Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team compete in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system.
The club was formed in 1899 and turned professional after joining the Midland League in 1912. Crowned Midland League champions in the 1926–27 and 1938–39 campaigns, they were elected into the Football League in 1950. They went on to secure promotion as champions of the Third Division North in 1957–58 and spent six seasons in the Second Division, before they were relegated in 1964 and then down to the Fourth Division in 1968. United spent 34 of the next 37 seasons in the basement tier, punctuated by one-season stays in the third tier after they secured promotions in 1971–72, 1982–83 and 1998–99. Brian Laws saw the club promoted out of League Two at the end of the 2004–05 season and his successor, Nigel Adkins, led the club to the League One title in 2006–07. Scunthorpe spent just one season in the Championship, but victory in the 2009 League One play-off final saw the club promoted back into the Championship. They remained in the second tier until two relegations in as many years saw them back into the fourth tier by 2013. Scunthorpe were promoted to League One at the end of the 2013–14 campaign, before being relegated back to League Two in 2019. In 2022, the club was relegated to the National League, ending a 72-year spell in the Football League, and a year later were relegated again, to the National League North.
History Early years: 1899–1958
Scunthorpe United was formed in 1899. In 1910 they merged with local rivals North Lindsey United to become Scunthorpe & Lindsey United and joined the Midland Football League in 1912. After an unsuccessful application to join the Football League in 1921, Scunthorpe & Lindsey won the Midland League in 1926–27 and in 1938–39. When the 1939–40 season came to an abrupt end, due to the outbreak of the Second World War, Scunthorpe & Lindsey finished as runners-up in the second emergency competition, losing 3–2 to Peterborough United in an unofficial play-off game.
After the end of the war, in 1945, Scunthorpe & Lindsey United would re-apply to join the Football League at every opportunity. The club finished as runners-up in the Midland League in 1947–48, and in 1950 was accepted into the Football League, ahead of Workington and Wigan Athletic when the league structure was expanded. The club's first game in Football League Division Three North was against fellow new entrants Shrewsbury Town.
After an unremarkable few years in the Football League, which included the club's first-ever third and fourth-round FA Cup ties (against Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth respectively), the "& Lindsey" was dropped from the club's name in 1958.
The Second Division years: 1958–1964 In 1958 Scunthorpe United won promotion to the Second Division as champions of the Third Division North under the guidance of manager Ron Suart. The Iron then began a steady rise through the Second Division over the next four years under a variety of managers, improving its league position each season until reaching fourth place at the close of the 1961–1962 season, the club's highest league position to date. This was despite the sale of its leading marksman Barrie Thomas to Newcastle United for a reported £40,000.
The year 1962 proved to be a turning point in the fortunes of the club, and in 1964 they finished bottom of the Second Division and were relegated to the now national Third Division. At the same time Scunthorpe United stalwart Jack Brownsword retired after 597 Football League appearances for the club, and Freddie Goodwin replaced Dick Duckworth as the club's manager.
Decline and stagnation: 1964–1987 After relegation from Division Two, the Iron spent the next four years bouncing around in the Third Division. Freddie Goodwin left the club during the 1967–68 season, however his replacement Ron Ashman was unable to save the club from relegation to Division Four at the end of the season. A slight resurgence occurred in the very early 70s, with the Iron first defeating top-flight Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup during January 1970, and then gaining promotion back to the Third Division in 1972. It was during this short period that a young Kevin Keegan was discovered and developed by Ashman before being sold to Liverpool in 1971 for £35,000, having racked up 124 appearances and 18 goals for Scunthorpe.
The Iron were unable to cement a place in the Third Division, and relegation back to the Fourth Division followed immediately in 1973. At the same time, Ron Ashman departed to manage local rivals Grimsby Town, only to return during 1976. The period between his two tenures saw several management changes and a disastrous league campaign which saw the Iron finish rock bottom of the Football League in 1975. In 1980, cricketer Ian Botham was signed as a player for Scunthorpe by Ron Ashman. Botham played for the club until 1984 making 14 appearances. He was also a regular in the Central League for Scunthorpe United Reserves, once scoring a hat-trick against Blackpool at the Old Show Ground. But the next five years saw United stagnate in the bottom half of Division Four, with the club finishing second-bottom at the end of the 1981–82 campaign. Promotion to Division Three was achieved under manager John Duncan in 1983, but immediate relegation was to follow under his successor Allan Clarke in 1984, with United then entering a further period of stagnation in the middle of the Fourth Division table.
New home, new horizons: 1987–1997
In 1988 Scunthorpe United became the first English football club in the modern era to move to a new, purpose-built stadium, Glanford Park. Whilst preparations for the new ground were underway, the club's final season at the Old Show Ground very nearly yielded success. Under the management of Mick Buxton, United qualified for the Division Four play-offs. Ultimately this was not to be, with the Iron losing 2–3 on aggregate to Torquay United in the semi-final. The second leg of this semi-final was to be the last game played at the Old Show Ground, with Steve Lister being the last player to score at the ground.
