Category Archives: Writers – Fox Mulder
Imps Injuries Mount Ahead Of Plymouth Tie
Paul Farman sustained a knee injury during the week that cost him his place against Welling United and with Plymouth Argyle on the horizon the Imps injury woes have mounted during the last week. Keeper coach David Preece was more than competent against Welling and would not let the Imps down should he be required to deputise.
Fox Mulder investigates
Connor Robinson sustained a horror challenge that has thankfully led to just bruising, but Todd Jordan – coming into his own over the last 3-4 games – is carrying a hernia that will require an operation. He battled on yesterday and should be able to play against the Pilgrims, although Connor is unlikely to feature.
The talented Danny Rowe is still sidelined with an ankle issue that sees swelling whenever he tries to run on it in training. The Imps have missed him although hopefully he could be back for a tough run in the League during November. Lincoln face Southport and Forest Green away, before home games at in-form Alfreton and Hereford who beat us thanks to a poor example of refereeing. Rowe could be the difference between three points and ten from those four games.
Adi Yussuf does appear to be over a career threatening complaint that leads to pain and strains, but he needs match fitness in order to be considered. The Manager has been hampered in his attempts to get him a loan due to The FA Trophy competition. According to Simmo there are two rounds coming up meaning the player might only get just the one outing when a 3-4 week loan really needs to see him endure 360 minutes on the pitch.
Video Highlights Worcester 1 Imps 1
A massive thanks to Worcester City fan Carthaginian for this spot of the highlights of the Imps trip to the Blues yesterday. The next exciting instalment comes on Tuesday night for just £12 for adults.
1 V 1
scorers: 55 Williams A, Boyce 77.
Attendance 1019 ( 819 Blues 200 Imps )
Impvasion – Will Imps Take Top 1K at Worcester
Only Mansfield Town denied us a third round tie against Liverpool FC last season, but, as FA Cup fever grips the Cities of Worcester and Lincoln the Imp hordes are set to descend on Aggborough in their droves – and they will be in fine fettle given the prices of between £12 and £3 quid.
Fox Mulder investigates
The Mighty Imps lost 2-1 in a replay to Mansfield last season with that home glamour tie against Liverpool pencilled in. The last time we reached to 3rd round was under Chris Sutton in 2009/10 when over 3100 Imps travelled to Bolton. That run started at a banana skin – but Captain Kerr set up 3 at Northwich to tame their giant killing reputation. Over to you Alan Power this is your game.
The prices for this one are just too good to miss, with one of the Skrill Premiers most loyal away followings easily trebling the 200 that travelled there last week. many were keeping their money for this week according to texts coming into STMI Towers suggesting many see this as an away day of choice. Lincoln took 574 all the way to Barnet so anywhere from 600-1,000 looks possible.
Entry Prices for the FA Cup Match will be:
Adults: £12
Concessions: £8 (Over 60’s, Students and Unemployed – with ID)
Young Adults: £5 (16 to Under 21’s – with ID)
Juniors: £3 (Under 16’s)
Can STMI & Neil Win FSF Writers Award?
Save The Mighty Imps would like to ask our readers if they would kindly nominate the site and our editor and major contributor Neil Gentleman-Hobbs for the The Football Supporters’ Federation Writers Awards in association with William Hill, Neil won the New Football Pools Football League writers award in the 2009-10 season ensuring Lincoln topped the whole of the 72 clubs against all the odds.
The FSF have helped this site and Lincoln City fans more we can possibly imagine, but this is also a chance for a non-league site and an amateur journalist to get some recognition for the tireless unpaid effort he puts in – this despite an ongoing eye condition and a crushed foot. We thank the Imps and other fans and readers who have already nominated us and for their readership that makes the site and blog worthwhile.
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Is Yussuf A Departure Imminent?
Former Leicester City and Burton Albion Striker Adi Yussuf may be sent out on loan in a bid to get up to speed and able to deliver according to the BBC Radio Lincolnshire Facebook Page.
Adi, who was a Leicester City prodigy prior to his long-standing injury that leads to an abundance of strains is in a make or break season with regard to his football career. Both Albion and The Foxes released the lad due to the condition that has kept him from fulfilling his undoubted promise as a pacey striker.
Adi made his long awaited return against Aldershot, but looked way off the pace and, perhaps more worryingly, appeared to pull up on a couple of occasions, unable to make the runs that are a trademark of his natural game. The BBC Lincolnshire Sport on Facebook page reads
‘The Imps manager Gary Simpson hasn’t ruled out sending striker Adi Yussuf out on loan for a month to get match fit.’
Adi might not be alone, Waide Fairhurst, another phenomenal talent has not look up to the challenge ahead and could also do with games. With Wright and Rowe still recovering from injury the manager has not had the best of luck with his striking options so far this term, although the defence has been playing superbly ensuring the Imps best start to a season since 2006/7.
