retired_jgirl87

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rastilbear

Ah I know Viv. He's a nice guy, really cares about the club too. Senile though

Story's coming along nicely, and will be interesting to see how young Macsen progresses... Are you taking over the reins at Lincoln by any chance, or just gonna see how the computer deals with him?

retired_manragh

I took over Lincoln when Schofield was sacked and signed macsen then quit again once the deal was done.

It was they last game of the league when i decided to have a look at Lincoln and they were about to be relegated, luckily they won and stayed up as i forgot to put the conference in for some reason.

Im just completely watching in this one and see where it goes, If Lincoln go down or he transfers to a non league playing club he might come to a nasty end like his father.

I have 40 divisions going so im hoping to be fairly well covered

retired_manragh

Lincoln

Mr Deehan had come to see me a few times before the end of the season and on one such trip he gave my itinerary for the trip over including my tickets, this was also the trip that my aunt and uncle dad made him come over to make sure all was above board, and that I was to be suitably looked after. In my pack of stuff was a bit about the Youth academy along with accommodations and facilities, it also went on to tell about the partnership they had established with Falkirk, and the many young scots that had come over.

This seemed to placate the family one of the other and most serious questions they had concerns over was that I would be treated well being a Welshman/Australian my accent had a bit of Australian in it now, and she knew I was to be labeled with the foreigner tag that seemed to cause some problems with certain sections of the public. John also went into a bit of the History of Lincoln, it was an Old City blah blah blah ……..

The big day came, and awaiting the train at Newport High Street Station was a bit nerve racking, it all settled as I started to let my mind wander to the fame I would achieve. Cheryl was in tears as she bid me farewell, telling me over and over that there was a place back here if I wanted it, my good old Uncle was as subdued as ever, wishing me luck even though I wouldn’t need it, he waved to me as I boarded the train.

It was a around a four hour trip to Lincoln, the first three hours would see me arrive at Nottingham, where I would change trains and journey on for another hour or so to Lincoln. I read the information pack the Mr Deehan had giving me and I was happy with my situation, I was to have a one bedroom apartment on the academy grounds, this block of apartments was reserved for the people who came in from Scotland or any other player that needed temporary accommodation, it was nice. As I was under 18 I was to be looked after with meals and all the other works and jerks.

The train finally pulled in to the Lincoln station, and upon decending down to the ramp I was greated by both Mr Deehan and Dennis who had come along aswell, I grabbed both my suitcase and travel bag and was ushered down to where the car was, my stuff was put away and we drove down to Youth Academy which wasn’t very far from the ground. John gave me an I.D card which would get me into complex and past security, it would also open the door to the apartment aswell as let me get my meals from the cafeteria, he prattled on about it endlessly and Don’t Lose it was mentioned atleast 5 times, to which I responded I wont on all occasions.

The next two weeks were spent getting use to the surroundings and finding my way around the city, what struck me most was the oldness that seemed to ebb from the surroundings, Everything here seemed old, even the newer parts were gave off the sense of History.

I met with the Manager, Colin Lee and his assistant Grant Brown before my first training run, It seemed that I would I get a starting role in the upcoming friendlies to showcase my talents, they didn’t have any expectations for me, just go out and do what I do, and they would assess the situation from there. It all seemed very reasonable to me, I would show them my talents and how eager I was to do well by training very hard aswell.

retired_manragh

Pre Season

Pre season was harder training than I had ever done before, with all sorts of tests to see where we were at, Sprints were followed by agility tests, which were followed by more sprints, and longer runs including back to back 3K time trials to judge our stamina, those were real hard, so were the 10K runs we went on. If we didn’t show improvement from the last time we did a run then we had to do penalties which included laps and and series of push ups and situps and the like, Skills were secondary at the start. We did standing jump tests and running ones to slalom courses to obstacle courses it was an intense month, which im glad to say I came through well. I was not the fittest or quickest at the club, that honour went to Danny Senda who was way out in front of everyone with Ryan McCafferty a loanee from Watford coming in second, Im glad to say I was bit above average, and in a few of the tests managed to get the highest marks here and there, just not consistently.

Skills training was introduced slowly as our fitness improved and there were tests for these aswell, running the obstacle courses and slalom’s while dribbling, firing out passes aswell as receiving them was also incorporated, everything imaginable was tested from shot power to accuracy both in and out of competitive situations. I must say I enjoyed the new aspects of training, I had never done stuff like this before and was determined to do well. Our pre season games were included in the training and my first game as an Imp was played a friendly against Southampton.

