Andrew Abbott's Blog

Monday 27 July 2020

Thoughts for a rainy day.




I’ve found myself feeling a little out of kilter these days and I wonder if it’s due to the current uncertainty over the football season.

Of course, for us there wouldn’t be any football at the moment but given that the football on the telly is only just finished, as regards the prem at any rate, it just seems to add to my confusion.

If I’m confused, whatever the players must be feeling particularly Lincoln City players who, if they weren’t tied to a contract now find themselves without a club. As far as Lincoln City, the club, they have done what they needed to which was to get as many as possible off the payroll. I’m in no position to judge as I have no experience of running a football club but for me it’s underlined the transient nature of that particular employment.

When I worked, I used to complete my commute, from the Lincoln area to Boston by train. If you’d ever done that journey on a work day you’d know why. On the day I finished, for good, I needed my car to get all the possessions and knick knacks home. You just get the impression, for a player, it’s a case of throwing the boots in the back of the car, if they’re not owned by the club that is. Not much more for a manager. All the best lads, good luck.

As for Lincoln City, in the days following the big cull, any thoughts of some of the big names in fact continuing with the Imps seem to be fading as the true nature of the future direction of the club become apparent. I’d never thought of us as a big spending club but apparently we were, in league two but, we’re told and I suppose we all ought to have been aware, that policy is unsustainable for the simple reason that City were unable to generate substantially more income in the higher division by increasing gates say from 9000 to 15000. The fanbase isn’t there and even if it was we couldn’t fit them all in. I think, and I wouldn’t put it more than that as I have no inside knowledge whatsoever but it was just something he said, I think Danny Cowley was of the opinion that further substantial investment in the club was more than a possibility and that would fund further progress. As we are aware that didn’t materialize and we all know what happened.

I’d imagine the further developments came as something of a surprise to the Cowley brothers (to say the least) and it was a seismic shock to me, I must say. I always thought the dynamic duo departed substantially from their usual modus operandi and boy did that come back to bite them on the bum.

I found myself being uncharacteristically uncharitable towards the brothers when they left the club. I will always be grateful for the things they did for us. Having survived the crucial first season in league one it still feels surreal to think of ourselves as a member of that league and that is all down to them, the fact that we’re in league one not the fact that we survived in it. My bonhomie did not extend to wishing them well at Huddersfield. We have history with them and the less said about that the better. For me they couldn’t have chosen a worse place to go if they’d have gone to Mansfield. They still might of course. From their own point of view their choice was suspect as well. So much for due diligence. I fully expected them to be sacked if they didn’t keep Huddersfield in the championship but even I didn’t think they would be sacked for keeping them up and not giving them a chance with their own team.

All of a sudden that gold embossed CV doesn’t look quite so burnished but I still expect them to wash up somewhere decent.

There we are, it’s still dismal out but it’s nearly lunchtime. Let’s chat again soon.

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