The club's first season at Glanford Park ended in another play-off semi-final heartbreak, this time losing out 1–5 on aggregate to Wrexham. Further playoff failure occurred in 1991 as the Iron lost out to Blackpool 2–3 (on aggregate) in the semi-final under Buxton's replacement Bill Green. Finally, in 1992 the club made it to the Fourth Division play-off final at Wembley, losing out eventually on a penalty shootout to Blackpool by 4 goals to 3 (see here). This was the club's first-ever appearance at Wembley.
The following four seasons saw United sit consistently in the middle of the now Third Division table under a succession of managers, namely Richard Money and David Moore. Mick Buxton made a surprise return to the club as manager following Moore's sacking in 1996.
The Brian Laws era: 1997–2006 In February 1997, following the end of Mick Buxton's second spell in charge of Scunthorpe United, Brian Laws, one of Buxton's signings to the club as a player, was appointed manager, with Mark Lillis (another Buxton signing) as his assistant. In 1997–98, his first full season in charge, the Iron finished one point outside the play-offs. The following season, the club finished fourth in Division Three. This ensured qualification for the play-offs, which they won after a 3–2 aggregate win in the semi-finals over Swansea City and a 1–0 win over Leyton Orient in the final at Wembley with an early goal from Alex Calvo-Garcia. They were unable to maintain their Division Two status the following season however, and were relegated after finishing in 23rd place.
Laws guided the Iron to their second play-off position finish under his management during the 2002–03 season, with the club finishing in 5th place. Scunthorpe were ultimately denied by their county rivals Lincoln City however, losing the semi-finals 6–3 on aggregate.
On 25 March 2004, following a 2–3 home defeat to Carlisle United two days previously, Laws was sacked from his position as Scunthorpe United manager after a poor run of results saw the Iron sitting just 6 points above the Division Three relegation zone. Assistant manager Russ Wilcox was given the job of caretaker manager, with his first game in charge being a 1–1 draw at home to Leyton Orient. Exactly three weeks later on 15 April 2004, it was announced that Laws had been reinstated as the manager of the Iron after a boardroom shake-up. With only four games of the season left, Laws was tasked with preventing the Iron's relegation from the Football League. Despite three of these four games ending in defeat, results elsewhere swung in the Iron's favour, with the club eventually avoiding the drop to the Conference National by four points, finishing 22nd.
Laws remained with the Iron for the 2004–05 season, which Scunthorpe started in the newly rebranded Football League Two. This gamble ultimately paid off, with the Iron gaining promotion to Football League One as runners up. This was the first time that a Scunthorpe side had obtained automatic promotion in 22 years. Another highlight of this season came with the Iron leading Chelsea, the Premiership champions, 0–1, in the FA Cup third round at Stamford Bridge thanks to an 8th minute Paul Hayes goal. Scunthorpe were ultimately denied, eventually going down 3–1.
In the 2005–06 season, the club secured a mid-table League One finish, marking the first time that the Iron had managed to avoid immediate relegation following a promotion since 1958. Young strikers Billy Sharp and Andy Keogh established themselves as the first-choice strike partnership, and scored 38 goals between them. Again the club led away in the FA Cup third round at a Premier League club – this time, Manchester City – before eventually losing 3–1.
After a successful start to the 2006–07 season, Laws was offered the job of manager at Sheffield Wednesday, which he accepted, ending almost a decade in charge of the Iron.
Into the Championship: 2006–2011 Following Laws' departure, physiotherapist Nigel Adkins was put in temporary charge. After obtaining good results, his role was made permanent. Fans responded with the chant: "Who needs Mourinho, we've got our physio." Despite selling Keogh to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the January transfer window, the club went on to win League One and promotion to the Championship that season, in the process setting a club record 16-match unbeaten run and accumulating 91 points. Billy Sharp was the leading goalscorer in the top four divisions, netting 30.
Billy Sharp was sold to Sheffield United before the start of the following season for a then-club record £2 million. Despite his ostensible replacement, Martin Paterson, scoring 13 league goals, Scunthorpe were unable to cement their place in the second tier, and were relegated in 23rd place. Paterson was sold to Burnley at the end of the season for £1.6m.
The 2008–09 season saw Scunthorpe reach Wembley twice. The Iron qualified for the Football League Trophy final, but were beaten 3–2 after extra time by Luton Town. The club then qualified for the League One play-offs through an 88th-minute equaliser by club captain Cliff Byrne against promotion rivals Tranmere Rovers on the last day of the regular season. Scunthorpe beat MK Dons on penalties after a 1–1 aggregate draw in the semi-finals, before beating Millwall in the Wembley final 3–2, with two goals from Matt Sparrow and one from Martyn Woolford, to achieve promotion back to the Championship at the first time of asking.