2002/2003 marked the return of Keith Alexander's second managerial spell at Lincoln City. At the start of the season Lincoln had just come out of administration and had only a handful of players on the books at the club. Alexander worked miracles and put together a team that started out as clear relegation favourites but finished in the play-offs final at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff.
The play-offs semi-finals pitched Lincoln City against old rivals Scunthorpe United. The first leg played at Sincil Bank was an amazing encounter. Eight goals saw Lincoln win 5-3. All eyes were now on Glanford Park. Tickets for this match went on sale for Imps fans four days after the 5-3 win at 9am on a Wednesday morning. Play-off fever had hit the city of Lincoln. Local interest was huge! At 6am the queues stretched far back and it has been suggested that anyone who turned up about this time didn't get a ticket. My friends and I had joined the queue at 5am.
The match was an evening kick-off and the evening's entertainment started with Scunthorpe manager Brian Laws parading around the edge of the pitch with a huge Scunthorpe United flag. All this did was add fuel to the hearts of the Lincoln players and management.
2,000 away fans were packed into the away end at Glanford Park and the atmosphere was typical of a passionate local derby with so much riding on the outcome of the match. Scunthorpe seemed to have the majority of the chances in the game with Alan Marriott the busier of the keepers as The Iron looked to claw back the two goal deficit from the first leg.
With the game heading for a goalless draw Simon Yeo was provided with a perfect pass from midfield to race clear of defender Jamie McCombe, who was later to play for Lincoln. It was a one on one with Tom Evans and Yeo finished calmly from the edge of the box to send the hoardes of Lincoln fans behind the goal where Yeo had scored into dreamland.
The Imps fans celebrated like they had won the biggest football prize available. After a pre-season of much uncertainty when Lincoln City came close to cease trading, Keith Alexander had performed a miracle. The relegation favourites at the start of the season had made it to the play-off final . What an achievement!
It must not be forgotten that without the help of the 'Save The Imps' campaign and huge fund raising efforts then Lincoln wouldn't have had a league team at the start of the 2002 season.
Lincoln City went on to lose the play-off final to Bournemouth but that was a day out that most Imps fans hadn't bargained for at the start of the season.
Showing posts with label Lincoln City. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lincoln City. Show all posts
Sunday, 3 April 2011
Sunday, 9 August 2009
Lincoln City enjoy winning start, 2009/10
Lincoln City enjoyed a great start to the 2009/10 campaign by picking up 3 points and a clean sheet against a battling Barnet team at Sincil Bank yesterday.
The first half was won by Barnet in terms of chances and some fine saves from Lincoln City's goalkeeper Rob Burch kept the scores goalless at halftime.
Peter Jackson's team talk helped inspire the Imps to a one nil victory with the only goal of the game being scored by Hungarian centre back Janos Kovacs in the 59th minute after a freekick from Stefan Oakes found Kovacs whose initial effort hit the post but was then swept in from an acute angle.
The crowd for the Imps first league game of the season was 3,753 with 233 Barnet fans.
The first half was won by Barnet in terms of chances and some fine saves from Lincoln City's goalkeeper Rob Burch kept the scores goalless at halftime.
Peter Jackson's team talk helped inspire the Imps to a one nil victory with the only goal of the game being scored by Hungarian centre back Janos Kovacs in the 59th minute after a freekick from Stefan Oakes found Kovacs whose initial effort hit the post but was then swept in from an acute angle.
The crowd for the Imps first league game of the season was 3,753 with 233 Barnet fans.
Thursday, 9 July 2009
Lincoln City warm up against former Hungarian League champions Ferencváros
Lincoln City held Hungarian top flight team Ferencváros to a goalless draw at Sincil Bank last night in front of 1,221 fans. It was a useful workout for the Imps who fielded their four summer signings and also a couple of trialists.
All four of the new signings, Richard Butcher, Joe Heath (6 month loan), Jamie Clarke and Chris Fagan had steady games. Joe Heath had a great game at left back and has a very promising future ahead of him. It is unlikely Lincoln will be able to buy him after his loan spell from Nottingham Forest ends such is his potential.
The trialists were ex Cheltenham Town, Rochdale and Stoke City forward Paul Connor and right back Cian Hughton. Connor did everything right up front but lacked any real penetration. However, if he can regain any of the form that saw Rochdale pay £150,000 for his services then he could prove to be a shrewd buy. Hughton had a great game at right back. He made numerous surging runs in the opposition half and also when called upon in defence he held firm and put in some solid tackles. Hopefully Peter Jackson will be able to offer a suitable contract to Hughton as he seems to have a lot of potential.
Enigmatic midfielder Stefan Oakes started the game on the bench but when he was called upon with 25 minutes to play he produced some stunning long range passes. Whether he can produce this form in League 2 next season remains to be seen but I for one hope he does as on his day he can be our best player.
Next up in pre-season for the Lincoln City first team squad is Boston United away on the 15th July with a 7.30pm kick-off.
All four of the new signings, Richard Butcher, Joe Heath (6 month loan), Jamie Clarke and Chris Fagan had steady games. Joe Heath had a great game at left back and has a very promising future ahead of him. It is unlikely Lincoln will be able to buy him after his loan spell from Nottingham Forest ends such is his potential.
The trialists were ex Cheltenham Town, Rochdale and Stoke City forward Paul Connor and right back Cian Hughton. Connor did everything right up front but lacked any real penetration. However, if he can regain any of the form that saw Rochdale pay £150,000 for his services then he could prove to be a shrewd buy. Hughton had a great game at right back. He made numerous surging runs in the opposition half and also when called upon in defence he held firm and put in some solid tackles. Hopefully Peter Jackson will be able to offer a suitable contract to Hughton as he seems to have a lot of potential.
Enigmatic midfielder Stefan Oakes started the game on the bench but when he was called upon with 25 minutes to play he produced some stunning long range passes. Whether he can produce this form in League 2 next season remains to be seen but I for one hope he does as on his day he can be our best player.
Next up in pre-season for the Lincoln City first team squad is Boston United away on the 15th July with a 7.30pm kick-off.