I lasted 16 minutes before I was subbed, getting a few passes away and even managed a tackle, we were nil all when I came off but at the end of the day Southampton ran out easy 3-1 winners.

My second game provided more game time although my performance was below par, I had a stomach complaint the night before and it reflected in my performance, scoring a 5 from the people selected to give out ratings, my passing was off which was the main contributor, and I got caught offside twice. Colin didn’t say anything about individual performances he was happy with the 3-1 win a commended the team on a good effort.

My first road trip was to be at Manchester where we played a team called Hyde who were a few divisions below us, we managed to get a draw and I must say Hyde played well all considering, I managed to get close to the 90 minutes and got my first assist setting up Michael Rickets for the opener, with a simple touch that left him plenty of room to blast it away from close range. A better all round performance seen me get a 7.

My best rated game only seen me play half hour as I managed to get an 8 agaisnt Rotherham in a game which we dominated and won 4-0, in that time I managed 3 interceptions one of which seen me setup Rickets again, this time with a weighted cross on the far post that he ran onto and headered home. I also managed 2 shots myself none of which troubled the keeper. Colin congratulated me on the good half hour, but he was glowing in praise for the team at the end.

Our last game seen the Middlesborough Reserves travel to Sincil Bank ground (Our Home) and in a workman like performance I received a 6 in a game which resulted in a 2-2 draw. Not to bad, not to good, but overall I was happy with my performances over the friendly games.

In a meeting with Colin and the coaching staff they went over my performance both in training and in the games, I was apparently progressing well, and aslong as I continued to improve they were happy, my games had a shown a lack of teamwork, which I was to work on, they realised that I was use to playing the way I did, because of the season’s in Wales were more often than not, going it alone resulted in our team winning, but it was different over here, the Team was more important than the individual.

The best news was to come were Colin was impressed enough to let me start, he would give me the left wing to display my talents and aslong as I improved and trained hard I would keep the role, unless I died or someone else who was better came along.. The Starship Trooper reference was funny.


At the end of the Preseason we were set into more routine training exercises with Paul Hawes and Travis Brown playing a more prominent part, Grant Brown the Assistant Manager was more hands on than Colin who just overseen training as a whole and went through different tactical situations when we had tactics sessions in the classroom, This is where he took over.

retired_manragh

Season 1 August

My first official club event was the jumper presentation in front of the fans, where I was introduced as the next Ryan Giggs and given the number 14 for the season, I was honoured to be compared to my Idol but at the moment I was a bit away from his skill, I had no doubt I would eclipse his achievements but I had no illusions to my own grandeur, at the moment that was.

My official debut wasn’t the occasion I had hoped for, we were soundly trounced by Darlington at their football stadium in front of 5000 of their fans. 3 zip wasn’t really a fair indication of their dominance though. My performance was ok with the limited opps that I had. My passing was ok with around 60% accuracy and I made a few telling interceptions but at the end a 6 was my rating. Colin wasn’t too downbeat, first game lads, don’t worry about it was the gist of what he said.

My first official home game in front of our own fans was a better occasion, The stadium was about half full but the crowd was great creating an electrifying atmosphere, this was far and away better that the 50 or so people we had cheering at our games back in Wales.

My passing was a lot better in this game, and I made a few telling ones, but the loudest of the crowd cheers were reserved for Michael Ricketts when he stroked home a placed shot under the diving keeper from a Lee Frecklington through ball. Our defence was like a boulder against the wind, giving nothing away, Our captain Paul Morgan was inspirational down there repelling attack after attack but it was right back Adie Moses who picked up the Man of the Match award. Our first win was a great confidence boost, and the 1-0 result against Rochdale seen us move to 16th, I earned a rating of 7 in the game.

On the road again seen us travel to Rotherham are tipped for a play off spot at worst, It was a 3 o’clock start and conditions were good, Our defence again played well as we get a good Nil all result, the pressure exuded on Rotherham from our back half was good enough to not let them get a shot on goal, a fact that Colin was rapt with after the game, My passing accuracy in the game was around the 85 % and the few interceptions that I made combined with my passing seen me earn a 7 in the ratings. Colin was happy with my start to the season, and told me aslong as I played like this I would hold down the Left wingers role, I would strive to work harder.

Wednesday the 18th of August was not a good day, with me determined to do well in training and increase my skills, I was a bit over exuberant in the heading portion of training, Jumping for a ball I managed to clip Danny (Senda) which took my legs from under me, I landed awkwardly with my hip taking the brunt of the force and ended my training for the day, the bruising was instant and after what was first thought as a few days off to a maybe a week would later be diagnosed as Hip Bursitis and would keep me out for at least 6 weeks maybe 2 months. I was pretty devastated, it was my first Injury that would keep me out of the game for a decent period of time.

