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

QuikSand · 07-22-2003, 03:42 PM

March 2004

Lincoln City’s Lee Williamson has won the English third Division Player of the Month award.

He is really, really effective when he gets to play up front as a forward. He sets up goals, he finishes, and he just makes thing happen – more so than any of our other players, I think. This just reinforces the reasoning behind wanting to bring in a serious starter for the left midfield job – to free Williamson up for more starts up front.

We play at York, looking for another chance to gain standings points. York gain the early lead with a free kick strike, and they hold it for a long time. Alan Jones sets one off to Lee Willaimson, who again snakes it past the keeper for the score and the tie. Lee gets us one more late chance, but his shot sails just too high, and we cannot pull away. Lincoln 1, York 1.

With 38 games played by everyone, the standings are fairly straightforward: Lincoln 82 and Tranmere 78 seem to have promotion spots locked up. Port Vale and Boston Utd are even at 69, and then there are six clubs at 60 or better, three of whom will probably get into the promotion playoff.

We offer a new deal to our Physio, Yugoslav Phil Hawkins. He’s solid, and takes our deal in short order.

At Southend, we have a shot to avenge the biggest loss of this season. They have other ideas, and get out to a 1-0 lead early on. At 28, Gary Webb makes a big forward pass, which dribbles all the way up to and right past the napping goalie. Easily a 65 yard goal, but surely not on purpose! At 37, Southend strike again with a well-executed scheme. Right in the second half opening, Morgan finds Williamson for the score, and we draw even again. Williamson is in again off two rebounds, and we make it 3-2. At 82, Southend draw even with a free kick strike, and this thrilling match is again wide open. That’s how it ends, after all that excitement. Lincoln 3, Southend 3.

Two straight draws – not awful, but not helping us toward the top spot, either. We remain two points ahead of Tranmere, but we have 14 points on the third place clubs, so our promotion is virtually assured.

We head home to host Rushden & Diamonds, who have nee rolling lately and have recently moved into a playoff position. During the scoreless first half, midfielder Gary Webb gets hurt – that might be bad. As things look to be headed toward a scoreless tie, Rushden get a good chance at the 90th minute, and they get a rebound tip-in for the winning goal. Rushden 1, Lincoln 0.

Our club’s morale, which had been remarkably high, is starting to crumble. It’s relative – we were winning most of our matches for so long, that a tiny rough spot like this suddenly seems like a really big deal. Best way to get it straightened out? Whip up on somebody.

Bournemouth comes to visit us, and they sit in 23rd position on the league table. Richard Lewis sets up Williamson beautifully here for the early lead at 25, but our goal is waved off—and they strike right back to get ahead. Michael Kelly misses a PK that could have pulled us level, but later Williamson centers it for Alan Jones, who drives one home after 78 minutes. Williamson puts on a shot that dribbled away from the keeper, and Jones is there to follow up for the score. That holds up, as we get the win we wanted – though perhaps not the thrashing we hoped for. Lincoln 2, Bournemouth 1.

My young defender Ryan Hughes is seeking a professional contract, and his performance this season suggests that he’s really worth a serious investment. He signs our deal, which will tie him up with us for £750/wk through 2007.

Wrexham have offered a contract to our defensive substitute Ian Hutchinson, who has been month-to-month with us since last spring. Hutchinson agrees to their offer, and he departs immediately. We’re so deep at center defender that I feel we can afford the loss.

Halesown Town offers us midfielder Richard Wallace (back) to us for £9,000 – but he’s not what we have in mind. I make an offer for a young midfielder from York, but he’s tough and I end up missing the transfer deadline. We’ll go forward with what we’ve got.

07-22-2003, 03:42 PM	#17
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	March 2004 Lincoln City’s Lee Williamson has won the English third Division Player of the Month award. He is really, really effective when he gets to play up front as a forward. He sets up goals, he finishes, and he just makes thing happen – more so than any of our other players, I think. This just reinforces the reasoning behind wanting to bring in a serious starter for the left midfield job – to free Williamson up for more starts up front. We play at York, looking for another chance to gain standings points. York gain the early lead with a free kick strike, and they hold it for a long time. Alan Jones sets one off to Lee Willaimson, who again snakes it past the keeper for the score and the tie. Lee gets us one more late chance, but his shot sails just too high, and we cannot pull away. Lincoln 1, York 1. With 38 games played by everyone, the standings are fairly straightforward: Lincoln 82 and Tranmere 78 seem to have promotion spots locked up. Port Vale and Boston Utd are even at 69, and then there are six clubs at 60 or better, three of whom will probably get into the promotion playoff. We offer a new deal to our Physio, Yugoslav Phil Hawkins. He’s solid, and takes our deal in short order. At Southend, we have a shot to avenge the biggest loss of this season. They have other ideas, and get out to a 1-0 lead early on. At 28, Gary Webb makes a big forward pass, which dribbles all the way up to and right past the napping goalie. Easily a 65 yard goal, but surely not on purpose! At 37, Southend strike again with a well-executed scheme. Right in the second half opening, Morgan finds Williamson for the score, and we draw even again. Williamson is in again off two rebounds, and we make it 3-2. At 82, Southend draw even with a free kick strike, and this thrilling match is again wide open. That’s how it ends, after all that excitement. Lincoln 3, Southend 3. Two straight draws – not awful, but not helping us toward the top spot, either. We remain two points ahead of Tranmere, but we have 14 points on the third place clubs, so our promotion is virtually assured. We head home to host Rushden & Diamonds, who have nee rolling lately and have recently moved into a playoff position. During the scoreless first half, midfielder Gary Webb gets hurt – that might be bad. As things look to be headed toward a scoreless tie, Rushden get a good chance at the 90th minute, and they get a rebound tip-in for the winning goal. Rushden 1, Lincoln 0. Our club’s morale, which had been remarkably high, is starting to crumble. It’s relative – we were winning most of our matches for so long, that a tiny rough spot like this suddenly seems like a really big deal. Best way to get it straightened out? Whip up on somebody. Bournemouth comes to visit us, and they sit in 23rd position on the league table. Richard Lewis sets up Williamson beautifully here for the early lead at 25, but our goal is waved off—and they strike right back to get ahead. Michael Kelly misses a PK that could have pulled us level, but later Williamson centers it for Alan Jones, who drives one home after 78 minutes. Williamson puts on a shot that dribbled away from the keeper, and Jones is there to follow up for the score. That holds up, as we get the win we wanted – though perhaps not the thrashing we hoped for. Lincoln 2, Bournemouth 1. My young defender Ryan Hughes is seeking a professional contract, and his performance this season suggests that he’s really worth a serious investment. He signs our deal, which will tie him up with us for £750/wk through 2007. Wrexham have offered a contract to our defensive substitute Ian Hutchinson, who has been month-to-month with us since last spring. Hutchinson agrees to their offer, and he departs immediately. We’re so deep at center defender that I feel we can afford the loss. Halesown Town offers us midfielder Richard Wallace (back) to us for £9,000 – but he’s not what we have in mind. I make an offer for a young midfielder from York, but he’s tough and I end up missing the transfer deadline. We’ll go forward with what we’ve got.