They came, they saw, they at least tried

Hello all

Yesterday afternoon it emerged that Jake Jones, a player who had been on loan at the Imps last season, wasn't going to join City afterall and it caused many to question his desire to play football, and his professionalism. Whilst I don't share that view, I decided to come up with a team of Lincoln players (that I have seen) where you would never, ever question any of their commitment to the cause.

This list is compiled from each team since the 2000/1 season, which was the first year I started watching the club on a regular basis. Some are club legends, some are names few of the younger fans will ever have heard of, but each one of them gave their all for the cause.

Goalkeeper - Alan Marriott

Goalkeeping legend Alan Marriott broke so many club records it was ridiculous. He holds the record for the most appearances for a goalkeeper, totted up over 100 clean sheets for the club and was the only man to play in all of Lincoln's 11 Playoff matches. He joined the club from Tottenham in 1999 and quickly established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the lower leagues, often scouted by teams much higher up in the structure, including Bradford in 2005, who were in the Championship at the time.

Marriott after the 2002/3 Playoff Final

Marriott was also the last player that we offered a three year contract to, yes, three years. No player has been offered that length since and most are lucky to get a two year contract. He left the club in 2008, just one season shy of a testimonial, and went on to play for Rushden before eventually joining Mansfield.

There is not one person who can question Alan's commitment to the Imps during his 9 year spell. Every match he put in as much effort as he could and when he made a mistake, you could tell that he was absolutely devastated.

I have a lot of time for Alan, he would gladly talk to fans about any issues, and at one point in the 2006/7 season we had a lengthy discussion about my rather unfair criticism of the team at that time.

Alan has been linked with a move back to the club at some point, but one thing is for sure, the club certainly haven't been able to adequately replace him since he left.

Defender - Mark Bailey

Mark Bailey joined the club from Northwich after Keith Alexander had recommended him to the then

manager, Alan Buckley. Whilst Bailey's first season at the club was quiet, it was the second season that he soon became heavily noticed by the fans.

In the first half of games at Sincil Bank, the Imps were generally shooting towards the South Park end of the ground and Bailey would be in a start position right next to the CO-OP, before every single game he was there getting the crowd going and you knew that he would always give 100%, and the defenders knew it to.

He was an extremely reliable defender who few wingers liked playing against, and his battles against Scunthorpe's Peter Beagrie were epic. He rarely didn't put everything into tackles and it got him in trouble with a lot of referees, even getting the odd sending off.

At the end of the 2003/4 in a Playoff Semi Final second leg against Huddersfield, Bailey scored a dramatic goal that put the Imps 3-2 up on aggregate. It wasn't to be enough however as the hosts eventually won 4-3 on aggregate and despite the pitch invasion from Huddersfield fans, Bailey made his way over to the away end to applaud the 3,500 Lincoln fans. It was the last time he would be seen in a Lincoln shirt.

We haven't had a right back like Bailey since he left, and it's a shame that he couldn't stay with us longer as we certainly weren't as effective on the right hand side of defence, with Peter Beagrie enjoying a field day against the Imps at the beginning of the 2004/5 season.

Defender - Simon Weaver

If you still have your programme from the 2002/3 Playoff Final, you will read a quote from Ben Sedgemore that says "Simon Weaver would jump in front of a moving train if it meant it wouldn't get to the Lincoln goal" (or words to that effect) and that sums Weaver up for me.

One of the unsung heroes of the defence of that season, a defence that only conceded 37 goals in a 46 game season, Weaver was one of those who you believe would still demand to play on even if his head had been ripped open and the blood was pouring down his face (similar to Terry Butcher). Alongside the ever dependable Paul Morgan, and Ben Futcher, they formed a central defensive rock that has seldom been seen at any level beneath the Premier League.

Weaver was a man who gave his all and it was just a pity that City's success on the pitch meant that we could bring in better defenders (such as McCombe and McAuley) and he soon get left behind before leaving in late 2004 to go to Kidderminster.

Simon went on a tour of the non-league afterwards and eventually found himself as the manager of Harrogate Town, a team who now play City in the pre-season.

Defender - Mark Camm

Right now I imagine all the City fans who started supporting the club after 2004 are thinking "who?" and to

be honest, I think a few fans from before then would also be struggling to remember Mr Camm, but that's what happens when you only make 32 appearances over a four year spell.

Camm joined the club from Sheffield United in 2000 as a midfielder but semi regularly found himself in the defence.....and it was hard to tell him apart from Paul Mayo when they played next to each other, and they played in a relatively similar way....with one major exception, Camm was very nippy. Camm could sneak in between two players and they'd only notice he was there when it was too late, he was also busting a gut to get there.

He was never deemed a regular at Sincil Bank, average just eight games a year, but I was personally very excited to see him play as he was one of those who you knew wouldn't give up.

The youngster, when he left, disappeared into non-league and his last major contribution anywhere was helping Boston win promotion in 2010.

Defender - Matt Bloomer

I feel sorry for Matt in many ways because the one game he is always remembered for is that game against Wycombe when Nathan Tyson danced around him like he wasn't there, it made a lot of people forget just how reliable Bloomer generally was.

He started life at Grimsby before joining Hull. He struggled to get into the squad at Boothferry Park and was eventually loaned out to Lincoln, where he made enough of an impression for the club to sign him permanently.......after he had joined Telford in the summer of 2002. Bloomer went on to become one of the most consistent performers in the Lincoln squad, but much like Weaver, he was a bit of an unsung hero, often letting other's take the glory.

What you got with Matt was the knowledge that he was a consistent performer and would do his utmost to make sure that the Imps won, he even chipped in with a goal every now and then. He never established himself as a regular first team player though and left in 2006.

Midfielder - Chris Herd

I was a big fan of Chris Herd's and still am to this day. Virtually no-one had heard of the Australian before he walked out of the tunnel in the FA Cup game at Northwich Victoria, but what the fans who were there saw was 90 minutes worth of effort, sweat, and an ability to beat people to headers who were at least a foot taller than him.

To say Herd was full of energy was an understatement, he was an incredible little bundle of energy, and I still say to this day that if it wasn't for him and Davide Somma, we would have gone down a year earlier than we actually did.

Chris was the last player to play in a City shirt who I got excited when he got on the ball. He wasn't afraid to run at defenders or shoot, and get stuck into tackles, which won him many fans.....and conversations with referees.

His loan spell ended and he was offered a new contract at Aston Villa. We almost got him back on loan before an injury. Injuries have restricted him to just 34 appearances for Aston Villa in the three years since he left Lincoln, and many wouldn't be surprised if he gets released from his contract when it's up.

I would definitely have him back at Sincil Bank without even thinking about it.....whether he would come back is a very different matter of course.

Midfielder - Richard Butcher (1981 - 2011 RIP)

If there is a Lincoln fan who doesn't know who Richard Butcher is, then there is something very, very wrong. Butcher played for the Imps on three separate occasions during the last ten years and there is not a single time during any of those spells that anyone could question his commitment or desire....except for maybe Chris Sutton.

