Happy Birthday to Ali Fuseini
Everyone deserves to be congratulated on their birthday, even instantly forgettable lightweight midfielders like Ali Fuseini.
We signed the midfielder after a spell with Millwall, so it seemed safe to assume he’d know his way around a football pitch. Steve Tilson brought him in an in his first game we won 2-1 away at Bradford. Fuseini looked like he might bring a bit to the party, he had a nice touch and could spot a pass or two.
From there it went downhill. His brand of lightweight, often-absent midfield play wasn’t really what we were looking for in the thick of a relegation battle. He featured plenty, rarely contributing anything at all. I had to check if he played in that final match against Aldershot because I can’t remember him doing so. He did for the record, meaning he played a significant part in one of the worst days of my life.
Steve Tilson was sacked and effectively Fuseini’s Lincoln career ended. Fuseini played his last game on October 18th, on October 24th David Holdsworth came in and (thankfully) we didn’t have to see Fuseini in an Imps shirt again, not that you’d notice his contribution if he had kept on playing.
He wasn’t a particularly wholesome character off the pitch either. In 2010 Fuseini was convicted of Aggravated Vehicle Taking and disqualified from driving for 12 months. He was further arrested after leaving Lincoln in November 2011 for Disqualified Driving, and again in December 2011. He was sentenced to 10 weeks’ imprisonment for these offences.
He was also part of the Bromley side that did the double (1-0, 2-0) over Lincoln in 2015/16 although thankfully he didn’t score.
His life has certainly turned around since, he’s currently playing defensive midfield for Welling, but he’s also a successful business running a car rental company with his brother Isaac.
Never known a single player dominate a whole season like Bob Cumming did in 1987/88.