2009/10 to 2017/18

Scunthorpe United never reached the Premier League in the nine seasons from 2009/10 to 2017/18, spending two in the Championship and seven lower down. Their best finish was 20th in the Championship, in 2009/10. They didn’t win a major trophy. Over those nine summers they paid £384k in transfer fees and took in £2.4m, a net profit of £2m.

Scunthorpe United's spell in the Championship was short and stubborn. Twentieth in 2009/10, with 52 points, was a decent effort on one of the smallest budgets in the division. A year later the effort was not enough, and they finished bottom.

The key moment came in summer 2010. Gary Hooper, the striker at the heart of the 2009/10 survival, left for Celtic for around £2.4m. Scunthorpe went down without him, and three years later Norwich paid £5m to bring him back to England.

On 115.football the Iron get £900m and the benefit of knowing exactly how good Hooper would turn out to be. Keep him, add a few more like him, and 2010/11 becomes a relegation battle you win. After that, Glanford Park can start to dream a little bigger.