Franny Green

If you didn’t like the first player I served up today, you’ll love the second I’m sure, because Francis Green was a likeable character. He only scored 18 league goals in 82 starts for City, which isn’t a great return, but he was part of one of the most successful squads that we had after Colin Murphy and before Danny Cowley.

At the time, Green’s arrival heralded in a new era for Lincoln City. We had spent so long in the financial wilderness making do with non-league hopefuls, so when we signed Green for cash, it was a watershed moment. Obviously, it was Peterborough we dealt with, as we always seem to! It took him four games to get going, but then he bagged as we won 3-1 at rivals Scunthorpe and he was away. He scored against Telford in the EFL trophy, then got a late winner against Macclesfield at Sincil Bank. One late winner and one goal against a rival made him one popular player.

He scored eight times in both his opening seasons with the Imps, but couldn’t make a difference at the Millennium Stadium against Southend as we lost 2-0. Despite his early promise he never scored as many goals as perhaps he should have, and in his second full season, he managed just five. When Keith Alexander left the club, Green followed out of the door. He moved to our close rivals Boston United and typically scored a winner for them against us at York Street.