Last week, we announced a live show next Friday featuring Graham Bressington and John Schofield.
Tickets are still available for the show, although we have already sold 50% of the tickets, so you need to be quick. If you want to be there, Tension Twisted Realities on Croft Street, visit this link and secure your place now. There’s a bar, a raffle for some top Imps memorabilia, and most of all, two great former players telling their stories.
GET YOUR TICKETS HERE
For many, John Schofield will be a familiar name. Perhaps not to younger people as a player, but his first six months as manager are widely considered to be one of the most exciting of the era. With Mark Stallard and Jamie Forrester smashing in the goals, he oversaw a 7-1 win against Rochdale and a 5-0 win at Barnet. They were great days.
Graham Bressington is a big name for those of us in our 40s, but many young players can’t quite understand what a huge opportunity it is to listen to him. In my opinion, Bressington was a bit like our Robin Friday, a mercurial talent who was as infamous off the field as he was effective on it. He scored one of the greatest goals I recall in a Lincoln shirt and was often seen in the bars up and down the High Street after a game.
For those of you who don’t know him, I thought I’d put together a bio of Bressy, ready for next week’s big event. Perhaps this will convince you to splash out £7.50 and come along to hear his stories, which you won’t be able to hear after – this isn’t being recorded for any medium at all.
Slough-born Bressington started his football journey with plenty of promise. As a junior, he had stints with Chelsea and Arsenal, but he got his start in non-league football with Beaconsfield United and, latterly, Wycombe Wanderers. He helped Wycombe win the Isthmian League title in 1986–87, placing them in the GMVC alongside the Imps.
He caught City’s eye in a game against Wycombe in 1987, signing a couple of matches later for £20,000. Ironically, after the Imps game, he played against Boston for Wycombe and was sent off, meaning a suspension as soon as he arrived with the Imps. That meant he missed a game against Sutton United, and instead made his Imps debut in front of just 307 people as we played South Liverpool in the FA Trophy. He went on to make 13 appearances in the title-winning season and made his Football League debut on the opening day of the 1988/89 season as we lost 1-0 to Hartlepool United.
Over five seasons, he became a versatile and dependable figure, excelling as a midfielder or centre-half, and even scooped the Player of the Season award for 1990/91. He captained the team for a while, notably in the benefit match for injured winger Alan Roberts, and would run through brick walls twice for a win. He did see the odd red card during his Imps spell, but he made 136 starts and five further appearances from the bench. He was known for his larger-than-life personality, and he became a firm favourite of mine.
He scored seven league goals, one a fine solo effort against Gillingham that was voted Goal of the Season by Deranged Ferret on the day my grandad was presented with a signed ball on the pitch. That cemented my love for Bressy, without a doubt.
Four of his goals came in his final season, 1992/93, which was injury-plagued. I recall him bagging as we beat Barnet 4-1, and he netted in consecutive weeks against Scunthorpe and Colchester to earn us a couple of 1-1 draws. In 2007, he was recognized as one of Lincoln’s top 100 league legends, though injuries hampered his time, particularly during the 1991/92 season, where he only appeared a handful of times.
Injuries didn’t diminish his value, and reports often suggested he was being watched by clubs higher up the Football League. In 1992/93, it was revealed he was coveted by Southend United, then of the First Division (now the Championship). Nobody would begrudge a firm favourite such a move.
In 1993, he reunited with manager Colin Murphy at The Shrimpers, moving for £25,000. Unfortunately, injuries once again limited his Football League outings, leading to his retirement from the professional game in 1995. He briefly turned out for his hometown team, Slough Town, in 1995–96 before transitioning into a player-coach role at Chalfont St Peter in 1996.
Bressington’s coaching career continued as he joined Marlow in 2005, initially assisting temporary manager Kevin Stone before becoming his permanent assistant. Remarkably, he even returned to the pitch in 2006, just shy of his 40th birthday, for a game against Dunstable. After Marlow’s league restructure in 2008, he stepped down from his assistant manager role, wrapping up a diverse and dedicated football career.
Now, you can hear his stories as he heads back to Lincoln for the FPA / Stacey West event, but BE QUICK – tickets are selling fast! Mind you, for £7.50, they’re going to sell!
GET YOUR TICKETS HERE