Butcher was the great chaser (and rescuer) of lost causes. The amount of times the ball was going out of play and he would sprint as fast as his body could carry him just to get to it was unbelievable. He was in many ways the perfect Keith Alexander player, he was skillful, he had all the effort you could possibly ask of a player and best of all, he was extremely approachable.

Lincoln seemed like home to Butcher, he never really seemed to fit in anywhere else (except for Macclesfield at the end of his career). He was heavily heckled at Oldham and despite a record just shy of a goal every four games for Notts County (a record a LOT of strikers would be pleased at), he wasn't popular there, and he only ever really seemed truly happy when he was at Lincoln.

His first two spells at the club were heavily successful, whereas his third didn't go quite according to plan under Peter Jackson, and went even further downhill when Chris Sutton took charge. He eventually signed for Macclesfield and played for them until January 9th 2011, the day of his death.

RIP Richard.

Midfielder - Danny Lloyd

It's December 2011 and the Imps are doing something they wish they didn't have to do, and that is

participating in the FA Trophy. The first round saw the Imps drawn away to the Colwyn Bay, a lengthy trip considering that the draw was regionalised. City comfortably won 3-1 but there was a member of the Colwyn Bay side that caught the eye, winger Danny Lloyd.

A few months later and Lloyd had been signed by the Imps and although his City career got off to a slow start, Lloyd soon became one of the key members of the first team. He had bundles of energy and the enthusiasm you would expect of a young player getting his first proper taste of professional football. Whilst not to the same extent as Chris Herd, whenever Danny got the ball you expected things to happen, and by the end of the season he had gained the respect of a lot of fans.

Unfortunately things didn't quite work out with the contract and he left the club, rejoining Colwyn Bay. I would personally love to see Danny back at Lincoln, and whilst some might not agree with my view of his contribution, you will find very few people who didn't think he put in a LOT of effor.

Midfielder - Jake Sheridan

The only current member of the squad on this list is a player who surprised many last season. In 2011/12 not many people really rated Sheridan, however, the opinion of a lot of people changed in the 2012/13 season

as Jake suddenly turned into this player who would never give up a lost cause, would never stop and didn't know the meaning of the word quit, he just changed completely overnight.

More than anybody who played for the Imps in the 2012/13 season, you knew that Jake would always give his everything for the cause. He was the only man who you could rely on to give 100% for 100% of every match that he played. When others were having bad games, their heads would sink, Jake would just get on with it and try and make up for his mistakes, it might not have worked some of the time but it was a nice changed to see someone who tried their hardest, even when things weren't going their way.

Jake signed a new contract to stay at the club for the 2013/14 season.

Forward - Dave Cameron

No, not the Prime Minister.

What can you really say about a man who's nickname was "Soggy Dave?". I'll be honest, I don't remember a lot about Dave Cameron, but the one thing I do remember that tells you all you need to know comes from what would have been his final touch as a Lincoln City player.

It's April 2002, the Imps are playing their last game of the 2001/2 season (and possibly their last game ever
due to financial difficulties) away at Hull City and it's 1-1 going into the final few minutes. Hull hit the bar and the Imps take it down the other end, Tony Battersby bursts.....well, I say bursts, he casually waddled.....free of the defender but instead of shooting he decides to pass to Dave. Dave is busting a lung to make it into the box in time to reach the ball, the sweat dripping down his face and that look of desperation that tells you that he wants to get there. He arrives just in the nick of time to meet the ball, he swings his boot at it......and completely misses the ball......six inches out from goal....and the ball rolls out for a goal kick.

If that doesn't sum up Dave Cameron, I don't know what will.

Forward - Simon Yeo

Every man and his dog at Sincil Bank knows who Mr Yeo is. More than 50 goals for the club between 2002 and 2006 makes him easily the highest scorer at the club this millennium, however, despite what a lot of City fans will tell you and despite what the stats may say, there was a time when Simon Yeo couldn't hit a barn door.

It's September 21st 2002 and Simon Yeo scores against Southend and the Imps eventually win the game 2-

1. It would be Simon's last league goal until May.....and even that took a heavy deflection off of someone's shoulder. During that time Yeo missed chance after chance after chance. In a 2-0 defeat at Bury, Yeo at one point hit a shot at the keeper, it rebounded to him, he hit the post, it rebounded again and he hit the same post again, it rebounded AGAIN.....and Yeo hit it wide.

In all honesty, if Yeo had stuck away even just a quarter of the chances he spurned during that season then we wouldn't have even needed the Playoff Final, however, the reason Mr Yeo is in this list is that during the season, despite all the missed chances, the wild volleys from two yards out that went nearer the corner flag that the goalkeeper and the general bad luck, there wasn't one time when I questioned Simon's effort.

It's safe to say that none of the strikers we had that year really shone above any of the others, the fact a defender was the leading goalscorer backs that up, but there was only one who was trying for every single minute that he played, and that was Simon Yeo. Obviously it all worked out for him in the end and he went on to be the most prolific striker we've had this millennium in terms of goals scored, but for me that effort put in during that spell was incredible.







So there you have it, my "They At Least Tried" XI

Sir Alex Ferguson to retire

Hello all,

I know this is a bit of a strange blog entry given that this is a Lincoln City blog, however, most of you know that I am also a Manchester United fan. This season I got a season ticket and although I have decided not to renew it next season (I simply can't afford it), I am pleased that it has come in a season where United will lift the Premier League trophy in the final game at Old Trafford, however, that will now only be a background story to what will turn out to be the last time Sir Alex Ferguson will take charge at Old Trafford.

This morning came the news that Sir Alex Ferguson is to retire, bringing to an end the career of the greatest manager that the British Isles have ever produced. I know Liverpool fans will argue for people like Paisley, but in terms of pure amount of trophies and how he has turned around Manchester United's successes in a near 30 year period is quite astonishing.

For me personally it will be extremely strange. I started supporting United in the late 80s, so Ferguson is literally all I've known at United, and it will now seem strange looking back at all the season reviews to see what will become the former manager at United.

I can't say I'm actually surprised really, afterall, it was going to come at some point in the near future anyway. He's 71 and with the increasing health problems associated with that age, it is probably the right time to retire and actually have enough time to enjoy the retirement. Yes, he will be staying at the club in a director capacity, but the stress and strain of management will no longer be on him and in that sense, it's probably the right choice for him, and more importantly his family.

Looking back at his time in charge of the club, there are  many great performances that I could use to pick as a fine example of the Ferguson era, however, I am going to choose what was actually a very poor performance, the 1999 Champions League Final. For 90 minutes of that match United were awful and Bayern Munich should have been miles out of sight before Sheringham scored just as the match entered extra-time......about 60-90 seconds later Ole Gunner Solskjaer popped up with the winner in what is arguably the most dramatic finish to a final ever.