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Lincoln City's pre-season 2009/20010
Lincoln City's pre-season got under way last week when the squad travelled over to Germany and the plan was to play two fixtures. The first against an army team was called off after the Lincoln City management thought the pitch was a bit on the dangerous side. The second match arranged was against lower league German team TuS Celle FC. Although the Imps lost 1-0 it was a solid workout for them with all players given a run out. Rob Burch save a first half penalty and although Lincoln dominated they failed to score. They were undone in the 37th minute through a deflected effort.
Lincoln's first home friendly of the season on the 8th July also has a European flavour about it when they play former Hungarian champions Ferencváros who have just been promoted back to the top flight. Ferencváros is presently owned by Sheffield United chairman Kevin McCabe and last night won 5-1 at Sheffield FC, the oldest club in the world. They finish their mini tour with a visit to Barnsley on Saturday 11th July. Ferencváros is the most famous football team to come out of Hungary. They have a great pedigree having won 28 championships, the Hungarian Cup 26 times and appeared in numerous European club tournaments. Quite simply put, they are the Manchester United or Liverpool of Hungary!
Other pre-season friendly fixtures involving Lincoln City's first team:
15th July - (A) Boston United (7.30pm)
20th July - (H) Arsenal XI (7.30pm)
28th July - (H) Sheffield United (7.30pm)
30th July - (H) Grimsby Town or Scunthorpe Utd, Lincs Cup Final (7.30pm)
1st August - (A) Goole Town (3pm)
Lincoln's first home friendly of the season on the 8th July also has a European flavour about it when they play former Hungarian champions Ferencváros who have just been promoted back to the top flight. Ferencváros is presently owned by Sheffield United chairman Kevin McCabe and last night won 5-1 at Sheffield FC, the oldest club in the world. They finish their mini tour with a visit to Barnsley on Saturday 11th July. Ferencváros is the most famous football team to come out of Hungary. They have a great pedigree having won 28 championships, the Hungarian Cup 26 times and appeared in numerous European club tournaments. Quite simply put, they are the Manchester United or Liverpool of Hungary!
Other pre-season friendly fixtures involving Lincoln City's first team:
15th July - (A) Boston United (7.30pm)
20th July - (H) Arsenal XI (7.30pm)
28th July - (H) Sheffield United (7.30pm)
30th July - (H) Grimsby Town or Scunthorpe Utd, Lincs Cup Final (7.30pm)
1st August - (A) Goole Town (3pm)
Friday, 29 May 2009
Lincoln City 1987/88 GM Vauxhall Conference (GMVC) Champions
The 1987/88 season was the season I became a regular at Sincil Bank. I had become hooked and needed my regular fix. I only attended home games as dad didn't go to away games and I wasn't old enough to go on my own I had to make do with just the home ones. What a season to become addicted to Lincoln City though - we had just become the first team to get relegated out of the Football League, under new rules and had been replaced by Scarborough. It was not the first time we had tasted non-league football though as we had been relegated from the Football League a couple of times in the early 1900s only to win our place back immediately.
Colin Murphy was manager and he had brought in virtually a new team having cleared out most of the players who got Lincoln City relegated. I think the only player who remained was 16 year old Shane Nicholson who returned to play for Lincoln almost 20 years later.
I have many memories from the GMVC season, most of them are good but there are a couple of sour ones. We couldn't have started the season off any worse, losing our first two games 4-2 at Barnet and 3-0 at Weymouth. Our first goal in the Conference was scored by the combative midfielder Bob Cumming. The first game I went to was the first home game which was a 3-0 victory against Dagenham in which David Mossman scored twice. The next game, a 1-0 home win against Runcorn had a moment of controversy when the scary looking Nigel Batch grabbed a Runcorn player by the scruff of his neck. Some of my memories are only vague and I may be wrong but I'm sure he tried to lift this player off the floor with his shirt collar!?! Our next match was a 4-1 victory at Stafford Rangers where the giant Mick Waitt scored a hattrick. Waitt scored 9 goals for us this season that was sadly cut very short with a broken leg against Cheltenham Town at the end of October. After another heavy defeat this time 4-1 to Runcorn, we lost our first and only home match of the season on the 30th September 1-0 against Kettering Town, the only team to do the double over us.
28t October brought the much anticpated home clash with top of the table Barnet. They had been sweeping all manner of teams aside including winning 7-0 at Loakes Park, where Wycombe Wanderers used to play before moving to Adams Park. Barnet arrived at Lincoln with a certain Keith Alexander in their forward line, managed by the noisy Barry Fry and the colourful Stan Flashman as chairman.
Lincoln won the game 2-1 with goals by Trevor Matthewson (freekick) and by John McGinley (penalty) but it was a game that had many talking points. It even made the back page of the Daily Telegraph the next day! Two Barnet players were sent off for nasty looking fouls and then there was fighting on the pitch by the players, after which the ref took no action! Even Barry Fry entered the field of play and had to be calmed down and was led from the field by a steward. There was a league inquiry after this match but no further action was taken against either team.
At the end of November, Lincoln suffered another heavy defeat, this time at the hands of Sutton United (4-1) and it was clear that it was going to be a long hard winter. However, this was to be the last league defeat until we lost at Macclesfield on April 12th, a run of 16 league games unbeaten which was our best run since 1980 when we went 18 unbeaten. Barnet were also on a big run too and by February they were 7 points ahead of us.
One thing I remember well was dad always used to make us leave early before the end of the match. "Come on son, we'll miss the traffic and the rush." I missed quite a few late goals because of this. One of them was against Northwich Victoria - the start of our long unbeaten run. We were 2-1 up with a couple of minutes to play and that was how I thought it finished until I watched the final scores on a TV in the Co-op - I always used to do this on the way home! We had actually won 3-2. Northwich had equalised and then we scored the winner straight after!
I didn't go to the Boxing Day game at Boston United but I've been told we were one nil down til the last few minutes but won it 2-1! It seems I missed out on some great away games that season but I know very little about them so I can't really pass much comment on these!
Two teams suffered drubbings at the hands of Lincoln City in successive games in late March/early April! First of all Altrincham were thrashed 5-0 (again I missed the last goal as I was on my way home with my dad again) and then local rivals Boston United were thrashed 5-1. Just as well that I didn't go home from this one easrly as Mark Sertori bagged 2 near the end.
