Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - CM4 - Lincoln City, 2003-04

QuikSand · 07-21-2003, 09:51 AM

September 2003

We are suffering our first real dip in morale – the team’s general condition is slipping, due to our bad start (presumably). I fear this could get worse before it gets better.

Martin Gibbons cannot return fast enough – I have the sense that he’s the glue that holds this whole club together. Last season when he got injured, we had trouble, and this year we have fallen apart without him.

Our next match is home for Bristol Rovers. Richard Lewis, after a very flat first half, sets up Matthew Jackson nicely for the first goal. We’re able to make it hold up, despite the overall lackluster effort. Lincoln 1, Bristol 0.

I decide to release midfielder Richard Wallace on a free transfer. If he is willing to sign for a pittance, I might bring him back – but he has generally been a liability for us, and I don’t need to pay for that (I have youth players who seem to be just as capable).

Midfielder Jamie Mason is a mystery – he played pretty poorly for us last season, despite looking like he’d be pretty effective. Macclesfield has made an offer of £16,000 for him, and I accept. I accept the offer – yes, this thins out our midfield even more, but I feel we’re losing chaff, not wheat.

In the league cup, we open up at Huddersfield. We’ll have 16 y/o youth player James Anderson in goal, as Baines is injured and Ryan is terribly depressed. Anderson should be chuffed to get this chance – and maybe he’ll even stick for a while. In the early going, Anderson faces some tough shots, and we fall behind 2-0. We get a couple of chances late, but cannot connect and that’s how it stands. Huddersfield 2, Lincoln 0 – Lincoln eliminated. Young James Anderson, unfortunately, suffered a gashed leg and will miss a couple of weeks – losing quite an opportunity, too.

In our next match, it’s our other youth keeper who gets the call – Steve Howarth. I’m also calling up Paul Warner, a yon central midfielder. Since I’m having little luck bringing in outside veteran talent, I might as well start taking a look at our younger players on board already.

At Boston United, Williamson and Barnes collaborate on an early goal – and things looks good right off the bat. Howart comes up with a couple of monster saves, and protects the narrow lead through most of the match. At 77, Barnes strikes again, and we end up getting a nice league win – much needed. Lincoln 2, Boston Utd 0. My chairman is pleased – he considers Boston Utd to be a serious rival to our club.

And now we return defender Martin Gibbons to training, and he should be ready to go soon. We’ll reinstate him as the on-field captain, and hope to see our overall organization improve with him back. I think Andy Davies, who has been playing fabulous football of late, will stay in the starting lineup beside him.

Karl Walker, the veteran midfielder I have chased in vain for months, has finally signed on to play for West Bromwich Albion. I tired all the inducements I could, but simply couldn’t compare with an EPL side like WBA.

I leave Steve Howarth in goal for our next match, hosting Scunthorpe. Barnes and Williamson set up a lovely early goal, and get another shot in the first half that Barnes sails just wide. Williamson scores again in the early second half, and we lead 2-0. We drop back to protect the lead later in the game, but Barnes picks off a pass, and sets up Lee Williamson for his first hat trick. Lincoln 3, Scunthorpe 0. Steve Howarth gets another clean sheet, and Lee Williamson is flourishing again in an attack role. Scunthorpe is the club that my chairman cares most about – he is delighted with the big won over our arch rivals.

We’re back up into good position, and now we host Bury – another solid club from the Third Division. Williamson scores again off an Alan Jones rebound, and then he feed Richard Lewis for the follow-up, and we lead 2-0 at the half. That’s all we need, as the score holds through the remainder, too. Lincoln 2, Bury 0. It is not lost on us that young keeper Steve Howarth now has three straight clean sheets. He’s somehow caught fire, and has played far better with the senior squad than he was with the U19s just a couple of weeks ago.

Right now, we are clicking pretty well with Lee Williamson slotted as a forward, and Andy Allen playing the left side midfield spot. Williamson did well last season on the left wing, but right now he’s on fire up front, and I’ll stick with this setup. We are rotating guys in the other two midfield spots (not including Richard Lewis’s forward midfield role) and getting solid results from the fresh faces.

At Swindon Town, we are up against another pretty good club. Jamie Barnes makes a great strike early to get us ahead, yet again. Swindon scores on a PK, which is the first yielded by Howarth (but hardly his fault). Williamson’s shot late in the first half leaves a nice rebound chance for Richard Lewis, who sends it home. We get that margin to hold up again, with another tight second half performance. Lincoln 2, Swindon 1.

Nuneaton Borough make an offer to us for Andy Davies, our improving defender. They are offering a midfielder who looks pretty good on paper – Darren Anderson looks like a solid defensive midfielder, suitable for our center-back spot. However, in conference play last year he only posted a 6.43 average in 7 matches – that’s not so strong. I decide against the deal from Boro, as we are pretty intrigued by our current group of midfielders—my response is that I’d do the deal if they threw in £30K, which ought to kill it.