Infact, it was the perfect end to a Champions League campaign where United hadn't actually won that many games. Untied had to come through the qualification rounds against LKS Lodz and in the group United only beat Brondby, infact out of 12 games in the Champions League (minus qualification rounds) that year, United actually only won 5 (6-2 vs Brondby, 6-0 vs Brondy, 2-0 vs Inter Milan, 3-2 vs Juventus and 2-1 vs Bayern), but the important part was that United didn't actually lose any of the other seven and remain one of the few teams in the competition's history to actually win the trophy without losing a match.

It certainly hasn't been easy getting to be known as one of the world's elite. These days a lot of fans just expect United to get to the latter stages of the Champions League, whereas in the 90s it wasn't uncommon to see United head out of Europe (in any competition) early, including going out of the UEFA Cup on penalties to Torpedo Moscow in 1992/3, losing 3-1 to IFK Gothenburg in 1994/5's Champions League group stage and Rotor

Volgograd in 1995/6 in the UEFA Cup. However, after all of those struggles in Europe, United did come through and not making at least the quarter final stage became the rarity.

Turning relative unknowns into world class players became a common occurence as he plucked players from

relative obsurity, players such as the numerous youth team players that made it through the ranks, Beckham, the Neville brothers, Scholes, Butt, etc, to those that came from other clubs, Solskjaer, Vidic, Ronaldo, Evra, Schmeichel and many, many others......we'll just ignore the likes of William Prunier, Massimo Taibi, Kleberson, Djemba Djemba and Bebe for this section.

There have been numerous occasions where a team has come along and threatened to replace United as the consistently dominant force in English football since the first Premier League win in 1992, Blackburn, Arsenal, Chelsea and now Manchester City have all come along and none have really cemented their dominance for more than a year or two. You look at the great rivalry between United and Arsenal from 1997/8 right through to 2004/5 and it was touch and go as to who would come out as the better of the two, but since that period United have easily moved off into the distance compared to Arsenal. It was that "you've won the battle, but we'll win the war" attitude that continued throughout Ferguson's reign.

So who to get in as a replacement? Well the obvious names are being banded about, Moyes and Mourinho being top of that list, whilst a whole plethora of ex-players are also being linked, in particular my favourite ever United player, Ole Gunner Solskjaer. Whoever gets the job will have probably the hardest job in football as the success over the last near-27 years means that all United fans have a heavy level of expectency, and it will certainly be interesting to see if the fans stuck by a new manager if they didn't win anything for a few years, similar in many ways to how United did at the start of the Sir Alex reign.

But for now, I would just like to say thank you to Sir Alex for all he has done for the club I have supported since childhood and giving me some of my favourite memories from my youth.

Enjoy retirement.

End Of Season Review

Hello all

I just wanted to spend some time talking about the now-past season and although I love the club, I'm glad to see the back of them for the three month spell before pre-season starts. What I wouldn't give for a simple midtable season.

MORTAL KOMBAT
Squirrel Wins - Flawless Victory

It was an unusual season in many ways, for example, on several occasions we loaned in players from teams who we were facing a few days later, meaning that they couldn't actually play. There were also non-Lincoln related aspects that made this an unusual season, such as the then Scunthorpe manager Alan Knill getting knocked off his bike by a squirrel, Eden Hazard of Chelsea getting sent off for kicking a ball boy (although replays showed he was clearly trying to get the ball) and other little oddities like this, I suppose that is why we love football.

Then there's not to forget those players that signed for us and left without playing a single minute for the club. Ten months ago we had signed Ashley Westwood and within a month he had joined Portsmouth as a coach....or how about Geoffrey Gouveia? Jake Turner, anybody?

When you look at incidents throughout the season you notice how such small things can change so many things. For example, when the Imps and Mansfield were drawn against each other in the FA Cup, there was only a mere handful of points between the clubs and Mansfield fans were constantly on abusing their players for not really being worth their money....they popped up with a 93rd minute equaliser before winning the replay. After that game City slid back down the table, whereas Mansfield went on a brilliant run of form that eventually resulted in them being crowned Champions and returning to the Football League.

Overall I am mixed about the years, when we were good we were very good, but when we were bad we were absolutely awful I remember spending the half time at the Luton game standing in the concourse with other fans talking about how we were definitely going to go down....we won both of the games after that.

The Main Positive

My own pre-season aim would be to show some sort of progression, either in terms of points or position in the league, and although it may not feel like it, we achieved both of those. We gained seven more points than last season (49 vs 56) and finished higher (17th vs 16th), we even scored more goals (56 vs 66), so if we were talking strictly about progression then that is precisely what happened, but it doesn't really feel about it.

It seems bizarre that just eight days ago we were looking at the table thinking that it all looked extremely bleak, but two convincing displays later and the league table actually made us look slightly better than we were the season before.

The Main Negative

This one should be obvious really, the fact that we were in another relegation battle. Our season again broke down into large chunks of being poor and then the odd spell here and there of actually doing quite well, but in general we were poor. Granted, had this been any other season then we would have comfortably been safe going into the final weeks of the season, but given that we knew other teams were winning on a regular basis, you could question the effort and commitment of some players.

Matches

Best Home Performance : Strangely I think our better performances have come when we have lost. The only home games that we won where I can say we were excellent throughout the match were the games against Walsall and Hereford, however, the game I am going to pick as the best performance was one where we not only failed to win, but failed to score. Mansfield came as one of the inform teams in the entire division and we battered them for 90 minutes....unfortunately the 91st minute was the downfall as Green scored with a rare Mansfield effort.

The scoreboard at Wrexham
They did eventually pull one back.

Best Away Performance : Very few contenders for this one but there are three that stick in my head, Hyde, Wrexham and Walsall. I know a few will be thinking "What about Dartford when we were 4-0 up at half time?" .... we could have also easily lost that game in the second half because the performance after the rbeak was that bad) I'm going to with Wrexham because although we won at Walsall, we spent large parts of that game defending. At Wrexham we put in a complete performance and took our chances, something that hasn't been the case throughout the season and we thrashed a team that finished in the Playoffs.

Worst Home Performance : An extremely wide open category to say the least. Heavy contenders in this category include Alfreton, Ebbsfleet and Woking, but for me the game that stands out was Barrow. We have just gotten rid of Holdsworth and we were facing a team who were well entrenched in the relegation zone....what followed was 90 minutes of us not really coming close to challenging their Barrow goalkeeper. In part that was down to the excellent individual performance of Efe Sodje, but all in all the performance was just awesome.

Worst Away Performance : In what was a very wide open category, including Forest Green, Southport and Luton, I have instead chosen the 1-0 defeat at Nuneaton. It was deemed as a massive game for the club and the players just really didn't look like they gave a shit. I can't recall us having a single shot on goal and we would have been lucky to get out of the game with a point due to the poor performance.

