Ilkeston FC 0-4 Lincoln City

I have been really looking forward to this day for a while now. Not only was it Lincoln's first pre season match but what with last seasons relegation, numerous changes of the playing personnel and the new shirt it really felt like the start of a new era for the club. I saw Ilkeston play Notts County a couple of weeks back and they gave a very good account of themselves that day and arguably should have won that game so the new look Imps were going to be in for a decent workout this afternoon.
It also gave me a chance to catch up with my cousin Richard and sink "a few" pints before the match in some of the town's pubs before the match. Due to the fact that i knew i was going to be drinking quite a bit i chose to leave my camera at home and just use the phone to take pictures which is why the shots from today's match aren't the best.

For games in and around the Nottingham area i like to get in early so i can enjoy one of Debenhams fantastic eight item breakfasts. This means getting the 7.03 train out of Retford, changing at Worksop and getting into Nottingham at about 8.45. It has been quite muggy over the past few days so i decided just to wear my jeans and Lincoln top and not bother to take a jacket. As i supped my tea at Worksop station the rain started to come down. As the train journey south continued it became clear that it wasn't just a light shower and that it really wasn't the weather to be wearing just shirt sleeves. The constant rain and grey skies made places like Mansfield even more gloomy and depressing than normal and that is saying something.

However if there is one thing that can cheer you up on a cold wet morning then it is a good old full English breakfast and it went down a treat. From here i dashed down to the Broadmarsh bus station, got on the free city link bus to the Victoria bus station and then got the bus out to Ilkeston. So two trains, two buses and 4 and a half hours after setting off i arrived in Ilkeston. And it was still pissing it down. The first thing i saw after alighting the bus was the Charter pub so i piled straight in. Well it would be rude not to wouldn't it?

After downing a couple of very nice pints of Carlsberg i headed on to meet Rich in the Observatory pub in the market place. Before leaving i couldn't help notice this sign and think of our away trip to Fleetwood and the stop over in Blackpool. Lets hope we can find some of these for the same price but somehow i doubt it. We can live in hope though!

The Observatory is a Weatherspoons pub so it is,well, pretty much like every other Weatherspoons pub in the country really. Before Rich got here i took i flick through the bimonthly magazine the pub issues. There are alot of problems facing the Pub industry at the moment; the VAT hike, the smoking ban and consumer confidence all hitting pubs hard. However one problem seems to dwarf them all. In the readers letters section i was highly disturbed to read that in a certain Weatherspoons branch one customer was shocked to find out that the pub had run out of Brown sauce! What makes this story even worse was the fact that it was in the Retford branch that this horrendous act had occurred! Stay calm and carry on folks. The management are on the case. Phew.

Rich arrived and the beer as always started to flow freely. The rain had also eased off so we took a stroll down to the next pub en-route to the ground which was called "The good ole days". This was what i call a proper pub; The other two had been chain pubs but this was was a really old school pub packed with pictures and antiques from days of yore. There was an old snooker table that was made in Nottingham, a bar skittles set, dartboard and even a piano in the corner. Its just a crying shame that apart from us there was only one other person in there (As well as the barman)

We left there at just gone 2.00 and headed down the canal to Ilkestons new manor ground. By now the sun had come out and it looked as if my decision not to wear a jacket or jumper had actually been the correct one. We paid the £5 entry fee, picked up a programme, and made haste for the bar. There was a good number of Imps in attendance and it was good to see a few old faces who i haven't seen since...well last season really. Baz and Felice had travelled up in the Bazmobile and arrived just after we did. If only they had got in about five minutes earlier, I wouldn't have hesitated to purchase them a drink, but by the time i had spotted them they had already paid for the drinks. Oh well, that's life i suppose.