07-21-2003, 09:51 AM	#4
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	September 2003 We are suffering our first real dip in morale – the team’s general condition is slipping, due to our bad start (presumably). I fear this could get worse before it gets better. Martin Gibbons cannot return fast enough – I have the sense that he’s the glue that holds this whole club together. Last season when he got injured, we had trouble, and this year we have fallen apart without him. Our next match is home for Bristol Rovers. Richard Lewis, after a very flat first half, sets up Matthew Jackson nicely for the first goal. We’re able to make it hold up, despite the overall lackluster effort. Lincoln 1, Bristol 0. I decide to release midfielder Richard Wallace on a free transfer. If he is willing to sign for a pittance, I might bring him back – but he has generally been a liability for us, and I don’t need to pay for that (I have youth players who seem to be just as capable). Midfielder Jamie Mason is a mystery – he played pretty poorly for us last season, despite looking like he’d be pretty effective. Macclesfield has made an offer of £16,000 for him, and I accept. I accept the offer – yes, this thins out our midfield even more, but I feel we’re losing chaff, not wheat. In the league cup, we open up at Huddersfield. We’ll have 16 y/o youth player James Anderson in goal, as Baines is injured and Ryan is terribly depressed. Anderson should be chuffed to get this chance – and maybe he’ll even stick for a while. In the early going, Anderson faces some tough shots, and we fall behind 2-0. We get a couple of chances late, but cannot connect and that’s how it stands. Huddersfield 2, Lincoln 0 – Lincoln eliminated. Young James Anderson, unfortunately, suffered a gashed leg and will miss a couple of weeks – losing quite an opportunity, too. In our next match, it’s our other youth keeper who gets the call – Steve Howarth. I’m also calling up Paul Warner, a yon central midfielder. Since I’m having little luck bringing in outside veteran talent, I might as well start taking a look at our younger players on board already. At Boston United, Williamson and Barnes collaborate on an early goal – and things looks good right off the bat. Howart comes up with a couple of monster saves, and protects the narrow lead through most of the match. At 77, Barnes strikes again, and we end up getting a nice league win – much needed. Lincoln 2, Boston Utd 0. My chairman is pleased – he considers Boston Utd to be a serious rival to our club. And now we return defender Martin Gibbons to training, and he should be ready to go soon. We’ll reinstate him as the on-field captain, and hope to see our overall organization improve with him back. I think Andy Davies, who has been playing fabulous football of late, will stay in the starting lineup beside him. Karl Walker, the veteran midfielder I have chased in vain for months, has finally signed on to play for West Bromwich Albion. I tired all the inducements I could, but simply couldn’t compare with an EPL side like WBA. I leave Steve Howarth in goal for our next match, hosting Scunthorpe. Barnes and Williamson set up a lovely early goal, and get another shot in the first half that Barnes sails just wide. Williamson scores again in the early second half, and we lead 2-0. We drop back to protect the lead later in the game, but Barnes picks off a pass, and sets up Lee Williamson for his first hat trick. Lincoln 3, Scunthorpe 0. Steve Howarth gets another clean sheet, and Lee Williamson is flourishing again in an attack role. Scunthorpe is the club that my chairman cares most about – he is delighted with the big won over our arch rivals. We’re back up into good position, and now we host Bury – another solid club from the Third Division. Williamson scores again off an Alan Jones rebound, and then he feed Richard Lewis for the follow-up, and we lead 2-0 at the half. That’s all we need, as the score holds through the remainder, too. Lincoln 2, Bury 0. It is not lost on us that young keeper Steve Howarth now has three straight clean sheets. He’s somehow caught fire, and has played far better with the senior squad than he was with the U19s just a couple of weeks ago. Right now, we are clicking pretty well with Lee Williamson slotted as a forward, and Andy Allen playing the left side midfield spot. Williamson did well last season on the left wing, but right now he’s on fire up front, and I’ll stick with this setup. We are rotating guys in the other two midfield spots (not including Richard Lewis’s forward midfield role) and getting solid results from the fresh faces. At Swindon Town, we are up against another pretty good club. Jamie Barnes makes a great strike early to get us ahead, yet again. Swindon scores on a PK, which is the first yielded by Howarth (but hardly his fault). Williamson’s shot late in the first half leaves a nice rebound chance for Richard Lewis, who sends it home. We get that margin to hold up again, with another tight second half performance. Lincoln 2, Swindon 1. Nuneaton Borough make an offer to us for Andy Davies, our improving defender. They are offering a midfielder who looks pretty good on paper – Darren Anderson looks like a solid defensive midfielder, suitable for our center-back spot. However, in conference play last year he only posted a 6.43 average in 7 matches – that’s not so strong. I decide against the deal from Boro, as we are pretty intrigued by our current group of midfielders—my response is that I’d do the deal if they threw in £30K, which ought to kill it.