Best Team Seen : This was a category that was only ever going to have one winner. Whilst Macclesfield were excellent in the game at Sincil Bank, they were very average in the game at Moss Rose, before that they were the only serious challengers to the eventual choice for this, Newport County. To say we were lucky to only go into half time at the away game at 2-0 was a vast understatement, they absolutely battered us that half. The away game at Sincil Bank was a more even contest but they were deadly on the break and after seeing each team at least twice, they were by far the best team I saw.

Worst Team Seen : One of the favourites for this would have to be Braintree for losing 3-0 to us twice,

Ewen Fields : Home Of Hyde
Despite winning here 5-1 on the final day of the season,
I didn't consider Hyde to be one of the worst sides I saw this season.

however, many forget that in the game at Sincil Bank they were the better team by a long way, and we scored with pretty much our only three attacks. Instead, I am going to go for Tamworth, a team we faced three times and a side that offered extremely little in any of those three games. They scored after 30 seconds in the league away game and then barely went out of their own half, it was pretty much the same in the home game, and in the trophy game they only had a good five minute spell right at the end.

Best Individual Opposition Player : In here would be the usual suspects such as Kissock (Luton, on loan at Macclesfield) but Efe Sodje (Barrow, on loan from Bury) takes this for me. The vastly experienced Sodje has always been a pain in City's side and it was no different when he was comfortably the best player on the pitch when we faced Barrow at home. During his loan spell their goals against column definitely got added to less often, and they even garnered realistic chances of staying up at one point

Worst Individual Player : In a season where very few people have stood out as particularly bad for the opposition, it would normally be hard to pick out a winner, but oh no, this year the winner by a clear country mile goes to David Grof (Walsall). Quite possibly the worst goalkeeper I have ever seen, Grof was one of the main reasons we beat Walsall, he would turn shots going harmlessly wide (and wide by about 6/7 yards) into corners, he would drop the ball on a regular basis and was slow off his line. Whilst not specifically at fault for any of the goals, if they had been fancy a better team than us then they would have lost by more than the two goals that they eventually did.

Players

Brad Barraclough - Left the club

Brad was one of those who never really got a proper chance in the first team, but when he did make those ever fleeting experiences he was barely noticeable. Probably the best thing for all parties concerned that he left in January.

Aristide Basselle - Left the club

I'll be honest, I can't really remember him playing. I know the name and certainly remember him coming on one or twice, but can I really how he actually played? Nope. Another successful loan spell!

Peter Bore - Left the club

I liked Bore, he was one of those who was never going to set the world alight with skill but he came in and did was he supposed to do in a quiet manner. A good utility player who I personally thought we
Andrew Boyce

Seemingly one of the first names on the team sheet, Boyce has had a reasonable first season for the Imps as he often kept small strikers out of the game quite easily. The only trouble with Boyce was that when he was facing someone who was at least his own size then he struggled.

He's still young though and has many years ahead of him, so hopefully he will learn to play against big strikers and when he does, we won't be like sitting ducks.

Adam Boyd - Left the club

Adam Boyd
Played a grand total of 10 minutes for the Imps

I will personally harp on about this for a while because it was ridiculous getting in a striker who scored relatively consistently at a much higher level and only give him 10 minutes in one game before getting rid. It was also frustrating that some fans said that they were not impressed after those 10 minutes and he didn't contribute much.....I could point out any number of players who've gone on to have great City careers who didn't set the world alight in their first ten minutes of football.

What made it even more ridiculous getting rid of him was that none of the strikers who were at the club were scoring at the time, and yet Boyd wasn't even given the chance.


Nat Brown - Has left the club

He was awful during his first spell at the club and hasn't been much better in his second spell. He's certainly a better defender than a midfielder but Nat Brown is certainly not a long term option for stability, but would I be surprised if he was here next season if Simpson is in charge? No, not at all.


Chris Bush - Left the club

Consistently out of position and I found it no coincendence that our defence got considerably less reliable when he turned up.

Luke Daley - Left the club

The fact he played against us recently for Braintree and no-one remembered who he was says it all about his contribution to the cause earlier in the season.

Tony Diange - Has left the club

Other than his performance at Braintree, Diagne was another pretty poor loan signing. I did find it strange that Simpson said that he wouldn't bring players in if they weren't stronger than what we already had.....and yet Diagne replaced someone who was considerably better than him.

Rob Duffy - Left the club

Due to injury he rarely played before leaving the club in April. Consistently arguing with his team-mates and almost got into a fight with Gary Mills in the pre-season game at Eastwood. I saw him 3/4 times during pre-season and then for the games before he got injured and he contributed very little on the pitch.

Paul Farman

Paul Farman

A bit of a Jekyll and Hyde keeper as he is saving you points one minute and then turning victories into defeats the next. Early on in the season it appeared that the Player of the Season was already a certainty but then Farman made mistake after mistake and was righly dropped. He came back and the mistakes disappeared for the most part, but occasionally crept back in (such as against Wrexham).

Before next season he definitely needs to work on his kicking because his poor attempts at clearing the ball have cost us points on several occasions.

Mamadou Fofana

When he first started out "Mo" reminded me a LOT of Marcus Richardson, fairly clumbsy on the ball and devoid of any real skill, however, as time went on he became a vital part of the team. He was a key part of the team that went 10 games without defeat, and we went downhill after he was injured. Surprisingly good with his feet for his size.

Scott Garner - Left the club

Garner came on loan and our defence suddenly lost all form and consistency. In a season full of defenders not putting in good performances, Garner was probably the worst. I can't recall him having one good game and it's no surprise that he has barely played in the final few months of the season.

Peter Gilbert

The best left back we have had at the club during the season. He was consistent, a good distrubtor of the ball, and when he wasn't playing we regularly conceded from that side. He was another key part of that 10 game unbeaten run and was probably the last good signing that Holdsworth made (that actually played).

Dan Gray

Dan Gray, the modern day Matt Bloomer....and I don't mean that as an insult. Dan is a player who goes about his business very subtlely and is probably the most under-rated player throughout the season. A fairly dependable defender who rarely made a mistake, but can also play in numerous positions.

Craig Hobson - Left the club

Craig Hobson
Arguably one of the most useless players in
Lincoln City's history

If ever there is a list compiled of some of the worst players to have represented Lincoln in their history, Craig Hobson will surely be one of the nominees. Not only was he crap, but I don't think I have ever seen a player give such a low level of effort into everything. He barely ran and when he did it was with no urgency, he wasted all but one of the brilliant goalscoring opportunities that were fed to him and I can't think of one redeemable quality that he had.

Graham Hutchinson - Left the club

A former youth team player who returned on loan and was barely noticeable.

Jake Jones - Left the club

Exciting player on loan from Walsall who changed many games when he came on.....and won a lot of penalties. He reminded me a lot of Chris Herd, who I still rate as the most exciting midfielder we have had in recent years. It was surprisingly that Walsall let him come to us after we beat them in the FA Cup, but they are optimistic about his future and from what I have heard, we might attempt to get him on a season length loan next year.