We decided to get another pint in and while we were at it pre order our drinks for half time. Rich and i were the last out of the bar for the first half and thus managed to miss Lincoln's first goal. Doh. Baz and Felice did see it however and i am reliably informed that it was a close range effort from new striker Jamie Taylor. Jamie notched up 13 league goals in the BSP last season and a return like this in the upcoming season would be most welcome. As this was the first time we have seen the team play and the fact that the players weren't wearing named shirts it made recognising who was who a little tricky. Another new signing Kyle Perry sat out the game due to a knock in training so trialist Bradley Barraclough was given a chance to impress up front. The early goal did seem to have unsettled Ilkeston a tad and they didn't look as well organised as they were against Notts a couple of weeks ago. Lincoln doubled their lead on 15mins when a cross from Barraclough was smashed home by Gavin McCallum on the volley. McCallum looks like he had lost alot of weight during the summer and looked sharp all afternoon. The Imps were 3 up on 25mns when Andy Hutchinson scored following a great pass from Ali Fuseini. To their credit Ilkeston rallied and kept it tight from the rest of the half without really creating in front of the Lincoln goal. The main problem for the Imps (and ourselves) was the tremendous down pour of rain that came down halfway through the 1st half. We were undercover behind the end that Lincoln were attacking but the rain still got at us. Five minutes later we were back to bright sunshine. You really have to love the British summertime haven't you? The end of rain was the signal for my companions to sprint round to the snap counter. Rich went for the Cheeseburger while Baz and Felice grazed happily on chilli and chips. All three seemed very happy with the fare on offer and it looks like the club have sorted the food issues from the Notts County game so fair play to them as it look like they had brought in another burger van to help with the demand.
HT 0-3

We ambled round to the bar again for our halftime drinks and again we were late out for the second half. Ilkeston really do have one of the better clubhouses i have ever seen in a football ground and it was tempting to stay in there for the second half.
Lincoln as expected made quite a few changes in the second half. Keeper Jo Anyon was replaced by a trialist in goal and new signings John Nutter and Alan Power along with the returning Josh Gowling entered the fray. It was Gowling who got Lincoln's fourth with a close range header following a corner. Although no further goals were added Lincoln continued to create the better chances although Ilkeston did much better in the second half. You have to remember that Ilkeston are still very much a new club and i am sure that they are still finding their feet a little. However having seen them twice i am sure they will finish much nearer the top than the bottom of the Evo stick south. They certainly have one of the best stadiums in the league. I have enjoyed both my trips here this pre season and i wish them all the best for the up-coming campaign.

As for Lincoln, well it's tough to say. You can never really read to much into friendlies, especially the first one of pre-season. The main aims are to get the fitness levels up and get the team gelling. We did look good and put some nice stuff together but lets not get carried away. McCallum did look good and seemed more focused that he did at times last season and Andy Hutchinson also impressed. The back four didn't really have alot of work to do so its unfair to judge them as a unit. I imagine we will need to wait for the Scunthorpe United game on Sunday to get a better idea of where we are but after one game i can certainly say so far so good. And its great to see Lincoln fans with a smile on their faces, I haven't been able to say that for a while.

Badger Badger Badger Badger....

Two midweek matches for me this week with the focus being Retford United and the rebuilding job that the club is currently undergoing.
After one of the most comprehensive relegations on planet Earth last season the club was faced with a massive re-building job both on and off the pitch.

The club decided to take an extra drop on top of the relegation and joined the Northern Counties East premier division. On the pitch former Blidworth boss Brett Marshall was given the managers job and began to totally rebuild the team from scratch. Retford's new era started in earnest on Tuesday night when they took on Sheffield FC (The worlds oldest club blah blah blah)

Retford United 1-3 Sheffield FC
One reason some of the good folk of Retford gave for not going to watch Retford last season was the £9 admission price was to steep. Well that has now changed and entrance to Cannon Park will now be £5. I was one of the first into the ground on Tuesday night so there was little to do other than visit the bar. One plus point of dropping down the divisions is the fact that the ground regulations also drop. You can now enter the clubhouse from the front door and sup your pint outside as long as you stay under the covering outside the clubhouse. Told you there was some good things about dropping two leagues!

Sheffield fc had drawn with Sheffield United at the weekend so they would provide the new look badgers with a stern test. The former Retford manager had brought a squad of 22 players with him and gave most of them a run out. The crowd was over three figures, which was pleasing. The visitors didn't bring as many supporters with them as i thought they would but there you go.

