Bob speaks to season ticket holders.

In further evidence of a new era of communication, Bob Dorrian has written an open letter to supporters and particularly season ticket holders now the season has ended. You can read what he has to say now on redimps.co.uk.


In an upbeat message, Dorrian stresses the clubs reliance on season ticket sales and hopes for next season:-

“A strong season ticket holder base makes an enormous difference to the playing budget we can provide to the manager; season ticket prices and benefits for the 2012/13 season will be announced tomorrow, Tuesday 1 May, with tickets going on sale next Wednesday, 9 May.”

He adds:-

“David Holdsworth has been successful in the short-term targets we set him; namely to keep us up, restore professional standards and help the Board manage down the payroll. Our form over the last fifth of the season has also shown that we now have a much stronger base and are well-placed to go into next season with renewed confidence.”

If this is evidence of how the club management is to proceed henceforth then it can only be welcomed. For too long the club has been too defensive and tight lipped. This is decidedly a step in the right direction.

Roy to be the new whipping boy. Who saw that coming?

With minds on other matters, chiefly Sunday night TV judging by my twitter feed, news started to filter through on said media that West Bromwich Albion manager Roy Hodgson is to be interviewed for the poisoned chalice that is the England manager’s job.


My wife asked me if he’s any good. My answer was that when he’s good he’s very very good but when he’s not, well, Liverpool, to quote a recent example but there are other failures.

It strikes me that Hodgson could be another Graham Taylor and you can just imagine the headlines not to mention the photographs in the papers the first time England are put in their place by some minnow nation.

Presumably Harry Redknapp either knocked England back or the realisation that very substantial compensation was going to have to be paid ruled him out. Is it a coincidence that Spurs actually managed a win on Sunday?

One does wonder if Harry’s heart really was in the job once the euphoria of being linked with it wore off. Those plaudits from his peers must have sounded gratifying but in the cold light of dawn the thought of all those grubby news hounds camped on his palatial lawns the moment things turned a bit negative is enough to put off the most committed patriot.

If it is to be Roy Hodgson then good luck to him. His CV is extensive and no one can accuse him of lack of experience and it’s experience over a wide spectrum not just here in England. I still can’t get that image out of my mind of a bemused manager hanging off the edge of the bench, hands clasped on his knees though.

So that’s that then.

The final game of the season slipped by almost unnoticed, one of few that were of little consequence in the last few years. The early kick off also gave the impression that City were somewhat out of the loop which of course we are.


As we’ve become accustomed to an easy 3.1 lead became a close finish as the Imps toyed with their supporters once again but a goal from Bore and a brace from Taylor put paid to Ebbsfleet and the season. City finish the campaign in seventeenth position which, lets face it, most of us would had settled for if we were offered the chance a month ago.

A forgettable season then. It would be churlish to deny that Fleetwood were worthy winners. When I was putting together the grounds guide for the Deranged Ferret fanzine all those months ago the progress they had made, the improvements to the stadium, everything about that club pointed to another successful season for them and so it proved.

All four of the play off contenders are former league clubs and therein lays our hope. Wrexham, Mansfield, York, Luton, they’ve all done their time and one will take their place in the relative sun next season and good luck to them. Whilst crowds have been disappointing for City, understandably, they have held up reasonably well once they bottomed out at just over the 2000 mark and that shows the future for the Imps and indeed the four playoff hopefuls. Unlike the Fleetwood’s of this world, Lincoln City are capable of progressing without relatively large sums of money being paid to effectively purchase success and once the Imps turn the corner as we fervently hope they will, no doubt more fans will re discover the delights of Sincil Bank.

On the subject of large sums of money it must be acknowledged that the board of directors and particularly Bob Dorrian, much criticised by the supporters, have personally invested in Lincoln City still further and quite handsomely and for that we should, as fans, be grateful.

As to David Holdsworth he will be aware that he does not yet enjoy the unequivocal confidence of the fans but he has at least delivered survival this season and that, after all was his brief. We start off next season with a clean slate and whilst we may be sceptical we would all be pleased to be shown the error of our ways.