Towards the end of April I'll always remember Barry Fry having a moan about Lincoln City on Grandstand. It was with two games to go and he was bragging about how Barnet were going up and we weren't. Lincoln had the last laugh though! In the penultimate game of the season, Barnet lost 2-1 at home to Kettering and we beat Stafford Rangers by the same scoreline to go top of the Vauxhall Conference for the first time that season. All we had to do was win the last game at home to Wycombe!
It was Bank Holiday Monday, May 2nd 1988, that Lincoln City reclaimed their place in the Football League with a 2-0 home win over Wycombe. The official crowd that day was 9,432 (the second time we'd broken the Conference crowd record that season - the other being 7,542 against Boston). However, it seemed like thousands more were packed into Sincil Bank that day - some have guessed around 13,500 was a closer attendance figure. Phil Brown and then substitute Mark Sertori (again) were the heroes who scored the goals that wonderul day to give City their league place back!
As Colin Murphy said in his programme notes 'Murph's Message' for the Stafford Rangers game, "Fate is a strange phenomenon and it would certainly be ironic if relevant to the only time Lincoln City were bottom of the Fourth Division was the last match of the season and possibly it may well be that the only time Lincoln City are top of the Vauxhall Conference may well be the last game of the season! Food for thought!" Indeed it was food for thought, moving to, and holding on, to the top spot after the Stafford Rangers game before the last game of the season!
Murph's Mission: Back to the league. Mission accomplished!
Colin Murphy was manager and he had brought in virtually a new team having cleared out most of the players who got Lincoln City relegated. I think the only player who remained was 16 year old Shane Nicholson who returned to play for Lincoln almost 20 years later.
I have many memories from the GMVC season, most of them are good but there are a couple of sour ones. We couldn't have started the season off any worse, losing our first two games 4-2 at Barnet and 3-0 at Weymouth. Our first goal in the Conference was scored by the combative midfielder Bob Cumming. The first game I went to was the first home game which was a 3-0 victory against Dagenham in which David Mossman scored twice. The next game, a 1-0 home win against Runcorn had a moment of controversy when the scary looking Nigel Batch grabbed a Runcorn player by the scruff of his neck. Some of my memories are only vague and I may be wrong but I'm sure he tried to lift this player off the floor with his shirt collar!?! Our next match was a 4-1 victory at Stafford Rangers where the giant Mick Waitt scored a hattrick. Waitt scored 9 goals for us this season that was sadly cut very short with a broken leg against Cheltenham Town at the end of October. After another heavy defeat this time 4-1 to Runcorn, we lost our first and only home match of the season on the 30th September 1-0 against Kettering Town, the only team to do the double over us.
28t October brought the much anticpated home clash with top of the table Barnet. They had been sweeping all manner of teams aside including winning 7-0 at Loakes Park, where Wycombe Wanderers used to play before moving to Adams Park. Barnet arrived at Lincoln with a certain Keith Alexander in their forward line, managed by the noisy Barry Fry and the colourful Stan Flashman as chairman.
Lincoln won the game 2-1 with goals by Trevor Matthewson (freekick) and by John McGinley (penalty) but it was a game that had many talking points. It even made the back page of the Daily Telegraph the next day! Two Barnet players were sent off for nasty looking fouls and then there was fighting on the pitch by the players, after which the ref took no action! Even Barry Fry entered the field of play and had to be calmed down and was led from the field by a steward. There was a league inquiry after this match but no further action was taken against either team.
At the end of November, Lincoln suffered another heavy defeat, this time at the hands of Sutton United (4-1) and it was clear that it was going to be a long hard winter. However, this was to be the last league defeat until we lost at Macclesfield on April 12th, a run of 16 league games unbeaten which was our best run since 1980 when we went 18 unbeaten. Barnet were also on a big run too and by February they were 7 points ahead of us.
One thing I remember well was dad always used to make us leave early before the end of the match. "Come on son, we'll miss the traffic and the rush." I missed quite a few late goals because of this. One of them was against Northwich Victoria - the start of our long unbeaten run. We were 2-1 up with a couple of minutes to play and that was how I thought it finished until I watched the final scores on a TV in the Co-op - I always used to do this on the way home! We had actually won 3-2. Northwich had equalised and then we scored the winner straight after!
I didn't go to the Boxing Day game at Boston United but I've been told we were one nil down til the last few minutes but won it 2-1! It seems I missed out on some great away games that season but I know very little about them so I can't really pass much comment on these!
Two teams suffered drubbings at the hands of Lincoln City in successive games in late March/early April! First of all Altrincham were thrashed 5-0 (again I missed the last goal as I was on my way home with my dad again) and then local rivals Boston United were thrashed 5-1. Just as well that I didn't go home from this one easrly as Mark Sertori bagged 2 near the end.
Towards the end of April I'll always remember Barry Fry having a moan about Lincoln City on Grandstand. It was with two games to go and he was bragging about how Barnet were going up and we weren't. Lincoln had the last laugh though! In the penultimate game of the season, Barnet lost 2-1 at home to Kettering and we beat Stafford Rangers by the same scoreline to go top of the Vauxhall Conference for the first time that season. All we had to do was win the last game at home to Wycombe!
It was Bank Holiday Monday, May 2nd 1988, that Lincoln City reclaimed their place in the Football League with a 2-0 home win over Wycombe. The official crowd that day was 9,432 (the second time we'd broken the Conference crowd record that season - the other being 7,542 against Boston). However, it seemed like thousands more were packed into Sincil Bank that day - some have guessed around 13,500 was a closer attendance figure. Phil Brown and then substitute Mark Sertori (again) were the heroes who scored the goals that wonderul day to give City their league place back!
As Colin Murphy said in his programme notes 'Murph's Message' for the Stafford Rangers game, "Fate is a strange phenomenon and it would certainly be ironic if relevant to the only time Lincoln City were bottom of the Fourth Division was the last match of the season and possibly it may well be that the only time Lincoln City are top of the Vauxhall Conference may well be the last game of the season! Food for thought!" Indeed it was food for thought, moving to, and holding on, to the top spot after the Stafford Rangers game before the last game of the season!
Murph's Mission: Back to the league. Mission accomplished!
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
Dany N'Guessan set for Leicester City move?
Rumours are rife this morning that Dany N'Guessan is all set to sign for Leicester City, who have won the League 1 Championship this season. It is believed they have offered Dany a 3 year contract andit is thought the deal is set to be finalised as soon as possible.