This has meant Dan Gray has been unable to get a look in since the beginning of the season. Mo Fofana and Jake Sheridan also look set to feature in the Lincolnshire Cup final at The Northolme next Tuesday night against Gainsborough.
Stats: Hereford 1 Lincoln 0 – Referee Has A Stormer
Hereford got a late goal thanks to ex-Imp Chris Bush, but the five yellow cards compared to one for the hosts illustrates the standard of refereeing fans have to expect in this league. Captain Power and Miller were pole-axed yet it went unpunished whilst 5 Imps did receive a caution for lesser offences. Sour grapes perhaps but someone should sent the FA a video of the game.
1 v 0
H/T 0-0
scorers 84′ Bush
Attendance 1398 ( 1251 Bulls 147 Imps)
Ref Mr Treleavan
1 Evans
2 Leadbitter 6 Graham 5 McDonald 3 Bush
22 West 4 James 23 Green 17 Walker
11 Smith 24 Brodie
***
Substitutions
67 Walker on for Brodie
On the bench
20 Odhiambo, 9 Walker, 19 Gwynne, 18 Pilkington, 12 Collins
Simmo 4-2-3-1
Farman
Miller (Y82) Brown Boyce Newton (Y-56)
Fofana Nolan (Y-51)
Sheridan Power Jordan (Y-77)
Tomlinson (Y-25)
***
Substitutions
67 Wright on for Tomlinson, 71 Fairhurst for Sheridan, 72 Dixon on for Newton (Jordan to left Back)
On the bench
27 Foster, 17 Dixon, 15 Gray, 10 Wright, 7 Fairhurst
***
Stats
Note:
shots on includes goals and saves includes crosses claimed
*****
(thanks WIKI)
v
52% Ball 48%
3 Shots on 2
7 Misses 3
6 Saves 5
6 Corners 3
2 Offside 2
13 Fouls 15
1 Yellows 5
0 Reds 0
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Cambridge | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 27 |
| 2 | Nuneaton | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 23 |
| 3 | Kid’minster | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 21 |
| 4 | Salisbury | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 20 |
| 5 | Luton | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 19 |
| 6 | Alfreton Tow | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 19 |
| 7 | Welling | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 18 |
| 8 | Grimsby | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 18 |
| 9 | Braintree To | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 18 |
| 10 | Lincoln City | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 17 |
| 11 | Halifax | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 17 |
| 12 | Barnet | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 16 |
| 13 | Southport | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | -3 | 16 |
| 14 | F Green | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 15 |
| 15 | Hereford | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 15 |
| 16 | Gateshead | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | -5 | 13 |
| 17 | Tamworth | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | -5 | 12 |
| 18 | Wrexham | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 11 |
| 19 | Dartford | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | -9 | 10 |
| 20 | Macclesfield | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -4 | 9 |
| 21 | Woking | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | -9 | 8 |
| 22 | Chester | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | -10 | 8 |
| 23 | Aldershot | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 7 |
| 24 | Hyde | 11 | 0 | 2 | 9 | -18 | 2 |
Former Orient, Grimsby & Controversial Imp Midfielder Joins Trinity
Ciarán Toner, who played for Leyton Orient, Rochdale, Lincoln and Grimsby Town, has joined Gainsborough Trinity on non-contract terms. Housham feels the 32 year old, who has not played for a year since leaving Guiseley, started out at Spurs but failed to make an appearance despite featuring for the Northern Ireland U21’s on 17 occasions and the full side twice.
Fox Mulder investigates
The competitive midfielder was scouted in Northern Ireland by Spurs and graduated from the youth team to earn a two year deal but failed to get a start. He was loaned to Peterborough and Bristol Rovers before being released in 2002. Paul Bush signed him before getting the sack and he was then in and out under Martin Ling in his final season, finishing with 2 goals from 57 games in all competitions.
Keith Alexander rated his contribution in two fiery and high scoring games against the Imps (5 and 7 goal thrillers) and he was to play 17 times for the Imps. Ciarán grabbed two vital goals against the Mariners and the Stags before controversially leaving along with Marcus Richardson. The two had a training ground bust-up in the spring of 2005, that ended their Lincoln careers, Ciarán was farmed out on loan to Cambridge and then released before Grimsby stepped in where he scored 15 goals in 90 starts and 18 substitute appearances. Slade then signed Curtis Woodhouse – the boxer – who ultimately cost him his place.