Off the pitch Baz didn't seem impressed with his chicken donner wrap that he picked up on the way up (He still ate it all mind!). Even though i had already eaten i still found room to stuff in a chip buttie at the ground. football and food just seem to go together. Felice is getting on a bit these days so Lee took pity on him and walked round the ground to fetch him a cup of tea. Lee was also getting a tad worried that the club shop wouldn't be open but thankfully it was opened at halftime. A shorter version of the programme was issued for a £1.

Retford seemed to gel quickly and took the game to the visitors. The Badgers took the lead on 24mins through Jordan Pickering with a calm finish from close range. This seemed to wake Sheffield up and they started to control the match. The had created a couple of chances by the time they equalised on 42mins. It was worth the wait. The ball was half cleared but then knocked into the net by Cyrus Lewis via a great finish over his shoulder on the edge of the box.

Even though they had drawn level it wasn't enough for the Sheffield gaffer as he kept his team out on the pitch to deliver a bollocking to his troops.
Sheffield took the lead on 71mins with another cracking goal this time a fine individual effort from Shane Kelsey. Sheffield rounded off the scoring with the last kick of the game through Andy Gascoigne. Sheffield deserved their win but Retford will take a lot of heart from this display against higher league opposition and will have got a bit of an idea as to who can play at this level and who cant.

Hucknall Town 0-2 Retford United

Retfords second match of the week was a trip to Nottinghamshires crisis club Hucknall Town. Hucknall were relegated along with Retford last season but even worse news came off the pitch. Financial problems and a run in with the tax man had dictated that the playing and coaching staff have had to go completely amateur and wont even receive travelling expenses. Given this and the fact there are quite a few non league clubs nearby that can pay players it would be a miracle if Town can keep most of their better players. Tonight's game could well be the last one together for alot of these Hucknall Town players. Only time will tell.
Given what has happened it was no surprise that everybody at the club seemed to be quite down. The ground is quite run down on the outside in places which just added to the atmosphere. A second hand auction in the clubhouse was also depressing so we took our drinks out into the hallway. In the hall way the plans for a new ground are still on display. Can't see these being realised for a good few years now. If ever.
Entrance tonight was £5 and no programme was produced. You would have thought that with all Hucknall's problems the townsfolk would rally round them. Not so. The crowd was a mere 60 and i would estimate that at least half of them and travelled to watch Retford.

Hucknall's problems shouldn't take the gloss off of what was a strong performance from Retford. The Badgers took the lead on 12 minutes when a scuffed volley from Nathan Millington on the edge of the box left former Retford and Lincoln keeper James Lindley flat footed. Whether he thought that it was going wide or was just caught off guard i don't know. Either way it ended up it the back of the Hucknall net.
It wasn't a great game if truth be told. Hucknall tried to get back into it but Retford held firm. Other than the odd half chance there really wasn't much to shout about.
At half time we had a wander around the sparsely populated ground and decided to watch the second half from the seated area along the touchline.

Hucknall came back into it a bit more in the second half when they brought on an "old fashioned English centre forward type player" but he still wasn't enough to unsettle Retford. The game pretty much ended as a contest on 75mins when Brad Wells scored with a great solo effort. The match then petered out and Retford recorded their first pre season win.

Reaction to Lincoln Citys fixtures

Lincolns fixtures came out a week or two ago but were subject to change as Premiersports TV screen 30 live Blue Square Premier games per season thus meaning certain fixtures would change from their original dates should the Imps be televised.
The first batch of TV matches have been released and the Imps are to be screened three times in that period. The first one to be moved is the home match with Wrexham on match day three which will now be kicking off on Friday the 19th of August instead of the Saturday. The home game with title favourites Fleetwood Town will also be played on a Friday night as oppose to the Saturday it was originally planned for. I quite like Friday night matches as it gives you a chance to take in another match on the Saturday, and for home games you can get back in time to hit the bright lights of Retford for a few pints to either celebrate or commiserate. During the last couple of seasons it's been the latter more often that not. With the Wrexham game being moved foward it means it will be a busy start to the season for Lincoln with three games in six days.