There have been numerous clubs following N'Guessan since January with clubs such as Hull City, Wigan Athletic, West Brom, Sheffield United, Leeds and MK Dons believed to be just some of those to have been showing an interest in the talented Frenchman.
As Dany N'Guessan is under 24, Lincoln will recieve a transfer fee which is likely to go to a tribunal. It has been mentioned that a percentage of the transfer fee will go to his previous club Glasgow Rangers as a sell on clause is in place.
There have been numerous clubs following N'Guessan since January with clubs such as Hull City, Wigan Athletic, West Brom, Sheffield United, Leeds and MK Dons believed to be just some of those to have been showing an interest in the talented Frenchman.
As Dany N'Guessan is under 24, Lincoln will recieve a transfer fee which is likely to go to a tribunal. It has been mentioned that a percentage of the transfer fee will go to his previous club Glasgow Rangers as a sell on clause is in place.
Sunday, 10 May 2009
The not so magnificent seven
Lincoln City have released 7 players from their squad with effect from the end of the season. The released (not so magnificent seven) players are Ayden Duffy, Frank Sinclair, Owain Warlow, Gary King, Martin Pembleton, Geoff Horsfield and Ben Wright.
The release of these players also comes at the time when the club have announced there will be a reduction in Peter Jackson's player budget for the new season. This is believed to be due to the average attendance for the past season to be less than the figure that the club had projected. The club had expected the average to be in the region of around 4,300 to 4,500 but the average eventually settled at just under 4,000.
Dany N'Guessan, Adrian Patulea and Sam Mullarkey have all been offered new deals for next season. Also, Lee Beevers offer is still on the table that was offered to him earlier in the season and the club are due to sit down with the player's representatives to discuss this offer.
Lee Frecklington is also set to complete a permanent move to Peterborough in the coming week that is thought to net the club close to £200,000.
The club are expected to receive further money from clauses relating to Jack Hobbs transfer to Leicester City and also Peterborough's promotion to the Championship meaning we receive money from the time that Keith Alaxander was their manager.
It is widely expected that Dany N'Guessan will reject the Imps latest offer and move onto a bigger club. As he is under 24 years old, Lincoln City are entitled to a fee which will be set by a tribunal. Many clubs have been linked to Dany since January and some of the clubs still being linked to Dany include Leeds, Leicester, Crystal Palace, Cardiff, Scunthorpe, Burnley and Preston. Other clubs rumoured to have been linked since January include Marseilles, Valencia, Wigan, Hull, West Brom and MK Dons. The Dons had 2 bids for Dany turned down in the January transfer window.
The release of these players also comes at the time when the club have announced there will be a reduction in Peter Jackson's player budget for the new season. This is believed to be due to the average attendance for the past season to be less than the figure that the club had projected. The club had expected the average to be in the region of around 4,300 to 4,500 but the average eventually settled at just under 4,000.
Dany N'Guessan, Adrian Patulea and Sam Mullarkey have all been offered new deals for next season. Also, Lee Beevers offer is still on the table that was offered to him earlier in the season and the club are due to sit down with the player's representatives to discuss this offer.
Lee Frecklington is also set to complete a permanent move to Peterborough in the coming week that is thought to net the club close to £200,000.
The club are expected to receive further money from clauses relating to Jack Hobbs transfer to Leicester City and also Peterborough's promotion to the Championship meaning we receive money from the time that Keith Alaxander was their manager.
It is widely expected that Dany N'Guessan will reject the Imps latest offer and move onto a bigger club. As he is under 24 years old, Lincoln City are entitled to a fee which will be set by a tribunal. Many clubs have been linked to Dany since January and some of the clubs still being linked to Dany include Leeds, Leicester, Crystal Palace, Cardiff, Scunthorpe, Burnley and Preston. Other clubs rumoured to have been linked since January include Marseilles, Valencia, Wigan, Hull, West Brom and MK Dons. The Dons had 2 bids for Dany turned down in the January transfer window.
Sunday, 8 March 2009
Classic Matches – Lincoln City 4 – 1 Manchester City, 17/09/1996
This was a typical David v Goliath encounter. Lincoln City were struggling in 15th place in Division 3 (currently League 2) and Manchester City were in the top ten of the division currently known as the Championship. It was the first leg of the second round of the Coca Cola Cup and I had a ticket for the terrace area of the Stacey West End. As an adult I paid only £8 for my ticket. An absolute bargain considering what I was about to witness!
Manchester City were a team that lacked direction at the time of playing them. They were without a manager. The caretaker in charge for the game was Asa Hartford, who actually was part of the Manchester City team that won the trophy twenty years prior to this game! Manchester City had 10 players out injured for the game, including the mercurial Georgi Kinkladze.
Lincoln City fell behind within the first 40 seconds of the start and I like most others around me sensed a real drubbing. Uwe Rosler scored from a left wing cross from Paul Dickov who is still playing today! After this poor start Lincoln failed to cave in and started playing the style of football that manager John Beck is so well known for. We started to batter Man City’s goal and the equaliser duly arrived in the 29th minute when a Gareth Ainsworth cross (I think) was turned in by Terry Fleming with a sweetly executed volley! Terry is still playing his football in the city of Lincoln, currently plying his trade for Lincoln Utd!
Just before the break Lincoln City went in front from a typical John Beck set piece goal. Mark Hone (Danny Hone’s dad) put in a free kick that landed kindly on Steve Holmes head for him to place a bullet past Andy Dibble. I remember reading the next day that Dibble was unhappy with this goal as he felt Ainsworth had impeded him when the cross came in! So, Lincoln went in at the break leading 2-1 and it wasn’t long after the break that Lincoln City went further ahead! Another typical John Beck style goal it was too! Terry Fleming put in one of his trademark long throws and Gijsbert Bos’ near post header looped over Dibble to land in the far corner of the net. Sincil Bank was rocking. The atmosphere was amazing. The Railway End / Stacey West terrace was in full voice and the 1,500 or so Manchester City fans were very quiet.
Manchester City started pressing and came close on quite a few occasions. Nigel Clough even hit the post for them on about the hour mark. Lincoln however wanted more and we got more! Another Terry Fleming throw wasn’t dealt with and Jon Whitney stabbed in from close range in the 79th minute to send the Lincoln faithful wild and cue the hordes of Manchester City fans heading for the exits!