Todd Jordan

Young player bought in by Simpson and was reasonably solid in the time he was at the club. Reminds me a bit of Jamie McCombe in terms of size and general approach to playing.

Colin Larkin - Left the club

I never rated Larkin. He didn't really contribute enough for me and other than a hatrick at Dartford he was pretty limp when in front of goal, as, if you take out that game, all his goals came from the penalty spot or took a heavy heavy deflection on it's way out of play.

I wasn't disappointed when he left as we can do much better.

Mark McCammon - Left the club

Made the cameo appearance at Newport at the beginning of the season and then left again. Nothing more really needs to be said.

Tom Miller

My personal player of the season as he was pretty much the only consistent player (in a good way) throughout the season. Excellent defender, level headed and a vital part of our team after only deciding to return to the club very late on in the summer following failed trials at players such as Luton. If we manage to keep him for another season then it will show our ambition, however, I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the Football League next year.

Gary Mills - Left the club

Gary Mills

Whilst I certainly don't have the distaste for Mills that a lot of other people have for the club, I am certainly not going to buy into his view that the downturn in form was due to his injury. A lot like Scott Kerr, Gary Mills' skills seemed to be clapping, moaning at others and passing sideways, and whilst I don't think he was a terrible player, he certainly wasn't anything worthwhile and the team did seem more united after he left.

I think what pissed off the fans most about Mills though was his rather liberal use of Twitter and his consistent arguments with everyone on there.

I personally had no problem with him but I could see why a lot of people did.


David Morgan - Left the club

Another loanee who showed brief glimpses of what he was capable of, but you can't afford to only show them briefly, you've got to show them throughout the whole time and he didn't. Again, whilst not an awful player, I would be surprised if he ever got in the first team for anyone higher than League Two.

Nicky Nicolau

Probably the most underrated member of the entire squad throughout the year and one that neither manager seemed to really want to play, that despite having a decent eye for goal and never putting in a bad performance. He started the season brilliantly but after that just got dropped. I'd like him to get a new contract but I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't.

John Nutter - Left the club

I certainly wasn't disappointed when Nutter left because he was ALWAYS out of position when we didn't have the ball and it became a joke that we kept on letting him take the set pieces when they very rarely got beyond the first defender or over the wall.

Vadaine Oliver

I'm not going to join on the bandwagon of saying Vadaine is the next great striker of the club simply because he scored a hatrick against Hyde. For me Vadaine, whilst not awful, has been inconsistent throughout the whole season.....but to be fair he has had a decent return of goals in his first ever season as a professional. If he could be more composed when the ball is at his feet then he could easily turn into a

Conal Platt

Made a few brief cameo appearances but was rarely involved even after his injury cleared up. I remember him being decent when before his injury, but not surprised that he left after he couldn't get back in the team.

Alan Power

Alan Power

Alan was excellent after he returned from his injury earlier in the season, before that he seemed to continue where he had left off last season....in other words, averagely. The club's official Player Of The Season became one of the first names on the team sheet after that injury and even incorporated cheating in his games, taking the ball at least two feet outside of the corner quadrant when not next to the linesman.

Judging by what has been said I would be very surprised if Power wasn't here next season and you can see him being a long term player.

David Preece

I like Preece, a dependable goalkeeper who rarely made a mistake, and also highly amusing on Twitter. Farman has been a lot better since he started getting Preece's input. He's a good coach and even though it looks like he has now retired from playing, he's a good person to have on the staff.

Paul Robson - Left the club

I didn't once rate him during his entire time at the club and the fact he went to the Evostik Premier after leaving us says it all about his skill level.

Jake Sheridan

Without doubt the most improved player this season. Although he wasn't awful last season, Sheridan drew a lot of criticism at times, however, that is certainly not the case this season. His effort is consistently higher than everyone else's and he is excellent at crossing, providing numerous goals in the second half of the season.

The only thing lacking in Jake's game is a goal. In 18 or so months with the club he has only scored one goal....and that was the consolation in the 3-1 defeat Carshalton in the FA Trophy.

Adam Smith

I don't think I've ever seen an attacking player have so many games for us and yet contribute so little to the cause. I can't really put my finger on why Smith kept getting played, especially as, and I'm pretty confident when stating this, he didn't once complete 90 minutes for us.

I would put Adam in the same sort of category as Derek Asamoah and Dany N'Guessan in the sense that he wasn't satisfied with beating a defender, he would have to beat the same defender two or three times in the same dribble, and the amount of decent positions other players were in and he ignored them bordered on ridiculous.

Jamie Taylor

You know, I don't think losing Taylor will be as big of a catastrophe as some are making out. Had you asked me before December then I would say that he was the ONLY vital member of the team, however, after that he was poor.

Jamie Tayloer - Leading Goalscorer.

In the first half of the season he was excellent. He had a decent start before going quiet...but then in October and November there probably wasn't a better striker in the division, that's how good he was. Everything he hit was going in and he was the main reason we went on that ten game unbeaten run in all competitions.

In the second half of the season he did exactly what Simon Yeo did in his first season of the club, he couldn't score in the vast (and that's why Jamie lost his position through the middle), vast majority of the games, but when the net did bulge, it was an important goal. Everyone forgets that Yeo only scored one league goal after September in his first season at the club, but everyone remembers that goal because of how important it was....and that was what Jamie did in the second half of the season. His goals against Telford and Tamworth proved the major difference towards the end.



Don't get me wrong, to get this many goals in a season is a good record, but in all reality he only had two good months during the entire season. I would still offer him a new contract if there was any chance he would say, but there isn't a realistic chance.

Jake Thomson - Left the club

I remember him hitting the post in one game......other than that if someone could point out something that he contributed then I would be surprised.

Paul Turnball - Left the club

There were times when Turnball started games but you didn't notice he was actually playing until almost 30 minutes into the match.....if that doesn't tell you what you need to know then nothing will.

So, it goes to the last day

Hello all

Stockport's late, late equaliser now guarantees one thing, that the Imps will go into the final day with an outside chance of getting relegated.

It's been a crazy season and we already have more points than we did during the whole of last season and it still seems bizarre that we were comfortably safe going into the final game last year, whereas this year we could, in theory, go down with 53 points, which would be comfortably a record amount to relegated a team via the normal method.

The Imps can still finish as high as 15th and a win at Hyde guarantees the Imps will finish the season in at least 17th place, which would match last season's final position.

For the Imps to go down however, a strange set of results needs to happen, although with the way the season has gone, you wouldn't bet against it.

OTHER LAST DAY FIXTURES INVOLVING TEAMS WHO CAN IMPACT OUR POSITION

Dartford vs Nuneaton
Southport vs Luton
Gateshead vs Ebbsfleet
Tamworth vs Woking
Kidderminster vs Stockport

I'm not going to focus on the games involving teams immediately above us and instead talk about the other

Stockport need to win here to stand any chance of
staying up.

ones. I think Gateshead will be fine against Ebbsfleet and will win, whereas I think that Tamworth will lose at Woking, so it all comes down to Stockport at Kidderminster. To put that into context.....Stockport HAVE to win at Kidderminster to have any chance whatsoever to stay up, however, they couldn't really have had a more difficult opponent really.

