No Thanks – Gareth Ainsworth
Rather an obvious one I feel. we all loved Gareth, even though he made fewer than 100 appearances for the Imps. He epitomised the revolution John beck brought, for better or for worse. He was a Beck player, pure and simple. He prowled the flanks, roamed the channels and loved to control a flick on or a long ball.
He was more than that though. He’d turn up on a Thursday night at your pub to play pool for the Butcher and Beast at Heighington. He had the Britpop persona, loving guitar music, playing in a band. He was one of us, he could have been my mate Matt or my mate Dave. He wasn’t just a footballer, he was an icon of the time.
When Port Vale flashed £500,000 at us, we didn’t want to sell. We’d resisted Wigan’s advances, but the club was cash-strapped and we took the money and ran.
Within a year he was a £2m player. Cheers Port Vale.