Markus von Shrotter

Career
Markus worked his way through the Hoffenheim youth set up and gained his pro contract in the 22/23 season. He was placed in the reserves where he only played one but scored in the game. Hoffenheim made him available on a bosman deal so Gateshead signed the young striker for the 23/24 season. He was sent out on loan to Wrexham where he preformed well, scoring 12 and assisting 8 in 32 games. This impressed Ireland and for the 24/25 season he was a highly used sub striker supporting Oli Shaw when required. He still impressed, only appearing in 20 games, (mostly from the bench) he still netted 7 times that year. With Oli Shaw not showing form in the 25/26 season, Markus was in the limelight to take the reigns, although this wasn't the full case as new signing Antonio Lodi fulfilled these shoes, he was still a very good back-up (scoring 12 and assisting 6) and will be looking to challenge for that top stop in the 26/27 season. Challenge for the spot he did, after showing good performances in the pre-season friendlies and training, von Schrotter impressed Luke Ireland and he promoted him to first choice striker. This showed to be a very good idea from the Gateshead management as he single headedly banged goals in for fun for the north east side. Gateshead gained promotion to the Championship this year, winning the league and also took the Leasing.com trophy. He scored an amazing 44 goals in 45 games along with providing 8 assists which gained him Player of the season. The next year came, and he again finished as the clubs top scorer, but with only 14 goals in the 27/28 season. This was his first year in the Championship and he still performed well throughout the year. The 28/29 season went well for Markus, he ended up playing on the wing more than a striker. He ended the season on 13 goals and 5 assists, taking Gateshead to the play-off positions. The next season saw him have his best season yet in terms of average rating (7.93). This was down to him basically carrying the team (in the goal department) and coming top of the league. He finished the season on 25 goals and 5 assists which would hopefully carry him through nicely to the Premiership. The 30/31 season saw the now club veteran in his 7th season where he ended up mostly on the wings with the loanee signing of Michael Powell. He still managed 5 goals and 2 assists which in turn helped Gateshead reach the Europa League places in their first ever season in the big time. The next season saw him raise his game again, 16 goals and 4 assists over 37 games, helped the side to Europa League victory and with Markus being able to play on both flank and up top, he was vital for this seasons success. The 32/33 season saw him again have another year, spending most of his time on the wings, he got 12 goals and 2 assists, helping Primo Giuranna get the top scorer award. They also ended up winning the Premiership tht year, setting sites for the Champions League the following year. Von Schrotter headed into his 10th season at the club and at this point, he had fallen down the pecking order. Youngsters and new signing were creeping into his place, so he only made 27 appearances that year. 8 goals and 2 assists from mostly bench appearances was still very respectable, and also ended the season with the side winning the Champions League was a wonderful way to end Ireland's time at the club. Markus went down as the clubs top scorer over this time of the club, 156 goals to his name along with 39 assists saw him challenged by nobody in this field. He also joined the few people to have appeared in over 300 games. With the amount of team and personal trophies and only being 28 years of age, it was clear that he wasn't quite done yet.