Thanks: John Cornforth

This could have gone either way; I’ve gone for thanks but in recalling Cornforth they might have cost Colin Murphy a final promotion as Lincoln manager.

Sunderland lent us the midfielder in 1990 as we looked to push on following a season of consolidation after our GMVC win. He was a top-quality player for our level, good on the ball and a threat going forward. He came in for nine matches; we lost the first and then went eight unbeaten with his quality in the side. He scored once, a goal in a 4-1 hammering of Hartlepool, before going back to Roker Park.

We lost the next game.

We narrowly missed out on promotion at the end of the season, but had Cornforth stayed for another month there’s every chance we could have secured a place in the Third Division. He moved to Swansea in 1991 and cost Birmingham City £350,000 in 1996.