Reliable information would be just the ticket.

We’re now at that stage where we are just waiting for the Arsenal match and bread and butter league games could be thought of as a bit of a distraction but of course nothing could be further from the truth as it’s the league that is of paramount importance. Nevertheless, for the sake of our league campaign, pleasant though it is and given the huge boost in the clubs finances no one should be too dismissive of the cup run but I can’t help feeling the sooner Saturday is out of the way the better.

The fact that City have drawn two matches now in the run up to the cup is neither here nor there as far as I’m concerned although if we had managed two wins there would have been daylight between us and the pack. However no one should be surprised at the draws against an improving York side and a very good Aldershot team. I don’t think the proximity of the cup affected things.

It did occur to me that although the Arsenal tickets seem to have been disbursed without too much drama there are a group of supporters who really have not been catered for and they are fans who live away and for whom a season or other priority giving ticket was not appropriate as they probably go to mainly away games. There are many fans, for instance who live in London so visit Lincoln every now and then and go to away games in the south. I think they should have been invited to give proof of address and some sort of registration scheme.

The club would say that merely proves that someone lives away from Lincoln, they may never go to games I appreciate that but some sort of registration scheme could be put in place for next season, a membership register or something for which a small fee could be levied might be an idea.

I think all this could have been avoided if the club had been specific about the fact that there would be no general sale of tickets after the priority buyers had been processed. If that had been made clear from the start there might have been less bad publicity. Most fans know another supporter who has a season ticket and could have asked for some help getting a ticket. I’m a final strEight ticket holder and I made sure I contacted a friend who I thought might have given up his season ticket for job reasons, he now has to work Saturdays. I got an extra ticket and now he’s coming to the game. I do think that might have been better explained.

One thing I’ve always said is that City’s PR is not all that it could be. It’s got a lot better of late but there’s some way to go. There’s an excellent public relations firm in Lincoln, maybe now that we’ve got some spare cash that could be looked at.