This ranks as one of my all time favourite city games. Ok, the style of football under John Beck wasn’t for the purists but he knew how to grind out results which led to promotion the following season. Did anyone else go to this game? What were your memories of this amazing game?
The teams that played that day were:
Lincoln City: Barry Richardson, Steve Holmes, Grant Brown, Jon Whitney, Gareth Ainsworth, Mark Hone, Terry Fleming, Worrell Sterling (Colin Alcide 34), Gijsbert Bos, Jae Martin.
Manchester City: Dibble, Lomas, Wassall, Symons, Ingram, Summerbee, Clough, Whitley, M Brown (Crooks 63), Rosler, Dickov
Goals:
Lincoln City:
Fleming (29), Holmes (44), Bos (49), Whitney (79)
Manchester City:
Rosler (40 seconds)
Attendance: 7,599.
We fared pretty well in the second leg, taking well over 2,000 fans to Maine Road! That match will be discussed in a future blog entry!
Manchester City were a team that lacked direction at the time of playing them. They were without a manager. The caretaker in charge for the game was Asa Hartford, who actually was part of the Manchester City team that won the trophy twenty years prior to this game! Manchester City had 10 players out injured for the game, including the mercurial Georgi Kinkladze.
Lincoln City fell behind within the first 40 seconds of the start and I like most others around me sensed a real drubbing. Uwe Rosler scored from a left wing cross from Paul Dickov who is still playing today! After this poor start Lincoln failed to cave in and started playing the style of football that manager John Beck is so well known for. We started to batter Man City’s goal and the equaliser duly arrived in the 29th minute when a Gareth Ainsworth cross (I think) was turned in by Terry Fleming with a sweetly executed volley! Terry is still playing his football in the city of Lincoln, currently plying his trade for Lincoln Utd!
Just before the break Lincoln City went in front from a typical John Beck set piece goal. Mark Hone (Danny Hone’s dad) put in a free kick that landed kindly on Steve Holmes head for him to place a bullet past Andy Dibble. I remember reading the next day that Dibble was unhappy with this goal as he felt Ainsworth had impeded him when the cross came in! So, Lincoln went in at the break leading 2-1 and it wasn’t long after the break that Lincoln City went further ahead! Another typical John Beck style goal it was too! Terry Fleming put in one of his trademark long throws and Gijsbert Bos’ near post header looped over Dibble to land in the far corner of the net. Sincil Bank was rocking. The atmosphere was amazing. The Railway End / Stacey West terrace was in full voice and the 1,500 or so Manchester City fans were very quiet.
Manchester City started pressing and came close on quite a few occasions. Nigel Clough even hit the post for them on about the hour mark. Lincoln however wanted more and we got more! Another Terry Fleming throw wasn’t dealt with and Jon Whitney stabbed in from close range in the 79th minute to send the Lincoln faithful wild and cue the hordes of Manchester City fans heading for the exits!
This ranks as one of my all time favourite city games. Ok, the style of football under John Beck wasn’t for the purists but he knew how to grind out results which led to promotion the following season. Did anyone else go to this game? What were your memories of this amazing game?
The teams that played that day were:
Lincoln City: Barry Richardson, Steve Holmes, Grant Brown, Jon Whitney, Gareth Ainsworth, Mark Hone, Terry Fleming, Worrell Sterling (Colin Alcide 34), Gijsbert Bos, Jae Martin.
Manchester City: Dibble, Lomas, Wassall, Symons, Ingram, Summerbee, Clough, Whitley, M Brown (Crooks 63), Rosler, Dickov
Goals:
Lincoln City:
Fleming (29), Holmes (44), Bos (49), Whitney (79)
Manchester City:
Rosler (40 seconds)
Attendance: 7,599.
We fared pretty well in the second leg, taking well over 2,000 fans to Maine Road! That match will be discussed in a future blog entry!
Saturday, 14 February 2009
Lincoln City’s most internationally capped player of all time
City’s most internationally capped is Gareth McAuley. Gareth joined Lincoln City in 2004 from Coleraine of Northern Ireland and after a very solid first season for the Imps was called up by Northern Ireland to play a friendly against Germany at Windsor Park on the 4th June 2005. McAuley started the game on the bench but was finally brought on for his international debut in the 70th minute, replacing Keith Gillespie. By that time Northern Ireland were already 3-1 down and Michael Ballack had already scored two goals.
Northern Ireland’s next game was against Malta in the August of 2005, for which McAuley wasn’t called up.
McAuley missed out on the wins over Azerbaijan and England but was on the bench for the World Cup Qualifier against Wales. However, he never made it off the bench as Northern Ireland crashed to a 3-2 defeat.
McAuley next game was a friendly against Portugal and he again started on the bench. This time though he came on at the start of the second half, replacing Steve Jones who on the books of Crewe Alexandra at the time. The game ended in a 1-1 draw with Warren Feeney, then playing for Luton Town grabbing a second half equaliser.
Gareth McAuley started the next game for Northern Ireland at Windsor Park, which was a 1-0 friendly win over Estonia. This was to be the first time he was in the starting line-up for Northern Ireland.
Jeff Hughes alongside his Lincoln City teammate Gareth McAuley was called up to play two friendly games in America at the end of the 2005/2006 season. They both played in the defeats to Uruguay and Romania.
The defeat to Romania was to be the last time McAuley played in an International match whilst with Lincoln City. A summer move to Leicester City on a free transfer put an end to that.
To date, McAuley has made 12 appearances for Northern Ireland, with 5 of those callups coming while he was playing for Lincoln City. His first International goal came against San Marino on the 11th February in a 3-0 away win in the World Cup qualifying tournament for South Africa 2010.
Friday, 19 December 2008
Where are they now... Ryan Amoo
Ryan Amoo joined Lincoln City in the summer of 2006 as one of the first signings under the new management regime of John Schofield and John Deehan. Deehan already knew about Amoo from when they were both at Northampton Town and had obviously seen enough potential in the player to make Lincoln give him a trial, even though he'd been ploughing up the non-league circuit for a year. The trial was a success for Amoo and he subsequently signed a one year contract.
