Imps open the door on another FA Cup competition.

Danny and Nicky Cowley looked like the cat that got the cream as they posed for the assembled media at the photo call showing off the almost complete Elite Training Centre just outside Lincoln.

It’s surely no coincidence that the open day coincided with the first round of the historic tournament and no surprise that the FA were in attendance to signal their approval of the way City have invested the proceeds from that great run in the cup two years ago. The Imps stock must be at an all time high at headquarters as they proudly show off the training complex just outside RAF Scampton. That base is doomed but the Imps go from strength to strength and the training centre, we would hope is a symbol of the future prosperity of City. The fact that the prize and TV money from the cup exploits have been so meaningfully spent, not on executive facilities or a fly by night dash up the league but on tangible assets that will cement the Imps future must surely be what the FA bigwigs needed to hear about as they fend off the barrage of criticism headed their way from, amongst other distractions the ill fated sale of Wembley.

Of course the training ground has the Cowleys name running all the way through it like a stick of Skegness rock and didn’t they look pleased with themselves as they posed with the famous old trophy? Did anyone else get the feeling that won’t be the only time they have their picture taken with it?

The Cowleys already look totally at home at the complex even in its unfinished state. I hope it’s not just wishful thinking that got me musing on a certain amount of permanence in evidence as they surveyed their new baby. Those rumours keep on surfacing every time a juicy (or not so juicy) vacancy comes up. A little less fervent certainly and in any event did they look at all restless? I’d like to think not.

It seems quite amazing to me that there are only two survivors from those exploits, three if you count Harry Anderson who wasn’t even an Imp by rights and Sam Habergham is fast becoming a distant memory. The present crop want to emulate the success of those great times. They’ll do well to get anywhere near and it’s ironic that a club with one of the flimsiest FA Cup records should be lauded now by the FA as a shining example of what can be done with a run in the cup.

If they’re going to get out of the starting blocks this year they first have to wriggle clear of Northampton Town who will, I’m sure provide hefty resistance and are in great form. The Cowleys Imps will, as ever, be plotting and scheming a way past them. It should be another great contest.