The third TV game is the away match at Braintree Town which is still being played on Saturday 3rd of September but will now kick off at 7.00pm instead of 3.00pm so we could well take in another game before that. Plenty of planning yet to do with this one me thinks.

Overall i am quite happy with the way the fixtures have fallen for us. I always prefer us to start away from home so i am glad we have Southport away on day one. We also finish the season away from home when we visit Ebbsfleet. We face Grimsby twice over Christmas in the Lincolnshire derbys although if we have a winter like the previous two the furthest i will be going will be the Sherwood Ranger public house in town. The Blue Square fixtures come thick and fast at the start of the season and there are 8 Tuesday night games before Christmas. The most eye catching one being Barrow away on Septmeber the 27th. Although we have been given one of the longest trips of the season on a Tuesday night we have also be given localish games at York City and Alfreton Town to look foward to.

One fixure we have all been looking foward to is the away game at Fleetwood so we can have a jolly boys trip to Blackpool. Its normally our luck that a fixture like this would fall on a Tuesday night in December or January but thankfully we play them three games from the end of the season. Happy times. We should get into Blackpool for about 10.30 check into the digs and be in the Counting house pub at 11.30 at the very latest. The first round of Jagerbombs are on Baz!

After we have all bought our round of bombs we can get a tram/bus up to Fleetwood and continue our drinking.

Gateshead away could also see us have a good drinking day around Newcastle pre game (Maybe wearing red and white stripes wouldn't be the best idea though) and it being in January gives us plenty of time to plan and book train tickets. Kidderminster away gves us the chance to get some quality fodder down our necks, so that is another one to look foward to. We finish up with a nice away game at Ebbsfleet which should be fun. I always like to have a fairly long distance away game to finish the season on.

For the full list of Lincoln Citys 2011/12 fixtures click here to be taken to the offical website.

Buxton 1-3 Macclesfield Town

Keith Alexander Memorial Match

Well this place proved to be a right bitch to find. Firstly we had the joy of sitting in roadworks in Chesterfield for 15 minutes or so. Then we found out that we were in the wrong lane and on getting into the correct lane we had the pleasure of receiving some manic arm flailing gestures from the muppet behind the wheel of the car who wouldn't let us in. The following car let us in however so there are one or two nice people in Chesterfield or then again maybe he was like us just passing through this dump.

Derbyshire is a weird place. It is very scenic and has some nice stuff to look at but it isn't the easiest of places to drive around. We did actually have all the technology to find the ground with ease. However Felice had forgot to bring his sat nav and Lees i-phone wasn't playing ball. So it was left to me and my trusty outdated phone to find us Buxton's ground. I managed to get the directions to Buxton's ground up and after a couple of wrong turnings due to factors beyond my control we pulled up at Buxton's Silverlands ground at about 2.25pm. Some first class parking maneuvers from Mr Delcolle saw us bag a prime parking spot mere metres from the turnstiles.

The entrance fee today was a reasonable £7 with a decent programme selling for £1 which was in my view excellent value for money. Although the page reliving the League Two relegation battle from last season wasn't exactly what i wanted to read on a nice sunny day. Quite a few Macclesfield fans had made the short journey over from Cheshire for this one  and quite a few were taking advantage of the fact that you could take your beers outside to watch the match. Given this fact some of you may be shocked to learn that i only had one pint throughout the match. Well it was £3 a pint and i am never a huge fan of plastic glasses at the best of times.  The Clubhouse was a reasonable size though and smart enough.

Buxtons ground has a real old school feel to it and i quite like it. There is a large terrace area at the clubhouse end and a large seated stand to your right which is covered all the way down only leaving the far end uncovered. There is a cracking little souvenir shop from which i purchased a club badge (£3.50). Along with the club crest badge i picked up a pair of Derbyshire cup final badges; 2011 and 2009 for £2.50 and £1 respectively. Lee rummaged through the old programme boxes and ever found some bargains. Next port of call was the food hut and as ever it didnt take Felice long to get stuck into the burgers and he seemed happy enough with the food on offer.

