Trying to pick up all the former Lincoln City players on the move recently is a big job, but one that jumped out was Jordon Garrick.
You’ll remember him – he was at Swansea City, and went to Plymouth on loan when we got Morgan Whittaker. The following season, they got Whittaker, and we got Garrick, seemingly an upgrade. That was how some felt about Whittaker, who has since gone on to prove much of our fanbase wrong, while Garrick has sunk like a bag full of unwanted kittens in a river.
This week, he completed his fifth post-Lincoln move. He was most recently at St Patrick’s in Ireland, but they released him at the end of the season, and that left him at something of a crossroads. The Jamaican-born attacker has now found a new club – sixth-tier side Merthyr Town, challenging at the top of the National League North for a place in Boston United’s division.
Merthyr, who also have former Chelsea man Jacob Maddox in their line-up, one of their Under 21 side from the EFL Trophy game with us in 2017, are currently third in the table, ten points behind runaway leaders South Shields, who are heading into the National League on current form.
The Martyrs are also behind AFC Fylde, but hold an advantage over Kidderminster, Radcliffe, Macclesfield and Darlington, all of whom are fighting for a top seven spot, with Scarborough and Telford there as well. It’s interesting, isn’t it, knowing the Imps have played the likes of Scarborough, Kidderminster, Macclesfield and Darlington as league clubs in my lifetime.
The Welsh side will not be hoping Garrick, still only 27, can give them the edge they need to push up the table a little. That was the intention in 2022/23 when he signed for us, but aside from a late goal at Barrow, one which helped set us up for the run that took us to Bristol City and Southampton, Garrick really didn’t shine. He certainly has the physical attributes to smash in at National League North level, but whether the ability is there or not is a question City fans couldn’t answer.