Football Season Guide

Salford City

In


Nick Hayes (Goalkeeper, Hertford Town), Vaclav Hladky (Goalkeeper, St Mirren), Jordan Turnbull (Defender, Northampton Town), Tom Clarke (Defender, Preston North End), Ashley Hunter (Midfielder, Fleetwood Town), Jason Lowe (Midfielder, Bolton Wanderers), Ian Henderson (Attacker, Rochdale)

Out


Chris Neal (Goalkeeper, AFC Fylde), Kyle Letheren (Goalkeeper, released), Cameron Burgess (Defender, Scunthorpe United, Loan ended), Carl Piergianni (Defender, Oldham Athletic), George Tanner (Defender, Manchester United, Loan ended), Jack Baldwin (Defender, Sunderland, Loan ended), Nathan Pond (Defender, released), Sam Hughes (Defender, Leicester City, Loan ended), Scott Wiseman (Defender, released), Craig Conway (Midfielder, released), Danny Whitehead (Midfielder, Port Vale), Mark Shelton (Midfielder, released), Michael O’Connor (Midfielder, Glenavon), Devante Rodney (Attacker, Port Vale), Jake Jervis (Attacker, Luton Town, Loan ended)

Gary Neville was something of a shining light as the Covid-19 pandemic hit the North West in Spring. The football pundit allowed his Manchester hotels to be used by NHS staff during lockdown. It was a gesture which drew a stark reflection to the cut-throat business of professional. Meanwhile his Salford City side saw their inaugural Football League season come to a premature end, with an 11th-place finish in League 2 decided by the PPG method. The season still hasn’t quite ended however, as they face Portsmouth in the final of the EFL Trophy at Wembley, on a date still to be decided. It was a frustrating league campaign for everyone at Moor Lane, including manager Graham Alexander, who was unable to find an answer to this side’s inconsistency, especially at home. They invested heavily again, with several players struggling to justify that investment. One of the success stories came in striker Brandon Asante-Thomas, who burst onto the scene before Christmas with some exciting displays. Alexander has looked to Vaclav Hladky to solve his goalkeeping problems, having enjoyed a stellar season with St Mirren. Centre-backs Jordan Turnbull and Tom Clarke and striker Ian Henderson look to be excellent additions to a strong squad and they should be challenging for the top seven this time around.

Target


Play-offs. After a season of consolidation in the Football League, Alexander will be under pressure to deliver a play-off finish this year.