Where to now, City?

 

Occasionally I watch a game, Burnley perhaps and I think, could we? Is there any way? Then something happens, I wake up maybe or something like Lincoln City 1 Rochdale 2 and I think, be careful what you wish for. Do we want be Wycombe, a season of struggle followed by immediate relegation?

Of course, we have been there before and you may say to yourself, yes, I do want that, I do want my team to play even one season at the second level, even if it is unsuccessful, I’ll take that.

A few weeks ago, I had little doubt, the Imps were ready. A few tweaks here and there, the loan players will go back and will be replaced but yes we’re good to go.

That was when City were easily disposing of comparative minnows like Rochdale. True, we’ve often struggled with teams fighting for their lives but City marched on, top of the league or thereabouts. Our young side were untroubled by the task ahead, undaunted by the challenge. Then came the inevitable squad reduction, the losses and draws. We often wonder what the lack of us fans in the stadium means. Saturday was the first time I thought, I’m glad we weren’t there, I’m glad I didn’t see that, I’m glad I didn’t hear the reception and there would have been one.

For some people, I won’t call them supporters if the team lose, they boo. I don’t think our young side need to hear that right now and for the first time I don’t really know what I want to happen. I haven’t enjoyed a game all that much lately. Yes, Crewe was a good result, but did I enjoy it? Ipswich was OK afterwards; I did like the fact we’d gone there and survived but is that what I want?

Yet even now, were still third in the table. True not the promotion candidates in waiting we were but we’re still there. We know, or we’re pretty sure we know what’s required, it’s to get some of the walking wounded back playing, principally Bridcutt and Walsh. We need to get the heart of the team back together again, pass the ball, get bodies in the way of shots, the simple things.

Next come Gillingham and our nemesis. Well, he knows what to do now doesn’t he? Play like Rochdale and those lesser lights before them who have come to the LNER Stadium with the combination in their notes. Question is, can they do it? Or can City negate those tactics and keep the great tactician quiet, or as Michael Appleton put it, put him back in his box?

I’m not sure I want to see that or not, but of course I will and so will you. How do I answer the questions I posed at the start? I don’t know, and I don’t suppose you do but ask me again in a couple of days.

 

Memories are made of this.

 

I couldn’t help but think back to that FA Cup run the other night and that wonderful day at Ipswich, a town I’d never been to. In fact we made a weekend of it. My first impression was it wasn’t a very big place, about the size of Lincoln by my reckoning and yet this club had operated at the very highest level of English football, successfully.

Of course you do wonder if Ipswich Town ever could scale the heights again as the nature of club ownership has changed so much. I thought how friendly everyone was and, settling down to a table in a pub near to the ground, the total lack of any animosity.

We were little Lincoln City then, no threat to them and I remember feeling quite intimidated at the size of the stadium. They must have drawn support from the county and beyond to fill that place, it’s very traditional and I got the feeling of being quite cooped up. The fact that we were so numerous was a factor too but I thought of it as a marvellous day out made even better by the fact that we didn’t lose but sure it would all end in a few days at Sincil Bank. Little did we know it was the beginning of the story, not the end.

So, back to Portman Road this time as equals, well in fact, now we occupy a higher league position although in many ways we are behind them. We certainly don’t boast an awe-inspiring stadium like that although many of us love Sincil Bank. Personally I think there’s an awful lot to do either in LN5 or elsewhere and even if we did reach the top, which I’m not expecting, we wouldn’t need anything like Portman Road, which reminded me of Goodison Park in many ways, it would be like Rotherham or Doncaster.

I digress. I thought City were, is the word unlucky? No I think unfortunate. The Imps looked the better side, I would say that wouldn’t I? Sadly City didn’t have the wherewithal, troops or mind to press on to get the second goal. Had that been scored, I don’t think there would have any way back for Ipswich. However, pushing on may have resulted in a loss and we’ve seen how easy it is to slip to that result.

Mick Mills, on Radio Suffolk, who provided the commentary on ifollow ventured the view a draw was a fair result. I thought that at the end of the game but I’m not so sure now. Just as some clubs and their fans see defeat by Lincoln City as something that really shouldn’t befall them as they’re far too grand for the likes of us, I sometimes think we ourselves are usure how far the club has come in the last few years. Yes, you don’t approach the LNER Stadium with any kind of awe although, when we’re back we do generate much more of a big match atmosphere than we used to. That’s before the game starts.

Anyway, here we are. That’s another big test passed, sort of. I notice Michael Appleton is relishing the big games to come. It’s a good chance to put the cat amongst the pigeons and put a dent in another supposedly big clubs’ ambitions. I needn’t worry then. Who am I to argue with the Big Apple?

