The Prediction

Where do I think Lincoln City will finish this season? Well, I may as well be honest and not try to play things down. I think we’ll win League Two.

There, I said it. I think we have enough to win League Two this season. If everyone stays fit and the remaining three players that come in are a similar quality to those we already have, I’m not sure who will stop us.

There’s a lot of reasons as I’ve mentioned, but the unpredictability of our line-up and the immense strength in our small squad have to be the main two reasons. All across the park we have top of League Two or League One quality players, all in tune with each other and happy to carry out the exact instructions of a management team that have never, ever failed to add value year on year to squads they’ve managed.

Whilst Danny and Nicky are one of the main reasons I make the bold claim, I think we need to take our hat off to the club. There’s obviously a lot goes on behind the scenes, stuff we don’t know about and all too often people are willing to criticise before they think. Take the transfer policy, everyone bought the whole ‘fishing in the free agent pond’ line, then we smashed our transfer record for John Akinde. However, did anyone notice that around the time we were rumoured to be spending £150,000 on Akinde, there was £150,000 injected into the club? Coincidence? It was on a Twitter account that analyses football business and whilst I can’t find it now, perhaps we are going for broke this season with the help of our board.

So Liam Scully would sell his Gran to make a few quid for the club would he? You know what that makes him don’t you? An asset.

Then there’s Scott Wharton. I had it on very good authority in early June that we weren’t looking at Wharton as the budget didn’t stretch to him in defence. What changed? Blackburn’s valuation? Or the increased revenue streams around the club? People are quick to moan about giving half the ground to Sheffield Wednesday or having a ticket price increase or moving seats for the Legends Lounge but you know what? It’s clearly paying dividends. So Liam Scully would sell his Gran to make a few quid for the club would he? You know what that makes him don’t you? An asset.

There’s also the question marks over some of our rivals which help our cause. MK Dons are widely tipped to be up with us, the shackles are now off Paul Tisdale and he’s got a budget and a club players want to play for. MK also have a very good squad, mostly players who were mismanaged into relegation. Yes, they’ll be right up there but a new manager in his first season might just have a settling in period. Keep an eye an Agard though, if he gets to play through the centre he’ll be on 25 goals in May.

Notts County will push us all the way too, but did Nolan know how to prevent that slide last season? When we started to struggle Danny tried to change things, 4-3-3 and all that, but Nolan looked at a loss at times. He’s made some great buys but they’re trying to change an awful lot, style of play included, and signing two strikers with big reputations won’t guarantee you promotion alone.

That isn’t to say they won’t be second and third, they may well be, but there’s bigger questions over them than us.

Then there’s Mansfield, a side who seem permanently in meltdown. David Flitcroft isn’t well thought of by any of his former clubs and the recent brawl against Sheffield Wednesday is another example of the circus surrounding them More recently the Danny rose saga has disgusted me, it appears as though he’s been offered to Peterborough as surplus, then when Posh say they want him Radford announces their interest, now he’s handed in a transfer request. With just 48 hours or so to go, one of their big-name players wants out. Believe me, there’s disharmony there and it looks from the outside as though Rose and Lee Angol are being pushed out to balance the books a little. It’ll go pop again, you watch.

So, there you have it. Last season I called us to finish seventh and we did. If I get this right, I’ll be a damn sight happier than I’ve ever been. I just think we’ve got the best squad I’ve ever known at Lincoln, we have so many options and choices it will be a challenge to second guess Danny, but in the dug out we have the best two men in this division and maybe the one above. The lads have a training ground now, the quality is improving all the time and all I can see is Lincoln City trending upwards.

I wouldn’t be surprised at another cup run, FA Cup third round maybe or even retaining the EFL Trophy. The brothers are born winners and if the summer we’ve had is anything to go by, we’re the perfect vehicle for their ambitions.

Hold on to your hats ladies and gentleman, this could be another incredible season to be a Lincoln City fan.

Lincoln City 2018/19 Prediction – 1st