says my heart, but
my head says 5th. Anything short of
the play-offs would be disappointing.The big talking point among the fans
is that we’ve changed our badge for
the first time since 1996. That was
always bound to get people talking.
This season will be different because
the manager has now had the benefit
of a full season in charge, so should
have a better idea of what it’ll take to
succeed in this division.
I won’t be happy unless we end up in
the frame for promotion. Although we
timed our play-off push a tad late last
season, we showed what we could do.
Did you know that this summer marks
20 years since chairman Phil Wallace
took over the club. He saved us from
going to the wall.
The one change I’d make to the club
would be to have a bigger fanbase.
The club have tried many initiatives to
get the gates up, but it’s hard to make
a lasting impact.
Look out for Liam Smyth, a forward
who is only 17 but has been mixing it
with the first team for some time now.Our most underrated players are
winger Emmanuel Sonupe [above]
and defender Terence Vancooten.
The opposition player I secretly
admire is Joss Labadie at Newport.
Save the date for Salford away on
August 3 – it isn’t often that we start
the season live on Sky. I can’t think
why our game has been picked...
The best thing about the matchday
experience at Stevenage is that Boro
pull out all the stops to give families
a fantastic day out, including a whole
load of activities and events going on
outside the main stand before kick-off.
The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is
that Dino Maamria is popular enough- you can’t please all of the people all
of the time. There’s no pressure on
him at the moment, but a poor first
half to the season could put him in
a difficult spot. He knows the club
inside out and puts a lot of emphasis
on fitness. At one point he could have
been accused of being too rigid in his
approach, but that went out of the
window when we switched to 5-3-2
in the final stretch of the season.
We’ll finish work on our new North
Stand at last. And, in the league: 6th.
FAn FILE
PETE HAYMAN
@boroguideFAn FILE
MATT BLANCHARD
@ironbru_net