City stop the rot. Would you believe it?

 

After the last two defeats I posed the question, have the wheels fallen off the Lincoln Loco? Saturdays result, more to the point, Saturdays performance would seem to suggest no. Just as it takes more than a couple of defeats to end a promotion push and for that matter a couple of wins to make a bid for better things, to quote a well worn cliché, it’s a marathon not a sprint.

Of course, just as there are those for whom the slightest drop in form or missed pass signifies certain disaster there are those eternal optimists who believe continued cheerleading will overcome every setback and the extension of the Selenity stand will miraculously give us a stadium fit for the championship. Fortunately our board of management are of the view that club should always seek to move forward or, as with riding a bike, if you stop pedalling you will eventually fall off.

After Saturday I’m certainly more optimistic of City’s chances. Squad members being unavailable are, well, unavoidable, the Imps run a small squad, that increases the pressure. The biggest minus, unless there is some good news to follow, is the injury Jorge Grant is suffering. He didn’t convince me that he would be back before the end of the season. I hope I’m wrong.

On the other hand, certain players are really coming good. McGrandles, Hopper and Edun continue to excel. Palmer was more assured as was Montsma and there was further good news. Morton is back and showing every likelihood of a really strong and effective end to the season, Poole continues to impress and Bramall has overcome that iffy start to show us why the manager put his faith in him.

I could go on, players are coming back, improving and putting in some sparkling displays. What a difference a week makes. When you add in the return of Bridcutt, surely not all that far away, in fact all the walking wounded with the exception of Grant and, sadly Harry Anderson who limped away from the warm up, you have to be optimistic about the run in. I firmly believe a fully fit squad will be the match for any of the teams in this division. Even without the three I’ve mentioned it’s a good outfit.

I suppose I’d better mention Saturday’s game and I thought it was a good win insofar as they’re all good but against a solid team like Crewe, with a savvy, experienced manager and a decent league position, for a newly promoted club it was a good one to win. I have to admit that the fixture said continuation of the run of poor results to me before the game but City were having none of it. I suppose if you watched the game again, which I haven’t, you’d get the impression of a very good top of the table side dismissing a mid table hopeful.

That’s what it was of course but it was a world away from the capitulations we’ve seen lately and even before that there were signs that a blip was on the way. There will be no sterner test of whether the promotion bid is back on track than tomorrow and yet for some reason I seem to have regained some of my confidence.

Imps hit the buffers. Is it the end of the line?

 

Most of you will either remember or will have heard of a player called Stuart Bimson. For those who don’t he was a combative full back known principally for his corner kicks. In a modern game where few players can usefully put a ball in the middle he’s something of a throwback. In fact he was that even when he was playing. Then, as now we had a reputation as a rowdy and partisan crowd, we had the siren and together we, players and crowd, struck fear in many a defence.

Bimmo as he was known was certainly not the sort of chap to have his pint spilled after the match, in the days when players had such a thing. You’d want to be pretty quick with a replacement, that’s for sure.

Anyway, in my working life I had dealings with Bimmo or rather his solicitor who had obviously had plenty of experience heading out Bimmo’s corners. Something went a little wrong with the transaction we were dealing with. Not a lot but the great man was not best pleased. “My clients usually sunny disposition has temporarily deserted him” His lawyer stated, with supreme irony. It all got sorted out but that stayed with me and it occurred to me last night.

I do normally have a sunny disposition. Maybe Bimmo did when playing with his children or taking his wife out to dinner (in the days when we did that). Last night it deserted me too and it occurred to me that this time, maybe, the bounce back is not going to come and this may be the end of the promotion push. We cannot, after all, complain about the repast we have been given, even if we did have to watch it on TV.

We don’t know that of course. It does really depend on how many players recover from their injuries and how soon. There’s no doubt in my mind we have a team capable of getting promoted, probably as champions. That team is visibly depleted, other teams know it and at the moment we struggle to even score let alone win a game. As we saw on Saturday the margin between winning and losing is slender. For some time against Plymouth, City looked as if they would coast the game. That old habit of finishing games strongly, seeing out the match, last minute goals, it’s all a memory though.

At the moment I’d settle for any old tat, boring nil nil, anything to break this cycle. Morton is back, sort of. Jackson is back, sort of. Add in Bridcutt and Grant and maybe we could be back in it. Frankly we could do with a good old snow storm and a couple of games off, to get some freshness back. Even that though brings it's problems, such is the lack of time available. I look out of my window however and see the snowdrops and crocus’s and, yes the daffodils to follow. I’d got in the habit of looking skywards and saying somebody up there likes us. If there’s is anything up there the message surely is, that’s your lot, you’re on your own now.

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