Kidderminster started the season horrendously, failing to win any of their first ten games......however, since a 1-1 draw at Alfreton their record is WWDWLDDWWWWWWLWWLWWWWWWWWLWWWWDWWWW, an absolutely incredible record that sees them go into the final day of the season fighting for the title. They have only dropped four points in this calendar year, an absolutely incredible record, absolutely incredible.

SUMMARY

It would take a minor miracle for the Imps to actually go down. I can't see Stockport winning at Kidderminster so I have no doubt that we'll be safe. Obviously I hope we get something from the Hyde game so we don't have to worry about it, but even if we do lose I am confident we will stay up.

So I fully expect us to still be in the Blue Square Premier next season and I would be surprised if Stockport aren't in the Blue Square North.

Tamworth : Victory, bikes, cars, laptops and permutations

Hello all

I trust all is well with everyone? I’m going to guess it will be after what happened, but I’m going to regale you anyway.

You know when you have one of those days before a match and you just get the feeling that a loss would only round the day off? Well that’s the type of day I had. It started off with me needing to change something at my bank, however, the branch were saying the call centre needed to action my request, whereas the call centre were saying it was the branch. I even called the call centre and handed the phone over to the advisor….and they couldn’t agree on who’s accountability it was….so I gave up in the end.

The area where someone's daughter opened a car
door without looking, sort of knocking me off my bike
and then somehow made it out to be my fault

After a quick trip to McDonalds I start biking to the ground….I’ve taken up biking again recently as I’ve put back on a bit of the weight that I had lost last year, although it does tire me out quickly, but anyway, I have deviated somewhat from the point.

I was biking up the high street. The thing is that I can't  bike on the path because there are a crap load of people, I am certainly not going to bike against the traffic, but there is a gap that where I will easily fit between the curb and every car......I had gotten past the rail crossing and was just outside of Cash Converters when one of the cars that was slowing due to the red light, suddenly opened it’s passenger side door as I was about level with the back door. I subsequently slammed into the door because there was no time to react.

All of a sudden loads of people were coming to ask me if I was ok….which given that I was still stood up and talking, yeah, you’d think I’d be ok. The young girl starts walking to wherever she was going to go and the driver tries closing the door, however, it’s now ajar.

He subsequently goes to get a pen and paper to write down my details as, to quote “it was your fault and you are liable for the damage.” So let me get this straight…..your (I’m assuming) daughter doesn’t look before she opens a door and that’s my fault? Fuck off. The bloke’s wife said that it wasn’t my fault, which it wasn’t, and I eventually got on my way as he sort of accepted it was one of those things…although. I could hear them arguing about it as I biked off.

Anyway, onto Sincil Bank and I say the summer goodbyes to all the staff that I talk to and know I won’t see again until next season, before then eventually getting off to the Centre Spot. The pub now has wifi in it so I love that I have my laptop on me .......... then Jack Mulhall walks in. Me and Jack have a history of antagonism and it’s definitely a love/hate relationship….in other words, I love to hate him. He is constantly being a wind up merchant and he is the most immature person of his age (I think he’s in his early 20s) that I have ever met.

Anyway, whilst I was in the toilets, the ever mature Jack decides that it would be a good idea to hide my laptop. I know it was him because the person who was sat near me watched him do it (but didn’t actually stop him). Anyway, after about 20 minutes of looking for it I eventually get a steward involved. Jack finally reveals where the laptop is and after a good catch up with an old friend, I decide to go into the ground.

I am a misanthrope at the best of times.....the incidents with that driver from earlier and Jack certainly don't help matters.

I'm fine in general and politely applaud the Player of the Season awards. My personal choice of Tom Miller came joint 3rd, with the award eventually going to Alan Power. The crowd is actually one of the biggest of the season with over 3,000 home fans and just over 100 making the journey from Staffordshire. The team selection is also very favorable  with Nicky Nicolau getting a rare game and Craig Hobson being dropped after his consistently poor performances.

The nerves start kicking in as the teams come out and they aren't helped when despite controlling the early stages, the Imps fall behind as Dan Gray heads a Till cross into his own net. The Imps dominate but continue their poor form in front of goal that had seen a failure to score in the previous three matches. Tamworth are offering very little themselves and they didn't manage a shot on target throughout the entire game, despite that they still went into the break ahead.

City's Blue Square Premier status appears to be dwindling away as City do start forcing chances but a

Alan Power
Player of the Season
Scorer of potentially the most important
goal of the season.

combination of last ditch defending and brilliant goalkeeper keeps City at bay....that is until Jamie Taylor pops up with a header that goes in off of the post. Taylor hasn't scored many goals in the 2013 half of the season (four to be precise), but three of those goals have been insanely vital in our chance to stay up.

I had been stressing throughout the whole second half and when that goal went in it felt like I was going to have a heart attack because I had been that worked up....and then came the second goal as Alan Power converted a penalty which could turn out to be a major turning point in the club's history. I haven't celebrated a goal like that in years and when the final whistle went I was so relieved, along with most of the people in the ground.

Elsewhere there was news of Stockport losing, meaning that the Imps have a four point gap over the bottom four with Stockport having a game in hand. It could be over as early as Tuesday night as, if Stockport lose at Gateshead then they can't catch us.

Either way, by this time next week the season will be over and as much as I love the place, I am not going to be disappointed that I won't have to see Sincil Bank for 4 months. Don't get me wrong, I love football but I certainly need a break every now and then, especially when we've been battling relegation. During the good years it was torture but you certainly need it at the end of the bad season.

I am planning on a video for the Hyde game next week, it all depends on the delivery of my new phone.

But anyway,

Until next time,

Peace out!

Luton Away : Defeat, "Proud" and the "Oxford Feeling"

Hello all

Normally I would go through my entire day of a match and try and entertain you with little oddities, however, I am not in the mood to do that tonight. I currently feel sick to my stomach and it's not just because we lost, I'm getting used to that over recent years, but we are on the verge of relegation again.

I think I can safely speak for all Lincoln City fans when I say that I do not want to be a fan of a Blue Square North team. I mean no disrespect to any of the teams at that level, afterall, it is the highest that some of the teams at that level have ever played....yes, I'm looking at you Halifax (and before someone says it, the current incarnation has never played above their current level). I have no doubt that the vast majority of the teams at that level love their "Proud Members of the Blue Square North" sign that is forced upon them, but I find it insulting that our football club is forced to have a "Proud Members of the Blue Square Premier" sign at Sincil Bank, because I can guarantee you that virtually no-one associated with our football club is proud to be in this division.

Sorry, rant over.