Although Macclesfield have two former Imps on their books those being Natt Brown and Paul Morgan neither played today. I over heard a Macc fan saying they had a game Friday night (A 5-3 away win at Parkgate) so it could have well been a case of splitting the squad between the two games. Paul Morgan was at the game however and for me you can trace Lincoln's downhill spiral to the fact that we never replaced him in the heart of defence at the end of the 2006/07 season. We haven't had a leader and organiser at the back who has anywhere near his ability since then.
Before the match a minutes silence was held for Keith Alexander and Richard Butcher from Macclesfield (And Lincoln) and for Brian"jasper" Goodwin and Colin Harrison of Buxton.
There is a three division gap between the two sides on show today and for the most part it showed. Buxton did well holding their shape and closing Macc down but never really managed to get much going themselves apart from the odd attack here and there. Macc did at times knock the ball around quite nicely but it was from set plays that they looked most deadly.
Buxton will be disappointed with the first goal however which came from a corner and was headed in at the back post by Shaun Brisley. He connected well with it and sent it directly to the keeper, but somehow it got through. The defender on the line will maybe feel he should have done a tad better, but its better to get this sloppy defending out of the way in pre season before the league action starts.

The second goal arrived about ten minutes later and was again from a header. This time in open play. A cross deep on the right from Tom Fisher found Carl Tremarco all alone at the back post about 8 yards out and his header found the back of the net via the underside of the bar. Again Buxton will look at the defending and ask why Tremarco had so much time and space as the whole defence had been dragged to the right. I am pretty sure that if he had wanted to he could have brought it down and had a shot instead of heading it. No more real chances were created, Buxton did have a bit more of a go at Macc but that's how the first half ended
0-2

We decided to take in the second half from the seated stand and the view in there was decent enough with plenty of leg room.
Both sides made changes for the second half with Buxton changing about half the team. It looks like Buxton are another side who look like they haven't got enough new shirts yet as the players who came on different shirts on to the ones who started the first half. Macclesfield made it 3-0 with a hatrick of headers. This one though was by far their best goal. Again it came from a corner when Tony Diagne rose above the defence to power a bullet header into the net at the near post.

Buxton actually scored the best goal of the afternoon with about 8 minutes or so to go when Sam Johnston curled a shot in from the edge of the box which gave the Macclesfield keeper no chance at all. I am glad that the homeside got on the scoresheet as 0-3 seemed a bit harsh as the game had been one of few chances.

Former Lincoln assistant manager and now Macclesfield manager Gary Simpson will be pleased with this workout and Buxton will take heart from the second half display and be pleased with the size of the crowd.
All in all Buxton is a nice old style kind of ground and one i would thoroughly recommend visiting. As long as you can find the place.

Admission £7
Programme £1
Badges £7 (For three badges)
Beer £3.00 a pint of lager


Hey! How you doin?



Staveley MW 4-1 Handsworth

My first midweek match of the season took me to Nottinghamshires most westerly footballing outpost to watch Staveley Miners Welfare lock horns with Handsworth fc at Teversal in the second match of the Teversal Tournament. This outing had been planned the week before and i was looking forward to ticking off another one of my Nottinghamshire grounds to do. Its always fun visiting new grounds but even better when they are Nottinghamshire ones.

The journey down to Teversal took us around the outskirts of Mansfield where it would appear that the theory part of the driving test is to watch half a dozen or so episode's of wacky races and the practical test doesn't exist. Even with this and the fact that Mansfield is the traffic light capital of the UK we still arrived at Teversals Carnarvon street ground at 7.00pm

All games in the tournament are £2 to enter and a programme had been produced covering all eight teams who will be slugging it out to get their hands on the trophy being sold for £1.

Also being sold on the gate were club badges in two different designs along with the Northern counties east league (NCEL) badges. As a keen badge collector it was great to be able to purchase one without having to ask about for them like you do at alot of clubs. I have lost count of the times i have asked if a club has any badges for sale only for the person behind the bar/on the gate or wherever to have a half hearted rummage about while chuntering to themselves that they are sure they saw them somewhere at the last home game but can't find them tonight. This invariably leads to me purchasing them off either E-Bay or from an online catalogue and the club loses out on funds. I know some clubs can be short on staff at times but you don't have to have be Sir Alan Sugar to realise that if you sell badges on the entry gate when folk have their cash out you have a much better chance of selling a badge than if they are in a box or bowl in a cupboard in the clubhouse somewhere. Clubs could learn alot from Teversal i feel.