Colin seen me a few days later, he was disappointed for me but wished me a speedy recovery, and my spot would be waiting for me when I returned when I could prove my fitness.

retired_manragh

[B]Season - 1, August 2006[B]

My first official club event was the jumper presentation in front of the fans, where I was introduced as the next Ryan Giggs and given the number 14 for the season, I was honoured to be compared to my Idol but at the moment I was a bit away from his skill, I had no doubt I would eclipse his achievements but I had no illusions to my own grandeur, at the moment that was.

My official debut wasn’t the occasion I had hoped for, we were soundly trounced by Darlington at their football stadium in front of 5000 of their fans. 3 zip wasn’t really a fair indication of their dominance though. My performance was ok with the limited opps that I had. My passing was ok with around 60% accuracy and I made a few telling interceptions but at the end a 6 was my rating. Colin wasn’t too downbeat, first game lads, don’t worry about it was the gist of what he said.

My first official home game in front of our own fans was a better occasion, The stadium was about half full but the crowd was great creating an electrifying atmosphere, this was far and away better that the 50 or so people we had cheering at our games back in Wales.

My passing was a lot better in this game, and I made a few telling ones, but the loudest of the crowd cheers were reserved for Michael Ricketts when he stroked home a placed shot under the diving keeper from a Lee Frecklington through ball. Our defence was like a boulder against the wind, giving nothing away, Our captain Paul Morgan was inspirational down there repelling attack after attack but it was right back Adie Moses who picked up the Man of the Match award. Our first win was a great confidence boost, and the 1-0 result against Rochdale seen us move to 16th, I earned a rating of 7 in the game.

On the road again seen us travel to Rotherham are tipped for a play off spot at worst, It was a 3 o’clock start and conditions were good, Our defence again played well as we get a good Nil all result, the pressure exuded on Rotherham from our back half was good enough to not let them get a shot on goal, a fact that Colin was rapt with after the game, My passing accuracy in the game was around the 85 % and the few interceptions that I made combined with my passing seen me earn a 7 in the ratings. Colin was happy with my start to the season, and told me aslong as I played like this I would hold down the Left wingers role, I would strive to work harder.

Wednesday the 18th of August was not a good day, with me determined to do well in training and increase my skills, I was a bit over exuberant in the heading portion of training, Jumping for a ball I managed to clip Danny (Senda) which took my legs from under me, I landed awkwardly with my hip taking the brunt of the force and ended my training for the day, the bruising was instant and after what was first thought as a few days off to a maybe a week would later be diagnosed as Hip Bursitis and would keep me out for at least 6 weeks maybe 2 months. I was pretty devastated, it was my first Injury that would keep me out of the game for a decent period of time.

Colin seen me a few days later, he was disappointed for me but wished me a speedy recovery, and my spot would be waiting for me when I returned when I could prove my fitness.

At the end of August I was two weeks into my recovery which was still very painful when I moved, but the good news was that the club was in 9th place, having a good win against Grimsby and then drawing at Wycombe. We had also progressed to the second round of the Carling cup with a 2-1 win over at Oldham at their home ground.

retired_manragh

Season -1, September

It had been 2 weeks since my injury at training, and I was feeling a bit down, The hip was still painful when I walked but the Naprosyn I was taking was helping a little both with the inflammation and pain. I was also told to have complete rest for a month and was to do no activities that would aggravate the injury, ie Running.

Colin turned up at my door one afternoon with Gary Holt, to see how I was coping I explained my frustration to him especially seeing I was only 3 games into my career here and I looked like being out for 6 weeks. He was sympathetic and said there was no need to worry, I would get my chance once I was back to full fitness, but in the mean time stick to what the specialist was telling me, If I did what I was told I would be back at the earliest time possible and he’d brought someone else to help me out aswell.

“Here’s the thing I want to discuss with you though, I’ve talked it over with Gary here and he’s keen to give it a go……I want him to mentor you this year, his teamwork and defensive qualities in the midfield will be a great benefit to you, what do you think about the idea Mac”Colin asked me.

“……..” I couldn’t think of what I wanted to say, Gary was a respected player in the side but he was a defensive midfielder, and didn’t have the flair or creativity I desired in my game, I wasn’t sure if he could help me or not, he also seemed content with his role here at the club, while I viewed it as a stepping stone to greater things.

“Problem?” asked Colin when he seen my hesitation.

