Ben Wright isn’t a player who often gets spoken about in City circles, which does seem a little odd to me.
He only played twice under John Schofield, but from October 2007 in the wake of a change, he went on to score 15 goals, finishing as our leading scorer. That’s more than any Imps forward has managed collectively in the last four seasons.
In a time of shifting sands, he was a bright spark that many may well have forgotten.
Ben Wright’s route to Lincoln City was anything but conventional. Born in Münster, Germany, where his father worked for the British Army, he grew up in Lincolnshire and began his footballing career with Deeping Rangers. By 1999, he was on the books at Bristol City, signed for £30,000 after impressing in youth football and even making appearances for Leeds United’s academy side. But first-team football proved elusive, and after loans and trials—including a spell with Woking and a week at Bolton Wanderers—he moved abroad, linking up with former manager Benny Lennartsson at Viking FK in Norway.
It was in Scandinavia that Wright truly found his feet. At Viking, he made headlines by scoring a dramatic late header at Stamford Bridge in a UEFA Cup tie against Chelsea, giving his side a precious away goal. Though Viking lost 2–1 that night, they won the return leg 4–2—one of the great European nights in the club’s history.
Wright’s spell in Norway continued with IK Start, where he became their leading scorer during the 2004 First Division title-winning campaign. A broken leg disrupted his progress in 2005, and after a loan to Moss FK, he returned to England in 2007. Barnet were interested—but it was City who secured his signature, and for a brief time, we reaped the rewards.
Wright didn’t feature immediately upon joining the Imps, but once in the side, he hit form quickly. He finished 2007/08 as our top scorer with 15 goals in 38 appearances, boasting a superb 3:1 shot-to-goal ratio. His arrival coincided with an upturn in results after the departure of John Schofield, and although his goals only changed the result in a handful of matches, they often gave fans something to cheer in a difficult season.
He bagged braces against Stockport and Barnet, and chipped in with a memorable goal against Peterborough at home. Yet some supporters questioned his overall impact—when he didn’t score, he sometimes drifted out of games. Still, supporters entered the 2008/09 season expecting Wright to kick on and hit the 20-goal mark.
Instead, it never got going. Jamie Forrester had moved on, and Peter Jackson preferred other options – literally any other options at the time. Lenny John-Lewis, Anthony Elding, Geoff Horsfield, and even a young Andy Hutchinson all got the nod ahead of Ben at times, and he gradually found himself pushed down the pecking order.
He scored just three goals that season, one in the Carling Cup against Derby and another in a 5–1 rout of Accrington, but never recovered the rhythm that defined his first year. He was released in May 2009 and signed a short-term deal at Macclesfield Town, but again injuries and form limited his impact. At the end of the 2009–10 season, he was let go.
After a serious knee injury left him needing surgery and without a club, Wright made a decision that would shape the next chapter of his life. He moved to New Zealand, where he became a player-coach for Richmond Athletic and later Nelson Suburbs.
“The consultant told me… there was a chance if I kept playing it would go completely. So I did my coaching badges and took the opportunity in NZ. It wasn’t a great standard of football, but I loved the country—beautiful place, relaxed vibe.”
Wright was open about his admiration for Lincoln fans and kept tabs on the club through Facebook and online reports. He remembered Stockport away under the lights as a personal high point—“I got a couple of goals and it was a great night”—and reflected fondly on his time at Sincil Bank.
Wright might not go down as one of the all-time greats, but in a turbulent spell for the Imps, he offered moments of real quality. His first season remains one of the most clinical by any Lincoln striker in recent memory. Sixteen years on, his goals, and that brief flash of hope, are still remembered.
And somewhere in Nelson or Napier, there’s a former Imp still keeping half an eye on our results—still cheering from afar.