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

QuikSand · 07-23-2003, 10:45 AM

April 2004

With five matches to go, we are assured of at least a playoff position. That’s good – but another win, and I think we lock up a promotion slot, which is a much bigger deal. It would be nice, but not essential, to catch Tranmere in the process – but our recent dip in form suggests to me that’s unlikely.

We play at Carlisle, where we ought to have a class advantage. Lee Williamson draws a penalty, and we send in Gary Webb to drill it home. Williamson sores himself at 14, and we have a good early edge. Matthew Jackson gets one in off a corner, and we cruise with the 3-0 edge through the rest of the match, unchallenged. Lincoln 3, Carlisle 0.

Lincoln have won promotion to the English Second Division.

Well, that’s what we wanted to hear. Tranmere is also secure, and the other two spots are still up for grabs.

I think we will go with a few more young players in these last few weeks, to try to get a sense of what they can do for us.

Our match hosting Rochdale is our first one where we are experimenting with the lineup. Howarth is challenged in goal early and often, but he is up to the task, and we stay even with the contending club for a while, but after 30 minutes they take advantage of a mistake by young defender Ian Cook, and get in for their first goal. We get even on a weird own goal off a corner, then go ahead just before the half. Garner sets up Morgan for a second time to put us up 3-1, and we are looking more comfortable out there now. Lincoln 3, Rochdale 1. That puts a dent in their chances of getting up into a playoff spot.

Andy May’s last match with us on his loan will be here, at Torquay. Torquay really fell off this season, too – and they are being relegated to the Conference. My young defenseman Ian Cook gets sent off while we trail 1-0, and I am wondering openly whether he is ready to be a contributor. We are easily beaten here – odd, since Torquay has nothing left to play for, either. Torquay 5, Lincoln 1.

Here is Andy May’s final line for his performances with our side:

Code:

Midfielders        Age  Wage  Value   Top Skills                          App     G  A  MoM AvgR
Andy May            22  Loaned In     OffTheBall,Teamwork,WorkRate,Bravery 13     2  2   0  6.76

Not a stellar effort, but he was pretty solid – and his rating of 5 for this last match brought down his average a bit. So – not a bad transaction for us, I don’t think. He is making a wage of over £9,000 a week with Man U – more than any six or seven of my players, and I don’t think he’s that much better than what we have here. Alas.

We host Doncaster, and we play to a fairly unpsectacular 1-1 draw, as we have many yonger players and reserves getting time here down the stretch. Lincoln 1, Doncaster 1. Our loss, couple with the win by Tranmere, give them the league championship. Port Vale have won the third auto-promotion slot, and they will return to the Second Division, along with Tranmere.

I have done some dabbling in the transfer market – just looking for players who might be sitting out there looking for a deal for next season. I’m still hot after a midfielder who can give us some time on our left side – that remains my very top need overall. I have approached a number of solid players, but all have snubbed our offers.

07-23-2003, 10:45 AM	#18
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	April 2004 With five matches to go, we are assured of at least a playoff position. That’s good – but another win, and I think we lock up a promotion slot, which is a much bigger deal. It would be nice, but not essential, to catch Tranmere in the process – but our recent dip in form suggests to me that’s unlikely. We play at Carlisle, where we ought to have a class advantage. Lee Williamson draws a penalty, and we send in Gary Webb to drill it home. Williamson sores himself at 14, and we have a good early edge. Matthew Jackson gets one in off a corner, and we cruise with the 3-0 edge through the rest of the match, unchallenged. Lincoln 3, Carlisle 0. Lincoln have won promotion to the English Second Division. Well, that’s what we wanted to hear. Tranmere is also secure, and the other two spots are still up for grabs. I think we will go with a few more young players in these last few weeks, to try to get a sense of what they can do for us. Our match hosting Rochdale is our first one where we are experimenting with the lineup. Howarth is challenged in goal early and often, but he is up to the task, and we stay even with the contending club for a while, but after 30 minutes they take advantage of a mistake by young defender Ian Cook, and get in for their first goal. We get even on a weird own goal off a corner, then go ahead just before the half. Garner sets up Morgan for a second time to put us up 3-1, and we are looking more comfortable out there now. Lincoln 3, Rochdale 1. That puts a dent in their chances of getting up into a playoff spot. Andy May’s last match with us on his loan will be here, at Torquay. Torquay really fell off this season, too – and they are being relegated to the Conference. My young defenseman Ian Cook gets sent off while we trail 1-0, and I am wondering openly whether he is ready to be a contributor. We are easily beaten here – odd, since Torquay has nothing left to play for, either. Torquay 5, Lincoln 1. Here is Andy May’s final line for his performances with our side: Code: Midfielders Age Wage Value Top Skills App G A MoM AvgR Andy May 22 Loaned In OffTheBall,Teamwork,WorkRate,Bravery 13 2 2 0 6.76 Not a stellar effort, but he was pretty solid – and his rating of 5 for this last match brought down his average a bit. So – not a bad transaction for us, I don’t think. He is making a wage of over £9,000 a week with Man U – more than any six or seven of my players, and I don’t think he’s that much better than what we have here. Alas. We host Doncaster, and we play to a fairly unpsectacular 1-1 draw, as we have many yonger players and reserves getting time here down the stretch. Lincoln 1, Doncaster 1. Our loss, couple with the win by Tranmere, give them the league championship. Port Vale have won the third auto-promotion slot, and they will return to the Second Division, along with Tranmere. I have done some dabbling in the transfer market – just looking for players who might be sitting out there looking for a deal for next season. I’m still hot after a midfielder who can give us some time on our left side – that remains my very top need overall. I have approached a number of solid players, but all have snubbed our offers.