The 2006/2007 season saw Amoo make 35 league starts. His moment in the spotlight undoubtably came in the clash with Peterborough United at London Road where two Amoo goals saw the Imps win by two goals to one and maintain their challenge at the top of League Two. Ex Imps Simon Yeo and Peter Gain combined to score the only goal for the Posh.
However, although Amoo was considered to be one of the best crossers of the ball at the club fans were constantly on his back claiming he was not good enough. At the start of the 2007/2008 season Schofield even started playing Amoo at right back and he really looked like a fish out of water. Come October 2007 when Schofield and Deehan were eventually relieved of their duties and were replaced by Peter Jackson as manager, Amoo never really had much of a look in anymore and was eventually released from his contract by mutual consent at the end of the 2007/2008 season. His last game for Lincoln City came against Bury in January of 2008.
Before joining Lincoln City, Amoo was involved in a six month relationship with Jade Goody.
In total, Ryan Amoo made 52 appearances for the Imps, 11 as substitute, scoring 3 goals.
So where is he now?
Ryan Amoo can now be found putting on the shirt for Midland Alliance league team Barwell in front of crowds of less than 100. It is a far cry from his glory days with Lincoln City...
Saturday, 13 December 2008
5 of the best for Lincoln City
Friday night gave Lincoln City their first win since the end of October and since Peter Jackson won the Manager of the Month award for October.
The Imps ran out 5-1 victors having been trailing 1-0 at halftime. Jackson made all three of his substitutions at half time, taking off David Graham, Lennel John-Lewis and Stefan Oakes. Jackson also changed the formation from the ineffective 4-3-3 to a more conventional 4-4-2. The lads must've had one almighty kick up the backside at halftime as they tried to make amends for a truly shocking first half display. All the substitutes had a hand in the goals. Adrian Petulea scored two, Ben Wright scored one and the energetic Sam Mullarkey had a had in a couple of the goals. Aaron Brown and Lee Frecklington scored City's other goals.
The result was an amazing turnaround from a team that has struggled to find the back of the net just lately. Lincoln had scored just one in their previous five league games.
Chesterfield 1 Lincoln City 5, April 1992.
You need to go back 16 and a half years in order to find the last time when Lincoln City completed such a significant turnaround from losing at halftime. Trailing 1-0 at Saltergate, City hit back in the second half through Tony Lormor, Sean Dunphy, David Puttnam, Matt Carmichael and Jason Kabia. This result was in the middle of a run that saw City win their last 7 league games of the season and also finish the season with just one defeat in their last 17 league games. We still only managed to finish in 10th place that season.
The 7 game winning running consisted of the following results:
A Scunthorpe 2-0
H Carlisle Utd 1-0
H Maidstone Utd 1-0
A Chesterfield 5-1
H Hereford Utd 3-0
A Halifax Town 4-1
H Blackpool 2-0
Our twice former manager Keith Alexander scored in the 4-1 win at Halifax and we managed to stop Blackpool from gaining promotion by beating them on the last day of the season with two Matt Carmichael penalties.
The 1991-92 season was also of particular sad note for Aldershot FC fans as this was to prove their final season in the Football League as they folded due to serious financial problems. Aldershot Town have since been reborn and still play at the Recreation Ground where Aldershot used to play. Lincoln City were to play the last Football League game at Aldershot on 14th March, 1992 in which City won 3-0. All Aldershot's records for this season were expunged.
Lincoln City's next match is away to local rivals Notts County on the 20th December.
The Imps ran out 5-1 victors having been trailing 1-0 at halftime. Jackson made all three of his substitutions at half time, taking off David Graham, Lennel John-Lewis and Stefan Oakes. Jackson also changed the formation from the ineffective 4-3-3 to a more conventional 4-4-2. The lads must've had one almighty kick up the backside at halftime as they tried to make amends for a truly shocking first half display. All the substitutes had a hand in the goals. Adrian Petulea scored two, Ben Wright scored one and the energetic Sam Mullarkey had a had in a couple of the goals. Aaron Brown and Lee Frecklington scored City's other goals.
The result was an amazing turnaround from a team that has struggled to find the back of the net just lately. Lincoln had scored just one in their previous five league games.
Chesterfield 1 Lincoln City 5, April 1992.
You need to go back 16 and a half years in order to find the last time when Lincoln City completed such a significant turnaround from losing at halftime. Trailing 1-0 at Saltergate, City hit back in the second half through Tony Lormor, Sean Dunphy, David Puttnam, Matt Carmichael and Jason Kabia. This result was in the middle of a run that saw City win their last 7 league games of the season and also finish the season with just one defeat in their last 17 league games. We still only managed to finish in 10th place that season.
The 7 game winning running consisted of the following results:
A Scunthorpe 2-0
H Carlisle Utd 1-0
H Maidstone Utd 1-0
A Chesterfield 5-1
H Hereford Utd 3-0
A Halifax Town 4-1
H Blackpool 2-0
Our twice former manager Keith Alexander scored in the 4-1 win at Halifax and we managed to stop Blackpool from gaining promotion by beating them on the last day of the season with two Matt Carmichael penalties.
The 1991-92 season was also of particular sad note for Aldershot FC fans as this was to prove their final season in the Football League as they folded due to serious financial problems. Aldershot Town have since been reborn and still play at the Recreation Ground where Aldershot used to play. Lincoln City were to play the last Football League game at Aldershot on 14th March, 1992 in which City won 3-0. All Aldershot's records for this season were expunged.
Lincoln City's next match is away to local rivals Notts County on the 20th December.
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Will Jacko sign a new contract with The Imps?
At the end of September of this year Lincoln City manager Peter Jackson agreed to an extension of his current managerial contract. The Imps had had an indifferent start to the season and were languishing near the bottom of League Two at the time Jackson was offered the new contract by the Imps board.
What was bizarre about this situation was Jacko himself allegedly stated that he'd only sign the contract when Lincoln started picking up League Two points. On the 6th November it was announced that Jackson had been named League Two Manager of the Month for October for a fine run of results, so it was assumed that Jackson would sign his new contract. Well, it's now December 10th and Jackson still hasn't signed the contract. However, since winning the Manager of the Month award, Lincoln have gone on a terrible run of form, being knocked out of the FA Cup by non-league Kettering Town and also not winning a single league game. Apparently he was due to sign the contract the day after we got knocked out of the FA Cup but this was postponed because of the timing.
