We have a problem, don’t we? That’s the consensus, and the depth of those problems depends upon who you ask. My feeling is we’re short up top, and in the middle of the park we’re not as creative as last season. There is a fallacy that we’re much worse than last season; I recall November 2020, when we could barely get a shot on target away. In fact, the last time we played Doncaster at their place, we had 11 shots, with one on target. This season, we had 13, one on target. I remember going away to Crewe, winning 1-0 in what many felt was the performance of the season up to that point, and yet being unable to make our dominance count in front of goal. Let’s not let the passing of time dull that we might not be winning as many games, we might lack one or two players who make a big difference, but I believe this Lincoln side does not play any more negative football than this last season. It’s just last year, before Christmas, we had two faces who could pull something out of the bag from nowhere. There’s Groundhog Day again – I can’t get through a piece without referencing Johnson and Grant, five months after they left the club.
That leads me onto my next point, another one I may as well copy and paste from other reports.
Certainly, some of the younger players, and some out of form, look a little afraid of making an error and the only difference between last season and this, is us. We’re there judging and a couple of players need to shrug that off and be more positive. However, our general play will not change; we have a style that has worked in the past and with a couple of additions to the squad, it will work again. I’m not going to roll out the same old rhetoric about January, you, me, Michael, we all know what we have and what we don’t. Personally, I didn’t think we were bad yesterday, we lacked what we lack, but we’re good in possession, and we clearly do have a purpose. – Shrewsbury three weeks ago.
We don’t have the pace to ping one over the top for a winger to hunt down; Harry has gone, Zack has gone, Theo is on loan and obviously, we know about Brennan and Morgan. Those were players that allowed us to transition from back to front quickly, but not in a long-ball style. We don’t have that now, in fact, we almost lack width of any description – Wimbledon at home
The truth is, I don’t really know whether to keep writing the same stuff. This is how it is: we’re a weaker squad than we were. Some of the new players haven’t settled as well as we hope, and some are being measured against players they’re struggling to live up to. We know we need to get to January to improve the squad, we know we’re going to struggle to win by three or four goals to nil every week until then, and we know we ain’t going to be top six. I don’t get why that has to be repeated every single week. The sad thing is, I have to do it, because otherwise, what would I write?
Yesterday, I felt we defended well, Jackson coming back was important, Montsma has certainly settled well since his spell at the beginning of the season, and both Poole and Robson are looking solid in their full back roles. I really like Jamie Robson, he’s a newer face who has done well and I think in twelve months time we’re going to be talking about him in the same way we spoke about Tayo at the beginning of the season.
There’d no doubting that we were off yesterday, and even with the weaker squad, we should have won the game. I won’t gloss over the obvious; Dan N’Lundulu could have put us 1-0 up early, as could Anthony Scully. Odd, that Dan is the one getting slated on social media though; personally I don’t think calling out individual players is helpful, but there’s no consistency. Scully didn’t look fully fit, but he wasted a good chance, just like Dan did. I guess if you’re a loan player, it is easier to get on your case because next season, you won’t be here. That said, there’s not a lot of people on Fiorini’s case, and I think he’s one who would benefit from a stint on the bench ou of the firing line. He doesn’t look confident in a Lincoln shirt right now, his purple patch has passed and despite doing well for Scotland Under 21s (against Kazakhstan Under 21s) he hasn’t convinced me over the last few weeks, Max Sanders must have been sat on the bench crying inside, given his decent game against Bowers and Pitsea. Given how much McGrandles changes from game to game, our midfield feels dysfunctional – Conor wasn’t on form yesterday and still gives silly free kicks away. Liam Bridcutt is shortly heading back into the side, and he’ll add some quality in that area, which I think we need.
We should have won the game, despite all this, we had the chances and with more clinical finishing, it is over before it begins. That didn’t happen and we know why – we know what is needed and we know what to expect in the next 41 days, before January 2nd and the strengthening Michael has mentioned. I guess we’re just going to get 41 days of the same thing between now and then – people stoic in their opinions, arguing on social media and getting increasingly angry with each other. It’s a shame, but that’s where we are, the age of instant reaction means some who have fueled up on ale have instant access to a platform been by thousands, and they chose to use it. Can you imagine in the days of John Beck, if all those barroom arguments in the Shakey and the Eagle had been broadcast to any fan interested in hearing them? Carnage, the Sports Echo was bad enough. Hell, the first letter I ever wrote to the Sports Echo was printed underneath one from Marcus Needham arguing a counterpoint. Yesterday, me and Marcus were still exchanging contrasting views, and in 20 years time, I hope we’re doing the same, with the same respect for each other as always. Sadly, not everyone holds that level for respect for this ‘club stooge’, but as I said, you can’t please everyone. I suppose that’s the beauty of football, but with 41 Groundhog days left, it really doesn’t feel like it.
Do you know what? There really isn’t that much more to say. I will end on a positive. We’ve lost one game in seven, conceded five goals in 450 minutes of football, and those willing to look hard enough can see we’re nearly a decent side. I’ll use an analogy to finish. If your car doesn’t start, there are two reactions. You can tell it like it is, call the car a useless hunk of rust, kick it and slag the manufacturer off. Or, you can recognise it is just one element, let’s say the starter motor, and get through your short carless spell before replacing the one offending part and enjoying many years of trouble-free motoring.
Actually, I’ll end on another point. In the week, Gillingham wanted to name a goalkeeper as an outfield player. They went away to a team in the bottom four yesterday, ravaged by injury and a weak transfer window, and lost 2-0. Their fans blame their owner, not Steve Evans, who is in the last year of his contract and seemingly would have liked a move to Stevenage, 21st in League Two, even coming out and claiming nobody motivates him at the club. They hoof the ball forward to John Akinde, who has one goal in 15 outings, and they’ve won just one in 12. Still, Lincoln City are a shambles, right? It’s Lincoln fans who should lament their luck, with one defeat in seven in League One.
Enjoy your Sunday.
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