| Born:
20th February 1981 in Bradford. Position: central defence.
Lincoln City
career: 140+(2) and 17 goals between May 2002 -
June 2005.
Previous clubs:
Oldham Athletic, Stalybridge Celtic, Doncaster
Rovers, Lincoln City and Boston United.
Current club:
Grimsby Town.
Ben Futcher is a 6
ft 7 inch central defender, who is a second
generation footballer having followed his dad
Paul and his uncle Ron into professional
football.
He began his
career as a trainee at Oldham where he made 11
appearances - 9 as substitute - before being
released in January 2002. He had also spent the
early part of 2001/02 season on loan at then
Conference club Stalybridge Celtic; he signed
permanently upon his release from Oldham.
Futcher made 27
appearances before leaving Stalybridge in
February 2002 to join then Conference club
Doncaster Rovers until the end of the season with
a view to a permanent contract. Rovers did not
pursue their interest in Futcher and he was
released in April 2002, having made just two
appearances for the South Yorkshire club.
Futcher's career
was now heading for oblivion, having been
rejected by then non-league Doncaster Rovers. At
the time, Lincoln City had just warded off
oblivion by securing administration when
liquidation seemed the only prospect. Lincoln had
also recently appointed Keith Alexander as their
new manager and his first task was to find
practically a whole new set of players and for
free. Futcher and Lincoln City were made for each
other, hence he joined The Imps in May 2002.
Unsurprisingly, as
a tall player, Futcher found himself deployed in
a forward position whenever Lincoln were losing
or were awarded a set-piece. As a result, he
finished the 2002/03 season as Lincoln City FC's
leading goalscorer with 11 goals thereby proving
a capable replacement for Steve Holmes, who had
left the previous season.
Futcher's goals
and defending were one of the main reasons why
Lincoln unexpectedly reached the 2002 Play-off
Final. Alas, there was no happy ending that
season, as there would not be for the next four
seasons.
Futcher, having
lost yet another play-off final with Lincoln in
2005, decided it was time to leave. He had spent
the past season on the transfer list having
highlighted a need to leave to further his
ambition and career. Lincoln had rejected a
£150,000 bid for Futcher from Peterborough
United in September 2004, despite knowing that
Futcher's contract expired in June 2005.
Futcher was
offered a new deal by Lincoln City but opted to
leave Sincil Bank for county rivals Boston
United. It was a shock move, not least because
Futcher had cited ambition as the reason for
leaving The Imps. Six months later, and many Imps
fans had wry smiles as Futcher struggled to gain
first team football at Boston.
Boston decided to
cut their loses in January 2006 by allowing
Futcher to join Grimsby Town on a free transfer.
Futcher would become an instant first team player
at Grimsby and helped them to reach the 2006
League Two Play-off Final at Lincoln City's
expense. However, there was no happy ending for
Futcher as Grimsby lost the final to Cheltenham
Town, meaning that Futcher has been on the losing
side of three of four play-off finals between
2002 and 2006.
|
