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RW: Brennan Johnson
One in every five goals we score has got this man’s fingerprints on it. When you consider that only one of those has been a penalty, his 10 goals and four assists do look very impressive, and there’s no wonder I’ve picked him to start. Forest allegedly rate him at £10m and he is almost certain to be a part of Wales’ Euro 2020 squad, potentially becoming the first player to spend a full season at Lincoln City and then go to a major international tournament. On his day, he terrifies defences and tortures defenders. Much will be made of the 4-0 spanking Sunderland served up earlier in the season, but don’t forget Johnson could have has us 2-0 up before they had a decent effort at goal. Once his finishing sharpens up, this boy is Premier League quality and hopefully, he ends his spell with us on a high.
LW: Morgan Rogers
In a conversation the other day, my friend Pete said he believed Rogers would be loaned to a bottom-half Premier League club next season because that was his current level. That’s a big compliment to the youngster, who has exploded onto the scene this season. My hope is that Manchester City see how we’ve managed him and, whatever level we’re at next year, give him another 12 months with us. Of all our players, this boy is special and as he comes of age, if he’s lucky and works hard, he’s going to the very top. His goals are extravagant and I think we’ve seen him develop in the short space he’s been here. His tracking back has improved, his decision making is better and as we saw against MK Dons, he is as creative for others as he is dangerous himself. He needs to be a little more consistent and maybe force himself into games, but it would be utter madness not to have him running at the Sunderland defence, given that they’ve got injury worries.
CF: Tom Hopper
If you are ever asked ‘when is a striker not a striker’, then Tom is the answer, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. Eight league goals doesn’t look like a great stat, but he should be judged on so much more. He is our first line of defence at times and he works so hard for the team, unselfishly most of the time. Grant, Rogers and Johnson grab the headlines, but much of what they do is facilitated by Hopper. He is, in that respect, similar to John Akinde in our League Two title-winning season, although perhaps a little less of a target man and a little more of a grafter. He chases lost causes, he tackles, gets back to defend and pops up to score on occasion. If he were a little more clinical, he could be a Championship striker. when he has time to pick a finish, as we saw against Wigan, he is class. There’s no viable choice other than Tom Hopper for number nine in my opinion, as he forms the robust spine of the team with Bridcutt, Walsh and perhaps McGrandles too.