This may be difficult to believe at the moment but summer really is around the corner. Have a good one.




Thanks for joining me in increasing numbers this season to read my take on the world of Impdom. Keep logging on throughout the summer for my personal view on Lincoln City, Lincolnshire and the mysterious world beyond.

Season Ebbs away.

No doubt to head off simmering fan discontent over the position of legend, local hero and all round good egg, Grant Brown it is now reported on redimps.co.uk that contract talks are underway with the Head of Youth. Word had been getting around the everyone’s favourite hoofer might be on the slippery slope with manager David Holdsworth holding a smoking gun. One of the few success stories this season, the rumour mill was at full tilt with allegations that the manager might not like being unfavourably compared to the man who led his squad to the Midland Youth Cup but the club is at pains to explain the move is with the manager’s approval. As in his playing days, no one messes with “hoof” Grant Brown.


Suppose we’d better talk about football and today brings down the curtain on one of the most disappointing seasons most of us can remember although things could of course have been a whole lot worse. Who could forget the empty feeling we all had at tea-time on the last day of the season last year as the realisation sunk in that we were no longer a league team. Ebbsfleet are the opposition and City will be buoyed by a good contingent of Imps as the club report a strong take up of subsidised travel from the Red Imps Travel Section, subsidised by the club that is. I have to pay tribute to those fans who have continued to support the team on the road week in week out, it’s you the team should particularly have in mind as they collect their wages. Hopefully they will manage to put on a show that will send those fans and of course the rest of us into the summer in positive mood.

Ebbsfleet stand four league places above City but did you know they were top of the league for having the worst toilets in football in a poll of fans carried out by Plumb Center? Ebbsfleet weren’t at all inconvenienced by the award in fact they were quite relieved as the award came complete with a prize of £100000 to upgrade their facilities. Let’s hope that by the time the season ends later it won’t be the Imps reputation going down the pan.

One last chance then to put some kind of gloss on a season to forget. It would be nice if the Imps took it. Go on, surprise us.

Prescott speaks and delivers a clear message.

That’s because it’s Lincoln City CEO, Steve Prescott, not the Labour politician. In a wide ranging and detailed report on this seasons financial travails now available on redimps.co.uk Prescott outlines the difficulties faced by the board and senior staff in keeping the Lincoln City show on the road.


I do have to say that if the club had released more insights into the problems and setbacks faced by the club hierarchy there might have been less criticism from fans. The fact of the matter is most of us agreed with the various managerial appointments so we fans are hardly in a position to have a go when those appointments turn out to be duds.

Prescott goes in to some detail and quotes figures in a clear and concise outline of the many difficulties facing the club as well as giving an insight of the way a football club is run. It makes very interesting reading.

Lincolnshire this week.

Anglian Water are to spend £44 million on a reservoir and water treatment plant at Newton on Trent. Water will be taken from the River Trent and stored before being used to supply Lincoln. Recent drought problems, now a bit of a memory as we emerge dripping and soggy from another week of downpours, have highlighted the need for extra provision for the city. Paul Valleley, director of water services, said: "The current drought affecting our region has highlighted just how important water supplies are.


"This development will help us to ensure we safeguard our customer's drinking water supplies long into the future.

A devoted brother has come to his sisters rescue by driving to Boston to try to get a word with health secretary Andrew Lansley to highlight her plight. Gillian Moulds has twice had her cancer operation cancelled by Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham due to unforeseen emergencies. Brother Andrew Smith succeeded in getting to meet the health boss and now Gillian has been told she would be able to have her procedure in the next few days having previously been told no date could be given, talk about knight in shining armour! No doubt Mr Lansley was also grateful for the opportunity to participate in a good news story for once.

