Cheltenham's Ward Is Wanted Man

25th May 2006

Cheltenham Town's supporters will disagree - especially ahead of their play-off final against Grimsby Town - but Lincoln City's appear to favour John Ward as the new Imps' manager.

This is no disrespect to anyone else who should wish to apply for the vacant post of Lincoln City's manager but Ward is a very popular and important figure in Lincoln City's history.

Many Imps' fans believe that Ward should have been appointed manager in 1998 when Shane Westley was sacked. Unfortunately, Lincoln's supporters were ignored in 1998 but now, Lincoln finally have another opportunity to explore the possibility of Ward taking charge. Quite possibly, this could be Lincoln City's and Ward's last chance of reuniting.

However, unlike in 1998, the timing might not suit Ward. He is presently in charge of Cheltenham Town, who are just one match away from promotion to League One - visit Sporting Odds for the latest odds on this match plus the chance to obtain a free World Cup bet.

It must also be pointed out that Ward has not expressed an interest in the vacant post. Whether he does or not could depend on the outcome of the League Two Play-off Final.

For now though, here is John Ward's profile from our retro Lincoln City section (albeit a section that still needs website maintenance, sorry.):

Born: 7th April 1951 in Lincoln.

Lincoln City Career: 263 appearances and 99 goals between 1969-1979 and 1982.

Position: Centre-forward.

Clubs: Lincoln City, Workington, Watford and Grimsby.

A very popular player who is one of the all time great Lincoln players, however John Ward's City career was nearly over before it hardly began, as he was loaned to Workington from September to November 1973. Fortunately, before any deal was struck with Workington, the then manager David Herd departed and Graham Taylor took over. Graham recognised Ward's talent and kept him at Sincil Bank where he was to play a vital role in the success that Lincoln enjoyed under Taylor. This included the 1975/76 season when Lincoln were crowned Division 4 Champions via a record points tally; Ward contributed 29 league and cup goals that season.

He remained at Lincoln after Taylor departed to join Watford but suffered an injury very early in the 1977/78 season, which kept him out of action for the rest of that season. Most of the Championship team had left upon his return to fitness and personnel had changed rapidly first under manager George Kerr and then under new manager Willie Bell. Ward now found himself playing with a team widely described as the "worst team Lincoln ever had", so he decided to move on.

He was quickly reunited with Taylor and several other ex-Imps including Sam Ellis at Watford. The move earned Lincoln £15,000 but it was the end of an era, though he did return briefly during the final part of the 1981/82 season. Manager Colin Murphy signed him as cover from Grimsby Town but he made only one further appearance, which was against Swindon.

At the end of the season, he quit playing and was appointed Watford's coach under Taylor. Both men are great friends and Ward later followed Taylor to Aston Villa as coach and even become a part time England coach when Taylor was England manager.

The partnership broke up in November 1991 when Ward was appointed York City's manager in his first managerial position. It was not long before York gained promotion from Division 4. Further managerial roles at Bristol Rovers and Bristol City has seen him achieve promotion at both.

Ward's departure from Bristol City coincided with the sacking of Shane Westley and many Lincoln supporters felt that he should have been offered the Lincoln manager's job. A Lincoln born player, popular with supporters and a highly successfully manager, Ward was and still is ideal for the position.

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