Scunthorpe United must overcome perfect storm of problems - OPINION
"Shrewsbury's back four could have been replaced by Christmas trees and we still wouldn't have scored"
Max Bell
Josh Morris reacts after his penalty miss against Shrewsbury Town (Image: David Haber/scunthorpelive)
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Well, the magic has gone out of the FA Cup for another year. At least in Scunthorpe anyway.
Grimsby Town might have an away trip to a Premier League side – but at least we'll get to go ahead with our League One tie at home to Mark Robins' Coventry City that weekend instead - and let's face it, we could definitely do with the points!
It could be worse, we could have got Millwall away, like a certain Hull City. At least Nigel Adkins will have fond memories of playing them! There is always next year eh? No romantic trips to Anfield or Arsenal just yet – no matter how long we're overdue them.
And it was very much with a whimper that this became abundantly clear away in Shropshire on Sunday. To say players, staff, and fans alike became exasperated and disillusioned with the complete and utter lack of attacking quality would be a total understatement.
Frankly, the home side's back four could have been replaced by Christmas trees and we still wouldn't have scored. Josh Morris' dreadful penalty miss simply summed the whole sorry afternoon up.
Even the usually reliable Morris' delivery and execution was consistently poor, and George Thomas' was even worse. You wouldn't know he was a full Welsh international, judging by his performances in claret and blue.
Kyle Wootton reveals the key to Scunthorpe United's hopes this weekend
Shrewsbury probably should have had a man sent off early doors, which could have changed the game. But that hardly helped against Wycombe! We didn't play anywhere near well enough for the whole game, and blaming the referee (especially when he later gave us a very soft penalty) is ridiculous.
This comprehensive lack of attacking quality has created a perfect storm for Scunthorpe. How many difficult saves did the Shrewsbury and Southend goalkeepers make in our last two games? Nil. The quality simply isn't there, and shows no sign of reappearing.
Sadly, Sunday also caused us to seriously question Stuart McCall's tactics and decision making. Playing three centre-halves, no wing-backs or full-backs, Rory McArdle in midfield, and Kyle Wootton so deep, it was practically a 3-6-1… What was the game plan? Answers on a post card!
Despite indisputable evidence that we were playing poorly, only one sub was made and even that was far too late for a proper impact. If we don't trust Humphrys, Ugbo, and Lewis to do a job off the bench when we're struggling – then why on earth are they on the bench at all!?
Not scoring tonnes of goals isn't necessarily a disaster, providing you score at key moments, are clinical with what chances you do create, and you keep clean sheets. Safe to say we're struggling to do any of those at the minute, and have been all season. Whilst Shrewsbury's winning goal at the weekend was undoubtedly a nice finish, it was far too easy and symptomatic of Scunthorpe's long-standing soft defensive underbelly.
If that doesn't change sharpish, this season is only going to get worse. I know that might not sound possible right now – but the fear of failure is a powerful motivating tool! We either need to miraculously start keeping clean sheets, rediscover our scoring touch, sign at least eight new players, or we might be following Crystal Palace's footsteps and playing Grimsby Town next season.
George Thomas in action during the FA Cup Round Two match between Shrewsbury Town and Scunthorpe United. (Image: David Haber/scunthorpelive)
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. It's one of those popular clichés that you see in dodgy memes on social media – often with a picture of a waterfall or a desert in the background, offering faux wisdom.
But you know what? If there is anywhere that it is a gospel truth to live by, it's football. Especially after Scunthorpe's lack of preparation and effective planning in recent years.
Planning and preparing for big milestones doesn't always guarantee that it will happen successfully – but it definitely has greater use than sitting reticent, wondering what might happen next? There has been no concrete strategy executed in the last two January transfer windows, arguably derailing our seasons.
It is patently obvious that we have defensive deficiencies, a number of loan players simply aren't delivering, and we have even started to struggle to create chances and score goals recently.
This opportunity to strengthen (and also not lose key existing players) really could make or break our season.
Do we want to stagger to mid-table mediocrity, or are we happy to risk relegation? Those four weeks will be awfully instructive.
Can we make signings early doors? Because having improvements for as many games as possible is long overdue, starting with a very tough game away to Peterborough on New Year's Day.
Let us only hope that Stuart McCall received concrete guarantees of what will be happening, otherwise if we are yet again trying to react at the last minute, or simply in denial about what positions need strengthening and the fat trimming, then the costs are too high.
This isn't the difference between making the play-offs or not, but whether we will be in League One next season. No pressure, folks.
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