Will Jackson sign or won't he? There are rumours that he may go back to Huddersfield - this I don't believe, because at the moment he is struggling with a team in League Two. Jackson is out of contract with Lincoln City at the end of the season. He has publically stated he is very happy at Lincoln, but nothing lasts forever and the word loyalty does not seem to exist in the world of football anymore.
Some fans are starting to question Jackson's ability and his man-management skills but a manager is only as good as the set of players he has at his disposal. Lincoln City still have a very average League Two squad. In my opinion only a couple of players could make a name for themselves in a higher division at the moment. They are Danny Hone and Lee Frecklington. Jackson did bring in eight new players in the summer and of these, only Rob Burch appears to be earning his wages.
Whatever Jackson decides to do, it is going to be a long hard winter for Imps fans!
What was bizarre about this situation was Jacko himself allegedly stated that he'd only sign the contract when Lincoln started picking up League Two points. On the 6th November it was announced that Jackson had been named League Two Manager of the Month for October for a fine run of results, so it was assumed that Jackson would sign his new contract. Well, it's now December 10th and Jackson still hasn't signed the contract. However, since winning the Manager of the Month award, Lincoln have gone on a terrible run of form, being knocked out of the FA Cup by non-league Kettering Town and also not winning a single league game. Apparently he was due to sign the contract the day after we got knocked out of the FA Cup but this was postponed because of the timing.
Will Jackson sign or won't he? There are rumours that he may go back to Huddersfield - this I don't believe, because at the moment he is struggling with a team in League Two. Jackson is out of contract with Lincoln City at the end of the season. He has publically stated he is very happy at Lincoln, but nothing lasts forever and the word loyalty does not seem to exist in the world of football anymore.
Some fans are starting to question Jackson's ability and his man-management skills but a manager is only as good as the set of players he has at his disposal. Lincoln City still have a very average League Two squad. In my opinion only a couple of players could make a name for themselves in a higher division at the moment. They are Danny Hone and Lee Frecklington. Jackson did bring in eight new players in the summer and of these, only Rob Burch appears to be earning his wages.
Whatever Jackson decides to do, it is going to be a long hard winter for Imps fans!
Sunday, 7 December 2008
The Rollercoaster that is Lincoln City
It has been a good 6 months since I last posted on this blog. However, not wanting to make any excuses I have been extremely busy with work.
After a summer involving lots of hype from Lincoln City manager Peter Jackson, the expectations to say the least were quite high for most Lincoln City Fans. During the summer months Jacko had dipped into the transfer market and signed his 'fantastic seven' - these were seven players who he felt would most definitely strengthen the squad. They were also said to be his first choice transfer buys. In the past at Lincoln City we have been used to signing players who no-one else seemed to want!
The seven players in no particular order - all signed as free transfers were:
Aaron Brown, Rob Burch, Frank Sinclair, Kevin Gall, David Graham, Stefan Oakes and Janos Kovacs. He also signed Sam Mullarkey from non-league Lincolnshire team Grantham Town.
When these signings were made each player was hyped up by Jacko to make it sound like we had signed a team of world beaters! It made for an exciting summer as a Lincoln City fan, just for a change!
Rob Burch was brought in as a replacement for Alan Marriott who was controversially not given a new contract which would have seen him given a testimonial match as he would have passed the magic ten year barrier playing for the same club. Disgruntled fans Internet message boards wondering what their local hero had done to not deserve a new contract. The jury was definitely out on Rob Burch as he would be scrutinised by the 'Marriott mafia' for the first few months of his Lincoln City contract. I think he has done a good, consistent job from the start. He commands his area well by shouting at players constantly, collects the ball from crosses easily, is a good shot stopper and his distribution skills are also top notch.
Frank Sinclair was brought to Lincoln with hype surrounding him that he was the best signing Lincoln have ever made! That has since been proved to be a load of nonsense as 19 year old Danny Hone, son of former Imps player Mark Hone has kept Frank out of the team. Danny came through the Imps ranks as a Youth Team Player and has become a fixture as a centre back this season. He has a contract with Lincoln City until 2010 but i likely to be snapped up by another team by then as scouts from Championship clubs have been watching him this season.
Janos Kovacs has been paired with Danny Hone at centre back. He has made one or two errors of judgement but has performed reasonably well.
Stefan Oakes arrived at Lincoln with the reputation as having one of the best, if not the best left foot in the lower divisions. Jacko claimed that his left foot can peel carrots! We hoped for good things from this midfielder who on his day commands the midfield like a lower division Steven Gerrard, but who has mostly disappointed this season. He has regularly been out injured and when he has played he has with doubt played some wonderful left footed passes but has in my opinion appeared to look lazy and uninterested for the most part.
Aaron Brown was brought in to fill the left back slot. He started as left back at the Don Valley Stadium on the first day of the season but was soon found to be out of position quite regularly. Then he got injured and his slot was fill by the industrious Lee Beavers. Lee has taken his chance and claimed that position for now. Aaron has played fleetingly in the first eleven - up front and on the left wing. I think we can use the term utility player here!
That brings me onto the last three signings - all strikers! Kevin Gall joined on a loan spell until January but has recently been informed that he will no longer be needed at the end of the spell.
David Graham helped get Torquay United promoted to League 1 back in 2003/04, and scored over 20 league goals in the process. Since then his career seemed to have been hit by controversy. However, Jacko was willing to give him a chance to repeat his goalscoring skills of his first spell at Torquay United. So far he has only played a few times for Lincoln and like Kevin Gall has scored no goals yet which considering they were both brought in as strikers is pathetic to say the least.
Sam Mullarkey has just turned 20 and in the few appearances I have seen him wearing an Imps shirt he seems to have the potential to do well.
It would seem that the much hyped 'fantastic seven' haven't really turned out to be that fantastic at all. It all sums up to a poor season for the Imps so far. Some onlookers will say Jacko has won a Manager of the Month award - that may well be true but we haven't won since then!
After a summer involving lots of hype from Lincoln City manager Peter Jackson, the expectations to say the least were quite high for most Lincoln City Fans. During the summer months Jacko had dipped into the transfer market and signed his 'fantastic seven' - these were seven players who he felt would most definitely strengthen the squad. They were also said to be his first choice transfer buys. In the past at Lincoln City we have been used to signing players who no-one else seemed to want!
