July 2003
I’ll start with a quick rundown of my players – including their stats from last season:
Code:
Keepers Age Wage Value Top Skills App Con AvgR
Alan Ryan 23 £550 £18K Kicking,Comm,One on Ones 27(1) 39 6.96
Darren Baines 26 £300 £16K Rushing Out,Eccentricity 28(1) 28 7.06
Defenders Age Wage Value Top Skills App Gls AvgR
Martin Gibbons 22 £700 £110K Decisions,Determ,Stamina 49 1 7.67
David Francis 20 £1.1K £18K WorkRate,Determ,Aggression 41 1 7.21
Andrew Cross 22 £160 £16K Heading,Jumping,Strength 45(1) 0 7.32
Andy Hughes 19 £300 £16K Determ,Teamwork,WorkRate 25(2) 0 6.59
Ryan Hughes 15 £ 75 Heading,Creativity,Positioning 13(2) 0 6.80
Ian Hutchinson 24 £475 £16K Determ,Marking,Bravery,Jumping 12(8) 0 6.84
Michael Kelly 20 £1.0K £16K Stamina,Finishing,Aggression 7 0 6.85
Midfielders Age Wage Value Top Skills App Gls AvgR
Richard Lewis 20 £1.0K £16K Dribbling,Acceleration,Pace 36(1) 11 7.48
Lee Williamson 21 £400 £40K WashingUp,Jumping,Bravery,SetPieces 38 11 7.34
Jason Wilson 19 £375 £16K WorkRate,Determ,Aggression,Infl 33(3) 1 7.16
Mark Oakes 25 £400 £16K Determination,LongThrows,Bravery 35 0 6.77
Andy Allen 17 £ 90 £16K Anticipation,Stamina,WorkRate 11(11) 0 7.18
Richard Wallace 25 £350 £16K Flair,SetPieces,Teamwork,Jumping 19(5) 2 6.50
Jamie Mason 25 £800 £16K Determ,WorkRate,OffTheBall,Balance 9 0 6.44
Ian Wilson 32 £500 £16K Influence,WorkRate,Acceleration 10 0 6.19
Adam Newman 17 £ 80 £18K WorkRate,Determ,Aggression,OffBall 6(4) 0 6.59
Lee Harris 16 £ 85 WorkRate,Marking,Stamina,Balance 2(7) 0 6.44
Forwards Age Wage Value Top Skills App Gls AvgR
Alan Jones 17 £ 80 £16K Creativity,Agility,Balance,Infl 30 13 7.73
Chris Morgan 28 £500 £16K Determ,OffTheBall,Agility,WorkRate 20(1) 11 7.33
Jamie Barnes 20 £550 £28K Pace,Crossing,Positioning,Finishing 13(2) 10 7.59
Matthew Jackson 14 £ 70 Stamina,Aggression,Bravery,Finishing 16(12)17 7.25
Matt Dixon 18 £400 £16K Aggression,Determ,WorkRate,Agility 12(1) 3 7.07
Kevin Clarke 18 £650 £16K Strength,Teamwork,Aggression,Determ 3(2) 1 6.59
The players in italics are in some degree of contract limbo, and their return for the coming season is not assured. With some turnover expected in our midfield—especially the anticipated loss of Jason Wilson (whose drama over a work permit has been well catalogued)—we have made efforts to try to recover there.
I have transferred in one new player already—right-side midfielder Gary Webb who was a standout with Hereford in Conference last season. So, he projects to step right into the mix for us this season.
July remains a period of transition – we’re anticipating some friendlies to help get the squad into match shape, and are still putting finishing touches onto our roster for the season. I’m still really worried about our midfield, especially if we end up losing Jason Wilson. Without him, I’ll only have two basically unproven youngsters to use in the defensive midfield spot. Andy Allen was okay playing part time, but I’m not sure I want him as a full time starter. And Lee Harris is even more unproven. I’d much rather have those guys as #6-7 in my midfield queue than their current #4-5 or so.
We have our first friendly, against Crystal Palace. We get the win on two fairly early goals by Jamie Barnes, a strike who has quietly become pretty reliable for us.
Lincoln 2, Crystal Palace 0.
We travel to Margate for another friendly, and the home side is motivated to get the victory in the warmup contest.
Margate 2, Lincoln 0.
Home for Northampton, striker Matthew Jackson nails a hat trick to secure a 3-2 win for us, pleasing the home crowd.
Lincoln 3, Northampton 2.
Dag & Red make an offer for our young defender Andy Davies, who is on my transfer list. I prefer cash to the veteran player they are trying to send me—though I might accept a veteran midfielder, of course. Brentford is offering £12,000 for Davies- and that’s getting closer, as I will consider cash here. I make a counter to Brentford – seeking to acquire their midfielder Kevin Wilson, who could be a nice addition for us. (I doubt this will work, but Davies is younger, at least)
We host Brentford for our next friendly, as discussions are ongoing. Thins one ends in a draw, as both sides are focused more on getting everyone active than strategy.
Lincoln 1, Brentford 1.
After the match, Brentford get word to us that they are withdrawing their bid for defender Andy Davies – they don’t like our part-exchange offer.
I have a new plan, and am offering defender Andy Davies to Telford United of the conference for one of their better midfielders. If that doesn’t fly, I will try to send them a striker instead. I think a part exchange might be our best ticket here.