4. Tony Lormor
I nearly didn’t put Lormor on this list, because he had a solid career for the Imps, but I believe that had he not picked up a horror injury, he’d been much further up any Imps’ legends list. He signed in 1989/90 and immediately impressed, smashing eight goals in 21 outings. Remember, this is the same season we signed Roberts, the same season Waitt returned, the same season we had Paul Groves and John Cornforth. Lormor came late, but he looked to be every inch a future top-flight player.
He’d been at Newcastle and was highly-regarded there, but wanted first-team football. He’d made a debut against Spurs in the First Division, replacing Mirandinha, and he bagged on his first start, a diving header against Oxford United. He couldn’t get regular football with his boyhood club, so he searched elsewhere.
At Sincil Bank, he got it – minor injuries disrupted 1990/91, with him bagging 12 in 31 starts. In 92/93, he missed the start of the season injured, but again got goals, nine in 33 starts. He scored two against Halifax Town on the final day, and then disappeared for more than a year with injury.
When he returned, it was a token gesture, five starts in 93/94, before being released. However, with no injuries at all (that’s the purpose of the article), we’d be talking about someone with far more than the 34 goals he left us with.
3. Tyler Walker
For many, this will be the number one pick. Tyler’s injury record after his return was woeful, but had he never been injured? Well, we’d never have got him back, because a fit Walker, in his prime, was Championship quality, but let’s assume we did. Let’s assume, under Michael Skubala’s approach, one that creates more chances than his predecessor, Walker, was fully fit.
He’d have brought the danger Joe Taylor brought at the end of the 23/24 season. We’d have had goals throughout Mark Kennedy’s final days, and not been so heavily reliant on returning players. Maybe, last season, Jovon would have been nudged out wide earlier. One thing is for certain – if Tyler Walker had never been injured, he’d have played 109 games over the last two seasons. With a previous strike rate of 0.47 goals per game, could he have bagged 51 goals across two seasons?
It’s rudimentary maths, but you see the potential here.