The seven players in no particular order - all signed as free transfers were:
Aaron Brown, Rob Burch, Frank Sinclair, Kevin Gall, David Graham, Stefan Oakes and Janos Kovacs. He also signed Sam Mullarkey from non-league Lincolnshire team Grantham Town.
When these signings were made each player was hyped up by Jacko to make it sound like we had signed a team of world beaters! It made for an exciting summer as a Lincoln City fan, just for a change!
Rob Burch was brought in as a replacement for Alan Marriott who was controversially not given a new contract which would have seen him given a testimonial match as he would have passed the magic ten year barrier playing for the same club. Disgruntled fans Internet message boards wondering what their local hero had done to not deserve a new contract. The jury was definitely out on Rob Burch as he would be scrutinised by the 'Marriott mafia' for the first few months of his Lincoln City contract. I think he has done a good, consistent job from the start. He commands his area well by shouting at players constantly, collects the ball from crosses easily, is a good shot stopper and his distribution skills are also top notch.
Frank Sinclair was brought to Lincoln with hype surrounding him that he was the best signing Lincoln have ever made! That has since been proved to be a load of nonsense as 19 year old Danny Hone, son of former Imps player Mark Hone has kept Frank out of the team. Danny came through the Imps ranks as a Youth Team Player and has become a fixture as a centre back this season. He has a contract with Lincoln City until 2010 but i likely to be snapped up by another team by then as scouts from Championship clubs have been watching him this season.
Janos Kovacs has been paired with Danny Hone at centre back. He has made one or two errors of judgement but has performed reasonably well.
Stefan Oakes arrived at Lincoln with the reputation as having one of the best, if not the best left foot in the lower divisions. Jacko claimed that his left foot can peel carrots! We hoped for good things from this midfielder who on his day commands the midfield like a lower division Steven Gerrard, but who has mostly disappointed this season. He has regularly been out injured and when he has played he has with doubt played some wonderful left footed passes but has in my opinion appeared to look lazy and uninterested for the most part.
Aaron Brown was brought in to fill the left back slot. He started as left back at the Don Valley Stadium on the first day of the season but was soon found to be out of position quite regularly. Then he got injured and his slot was fill by the industrious Lee Beavers. Lee has taken his chance and claimed that position for now. Aaron has played fleetingly in the first eleven - up front and on the left wing. I think we can use the term utility player here!
That brings me onto the last three signings - all strikers! Kevin Gall joined on a loan spell until January but has recently been informed that he will no longer be needed at the end of the spell.
David Graham helped get Torquay United promoted to League 1 back in 2003/04, and scored over 20 league goals in the process. Since then his career seemed to have been hit by controversy. However, Jacko was willing to give him a chance to repeat his goalscoring skills of his first spell at Torquay United. So far he has only played a few times for Lincoln and like Kevin Gall has scored no goals yet which considering they were both brought in as strikers is pathetic to say the least.
Sam Mullarkey has just turned 20 and in the few appearances I have seen him wearing an Imps shirt he seems to have the potential to do well.
It would seem that the much hyped 'fantastic seven' haven't really turned out to be that fantastic at all. It all sums up to a poor season for the Imps so far. Some onlookers will say Jacko has won a Manager of the Month award - that may well be true but we haven't won since then!
Wednesday, 2 April 2008
13 months of suffering
by Cathedral Imp
I have supported the mighty lads in red and white vertical stripes since 1985 when the first match I witnessed was a 4-0 home thrashing by Cardiff City, but never have I known us suffer so many thrashings over the period of 12/13 months as recently. Who am I discussing? Lincoln City, of course. The disinterested reader now clicks on another web page.
Last November after a 1-0 win at Swindon Town put us top of League 2 we could have been forgiven for thinking that years of stagnating in the Football League's basement division were finally going to be behind us. However, we didn't manage to score more than two league goals in a game for the rest of the season and a 4-1 home thrashing by Hereford United was the start of many poor results. This season has seen us concede 4 or more goals on 9 separate occasions. In October we changed our manager, getting rid of John Schofield and bringing in a man with experience at this level in Peter Jackson. His immediate aim was to save the Imps from relegation. That appears to have been successful now.
However, Peter's biggest battle is currently away from football when about 6 weeks ago he was diagnosed with throat cancer. Obviously my best wishes are with him for a full and speedy recovery. Temporarily in charge of the Imps now is Iffy Onuora and since being in charge he has overseen six games, three of these being heavy thrashings.
So is it the player's fault or the manager's? Certainly Peter managed to get the best out of the players before leaving for his cancer treatment, as we went on a great run of results, getting seven wins in nine games. Let's hope that on Peter's return he can get the lads to return to winning ways and hopefully mount a reasonable charge for promotion next season.
I have supported the mighty lads in red and white vertical stripes since 1985 when the first match I witnessed was a 4-0 home thrashing by Cardiff City, but never have I known us suffer so many thrashings over the period of 12/13 months as recently. Who am I discussing? Lincoln City, of course. The disinterested reader now clicks on another web page.
Last November after a 1-0 win at Swindon Town put us top of League 2 we could have been forgiven for thinking that years of stagnating in the Football League's basement division were finally going to be behind us. However, we didn't manage to score more than two league goals in a game for the rest of the season and a 4-1 home thrashing by Hereford United was the start of many poor results. This season has seen us concede 4 or more goals on 9 separate occasions. In October we changed our manager, getting rid of John Schofield and bringing in a man with experience at this level in Peter Jackson. His immediate aim was to save the Imps from relegation. That appears to have been successful now.
However, Peter's biggest battle is currently away from football when about 6 weeks ago he was diagnosed with throat cancer. Obviously my best wishes are with him for a full and speedy recovery. Temporarily in charge of the Imps now is Iffy Onuora and since being in charge he has overseen six games, three of these being heavy thrashings.
So is it the player's fault or the manager's? Certainly Peter managed to get the best out of the players before leaving for his cancer treatment, as we went on a great run of results, getting seven wins in nine games. Let's hope that on Peter's return he can get the lads to return to winning ways and hopefully mount a reasonable charge for promotion next season.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)