Jorge Grant
Apps 29 (4) Goals 11
Best Outing – Wimbledon (A)
It is hard to consider writing anything other than a waterfall of superlatives when talking about Jorge Grant. He’s a player we watched developing with other clubs, Notts County in particular, and who we have been on a journey with at the Bank. I recall when Michael took over, Jorge was injured and many were claiming he’d go back to Forest (even though we had bought him). Mansfield fans warned of a player with a lack of commitment, and even though we knew he was slick and full of tricks, I suppose there was a little apprehension around his early months with us. Imagine how incredibly ridiculous that sounds now, as we watch a genuinely gifted footballer make a mockery of established League One midfielders.
I know we can look to his goals tally, penalties or not, and draw a conclusion, but there is much more to Grant than that. He has nine assists as well as the goals, meaning he has already had a hand in 20 Lincoln City goals this season. He also has four second assists according to Wyscout, and has been a key factor in numerous other goals. He drops deep and sits in front of the back four when needed, and has never looked likely to shirk a challenge or fail to put the hard running in. In my eyes, he has got to be a firm candidate for the Player of the Season, especially if he keeps up the form he has shown in the first 23 league matches.
He was exceptional away at Wimbledon, as he has been in so many matches, but I picked that as his best outing for a reason. a season ago he came off at half time against the same opposition with a flea in his ear around his work rate. At that point, some might have questioned whether he could have gone the same way as Jack Payne, but he didn’t. He fought, he evolved and he developed and when he controlled the encounter against the Wombles in December, I felt he made a big statement, almost a poignant one, in a repeat of a fixture which now seems so influential in his entire Imps career. I just hope he pens a new deal this January.
Ben Daniels says – Grant reminds me of Beckham. I know that seems ridiculous but what I mean by that is that I always thought Beckham was a bit of a show pony until I saw him play live – and then I saw that he ran further and harder than other players on the pitch – that he provides the “x-factor” but from a solid base of hard work.
Mark: A
Tom Hopper
Apps 23 (3) Goals 6
Best Outing – Wigan (H)
When things go well, fans are mostly happy, but even if you win 4-1, there will be some who want to have a dig about the ‘1’. Even when you’re top of League One by three points, with a game in hand over your nearest rivals, there will be someone ready to stick the boot in about something. Hell, even I had a little moan about Hopper on the podcast around November, when goals were a little hard to come by. I felt that maybe a striker who played much of his football outside the box wasn’t the type we needed.
I stand corrected because I think over the season Tom has proven he is a key part of what we’re doing, even if he isn’t the number nine many expected. I’m not always sure what ‘false nine’ means, but if it is a player who you expect to lead the line, but fights in defence, midfield and drops out of the area to hold up the ball, then Hopper is a false nine. There’s nothing false about his energy and work rate though, and his only real crime is not having solid competition on the bench. Had Morton remained fit, then maybe we would have less to complain about, as we could have rotated the strikers depending on the opposition.
With Tom, when you want someone to defend from the front, to fight and scrap, he is your man. When you want a selfish runner, a player who stays in the box for an onslaught of crosses, he might not be the strongest option. Thanks to Morton’s injury, he’s had to be everything and anything we need at the time. He still averages a goal or assist every three games, he has a couple of second assists too and has doubtless made dummy runs or drawn fouls that have helped us to other important wins. If you need an indication of what he brings, look no further than Wigan at home, a war of attrition in which he was the perfect soldier.
Ben Daniels says – Hopper is the glue that binds everything together in the attacking third. Utterly selfless. The most underrated player in the division.
Rob Beezley says – Hopper might not the 20-30 goal a season striker some crave but the work he does do is brilliant He often brings Scully and Johnson into play, and is very very good hold up play. Underrated but does a lot of the graft work.
Mark: B+
Remy Howarth
Apps 8 (6) Goals 2
Best Outing – Burton (H)
Everybody loves a fairytale, a likeable lad who makes his own luck and loves life, and that is Remy Howarth. I’ll confess, when he first arrived I saw a player who would be an EFL Trophy staple but might be out on loan by February 1st. Instead, he’s forced his way into the first-team picture, chipped in with a couple of goals and proven himself to be a useful squad member. He’s the type of player I don’t think we ever had under Danny Cowley, someone who isn’t a regular starter, but who could easily be relied upon to drop in and give everything without looking out of his depth.
I do think there is a degree of naivety to Remy’s choices at times, a couple of decisions in matches against Wimbledon and Peterborough might have been better, but considering prior to coming here he played below the National League and in the Welsh Premier, I think he has done very well. What I would say is I think he is someone who fights to get where he is – every week he looks like he is playing at the top of his ability to keep up with the game. I still believe a season on loan in League Two, getting regular football, would be a big benefit to him.
In terms of his best outing, I’ve had to pick Burton. Having chatted to Remy earlier in the season I was stuck with how excited he was to just be playing for Lincoln, and I know how much his first senior goal must have meant to him.