Talking of Boston, I wasn’t particularly aware the town was knee deep in litter but the eyesore has again been making the headlines as Network Rail has finally been persuaded to clean up land adjoining the railway station. Barrie Beagles has had a bee in his bonnet about the problem and has been snapping at the heels of Network Rail to do something about it. The Borough Councils Project Manager saw his efforts rewarded as the authority were joined by some of the towns litter pickers and Operation Fly Swat to sort out the mess. Mr Beagles confessed it was probably a matter of taking the line of least resistance for the rail bosses:-

"I was determined not to give up on this so I kept phoning and phoning and probably made a nuisance of myself but it has paid off and what they have done looks great.

"However, I will be getting on to them again because there's still more to be done.”

Tory MP for Mablethorpe Sir Peter Tapsell has criticized the proposed caravan tax which is now likely to become reality after the measure just about passed through a vote in Parliament. Sir Peter told the Louth Leader :-

“I’m not at all happy with the effect the VAT will have on static caravans and our tourist industry.”

“I’m hopeful of a second bite of the cherry when the bill comes back at report stage, if it’s still unsuitable I will either abstain or vote against it.”

The District Council was not happy either. Leader of the Council Doreen Stephenson said:-

“I am very concerned that introducing this increase over such a short space of time risks damaging the progress that is being made in East Lindsey.

“It needs to be recognised that East Lindsey currently has over 24,000 static caravans, and this proposal will inevitably have a disproportionately negative impact on our area.”

A North Hykeham woman has taken part in the Paris marathon in memory of a brother she never met. Emily Lowman took part in the race on 15 April to raise money for Brake, a charity dedicated to road safety. Emily’s brother was just 11 when he died in a road accident, before she was born. Despite sustaining an injury she completed the course in just over five hours, raising more than £1200. She told the Lincolnshire Echo:-

"It was my first marathon,"

"It was emotional crossing the finish line and seeing my family and boyfriend. It was an overwhelming feeling for us all in remembrance of Gavin."

Lisa Kendall, community fundraiser at Brake, said: "We are extremely grateful to Emily for taking part in the Paris marathon in memory of her brother. "The funds that Emily has raised will go towards Brake's work caring for victims of road crashes and their families."

Got to dash myself now. Have a good weekend wherever you are.

Just one thing missing.

Thursday means Lincolnshire Echo day and this weeks edition didn’t disappoint with a major article featuring an interview with David Holdsworth in which he divulges the inadvisability or lack of foresight in many of the players contracts with Lincoln City Football Club.


Holdsworth reveals that some players would have been due a pay rise even if the club had been relegated. He explains that he was astonished when he read the contracts:-

"If I am here long term then I promise you will never have to deal with the issues that I have inherited and had to try and sort out," he said.

"With respect to the people here before me, some of those contracts that were given to players had clauses upon clauses, upon clauses.

"I was absolutely flabbergasted when looking at them because some players would have received increases even if the club were relegated.

"It is just ridiculous. It's not just here where it has happened, it was the same at Leeds for example when they were relegated to League One.

"When you offer a player a contract, it has to be success related, so if you are not then you have saved the club from losing any more money.

"You have to look after the club and clearly that was not addressed previously.

"It needs to be applied and, okay, you may not sign a player, but, you have to take those chances given how tight things are.

"You simply cannot have Football League contracts in non-league because it costs a lot of money.”

Note the “if I’m here long term” but note also the business like attitude which one could imagine is music to the ears of a financially hard pressed chairman but and you know what’s coming here, but a managers primary role is to win football matches. Do that and crowds will increase and with that revenue. Happy fans buy a programme, burgers, rent a room for their anniversary party, buy a season ticket.

Unfortunately David Holdsworths win ratio is poor. There is much in the paper about the situation the manager found when he got to Lincoln and what he is doing about it. I do recommend you purchase a copy and read for yourself . Good practice, good habits, good organization, we all know that Holdsworth knows what to do the question is will he produce a team capable of winning regularly. City’s supporters will turn out to watch a successful side. Fans demonstrated after that first play off final appearance their appreciation of the teams efforts even though the players were ultimately thwarted in their bid for promotion. The flame has not died. Can Holdsworth reproduce those days because that is the way our football club will survive and prosper. Initial indications are not promising but as always we live in hope.