Congratulations Scunthorpe United!

By: Bill Osborne
Date: 16/04/2007

SCUNTHORPE United have been promoted to the Championship League after spending many years in the lower divisions of the Football League. We should forget, for the moment, local rivalries and congratulate them on their promotion.

Scunthorpe have set an example to all clubs in League football proving that anything is achievable without spending millions of pounds. They are not a rich club. They, like Grimsby Town, have limited funds. But they have practiced good housekeeping and have spent their money wisely.

They too were hit by the collapse of the ITV/Digital agreement and overcame their financial difficulties, as did Town.

So Scunthorpe have set the benchmark and, for the time being, claim the title "Pride of Lincolnshire" which we at Grimsby have held for so long.

So we Grimsby Town fans should not deride our local rivals over their victory and success. Instead we should congratulate them and wish them every success in the future. (Far better a local neighbor gets promoted than one of those London clubs)

It might have been us. But over the last few years, we have fought for survival rather than promotion, and it is fair to say that the Conference League appeared many times to be our destination and Scunthorpe have came close to that on more than one occasion.

But they survived and today are celebrating their success. They deserve to. Good luck to them.

But the warning signs are there.

Grimsby Town have now steadied their ship and this season have shown that they are back in contention and, with a bit more luck, could have claimed a play off position.

But whatever, our first objective has been reached. Survival in the league and creating a team that can take us forward.

There would be few among us that would have dared to predict the outcome of this season when it began. It was not looking good for us. That is, until Buckley came back.

The truth is, all we ever needed was a real manager. Buckley has shown what we can do and he has started the long awaited come back. It may take a bit more time. Players will be leaving and new ones coming in but if he is given the opportunity to build his own team, we will be looking to regain our title.

So good luck Scunthorpe United. Celebrate your success and enjoy the champagne. But keep looking over your shoulders.

Buckley's back!

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