Out With The Old?

12th January 2008

It appears to be the case that Lincoln City are outing the old in the hope of brining in better players!

Since last week, it is thought that five players have left Sincil Bank. Definitely gone is striker Steve Torpey, who has terminated his contract by mutual consent. The 37-year-old believes that he was never really given a chance at Lincoln. Unfortunately, he was not Spencer Weir-Daley - the striker whom Imps' fans wanted at the club

Also gone is goalkeeper Ben Smith, who has been recalled from his loan spell at Lincoln by his parent club Doncaster Rovers.

Now, we enter into a slight mystery as the Lincolnshire Echo have reported that Jack Cotton, Ryan Semple and Phil Watt have been released by Lincoln. However, there is no official word on this. Should the story be correct - and it is most likely correct - then the trio will become lost names in the history of Lincoln City FC.

Semple will probably go down on the list of worst players ever to play for Lincoln City - although this is harsh as he only made four substitute appearances for Lincoln during his 18 months at the club. Whether he was worthy of a first team berth is something that we shall never know now.

Watt will also probably go down on the same list for the simple reason that his debut came in the 4-0 thrashing of Lincoln City by Shrewsbury Town, at Sincil Bank, on the opening fixture of the 2007/08 season. This might also seem a little harsh, as Watt did show some neat touches despite being at fault for one of Shrewsbury's goals. As for Cotton, we will have to trust Imps' boss Peter Jackson's judgement on Cotton, for we never saw him play.

Hopefully, by our next update, there will be news of some incoming players. Already, Jackson is in talks with a left-back, who has been described as an excellent player for his previous club. Having seen the player play for his current club, we can concur that he would potentially be a great signing for Lincoln!

Unfortunately, the said player was due to attend today's match at Sincil Bank against Rotherham United. Hopefully, Lincoln's performance will not have deterred him from signing. Alas, the performance could have been better in parts. Lincoln started off well, and could and should have been 3-0 ahead by the 10th minute, except poor finishing cost The Imps.

Lincoln were made to pay in the 23rd minute when Derek Holmes converted Chris O'Grady's pass for 1-0. Lincoln were then second best for a proportion of the game, not helped by an injury to key midfielder Lee Frecklington. However, they did equalise in the 53rd minute when a mistake in the Rotherham defence allowed Jamie Forrester the opportunity to score.

The next ninety seconds were the turning point of the match, as Rotherham quickly regained the lead through Holmes' second goal of the game. Had Lincoln been able to concentrate for this period then it is quite possibly that City could have earnt a vital point. Alas, it was not to be and Lincoln's performance suffered as the self-doubts come back to haunt The Imps. The match was wrapped up in the 83rd minute when Holmes completed his hat-trick via Pablo Mills' pass.

Just to add salt to the wounds, Lincoln were reduced to ten men in stoppage time when substitute Shane Clarke was dismissed for a late tackle.

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