First point of call was the "Tevie bar" for some alcoholic refreshments and to allow my travelling companion to part with some of his winnings from the previous night's raffle at the Teversal v Kirkby first round game. Two pints of lager came in at £5.10. The bar has a very good old school feel to it with Pennants from clubs as far ranging as Lincoln United to Sparta Prague in it, along with a couple of signed Teversal shirts. All good stuff as they say. The match between England ladies and Japan ladies in the women's World Cup was on the TV. England led 2-0 which is how it stayed. It also meant England topped the group. How often can we say that about an English team at anything?

As the programme covered the whole tournament, coloured team sheets were handed out and were of a very high quality. It's always helpful to be able to see who is on the pitch. Pre match the tannoy system blasted out tunes courtesy of Mansfield 103.2 and they were all dreadful. It was a relief to our ear drums when it was switched off as the teams walked out. As they did the theme tune that all the sides walked out to during the 2010 world cup was played. It sounded fantastic on the TV for the World Cup final but somehow lost a bit of magic when played in humid west Nottinghamshire at a pre season friendly.

As it is still very early in pre-season both sides had a mixture of first team players, reserves and youth teamers on duty tonight. Staveley are very much a club on the up. They pretty much walked the NCEL division one last season and are well fancied to have a good season in the NCEL premier division (Where they will face Retford United) Off the pitch the impressive improvements at their ground suggest that they intend to climb the footballing pyramid even further.
They were quickly out of the blocks and took the lead through Shaun Tuton when he poked home from inside the six yard box on 7 minutes. The same player made it 2-0 on 16 minutes when he showed great control to bring the ball down, turn the defender and slot home again from close range. We were stood at the other end of the ground so i can't say for sure how far out he was but you get the idea. At this point you got the feeling Staveley would run away with it but Handsworth steadied the ship and fought their way back into it. No' 9 Chisanga Nshindano was doing well up top but support was a bit late arriving to feed off his good work. Paul Turner got Handsworth back into the game with a cool finish from the edge of the box on 43mins and it looked like we had a game on our hands again as we headed into the break.
HT 2-1

At halftme we took a stroll around the ground. There is hard standing all around the ground and a small seated stand on the opposite side of the ground from the clubhouse and changing rooms.

The only other covering in the ground apart from the seated stand is a small covered area at the far end of the ground from where you enter. I have no idea what this part of the ground is called but lets call it the "Tesco end"

We viewed the second half from the seated area. Any hopes of a Handsworth come back took a set back on 48 minutes when Shaun Tuton completed his hat-trick. Handsworth battled on but apart from a shot that smacked the crossbar and a few good runs from Carter Mpwaya, Stavley kept them at arms length. At 3-1 the game started to wind down a little and both sides made several changes with Handsworth's Dan Williams showing some good touches. Tuton got his and Staveleys 4th late on which was harsh on Handsworth.
FT 4-1

So Staveley go on to play hosts Teversal in the semi final while Handsworth will face Kirkby Town in the consolation round.
All in all a good evening at a nice little ground and another Nottinghamshire ground ticked off.

Admission £2
Programme £1
Badge £3
Chip Buttie £1.90 7/10

Ilkeston FC 2-2 Notts County

Well the 2011/12 season is finally here, and not a moment too soon i say. Although i like a range of summer sports i still find Saturdays in the summer pretty boring and they drag like hell. In fact i have spent most of the summer Saturdays watching horse racing on TV whilst enjoying the odd bottle of beer.
But all that lark is behind me know as the 2011/12 season is now underway.

First up for me was the chance to see a little bit of non-league footballing history made as the newly formed Ilkeston FC took to the field for the first time to play the football league's oldest club Notts County.

