I haven't written about Lincoln City in quite a while now, and I think that's rather indicative of my general feelings about the state of the club and the disappointment of last season.
It seems almost blasphemous to write this, but I think that one reason that I enjoyed this summer is simply because I put the Imps out of my mind. I haven't really kept up with news of departures or new signings and I certainly haven't missed trudging down to the Bank on Saturday afternoons.
So it is with mixed feelings that I face the new season, despite my season ticket having been renewed early on in the summer. The new season should be a time of fresh beginnings and excitement at the unknown exploits that lie ahead. Sadly, the repeatedly poor performances of last season combined with the fact that we barely have the resources to buy teabags leaves me with no optimism that this year's team will be any good at all. While I don't doubt Holdsworth's honest intentions, I have grave doubts over his tactical abilities. I fear that the bottom half of the table will once again be City's domain and that attendances will continue to be embarrassingly low as the people of Lincoln refuse to pay premium prices for a bargain basement product.
To cap it all, this summer has also seen the club's official website given an overhaul (I suspect due to the removal of the Football League's sponsored template). Sadly, I've so far found it a badly designed mess to navigate and impossible to use on a mobile phone so that certainly hasn't improved my desire to keep checking and keeping up with changes at the club.
One change for the new season is the name of the stadium. Thankfully, the fundraising competition was won by the excellent '12th Imp' initiative, giving Sincil Bank the new name of 'The 12th Imp Sincil Bank Stadium'. Definitely better than I feared it might be, and definitely better than losing the traditional name to that of a sponsor.
Hopefully, of course, I can return to this post in a few month's time and curse my own grumpiness and lack of faith as we sit towards the top end of the table having played some half-decent football. If the last 18 years of supporting Lincoln have taught me anything, though, it's not to believe in miracles. Bring on Kidderminster...
11 August 2012 - post match addendum
So, with the Imps beating Kidderminster 1-0, am I going to be retracting the above comments? No. But I will admit to the side showing some potential, despite much more work clearly being needed.
It was good to see Taylor being given a chance, and with his bustling workrate he showed why he should have played a lot more last season. His strike partner Duffy didn't get a sniff of goal but worked hard and was involved in quite a few attacks. Farman demonstrated that he'll earn us a good few points before the season is over. Finally, the centre-half pairing of Boyce and Miller looked good in open play, though its clear that set pieces still need an awful lot of work on the training ground.
On the downside, I thought that Adam Smith looked slow on the ball, and on the few occasions he had to run at his defender, telegraphed his moves and generally looked sluggish. Substitute Vadaine Oliver takes the plaudits for worst performance of all, though, as his lacklustre, effort free half hour saw him barely willing to stay with his man, and his two efforts at goal redefine the word 'tame'. Despite his Sheffield Wednesday pedigree, he will have to improve rapidly if he is going to prove to be worth his wages.
Still, a win and a clean sheet on the opening day is a rare thing in Imps-land, so long may it continue.
Pretty sound view of things and the match.
ReplyDelete