So yeah, the Imps went to Luton Town, a team who only have Telford below them in the form table for the last few months, a team who's manager was barely turning up, choosing instead to scout at other games. The Imps on the other hand named a line up that was pretty much forced due to a large injury list, meaning that Tom Miller, who is my player of the season, was at left back....despite being heavily right footed. That is what happens when you only have two left backs at the club, send one out on loan and the other gets hospitalised.

Tom Miller - Brilliant all season but had a nightmare
against Luton.

Miller has been brilliant this season but he had an absolute nightmare against Luton. Virtually every clearance he attempted went out of play or straight to a Luton player, and he got let off early on in the game as his slip saw Luton score....but fortunately it was ruled out for offside.

Luton quickly realised this weakness in the Imps defence and virtually every single attack came from that side of the pitch. As I say, I like Tom and for me he has been the best player all season, but a left back he is not.

The hosts did eventually take the lead from a well struck shot through a crowd, some blamed Farman at the time but he had absolutely no chance of being able to react as he didn't see the ball until it was almost in. It was 2-0 minutes later as Farman was rounded and it became 3 midway through the second half as the defence was nowhere to be found again. It was at this point that I left to go and get some chips before the trip home.

During the entire match, and for the third match in a row, the Imps barely threatened. During the whole match I counted four shots from City, two came from long range in the first two minutes, another came when Taylor shot straight from the kick off after Luton had made it 2-0, and the final was a tame Sheridan side-footed effort into Brill's hands.

I had been sat on the coach (with chips in hand) for about 10 minutes before people started rolling back in from the ground and normally after matches there is discussion, either negative or positive, there's always something.....except now. It was just flat, 40odd people on a coach and not one of them is saying anything, not a single one of them. I have only ever experienced that once in 10 years of attending all away games (only missed two away games in that time) and that was after the game at Oxford towards the end of the 2010/11 season.

David Somma - Single handedly saved the club in 2009/10

Despite having it in our hands at that time, everyone was resigned to us going down and seven days later we
were a Blue Square Premier team. 23 months later and we're back in the same situation yet again. 3 seasons ago we had Davide Somma near enough single handedly save us from the drop, 2 seasons ago we came down, last season it was only a late run that stopped us from going down, but now you can't see where the results are going to come from.

It's the first time in a long time where I look at the squad and don't have faith in a single player to score goal on a regular basis.

Everyone will look at that and go "Hold on a minute, what about Jamie Taylor?"...to which my response is "What about Jamie Taylor?" I like Jamie but he has only scored in two games this calendar year he hasn't scored since the Telford game, despite playing up front in each game. People were saying that he wasn't scoring because he wasn't playing up front....he got put up fromt and hasn't been scoring. Whilst he did score those goals against Telford, if someone can point out what he's done since then that would be swell.

Vadaine has never been a goalscorer, at least not from open play, and Craig Hobson could quite possibly be the worst player I have ever had the misfortune to see in a Lincoln shirt. I've seen some right crap in the Lincoln shirt, but whilst some didn't have the passion, but were good, or vice versa, or at least gave a shit.... but Hobson falls into that special category of having not a single one of those apply to him, not a single one. I don't think I have ever seen a player who is as ineffective as Hobson. I couldn't name one thing that he does well, not one damn thing.

Turnball - Hoping no-one is noticing him....it works
most matches.

Hobson certainly isn't the only ineffectual player that Simpson seems to insist on recently as Paul Turnbull seems to be extremely lucky to get games given that you don't really notice him during matches. He's been with the club for a few months now and in that time I've barely seen him in matches, infact it took about 20 minutes for me to even see him touch the ball tonight. When he actually manages to get his passing right, he tends to be fairly reliable but rarely actually contributes positively.

It is frustrating that regardless of form, Simpson seems very reluctant to drop players who simply aren't good enough. However, the thing that worries me most is that Gary Simpson doesn't seem to have a Plan B. His Plan A away from home seems to be simply to aim for a draw and anything else is a bonus, as soon as we concede it is effectively game over. Granted, it's not as if he is the first manager that sentence applies to, but yet again we find ourselves in a situation where our manager's tactics see us in a "go behind, stay behind" trend. I'm not saying I want Simpson gone, but I don't feel confident that he can keep us up and I do feel that if we do stay up then Bob and the board will have to think about the manager next season very carefully.

To end this blog entry, I am going to share with you a few grounds that we could easily be playing at next season.

North Ferriby United

Bradford Park Avenue

Workington

Why I hate your football club

Hello all

Recently I've been thinking about football clubs that I hate, and believe me there are quite a few, but I decided to share with you my reasons for hating some of those football clubs. The reasons range from small things that might have happened once, to things that I consistently hate about certain teams.

Please note that these are in no particular order of hate, they have been sorted into alphabetical order.

Barnet

Now, I know most of you will look at this and automatically have an assumption as to why I hate them, but believe me, the fact that their safety came at the expense of our relegation is not the only reason......but one of them.

I was never overly keen on visiting Barnet in the first place, I never looked forward to it. The 2012 Olympics showcased London's beautiful points and the brilliant parts of the city, it's just a pity that they didn't show the other 99% of London, and Barnet certainly falls into that category. It's a shithole, it's nothing more than a glorified council estate on the edge of London. It takes a long time to get to on the tube and the only good thing about the actually place of Barnet is that you can park up for an entire day on a Saturday for just £1 which is a bit of a bargain.

Every year the same chavs were stood right next to the away end and often there were things thrown at the Lincoln fans and the incompetent stewards did nothing about it.

Barnet's Underhill - Home to Barnet FC (for now) and an
annual relegation battle

Then we get onto May 2011. I'm not going to lie, yes, us getting relegated instead of them pisses me off for the simple reason that every single year they survive at the expense of a team who is having their first true relegation battle season. The simple FACT is that they are consistently the worst side in League Two not to go down. Despite that, their fans consistently claim that they don't deserve to go down. Yes, they get enough points to survive every year, but they simply deserve to go down because they are consistently shit every season except for the final few weeks and then someone else goes down at their expense.

If it had been a case where they only struggled every once in a while then I wouldn't mind so much, but they don't. Every single year since they returned to the Football League in 2005 has seen them either near or in the relegation zone for pretty much the entire season and out of the 92 teams currently in the Football League, I would quite happily put money on them having the lowest points average per season in the Football League over the last 10 or so years.

Bradford City

FAO Bradford City fans - IN LEAGUE TWO THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BIG CLUB! You come from a big city, you're bound to get big crowds, stop pretending you're a big club because you're not.

Other than the fact they try to claim they're a big club, I don't really have much against Bradford, but clubs who claim to be a big side whilst in the lower leagues really piss me off (more on those later). Yes, you spent two years in the Premiership, whoopy-de-fucking-do, it doesn't make you a big club.

