Lincoln City Loan XI - 2000 onwards

Hello all

A recent blog entry, well I say recent, I mean a few months ago, chronicled 11 former Imps who you could never question their effort, regardless of how poor they were generally. I received many suggestions of what to do next for a Lincoln XI and I have gone with a Loan XI. We a LOT of loanees during the last 13 years, there was plenty of choose from, but I think the below are the best XI based on their loan spells alone.

So here we go, a Lincoln XI made up entirely of loanees from the last 13 years.

Goalkeeper - Trevor Carson - Loaned from Sunderland in 2010/11

We have had six loan goalkeepers during the last 13 years, Chris Day, Robert Oleynik, Paul Farman, Elliott Parish, Ben Smith and Trevor Carson, and Carson was the one who impressed me most, followed closely by Day.



At a time when Joe Anyon was seriously struggling in the Imps net, and had just cost us three points against Wycombe, a result that left the Imps dead bottom of the division, Steve Tilson decided to dip into the loan market and brought Carson on loan from Sunderland. He must have thought life was a doddle at the bottom of League Two as the Imps won each 6 of the next 7 games, with Carson being particularly impressive and making many fine saves. It was a run that lead many Imps fans to believe we were safe with a few months to go.

Carson continued to impress, although a few mistakes did creep in every now and then, although he wasn't helped by Julian Kelly hitting a backpass to him as hard as he could in a game against Chesterfield. Carson kept us in many games we would have otherwise lost, however, it turned out that all was not well in the camp and Carson left just hours before a home match against Rotherham, forcing the Imps to bring in rookie Elliott Parish from Aston Villa....and we all know how that one turned out.

Many rumours surfaced about why Carson had left, especially after he was very soon loaned out again to Brentford, who appeared at Wembley a few days later. Carson went on to sign for Bury.

Defender - David Stephens - Loaned from Norwich City in 2009/10

Before he fucked Sutton about with whether he would sign a deal or not, Stephens had barely played during a spell on loan from the then Championship Norwich. He had played in the odd game here and there and had been largely impressive during those appearances, as whe was one of the stand out performers towards the end of the 2009/10 season.

Stephens was offered a permanent deal, but instead signed for Scottish side Hiberian. Whether it was realistic that he would sign a deal with the Imps is very open to debate, because as I say, he wasn't often used by Sutton and when let go from Norwich, he would more than likely have been looking for guaranteed football, something that he was definitely not going to get under Sutton.

Stephens again only played in sporadic games for Hiberian before being released. He will be back at Sincil Bank next season after joining Barnet last summer and being a regular in their first team line up.

Defender - Adam Watts - Loaned from Fulham in 2009/10

Watts became the second signing of the Sutton era (after Ian Pearce) when he joined on loan from Premier

League Fulham in October 2009. The Imps defence had come under intense scrutiny after another poor start to the season and Sutton plumped for the young defender.

The bald defender impressed many during his early spell at the club and put in many fine performances (expect for Northwich away when he stood watching most of the time). He signed a permanent deal in January of that season but his season ended soon afterwards as he suffered a broken leg in a 2-2 draw at Grimsby and didn't play again during that season for the Imps.

He had a mixed spell at the club after that and was part of the defence that conceded a hatful of goals towards the end of the 2010/11 season that saw the club relegated, and he didn't get off to a great start in the following season either. In an FA Cup replay against Alfreton Town, his mistake lead to the winning penalty for Alfreton, and afterwards there were some idiotic fans going on the various message boards and Facebook groups saying that people should send him abuse over Facebook.

Adam soon left City and signed for Gainsborough, helping them reach the Blue Square North Playoff Final.

Defender - Nathan Baker - Loaned from Aston Villa in 2009/10

I didn't personally rate Baker at all and have only included him in this list because he is now playing regularly in the Premier League.

Baker was one of many Aston Villa youngsters to join the club on loan under Chris Sutton and it was deemed as a coup for the Imps, with the defender being touted as a future star of the England national team, I was not convinced following his displays.

He struggled to keep the ball in play, even when under no pressure, and I can only actually recall him having one good game during his spell at the club as he starred in the 1-0 win against Bury that secured City's League status for another season. Whilst I don't think he was truly awful, I certainly wouldn't have described him as a future England star.

To be fair to him though, he has established himself in the Villa squad and despite scoring his fair share of own goals, he is now playing regularly in a Premier League team, the only member of this list to be able to boast that.

If Paul Lambert continues to base the Villa side on youth, even though that youthful side almost saw one of the few remaining ever-present Premier League teams, then Baker could turn out to be a vital part of that.

