Back at the Bank.

Finally, we are allowed to go back to Sincil Bank. And not only once but twice in four days. As the week leading up to the first home game against Fleetwood ticked over in slowly sank in that we would be going back to watch professional football. The more I thought about it however relief overtook excitement as my main emotion. Relief that by the grace of God I am still alive and able to attend whereas many thousands here in the UK and around the world are sadly not and won’t be able to receive a vaccine for a while let. I still think the virus has a trick or two up its sleeve however so my aim is to enjoy every game as much as I can and never take going to football for granted. As impressive as the vaccine roll out has been across Europe and North America still only 15% of the world’s population has had at least one shot of a vaccine.

So, what are my expectations for the Imps this season? Its quite simple and maybe a tad on the boring and conservative side but it is to simply to remain a League One side at the end of the season. This may sound negative after being 90 minutes away from the Championship last season, but I have a few reasons for this. This will be Lincolns third season at League One level since promotion and should they survive it I think its fair to say the Imps would be an established League One side and for as long as I have supported the Imps I have always though of that as a decent and realistic goal that is within the club’s expectations and budget. Obviously, it would be great to get to the Championship at some point but for now I think becoming a fixture in the top half of the League One table would be a decent steppingstone. Long term I could see the Imps becoming a Rotherham or Doncaster kind of club that is a solid top 6 League One side that has the odd flirt with the Championship, but I think that is a year or two off. Furthermore, with Notts County and Chesterfield in the National League and Mansfield in League 2 it makes Lincoln along with Burton on of the most attractive clubs in the midlands for the large Championship midlands clubs to send players out on loan to and to even attempt to sign players from those clubs. If the Imps were to drop back into League Two it would set the club back in recruiting players from these kind of clubs. Over the past week or so the Imps have been publicizing the improvements that have been made to the ground over the past few months and I have to say that they have done a pretty good job. The first thing you notice when you approach the ground is the expanded “Fan village” this is basically more outdoor drinking and eating areas. There is now a good array of choice, and the food does look pretty good. My choice of pre-match football will always be chip shop for Saturday games or Kebab for the night ones. For the first game against Fleetwood the Chip shop was our port of call. I have to say it was kind of disappointing as the chips were slightly undercooked. However, they were still consumed with great enthusiasm.

First up for the Imps was Fleetwood Town. Many have tipped the “Cod Army” to struggle this season, but they made life difficult for the Imps right from the start. Over the years the Imps have often struggled to break down sides that come to Sincil Bank looking for a point and I have no problem with sides doing this. One of the first aims in football is if you can’t win the game then don’t lose it. If any side is going to be successful than finding a way to beat sides than defend deep (Or in a low block as the trendy kids like to say” is paramount. We say how important it was during the 2016/17 National League title winning season when the Imps simply physically battered teams into submission with direct play and superior fitness. This Lincoln City team is a much different beast with a playing the ball out from the back and maintaining possession mindset and although the fitness levels are excellent so are all the clubs in League One. The National League this isn’t.

The Imps have lost a lot of creativity over the summer with the likes of Grant, Rodgers and Johnson leaving the club so its going to take a while for the Imps to gel in the attacking part of their game. The Imps had more of the ball but didn’t really make any clear-cut chances in the first half. Fleetwood took the lead on 32 minutes when Andrews scored a peach of a free kick which left Griffiths grasping at fresh air. It was a quality strike and reminiscent of the free kick I fired past Felice back in the old Retford and District 5 a side league, a goal which I still get asked about from time to time to this day. The goal failed to spark the Imps into life sadly and it was Fleetwood who took the lead into the break.

It was obvious that if the Imps were going to get anything from the game, they would need to show the same cunning and bravery that the Duke of Edinburgh showed at the battle of Scilly in 1943. Alas as the game wore on my hopes faded of getting a point. The two bright points for the Imps all game long had been the contributions of Tayo Eden and Antony Scully and it was that burst into the box on 69 minutes. At first sight at the ground, it looked like a close-range goal but it wasn’t till I watched I appreciated the quality of the finish. The Imps were now the only side that looked likely to bag the winner and this they did on 87 minutes when Scully converted from the penalty spot. Lincoln just about deserved the win in the end but my feeling at the way home was that there was much work to do if they were to break down sides looking to “Shut up shop” as it were.

A few days later the Imps were brought back down to earth and given a reminder on how tough League One is as Bolton Wanderers took all three points at the Bank. Lincoln were by no means outclassed but Bolton were just a little bit better all over the pitch. From a Lincoln point of view, it was an awful goal to lose and one that Griffiths won’t want to see again as he was hopelessly out of position. It must be said though that Lincoln had several chances to clear the danger in the build up to the goal. It’s been a tough start to the season for the new Imps number one, I am not saying he has been garbage by any means, but he needs a clean sheet to give his confidence a boost. It also must be said that he is playing behind an Imps makeshift back four and one that at times plays a little too much football instead of just booting it out for a throw in. However, as the Imps get defenders back and the team gel more, I expect we will se these mistakes ironed out.

So that’s that. Three games down, 4 points on the board and the Imps tucked in midtable. Not a terrible start all things considered even if the only real high point from the Bolton game was the pre-game kebab. We won’t be seeing the Imps for a few weeks as we hit the non-league scene in the local area. However, there will be plenty of darts, beer, bad food and awkwardly seeing a girl you took out a handful of times earlier in the year but got told she wasn’t ready for anything more with another guy in a pub in town on a Saturday night. On to the next.