Following on from Part One on Friday, I’m now counting down what I consider to be the top ten players to have come through the Imps youth ranks over the last 45 years.
As a refresher, I appreciate I may have missed some, I may have been harsh on others, but I did have a very strict criteria. The players must have come from the academy from 1980 onwards, and we can’t have signed them directly as professionals, even if they were teenagers. That rules out the likes of Glenn Cockerill, Mark Camm and Lenny John-Lewis.
Also, the players have to have a senior appearance for the Imps, so no Robert Taylor, Scott Loach or Luke Dimech. We need to have seen the player in a Lincoln City shirt at senior level, and no, the Lincolnshire Senior Cup does not count!
After that, it’s open to interpretation what a top graduate is. Are we talking senior goals? Is the number of senior appearances a big factor? What about transfer fees? Can you look at what they later went on to do as an indicator of the academy being successful?
Well, you’ve seen my top 21. Here’s my top 11. Argue away!
11. Stuart Naylor
63 appearances
£110,000 fee
Here’s a rare breed – a keeper on our list. Naylor came through the youth ranks, after failing to impress during a trial with Leeds United. He turned pro in June 1980, making his debut against Bristol City in October 1981. City lost that game 2-1, thanks to a brace from Mick Harford, but Naylor played five more times, including twice against Graham Taylor’s Watford in the League Cup.
The following season he played once, famously as a number nine in Colin Murphy’s ongoing battle with the board. He took over from Felgate in the 1984/85 season, and played 20 times in the following campaign, before a big-money move to First Division West Brom, managed by Ron Atkinson. The Imps bagged £110,000 for the keeper, making him another in the list of big money youth graduates, and by the end of the 1986/87 season, he was their Player of the Season.
He established himself as a key figure for the Baggies over the next decade, making over 350 senior appearances.
10. Steve Holmes
230 appearances, 39 goals
Steve Holmes was one of the most prolific defenders in Lincoln City’s history, netting an astonishing 39 goals during his time at Sincil Bank. What few realise is that he came through the youth ranks here, turning pro for one season (89/90), before being released. In fact, had we not released him and he’d racked up those goals and appearances without us having to pay a fee to bring him back, he’d have troubled the top five.
Holmes was a product of the youth system, making his debut in the 3–1 home victory over Enfield, which secured the Imps the much-coveted James Thompson Championship Shield. Released at the end of the campaign, he went to Guisborough and Gainsborough before a move into the Football League with Preston.
He returned to us under John Beck, having played for him at Deepdale. He became a fearsome presence at set pieces and a rock at the back. He was part of the promotion-winning side under John Beck in 1997–98, and could hit a penalty as hard as anyone. Holmes’ consistency, bravery, and eye for goal made him a cult hero and arguably one of the best defenders of his era in red and white.
9. Paul Mayo
194 appearances, 14 goals
£65,000 transfer fee
Paul Mayo was a left-back and a graduate of the academy, known for his stamina, strong delivery, and trademark long throw.
After initially breaking through in 2000, he became a mainstay of the side that fought administration, and then earned a place at the Millennium Stadium in 2003. Indeed, his goal against Scunthorpe in the semi-finals is often overshadowed by Yeo’s heroics, but it was perhaps the finest across the two legs.
In March 2004, he was sold to Watford for £65,000 but returned for a second spell after 25 Championship outings. His ability to overlap and contribute going forward added an attacking edge to the back line, and he remained a dependable and hardworking defender throughout his time at the club.
Across both stints, Mayo racked up nearly 200 appearances and 14 goals, and earned us a decent little sum of cash.