Defender - Hamza Bencherif - Loaned from Nottingham Forest in 2007/8

Before someone says that Hamza is a midfielder, we played him in defence during his loan spell, so that's

where I am putting him.

I remember first hearing that we were signing this youngster from Nottingham Forest and thinking "who" and I was distinctly unimpressed that we had bolstered our defence with a teenager, right in the middle of the worst start the club had ever made to the season (we only won two games in all competitions before late November). What we needed at the time was a no-nonsense, muscley defender, and generally all young players do not fit that bill, however, when I first saw Hamza in person, my first reaction "Holy fuck", he was built like a bull, he was quite possible the biggest defender I had ever seen and had the build of someone double his age.

After initially not being impressed with his signing, I grew to be a big fan of Hamza and he proved to be one of our best players that season, even though he did only play for a few months. Hamza proved to be a big hit with fans and scored the odd goal here and there.

After leaving the Imps he went on to play for Macclesfield and Notts County. He has recently been rumoured with a return to Lincoln, but whether it's realistic or not is an extremely different matter.

Midfielder - Louis Dodds - Loaned from Leicester City in 2007/8

Dodds initially joined the club as a striker but converted to midfield during his year long loan spell at the club.

The floppy haired player had been on loan at Rochdale in the previous season and had a decent reputation, so there was a general level of satisfaction when he signed on loan. He lived up to the early hype and was briefly joint leading goalscorer before being converted into a midfielder. Dodds would go on to score some stunning goals from midfield, included a wonderful curling effort from 30 yards against Wycombe in what would turn out to be Peter Jackson's final game before he went off for treatment for throat cancer.

Louis remains a rarity at the club in terms of being a season long loanee and he generally made a positive contribution to the 2007/8 season, scoring 9 goals in his 41 appearances for the club, a strike rate that some strikers that we have had in recent years would be proud of.

Dodds was heavily linked with a permanent move to the Imps but eventually settled on Port Vale, and he has been there ever since.

Midfielder - Matthew Saunders - Loaned from Fulham in 2009/10

Matthew Saunders was another Sutton loan signing and the young midfielder was about as stringy as they

come, and he's someone who I doubt will have ever seen a gym, but he had a great touch on the ball and although he often passed backwards, his passing was accurate.

Saunders also scored quite possibly the best goal I have ever seen at Sincil Bank with his amazing 35 yard dipping half-volley against Hereford in March of that season. I have seen some good goals, and there some of the people in this list have scored some stunning goals as well, but for me this is the best goal I have seen in the 13 years I have regularly been attending Lincoln games. It was one of three goals that Saunders scored for the Imps.

Whilst he was good on the ball, there were some serious doubts about his passion to play for the club and rumours regularly surfaced at the time that he had made it known that he didn't want to be at the club. There were even rumours at the time that he regularly asked to return to Fulham because he thought he was much better than League Two level.

He may have thought he was better than League Two level, but that is where he ended up on a permanent basis as he would join Dagenham after being released from Fulham.

Midfielder - Chris Herd - Loaned from Aston Villa in 2009/10

One of only two Australians to play for the club during this millenium, Herd proved very popular with Imps fans from when he made his debut against Northwich in the FA Cup. For such a short player, it was

incredible that he rarely lost a challenge for a header, and some fans briefly referred to him as a kangaroo.

Herd was one of the few players during the period covered by this list that I genuinely got excited about when he got the ball. I can't think of a single player we have had, permanently or otherwise, that ran at defenders with as little fear as Herd. He had the confidence that you would expect from a young player and this won him many fans at Lincoln, and many people wanted the club to sign him permanently, although that subsequently fell apart when he signed a new deal with Aston Villa.

One thing that surprised me was how approachable he was. Most young players, especially from the upper levels, don't give a fuck about people talking to them, however, just after a 2-2 draw with Grimsby, a game in which Herd scored, a bunch of us found him waiting for a train as Grimsby train station, it was quite bizarre. He got talking to us all about the game and how he loved the club. When asked if he would want to come to us permanently he didn't rule it out, although obviously he was hoping to break into the Villa first team. He took time to pose with the 20 or so fans that were present.

The Imps did almost re-sign Herd on loan the following season but he got injured. He has featured on a sparse basis for Aston Villa in a career that is quickly being taken over by injuries. He still has a year to run on a new contract.

Midfielder - Richard Butcher - Loaned from Oldham Athletic in 2005/6

Just a few short months after leaving the club for Oldham Athletic, Butcher returned on loan after suffering a torrid time at the hands of the Latics fans.

