Tilson the players and the fans are focused as one on beating Aldershot - Forget Oxford or Cheltenham they are past - in a Cup final to end the season in style. Codenamed Judgement day by the club – Andrew Abbot of LCM’s headline if any of you were wondering why you missed the official sites News now and RSS feeds earlier in the week.
Judgement is an unfortunately chosen title for our club, but one consistent with a catalogue of poor choices over management and resources that have been our club squander a healthy annual seven figure surplus and turn it into six figure annual losses. The managers may have overspent yet the loan system and poor quality and strength in depth of the squad beggars beleif these last few years. Perhaps, for their and our own reasons of discomfort, as we suggested earlier, we should not look back in anger? Yet to do so would be to ensure the status quo continues for the Imps must look into their recent past if we hope to progress in the future. Perhaps we could even employ a local management consultent begining with a full appraisal and audit from top to bottom.
Our laughable custodians at the duel helms of the Trust & Club are on a par with the rusting brass band section of the Titanic band. They have blamed others for hiring and paying off players, yet it is they who hired presided over and then paid off Schofield & Deehan, Peter Jackson and Chris Sutton, who had more to the eye than they first realised, or so we were told.
With the ultimate acid test, the challenges against Aldershot ahead, to say that we are mortified by the state of our club on and off the pitch is an understatement. Let us hope the amateur approach and vested interest shown by those at the helm of late does not lead to semi professional and perhaps even amateur status in the Blue Square and beyond.
As to how and where it went wrong, perhaps that is best left until the end of the season, along with the short sited attempt to flog season tickets again yesterday. Fact is an extra £20 is irrelevant given we do not even know what League we will be in. But then Lincoln City watchers, those who have not voted with their feet already, find little strange at a place that :-
Puts the building of championship training facilities before investment in the strength of its squad when in League 2. Perhaps we need to be builders, architects or planners to see the sense in that?
Needs two boards, which have both preferred to use their money to buy up cheap second hand shares - which meant none of the cash, actually hit the clubs bank account.
Wants to separate the football club from its ground prior to the access issue we all understood to be a formality. There is also a covenant on the ground that the council might also be happy to waver in the current economic climate. Whoever develops the huge central area of Lincoln will not only make a fortune but also create prosperity for all.
Turns down new money that would put fresh faces on the board and cash into the bank account.
Despite our relatively small size paid a Chief executive who did little but preside over a shrinking commercial endeavour.
But as we said the summer will be the best time to discuss things. Or will even more vote with their feet win lose or draw on Saturday.