OPPORTUNITIES
COMMERCIAL
There is no doubt commercial opportunities are the most interesting, and I’m not just talking about selling more ad space or boxes. The commercial team do an outstanding job, squeezing every last bit of juice they can from their contacts, then finding a little bit more. However, the real opportunities are where we feel we can take certain projects.
I’m staying a bit shady on this, given that it was part of the fan forum presentation that couldn’t be filmed, but with Jason Futers on board, I have a feeling we’re seeking opportunities that you and I might not immediately associate with a football club. That’s massive, and it’s something to keep an eye on in the coming years.
YOUTH SYSTEM
Sean Roughan smashed 100 appearances recently. Freddie Draper is on the cusp of regular football, battling Jovon Makaman for the honours. There’s a real opportunity here for us to keep developing young players and bringing them through. Remember, Sam Long moved for money this summer, and we have a future interest in now fewer than 16 players that we have sold on.
People will always criticise the youth setup because they expect a Wayne Rooney to come through and sell for millions or a Lee Frecklington to come in and be a star player. I think Roughan is the latter in fairness, but our recent record isn’t bad with the youth set up. Of course, we need a couple more to come through, like Zane Okoro who has recently been training with the first team, but there’s a big opportunity right there for us.
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
This is the biggest one for me. We’re getting a reputation for selling players to bigger clubs – Tayo Edun, Anthony Scully, Jorge Grant, Lukas Jensen, even Lasse. We develop players, and even those who don’t quite make it do get football elsewhere – Zack Elbouzedi, Jordan Wright and Sam Long springing to mind. Pile the likes of Morgan Rogers, Brennan Johnson and Brooke Norton-Cuffy into that mix, and you have a team with a reputation for developing players, and allowing them to move on.
This is crucial for bringing in the next set of aspirational players. The likes of Dom Jeffries, Erik Ring and JJ McKiernan will have seen the presentation and know that Lincoln City is a great platform for them to press on. For us, that means talented players appearing for the club, then moving on for money to help bring more into the squad.