Away Game Preview v Scunthorpe

[Supermarket Prodigy 0]

Hi all, might do this on a regular basis for away games if it gathers interest. I''m aiming to step away from my creative narrative and develop a hardened journalistic style. All thoughts welcome and appreciated!

SP

SCUNTHORPE UNITED PREVIEW:

CITY travel to Glanford Park in search of their first points of their Championship campaign. Grant Holt''s starring role against Gillingham in the Carling Cup has given manager Paul Lambert food for thought with Simeon Jackson returning to the matchday squad. Andrew Crofts returns from international duty while defender Zak Whitbread is still not fit enough to be considered. City''s opponents have began the season with two consecutive 2-1 victories, over Oldham in the Carling Cup and more impressively Reading away at the Madejski stadium during the opening weekend.

CANARY TALKING POINTS:

John Ruddy, Goalkeeper: John is working hard to fill the void left by a certain Fraser Forster, after a shaky start against Watford he was much improved against Gillingham in the Carling Cup with two confidence-boosting saves for himself and fans alike. Stating pre-match that he hopes to become better than Forster, Ruddy clearly is a man confident in his own ability. After looking solid against a League 2 club, John will look to prove his doubters wrong in the Championship.

Grant Holt, Striker: Grant''s impressive display in midweek it would appear he''s storming back to full fitness. Two goals and an assist capped a man of the match performance from the skipper but the questions remains as to whether he can make the step up to the Championship?

Simeon Jackson, Striker: Simeon is in a similar situation to Holt, prolific at lower levels though unproven at the higher leagues. After not being able to play against former club Gillingham, does he come back into the side? Or will Jacko have to make do with a place on the bench?

v Gillingham, Carling Cup 1st Round: The Canaries bounced back to winning ways with a comfortable victory of the Gills, confidence seemed to spread through the side as the more goals went in, the football improved, though defensively Norwich still looked a little shaky. The important thing now would be to build on the performance, the football and use it as a springboard for the new season. The defence will tighten, though with Super Chrissy and Holty on top form, a we''ll score more one than you strategy may come into play.

THE IRON:

Suspensions/Injuries: After a red card against Oldham in the Carling Cup, Sam Togwell will not be able to face the Canaries. Though, other than that it would seem likely that the Iron will be at full-strength with Eddie Nolan and Joe Murphy returning from international duty, while David Mirfin, Josh Wright and Michael O''Connor are all expected to be passed fit. It would leave the Iron at full strength as the Canaries fly into town.

Form: Two wins out of two for Scunthorpe have been an ideal start to the season. On the opening weekend they travelled to Reading where they came away with an impressive 2-1 victory, goals from Garry Thompson and Rob Jones cancelled out a superb effort from Sigurdsson. Although Reading had the majority of possession and greater amount of shots, the Iron held on for all three points. In midweek, Oldham Athletic were the visitors to Glanford Park. Oldham took the lead through Djeny Bembo-Leta, Jonathan Forte levelled the scores before Martyn Woolford got an 83rd minute winner. It''s been a solid start for Scunthorpe, nothing spectacular though all in all two victories, meaning their confidence is likely to be high coming into their game with the Canaries.

The Gaffer: 45 year old Nigel Adkins has been in charge of Scunthorpe since 2006. In that time he has led the club to two promotions while being relegated once, while winning 81 of his 194 games in charge, Adkins has a respectable win ratio of 41.75%. Formerly their physio, Adkins has adapted to managerial life with solid style and continues to lead Scunthorpe forwards.

PROBABLE TEAMS:

CITY: Ruddy, R. Martin, Drury, Ward, Nelson, Crofts, Hoolahan, Fox, Surman, Holt, C. Martin.  

IRON: Murphy, Nolan, Jones, Mirfin, McNulty, Thompson, Wright, Woolford, O''Connor, Dagnall, Forte.

THE VERDICT: City''s form away from home last season was second to none, backed by a travelling army of thousands and with confidence beginning to grow, I can''t look past City getting their first points of the season. Scunthorpe is a difficult place to go, though, the Canaries will have more quality than the Iron and come out as 2-0 winners.

[Excited Canary 19]

Damn. I was just about to post mine and you had done it. Nevermind.

[Supermarket Prodigy 0]

Post it mate! It''s always good to get different opinions and styles with things like this.

SP

[Excited Canary 19]

It''s alright, I wasn''t that far through it tbf!Yours is a good read, keep it up! You do away games, I''ll do home games! Deal[;)]

[Supermarket Prodigy 0]

Sounds good! Deal!

SP