The Calm and the Worry: A Lincoln City Pre-Season Ballad

I know DC/NC prefer to work with a small squad but I think it cost us at end of last season when injuries kicked in, I'm not worried at moment plenty of time but hope lessons learnt. Has for a striker, good ones generally cost money.

— Roy Thomson (@Camimp83) June 27, 2018

Let’s open with a fair point that is tough to argue. Against Exeter we started with Green, Rhead and Palmer all on the field, meaning no attacking players on the bench. It wasn’t an unusual situation either, every man and his dog can see we needed a fourth striker.

There was also the full back issue, we lacked adequate cover in the event of a double injury and ended up with a square peg in a round hole at times. That might not be as much of an issue this season if the system changes, but having adequate cover is important.

I’ll touch on the striker comment later on in the piece, but as for cover I do agree. I like the sound of reports suggesting Danny is looking at non-league players on trial, sounding as though he’s going to bulk up the squad a little with a few hopefuls. It didn’t do Keith any harm, did it?

You can arguably pick up a better striker on a free, as you can push the transfer budget into wage budget, so you can pay bigger wages to attract better players. (This works on FM so it must be right?) That said, if you want a young, hungry striker, they're likely to demand a fee

— Adam Leeder (@adsleeder) June 27, 2018

Paying a fee doesn't guarantee anything other than making an agent richer. A player needs to fit in to a club/squad to succeed and money (fees or wages) can sometimes get in the way of this.

— John Pearson (@happinessjohn83) June 27, 2018

I don't want to see big sums of money exchanging hands, it's better to go into wages. I don't think people understand that wages are key here and spending large transfer fees is more vanity at this level.

— Mark Armstrong (@mark_armstrong5) June 27, 2018

These echo my feelings, that a fee doesn’t mean a good striker, it just means you’ve taken more of a gamble. A players contract situation is entirely down to his agent and these days a signing on fee is just as prevalent as an actual fee. Other clubs might be difficult to deal with, not wanting to let a prized asset go cheaply, at least an agent just wants money and doesn’t care so much about retaining a player.

I wouldn’t be against paying a fee, but I don’t think the so-called strategy is holding us back. However, do you really think Danny is refusing to look at strikers because they’re contracted to a club? Of course not, he’ll say that in the media because the price needs to be right, but if value for money comes around then he’s going to have some of it, isn’t he?

This daft business of only looking for free players won't work. If you want the right tools for the job, you have to pay for them, it's the same in any industry! A team & club on the up, well respected management team, huge crowds, yet we still can't attract that elusive striker?

— Craig (@ValentinoMossy) June 27, 2018

get what you pay for…..

— marc brooks (@brunobrooks1) June 27, 2018

https://twitter.com/LukeKempson1/status/1011912571903971329

To a degree, I agree here to, but not in the way you might think. If we want a good striker, we do have to pay. Tyler Walker is rumoured to be on nearly £5k per week, would you want that for us? How would Bozzie, Neal Eardley and the others feel seeing their own wages doubled by some young kid from Forest? There’s a wage structure in place to ensure a happy squad and to ensure financial stability across the board.

That said, I’d bet we’re looking to make any incoming striker our best-paid player, it stands to reason we’d have to. Would you risk it all with a roll of the dice on Tyler Walker, or wait for the right player to come along? It has been suggested that Walker’s agent would pocket a hefty fee too, as well as Forest, how expensive could that get? Whilst we do want to invest, there’s no point in going over and above what is required.

What I do not believe is that paying a fee guarantees a better quality of player. The transfer market isn’t like Machine Mart, where the more you pay the better the machine. Free agents will demand just as much as anyone else, only them or their agents will pocket the money, not the selling club.

For me not paying a fee doesn’t bother me, it’s that the Cowleys seem to struggle to land strikers in general. Really hope we don’t end up like we did last season where we were devoid of ideas and energy up front due to lack of numbers

— Kate J (@katej1984) June 27, 2018

Ah, herein lies the problem I think. For the last two transfer windows we’ve sat and waited, hoping the big name is going to arrive, hoping the help for Matt Green up front is going to be unveiled and we’ll all gasp and smile. Twice we’ve been disappointed and although we won at Wembley and made the play offs, people still see the failure to land a striker as a let down. I personally see it from both sides, but did we not have a great season last season? Had we landed another striker we may have gone one better, but we may not. We weren’t relegated, we didn’t miss out on the top seven, which to me shows that in every other aspect of our recruitment, we got it right. Therefore, if Danny and Nicky chose not to sign a striker, surely we respect that judgement?

No and yes.
Yes because the squad was a bit light last season and it’s 7 out and 4 in so far.
Need about 5 more in.

— Nige Anderson (@NigeAnderson) June 27, 2018

I think that is a fair assessment and as yet, we haven’t touched the loan market. I can see four coming in, a defender in the Scott Wharton mould, some youngsters from the top flight and of course, the elusive striker. I don’t think we’ll be signing many more unless they’re the likes of Lee Shaw, slow burners with something to prove and time to prove it.

Why would we want a squad packed with Niall McNamara, Danny Bacon, Omari Sterling and Steve Robinson? The best businesses are streamlined and efficient, much the same as some of the best football clubs. again, staying free of injury is key, but I don’t think Danny and Nicky are stupid, are they? They’ll know what held us back last season and won’t repeat their mistakes.

I believe in Danny and Nicky’s strategy of only trying to bring in players that will improve us. And that doesn’t always include a fee, perfect example is neal eardley. But if Palmer goes, it feels we need to spend something to get a quality replacement.

— JT (@JohnTemp1986) June 27, 2018

I think Neal is a great point to end on. Last season he got our Player of the Year and he signed two days before the big kick off. The quality is out there and the clubs are the ones holding the power as the summer grows longer. Look at Grant Holt, he couldn’t get a club and ended up in the non-league scene at 35. Neal Eardley, a former international, couldn’t secure a deal with anyone until two days before the season kicked off.

Mo Eisa, perhaps the best striker in League Two last season, came from Greenwich for next to nothing. Kane Hemmings, the big-money striker that blew everyone away, scored fewer goals in all competitions for Mansfield than Matt Green did for us. Ricky Miller, the player everyone seemed to want in both August and January, played 21 games and scored once. Danny Rose scored just nine times for Mansfield in 2016/17 and wasn’t even considered a starter for his side when Evans took over, yet he grabbed 17 in all competitions. He’s been touted for a big move on the back of that, Matt Green gets the same for us and fans are baying for a replacement.

Names are one thing, big moves are another but nobody will truly know what is going to happen until it all kicks off. I do admit we need to sign a striker or two, whether Ollie moves on or not, but I don’t believe that big money is needed to do so. Jayden Stockley, the name everyone seems to keep putting forward, is no more than a target man with little to offer on the floor. Would you want to spend upwards of £150k on a player of that ilk?

There’s no point in panicking, there’s no danger of us going into the season with too few players to put out a squad and even if we did genuinely miss out on all of our targets, there’s always the loan market sensibly extended to beyond the transfer window closing. Social media has allowed panic and access to news so readily has everyone fearing that all the best players are gone, but last season’s evidence shows that to be utter rubbish. Lee Shaw could well be the leading scorer next season, maybe even Matt Green will be.