There isn't really a lot I can write about Butcher that most reading this won't already know, but Richard played a key part during the month he was back at the club and he would eventually return to the club against in 2009/10, although his third spell at the club wasn't even close to as successful as his first two.

During his loan spell at the club he was best remembered for a stunning goal away at Leyton Orient to gain the Imps a point in a game where the hosts had absolutely dominated.

Below is a video someone produced showing his goals for Lincoln.

Striker - Davide Somma - Loaned from Leeds United in 2009/10

Bar none, Somma is the best striker I have ever seen at Sincil Bank, however, when he signed there were very few who thought it was a great loan. Somma's record prior to joining the Imps was poor, very poor indeed, and many couldn't see the point in loaning a striker who seemed

very goalshy, but a goalscoring debut silenced some critics.

More goals quickly followed and all of a sudden Somma became one of the most sought after players in the lower leagues as he almost single handedly kept the Imps up. Stunning goal after stunning goal made Imps fans desperate for him to sign on a permanent basis and things looked good when Leeds allowed us to renew his loan after a brace at Torquay saw the Imps secure a rare win at Plainmoor, but days later he signed a new contract at Elland Road.

Somma scored goal after goal for the Imps and eventually ended on 9 goals in his 14 appearances for the club. He did end it on a bit of a sour note though, getting sent off for a headbutt in the final game of the season against Macclesfield. That red card meant that he was suspended when City faced Leeds in the Carling Cup at the beginning of the following season.

Somma went on to be a hit at Elland Road but injuries started keeping him out of the side and he was recently told that his contract would not be renewed. I would love to see Somma back at Lincoln and he would easily score more than 30 goals a season at this level....but I think there's more chance of angels flying out of Steve Tilson's arse than seeing Somma as a Lincoln player again.

Striker - Jamie Forrester - Loaned from Bristol Rovers in 2005/6
Whilst Somma's goals kept Lincoln in League Two in 2010, Forrester's goals almost helped the club out of the same division in 2006. Forrester wasn't your typical Keith Alexander signing, he was an experienced

League striker who had a rich career throughout the divisions, whereas most of Keith's better signings came from non-league, however, few could argue with Forrester's impact. The Bristol Rovers striker joined on loan just days after a 2-1 defeat at Boston, but he almost certainly wouldn't have been at the club had Simon Yeo not been badly injured during that match.

Forrester's debut came in 5-0 win over his former side Grimsby, with Forrester scoring a beautiful lob from the edge of the area to give City a 2-0 lead, he would also help set up many other goals. During his brief loan spell of about two months, Forrester showed his class and he almost single handedly got the Imps into the Playoffs at the end of the season, and he would become the last player that Keith Alexander would sign permanently as Lincoln City manager.

He was a very calm, collected striker and he scored some great goals during his loan spell. He was one of the best all-around players I have seen at Sincil Bank, and had we not signed him at the end of the 2005/6 season then I seriously doubt that we would have made the Playoffs that year. He would also be leading goalscorer in the following season in was second in the goal charts in his final season in 2007/8.

Video Blog Update

Hello all

As it has been a while since most of my Youtube followers and watchers have heard from me, I just want to give you an update on the videos for the coming season.

Right, first of all, the promised Barcelona video. As you can tell, this didn't actually come to be. I was

The view from my seat in the Nou Camp.
Barcelona won 4-1



 planning on doing it but got caught up in sight seeing, and by the time I got to the Barcelona vs Malaga game, I was down to about 30% battery, given that I normally struggle with my phones with anything below 80%, it was never going to happen, at least not enough to make a decent video anyway. I would definitely recommend going to Barcelona though, it is an incredible city.

In future holidays I am planning on going to other major footballing cities, such as Milan or Munich, so I will aim to do a video based on these, although again, it all depends on battery levels again. Fortunately, I am going to try and combat those issues on videos from around England in the coming season by taking numerous filming equipment into grounds, such as my phone, a camera, and so on.

Onto pre-season friendlies. As it stands the only friendlies I am definitely heading to are the games at Lincoln United and Harrogate, with the possibility of Grantham also being there. I will be doing a video for any of the friendlies that I do go to. I am not going to any of the home friendlies though, so don't expect videos for any of those.

Finally, there is a possibility I will be moving to the Manchester area before the season starts, so obviously the videos will be a bit more difficult to do due to having no-one to talk to before getting to the grounds, but well see what happens and make do with what happens.

So until next time people, peace out.

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!