Ilkeston Town FC unfortunately went bankrupt after just a handful of games last season. Now Ilkeston fc have been formed. They still play at the new Manor ground and wear the same colours. The "new" club has had to start two league lower than the old one (Evo stick south) but its great to see them back. I really enjoyed my trips to watch them over the last few years and its great to see them re-emerge.
Notts County were actually playing two games today. This one kicked off at 1.00pm and was followed by a match at Hucknall Town with a 3.15 kick off. This was done to enable Notts fans to take in both matches. We decided against it however. There is only so much Notts county you can take in a day.

Admission was a very reasonable £5 today and a programme was produced for a quid. I was pleasantly surprised at the programme because quite a few clubs don't do this sort of thing for pre season matches. Ok there wasn't a huge amount to read in it but any programme is better than no programme. As it was Ilkeston's first game back, the programme was quite symbolic and will mean alot to Ilkeston fans. However, judging by the huge amount of them that the guy selling them had left half over it looks like the club had over estimated the need for them. But from a fan's point of view its better to have too many than not enough to go round. So if you want a programme from the new Ilkeston's first match then i am sure if you contact the club they will have some left for you to purchase. I am glad i wasn't carting them about trying to flog them though as it was quite hot in Derbyshire. Hopefully this should mean that a programme will be produced for Lincoln's trip here in two weeks time in what will be the Imps first pre season game.

It was a lovely sunny day. The kind of day when its much better to be watching than running about playing. First point of call as ever was the club bar which is on the right hand side as you walk in through the turnstiles. Its quite large and does a very nice pint of Carlsberg. We got in about an hour before kick off and there was already a good mix of Ilkeston and Pies fans in. If you are planning on having a pint at halftime then you can order and pay for you halftime drinks before the game starts. Although the club coped well enough in the bar, the new system for obtaining food struggled some what. The food hut is positioned next to the bar and you get a ticket when you order your snap. This lead to quite a queue and i overheard people saying they had had to wait over 20 minutes for food.

The crowd today was over 1100 which i imagine is a lot bigger than league games, so i doubt the problems with food will arise normally. I am not sure what to expect for Lincoln's visit in two weeks time. I can't see us bringing as many fans as Notts County did (who made up 3/4 of the crowd i would say) Best to err on the side of caution and get your food early if you are planning to eat at the ground. Also on the food and drink note there is a small hatch serving food on the opposite side to the clubhouse/canteen. It only served hotdogs and drinks today but had hardly any queue. Worth bearing in mind as they say.

The best view in the ground is the seated area above the directors area in the corner of the ground next to the clock tower. It also has the advantage of being out of the sun. We did enquire about team sheets and were handed two. One for Ilkeston's first half team and one for their second half team. We were told that Notts County hadn't filled one in and werent going to. The only reason i could think as to why they hadn't was to protect their trialists' identites. Pies manager Martin "Mad dog" Allen was happy to chat to fans, pose for pictures and sign autographs etc etc. By his side was his assistant manager and former Lincoln player and manager John Schofield. Other former Imps on display were Keeper Rob Burch, Striker Craig Westcarr and new Notts signing's Jude Sterling and Jeff Hughes. It also appears that Imp's player of the season in 2000/01 Justin Walker is now the academy apprenticeship's manager at Ilkeston.

These sort of games are really just about getting players fit and looking at options. Notts had a mixture of first team players, youth and trialists on show. The game started at a gentle pace with Notts having the better of the play and creating a couple of half chances. It was the Robin's who took the lead though when Rob Burch in the County goal was caught out of position and Gary Ricketts finished. Some things never change do they?


former Imps keeper Rob Burch warming up

 Both teams created half chances with Ilkeston looking dangerous from set plays. County got through a couple of times but were let down by poor finishing. Had Lee Hughes been here i am pretty sure Notts would have been on level terms much quicker than they were. They made it 1-1 with the last kick of the half through Craig Westcarr.
Halftime saw us guzzle down a hotdog (£1.50) and take a stroll around the ground. As this is a new club i was hoping they had a new metal badge made up. The club shop appears to still in the development phase though and only had a couple of boxes of old programmes for sale. In a way what with everything the club has had going on over the last ten months this perhaps isnt a huge surprise. They were taking orders for new shirts however and very smart they looked too.

