Scunthorpe United – Glanford Park

Glanford Park – Scunthorpe United – SeasideEssexXile

Doesn’t quite have the ring of ‘The Old Show Ground’ does it? For those of you too young to remember the previous home of Scunny, the Old Show Ground was a throw back to a footballing era long gone. Home also to the greatest miss ever in my opinion against the Pool. A wet FA Cup tie which saw two Scunthorpe forwards literally pushing each other out of the way to score the winning goal in front of an empty Blackpool net, cue the post and a replay which the mighty won.

The Ground
Now I was surprised to discover that Glandford Park has been the home of the Irons since 1988. One of the first teams to move to a ‘new’ ground it has the feel of Walsall’s Bescott Stadium, with just a little more character. Trying to remain close to footballs roots when the ground was built they kept the home end as terracing. Pool fans are allocated the opposite end behind a goal, where views are restricted by pillars.

All seated the fancily named Caparo Merchant Bar Stand can hold up to 1650 Pool fans. Due to the fact it’s a Monday night game, shown live on Sky we’ll be lucky to take 300+.

How To Get There
From the North West:
M62 to J35, join the M18 signposted South. Leave the M18 at J3 and take the M181 for Scunthorpe. At the end of this motorway, you will see the ground on your right. Turn right (3rd exit) at the first roundabout onto the A18, and then right again (1st exit) into the large car park at the ground.

From the South:
Use the A1 or M1, follow instructions from M180.

By Train:
The nearest station is Scunthorpe which is over 2miles from the ground. Taxi would be the best bet, but if you use the bus then the 341 from Doncaster Rd takes you to the ground.

Where To Drink
The Old Farmhouse is situated right next to the ground, however fans wearing colours will not be allowed in.

The Berkley is a favourite haunt for away fans, head past the ground on the main road towards Scunthorpe, the pub can be found on the 1st roundabout.

Venturing further towards town the Honest Lawyer and the Bluebell are pubs popular for away fans.

Plod & Stewards
Our attendance here two seasons ago saw another ground become a notch on the Mucker’s bedpost. Not surprisingly since then both games at Scunny have been an evening kick off. There’ll be an interested eye from the OB but with the Knobbers, Cardiff & Stow ke games coming up soon our learned friends have bigger fish to fry.

Fear Factor Rating – 3.

We’ve become a bit of a bogey side to Scunny over the last couple of seasons and with the games coming thick and fast what better preparation could there be than going in to Saturdays derby clash than on the back of back to back wins. This game gives us a shot at closing the gap that had appeared and to catch some of those teams sat in mid table. Our last appearance on sky saw us dominate at Barnsley but come away pointless. Here’s hoping that we can put up a decent performance in front of a watching national audience and come away with a much needed away victory just to buoy us up some more before our trip to Sheepdale.

Onwards + Upwards