After being released by the Mariners Ciarán did well at Rochdale with that wonder-strike against Aldershot. It helped Dale to the League 2 play-offs in 2008/9 and then he tasted promotion success in 2009/10 as they finished third. Ciarán then moved into non-league with Harrogate and Guiseley before retiring in 2012 to become a coach at Rotherham where he took his badges. This begs the question: Could he be coming to help out off the pitch as well as on it?
| STMI Biopic | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ciarán Toner | ||
| Date of birth | 30 June 1981 (age 32) | ||
| Place of birth | Craigavon, Northern Ireland | ||
| Height/Weight | 6 ft 1 in / 12 st 2lb | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Current gig in the game | |||
| Current club | Gainsborough Trinity | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–2000 | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| Senior career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps |
(Gls) |
| 2000–2002 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Peterborough United (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2002 | Bristol Rovers (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2002–2004 | Leyton Orient | 57 | (2) |
| 2004–2005 | Lincoln City | 15 | (2) |
| 2005 | Cambridge United (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2005–2008 | Grimsby Town | 108 | (15) |
| 2008–2010 | Rochdale | 57 | (1) |
| 2010–2011 | Harrogate Town | 32 | (2) |
| 2011–2012 | Guiseley | 44 | (6) |
| 2013– | Gainsborough | 0 | (0) |
| International honours |
|||
| 2000–2003 | Northern Ireland U21 | 17 | (1) |
| 2003 | Northern Ireland | 2 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals coun | |||
Chesterfield 4 Lincoln 0:Lormor Reff’d It, Worthwhile Workout
Eoin Doyle showed his Hibernian FC SPL class and Sam Togwell (Scunthorpe UTD veteran) got the other as a full strength Chesterfield side gave the Imps the workout they needed ahead of Barnet. The Spireites are top of League 2 (5 wins & a draw from 6) and it showed with some slick passing and movement from the hosts.
Fox Mulder reports from The Spireites training ground
V
Doyle – who comes from the bench given Marc Richards starts for the first team – weighed in with a clinical hat-trick and the gulf in class was evident at times. The Imps had their moments on a wet and windy afternoon with Wright operating in Thomlinson’s role. The scoreline did flatter the Spireites as the Imps were denied two blatant penalties with two of the goals perhaps even offside. With Tony Lormor (A true Legend with 30 goals in 100 League appearances as an Imp) refereeing the game we could have hoped for some bias in our favour during a light-hearted but full-on 90 minutes.
Farman and Preece shared 45 minutes between the sticks with Fofana and Boyce getting on at half-time. Fairhurst and Rowe also made it through the second half to build up their fitness levels. Don’t read too much into the scoreline, Barnet may be a good side but we wont face a midfield as technically blessed as the Spireites in the Skrill Premier this season.
Teams & schemes
Lee
Talbot Hooper Hird Humphries
Togwell Morsey
Armand O’Shea Roberts
Doyle
Farman
Grey Miller Foster Newton
Nolan Jordan
Sheridan Power Dixon
Wright
Chesterfield To Play Imps Tomorrow
Chesterfield FC will take on Lincoln City in a behind closed doors match tomorrow ahead of the Barnet FC ”biggy’ on Saturday. Former Spireite Dan Gray will be out to prove a bit of a point.
V
The Spireites beat the Imps 3-1 in pre-season but Gary Simpson’s six-foot soldiers will hope for a better performance as returning stars Adi Yussuff and Nick Wright look to gain valuable match fitness. The manager is also keen to increase the fitness of the squad after injuries had limited the ability of many to train. Adi Yussuf scored his first goal for the Imps in the first fixture between the two sides.
Simmo Facing Selection Headache
Summer captures Nick Wright (Mansfield Town) and Adi Yussuf (Burton Albion) look set for a return against Salisbury City this Sincil Bank super Saturday. However the form of Sheridan, Rowe and Fairhurst suggests the manager will have to make some tough decisions despite Captain Alan Power facing the last of his three match ban.
Fox Mulder investigates
Simpson must be pinching himself going into September after crusing through a tough opening six in August. This was made somewhat more difficult with Yussuff missing every game and pacey Wright getting just 106 minutes of football before a hamstring pull rules him out 35 minutes into the Macclesfield 1-0 home win, just the second game of the season.
Simmo will also have to chose between Gray and Miller at right back, with Foster Fofana and Nolan, knowing three into two wont go. The lads are a consiistent and united bunch as the stats below show.
| Name | Tot | Ave | ||||||||
| Farman | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 42 | 7 | ||
| Miller | 8 | 7 | 8 | 23 | 7.7 | |||||
| Newton | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 48 | 8 | ||
| Jordan | 7 | 7 | 7 | |||||||
| Boyce | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 50 | 8.3 | ||
| Fofana | 7 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 39 | 7.8 | |||
| Fairhurst | 9 | 7 | 8 | 24 | 8 | |||||
| Power | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 | 6.8 | ||||
| Rowe | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 37 | 7.4 | |||
| Wright | 6 | 7 | 13 | 6.5 | ||||||
| Tomlinson | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 47 | 7.8 | ||
| Sheridan | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 7 | |||||
| Yussuf | ||||||||||
| Gray | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 29 | 7.3 | ||||
| Robinson | ||||||||||
| Nolan | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 43 | 7.2 | ||
| Dixon | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 | 7 | ||||
| Brown | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 50 | 8.3 | ||
| KK | ||||||||||
| Foster | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 48 | 7.8 |
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