We viewed the second half from behind the far goal that Ilkeston were attacking, both teams made plenty of changes with the home side even changing their kit. Both sides also attacked more and created far more chances. Notts took the lead from one of their trialists after neat work on the left. Ilkeston were having joy using the long ball as the County back four took time to gel. The homeside were denied a stick on penalty and it looked as is Notts County would hold on. Then on 82mins Darryl Thomas latched onto a long ball from the right and finished well to make it 2-2 which is how it finished.

All in all this was a pleasant way to start the 2011/12 season. Both sides would have taken things from this game but i don't think you can use these types of games as an indication of how a team will perform in the upcoming season. Notts will have been glad to have given their squad a run out while Ilkeston will be glad to be back playing football again. I am looking forward to returning to the New Manor ground again in two weeks with the Imps although i will be a tad worse for wear as i intend to visit a good few public houses before the match. Happy days.

Admission £5
Programme £1
Hotdog  £1.50

Transfer action at last!

Haven't been able to blog about much good news regarding Lincoln City for a while but the last couple of days have been a little better so i think we Imps in red and white all over the world can pour ourselves a long overdue glass of our favourite tipple.

So far on the playing side at least its been a very quiet summer at Lincoln City. Of the 6 transfer listed players only one has left; that being Mustapha Carayol who has joined Bristol Rovers for a undisclosed fee. Striker Andy Hutchinson has signed the one year deal Steve Tilson gave him and youngster James Wilson has been given his first professional contract.
And that was about it.

While quite a few Blue Square clubs had signed the odd player here and there, City were lying low. Personally i wasn't too concerned, the clubs that were signing were either clubs with big budgets or sides that had recently appointed new managers and were recruiting from their previous clubs. Lincoln don't fit into either category.

Then on Thursday we got something we have been so short of since March. Good news!

Defender Danny Hone signed the one year contract that the club had offered him. For me this is great news. Danny came through the youth system here, his dad Mark Hone played for the mighty Imps from 1996-98 and he was one of the very few players who looked as if he truly cared about what happened last season. In short he is an Imp through and through. He was also by far our best defender in the second half of the season last year (and yes i realise that that isn't saying much) He would have been the best defender in the first half of the season as well, but Chris Sutton viewed him as surplus to requirements and loaned him out to Darlington. In an odd way that could help Lincoln as he has experienced the Blue Square premier division so will have a good idea of the challenges that lay ahead for the Red Imps.

All sorts of rumors were flying about that we would be making numerous signings on Friday. First in was Striker Jamie Taylor. Taylor arrives on a two year contract from Eastbourne where he scored 19 goals in all competitions. Although his goals weren't enough to keep them in the Blue Square Premier last season. If he can repeat his goal scoring feats here at Sincil Bank next season i am sure there will be plenty of happy imps fans.
Nobody else signed on the dotted line but it was widely tipped that we would be signing midfielder Alan Power from Rusden and Diamonds on Monday. Watch this space as they say.

Friday also saw the launch of the new Imps home kit. So off i went to get one on the first day of release i mean i wouldn't want to run the risk of it selling out now would i? In the end i shouldn't have worried; the queue wasn't too bad, does one person count as a queue? The shirt is totally different to anything we have had for a good few years. So here i am modelling it complete with hayfever induced bloodshot eyes and "just got out of bed" hair.

This season has seen Lincoln team up with Nike (Or Nikey if you are American) and become stable mates with the likes of Inter Milan, Manchester United, Barcelona and Athletico Madrid (check out their home kit by the way) Part of the deal sees Nike take over the running and stocking of the club shop (As they do with quite a few clubs.) Quite how Lincoln benefit from this i am not quite sure so it will be interesting to see how it pans out. Notts County did a similar thing up until last season but bought themselves out of it as their chairman didn't think it was a good deal for the club. The range of goods is very good and we at last have some smart stuff in the shop, although as it is now "A Nike store", club shop season ticket holders no longer get 10% off all goods.