Best and Worst at Sincil Bank

Greatest Ever Imp?

The national football magazine in question (fourfourtwo) have this month voted for the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ players from football clubs the length and breadth of Great Britain doubtless causing arguments in workplaces and living rooms along the way. Lincolns own two entries were perhaps somewhat predictable but do give some cause for debate, and where better to examine the likely candidates than right here on LCM?

The winner of the best City player of ALL TIME was ‘winding, blinding’ Gareth Ainsworth which perhaps gives an indication more of the average reader age rather than the actual best player to ever pull on a City shirt. The blurb described Ainsworth ‘always the last to leave the field after acknowledging the fans’ as well as waxing lyrical over his ’20 goals a season’. Now I loved Ainsworth as much as any Imps fans there was. His all action displays and gutsy never say die attitude won my adulation as it did the scores of adoring fans across our fair county. However we must also not forget where the roots of Ainsworth City stint lay – John Beck. On his own website Ainsworth credits Beck as teaching him important lessons in the game of football, fair enough if Beck’s philosophies were good for the game. However his long ball style continues to haunt and tarnish our club to this very day, and although Ainsworth was a very bright star in a very dark team I think to vote him as Lincolns best ever player is probably a little wide of the mark.

So who would be the other front-runners for the coveted award? I can only draw on experiences from 1986 onwards which is a real shame. I cannot possibly argue competently over the inclusion of players such as Percy Freeman, John Ward, Dave Smith or George Shipley, which is a real travesty to some quality football players. Long before John Beck and his spoiling tactics there was free flowing fancy football at the Bank and a whole host of players that deserved to be considered as the greatest ever to pull on the red and white shirt. Since 1986 and relegation to the conference good players have been few and far between and most young fans would tend to be swayed towards Gareth. However there is one more name to go into the hat, and a longer server at Sincil Bank who scored more regularly. He fits the Ainsworth mould but won over two generations of fans with his wing wizardry. That player was Gordon Hobson (see our ex Imps section for a biography). Hobson occupied a similar position to Ainsworth but unfortunately time has faded the memory of Hobson unlike the legacy of Sir Gareth. Younger Imps fans that cannot remember as far back as the early or indeed late eighties may take Fourfourtwo, but the older Imps fan will surely remember Hobson as favourably as any other ex Imp.

14 stone of nothing according to Bury fans

The worst player of all time was perhaps a little easier to guess. Adam Buckley hardly endeared himself to the Imps faithful when he followed Dad Alan to Sincil Bank like a lost puppy. He possessed a wicked left foot, offset by no pace, no positioning, no skill, no scruples and no hope. A series of lack lustre outings resulted in him being chastised by all patrons of the Bank, and once his Dad left as manager the writing was on the wall. He furthered his infamy by being found guilty of four counts of theft from teammates which really made him the only outstanding candidate for the worst player ever to turn out for the Imps. Again the was another name or two that could have been dropped into the hat (step forward Trevor Hebberd, Steve Foley, Kingsley Black, Ian Hamilton, and Tony Battersby) but in reality any other names would have been there purely for their on the pitch antics. Everything about Adam Buckley wreaked of ‘worst ever player’, so much so that he found himself as the only player to be voted for as two clubs biggest catastrophe with Grimsby Town fans feeling exactly the same. For City he was described as ‘arrived inevitably hanging from dad Alan’s coat tails’, whilst at Grimsby ‘the impact of the fruit of Alan Buckley’s loins, namely Adam and the slightly less rubbish Simon made Dads career look like a roaring success’. Harsh words? There’s rarely been a truer word spoken.

Glancing through the rest of the publication it seems that Sincil Bank is a breeding ground for other clubs outcasts and misfits. At Bury Mark Sertori’s 17 games only spurred the Gigg Lane faithful to forever tarnish him with the title of worst player ever. Sertori’s goals helped City up out the conference, including one in the final games against Wycombe. However at 6’2” and 14 stone he’d always find it difficult at a higher level and despite spells at Wrexham and York as well as Bury he never really managed to carve out a professional career. Cambridge Utd fans thought Scott Eustace was a liability in his 56 appearances at Abbey Road. Unfortunately for City Shane Westley thought different and brought the troubled defender in for our division two campaign. At Sincil Bank he never looked like a footballer and was sacked shortly after signing in 1998 for personal reasons. Charlton fans cited Neil Redfearn as their worst ever player, another entry that does seem a little harsh. Redfearn played Premiership football for Bradford and Barnsley with varied (for varied please read no) success, but has managed to forge a fine career in the lower leagues after beginning his career at Lincoln. Chesterfield rate Jason Lee as the most diabolical player ever to pull on the blue jersey and they’ll receive little argument from City fans who also failed to warm to the lumbering striker. Lee felt his career was ruined by Baddiel and Skinners jibes, in actual fact it was ruined by his lack of ability and his inability to hit the net in the easiest of situations resulting in just one goal in 2,520 minutes of football, a strike rate Shayne Bradley bettered at Mansfield. However the portly striker still made the list as their direst player shortly before disappointing in a loan spell at Lincoln where he seemed content to sit on the bench feigning injury rather than attempting to put the ball in the net. One of the more bizarre entries from The Imps point of view is the worst player to ever appear for Leyton Orient, namely our own 10-goal striker Gary Taylor Fletcher. The reasons probably lie more in his £250,000 valuation at the time rather than his actual ability and no doubt Brisbane Road attendees felt aggravated when he subsequently netted twice for City on his return to London. The other ex Imps on the worst ever list are ex keeper Matt Dickins (Rochdale) and Keith Scott (Stoke).

Sadly for the Imps reputation as a breeding ground only a handful of other clubs best ever players have represented City. The chronically bad Goofy Joe Allon was voted Hartlepool Utd’s biggest ever star despite a small amount of blank Imps appearances. John Taylor spent about four hours on loan at City six years back and is Cambridge Utd fans favourite all time player. The only player to be voted his sides greatest player after a successful Imps spell was ex England international Mick Harford at Luton Town.