Bristol Rovers

I actually quite used to like Bristol Rovers but then the 2006/7 Playoffs happened. I had gotten on with their fans on various forums and on a trip to watch us play them towards the end of that season, I got talking to one of their fans in a hospital as one of my friends was getting an arm bandaged up. At the time they were in the midtable region and were effectively already on holiday......then they won pretty much every single game after that.

Bristol Rovers - In a six year stint in League Two between
2001 and 2007, they had ONE good run of results and got
promoted because of it.

We were drawn against them in the Playoffs that year. We had been in the top seven since the second week of the season, Bristol Rovers by this point they had been in League Two for six seasons and the only time in those six seasons that they looked more than midtable also rans was in the final few weeks of the 2006/7 season. Then, one good run in six years later and their fans turn into a big bunch of twats. All of a sudden they're giving the "we're a big club" bollocks and the normally friendly fans next to the away end at the Memorial Stadium start throwing stuff into the away end when they score.

Outside the ground wasn't much better as again, the normally friendly Bristol Rovers fans just starting threatening our group, even though we were simply walking back to the car.

I can accept that over the two legs we lost, but their fans just suddenly turned into the biggest set of dicks ever. They made out that they had long deserved a promotion out of that division, a strange claim for fans who had spent most of the time in those six years watching their club battle relegation.

Carlisle United

A few of you may look at this one and think that they haven't done anything that would really upset Lincoln, and to be fair, for the majority they have done precisely nothing again our club......except for 2003/4.

The Imps went there late on in the season and despite league positions, Lincoln were surprisingly second favourites against the team in the relegation zone due to their form. Although it wouldn't have doomed them, a defeat for Carlisle would have made it exceedingly difficult for them to survive. City went on to win 2-0 with goals from Peter Gain and Mark Bailey, but it was an incident between the two goals that saw me gain a severe disliking for Carlisle.

In the ground there was nothing untoward. Carlisle fans have always been passionate about their team and have one of the best atmosphere I have known, however, it was only when I had bought the video that I realised something that was chanted at Keith Alexander.

Just weeks after Keith had returned from his time off due to brain surgery, he was objecting to a decision from the referee (very unlike Keith!!!) and on the video you could quite clearly make out a large group of Carlisle fans chanting "You're Supposed to Be Deceased!"

I was disgusted and I wasn't in the slightest bit disappointed when they were relegated just a few weeks later.

AFC Halifax

The most recent addition to this list as before this season, I again quite liked Halifax.....notice how I used the past tense with "liked"? They had a reputation of building themselves up to be far better than they were, developing them the name of MassiveFax.

Lincoln played Halifax in an FA Cup qualifying tie and the first game was relatively close, both sides had

The Shay, home of the MassiveFax.

chances to win the game, but reading Halifax's forum and the subsequent comments from their players you would think that they were effectively camped in our half for the entire game. The winners were drawn to face Walsall at home and I went on the Walsall forum to see their reaction to the draw, and there were Halifax fans on there who were trying to organise a big meet up with Walsall fans for WHEN (and they actually said when, not if) they beat us.

Despite the fact he plays for a club that has never played above the Blue Square North, AFC Halifax's goalkeeper then claimed that we were tiny compared to them. The arrogance of everyone to do with their club really left a bitter taste in my mouth and despite their claims that they would easily win the replay, all their comments about how we couldn't possibly compete with them and their general "we've already won" attitude......we won 2-0.

I love beating clubs who talk as though they've already beaten you. If it's a big club, as in an actual big club, then I don't mind them talking about it being a relatively easy game, but to have that from AFC Halifax is taking the piss a bit.

Hull City

Where do I begin with Hull City? With their thugs that they have as fans, the fact that they only used to average 3,000odd fans when they were battling relegation to the Conference and yet now somehow have 18,000 "loyal fans", their attitude of being a massive club when they were in what is now League Two, I could go on for some time.

Hull fans are thugs, plain and simple. When we became the first side to win at the KC Stadium their fans were standing on a bridge and proceeded to throw stuff at the fans coaches as we tried to leave.

I first really become aware of the arrogance of Hull fans around 12 years ago when, whilst still a relatively new regularly attender of Imps games (I started coming regularly in 2000/1), I joined their forum. Whilst everything was fine at first as the season was over (I had joined after a 1-1 draw on the final day of the 2001/2 season), as soon as the next season started they were yet again failing to live up to their tag of pre-season favourites for the title, laying in lower midtable, and their fans soon started harpering on about how big they were because they were in a shiny new stadium. Yeah, great, you have a 25,000 capacity stadium that holds a lower-midtable Division 3 (as it was known that) football club.

When Hull got promoted to the Premiership in 2008 I was disgusted that some Lincoln fans were saying that they were pleased that Hull were doing well. I found it absolutely ridiculous to be pleased for your local rivals doing well, especially local rivals that were as generally dislikeable as Hull.

Kettering Town

Until about 4 years ago I actually quite liked Kettering, they were a team that were sort of local without actually being local and we regularly played them in friendlies, however, the entire relationship between the clubs changed in an FA Cup match in 2008.

Imran Ladak, has pretty much single handledly ruined what had been
a healthy relationship between Lincoln and Kettering.

Lincoln made the trip to Rockingham Road in the first round to be fair to them, Kettering battered us that game and we were fortunate to get away with a replay (a replay that we eventually lost), but it was events off the field that left a bitter taste in the mouth as all staff involved with Lincoln alleged that a Kettering fan had racially abused the Lincoln staff, and this claim was backed up by the fourth official. What followed though was everyone from Kettering acting as if it was an impossibility for any of their fans to be racist and it all turned into a farce.

The case even went to court but the fan got off due to a lack of evidence, but after that whole incident the two clubs never saw eye to eye. When the club sacked Peter Jackson we talked about Mark Cooper (the then Kettering manager) as his replacement, Imran Ladak (Kettering chairman at the time) came out and declared us as being obsessed with their football club, and all in all the whole thing just went from one ridiculous moment to another.

Normally I feel sorry for a football club who go through major financial struggles that sees them fall rapidly through the divisions.......I made an exception for this club.

Nuneaton Town

It wasn't until the 90th minute in November 2010 that I grew a severe dislike for Nuneaton. Like most underdogs in cup competitions, it doesn't matter how they performed in reality, they always think they did better than what they actually did, and this was definitely the case for a Nuneaton side that barely troubled the Imps in an FA Cup tie. The Imps hadn't really played well either, but thankfully a 90th minute winner for the Imps from Albert Jarrett sent City through...and that's when the trouble started. Nuneaton's bunch of sore-losers that they call fans decided to try and charge into the home end to cause trouble....and they then had the nerve to blame our fans for the trouble, even though our fans had definitely not initiated the trouble.

Then step forward to the recent league game and much the same thing. After the game Nuneaton fans were saying that it was all Lincoln fans who were causing trouble in the town centre and being violent, all the while painting the picture that their fans were saints. Nuneaton fans soon went very quiet when it was revealed that none of the numerous arrests made on the day were Lincoln fans.