“Well no offence boss, but me and Gary are too different sorts of players, I’m not real sure if I can learn a lot of from him that will improve my game in the areas I think need strengthening, but I will accept the offer and hopefully it will be beneficial to both us”

“That’s a good lad” he said not paying much attention to my concerns, “And on that note I’ll leave you two to discuss whatever you need to discuss,…. Listen to him though lad, he does know what he’s talking about”

So there we were Gary chatting about what he thought he could teach me, and me just thinking why do I need to know this, it wasn’t as though I was trying to win the defensive midfield role, but I’d give it a shot.

The end of the month seen the club slip a little in the ladder, they were 12th now and had 2 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses for the month, but the city was abuzz with the news that the team had traveled to Bramall Lane and beaten Premiership Outfit Sheffield United in a penalty shoot out to progress to the third round of the Carling Cup.

For me it just bummed me out more, not being a part of it, and the specialist was a bit worried about my progress aswell, the Bursa in my leg was still quite inflamed, in some cases a small opereation was needed, but he would try to treat it by draining some of the fluid and giving me some Cortisone injections. The doctor seemed to think that my growth spurt over the last year had been a contributing factor aswell I’d grown 11 centimetres over the last year and with the weight work and increased fitness I’d gone up to 62 Kilo’s aswell, all I could do was wait, do the treatments, keep up the appointments with the Physio and doing all the stretching exercises that was involved and hopefully i would be back soon.

retired_manragh

Season 1, October

The weeks just kept rolling on, with it the frustration growing more and more but atleast the latest course of treatment had seen a marked improvement in my hip, but as one week turned into two in October, I had now officially been out for two months.

Gary felt the full extent of my frustration, when at a pool session I let loose and told him I didn’t think he was helping me at all, I knew the areas I needed to improve and what he was teaching was best suited to one who also played his position. The argument made it’s way into the sports section of the local rag, it was just a brief two line thing though which discussed the season so far Lincoln.

I was given the green light to start light running just after the argument me and Gary had, and the hip felt good, with constant Physio supervision I was progressed into more demanding training and received the all clear to start competitive training on the eve of the Barnlsey Carling Cup clash. Another great victory ensued with the team again coming out victorious once again in a shoot out, now with a premiership scalp and a championship one aswell the whole of England was abuzz with the giant killing team known as Lincoln, residing in lowly Div 2, everyone was wondering if we could continue our good cup run at the expense of West Ham who were sitting in last place in the Premiership.

Colin and Grant put me through my paces at training and were confident enough to start me in the game at Petersborough. There was no easing me back into the team, they wanted to see where I was at after my injury which meant i hadn't played in 10 weeks.

The game was a great spectacle and although we ended up loosing 4-2 we lost no fans with the result, it was more the slide down the ladder that drew us closer to the relagation battle that was keeping them away. More pleasing though was my return to the game, my determination showed as I pushed through the pain barrier and amassed 22 passes, 3 from 3 completed tackles, 2 interceptions and 6 runs past players, 5 shots on goal 2 of which were on target, and I topped it off with an assist. Colin was impressed with my game, and was looking forward to seeing more.

The two day break in between the Petersborough game and the Johsntone’s Paint tropthy cup thing or whatever it’s called wasn’t nearly enough to get back to full fitness, but Colin gave me both days off to recover, as I would be starting again.

Despite it being a good day, a cool 11 C and not a hint of rain or wind, the Imp supporters didn’t show, and maybe 2500 people turned up to wish us well, I was a happy with the turnout cause I was knackered before the start of play, I dug into my reservoirs, a with a steely determination I gritted out the whole 90. I neither played well or bad, but it didn’t affect the result, Gary Birch continued on his goal scoring spree of late and delighted the crowd with two solo efforts in the 6th and 21st minutes too put us 2-0 and looking comfortable, Dave Senda the little pocket rocket as he’s known here was sent off for an accidental elbow that connected with Pinaults face in the 25th and it was game on, except no body told Stockport they had the numerical advantage. On the stroke of half time Mark Stallard netted our third after disposing their centre back and calmly placing an effort just to the right of the diving keeper.

Stockport’s manager must have got through to them at half with all that yelling he was carrying on with and on the 10 minute mark of the half Neil Ardley was put through on goal and tucked away a simple effort to claw one back. We were never troubled after that though as Danny O’Donnell received his 2nd MoTM award for the year with an outstanding display of defence. I had managed to pick up a Rating of 7 although I don’t know how, it might have been the interception at the end that got it for me. I was looking forward to the 4 day break that was coming up.

retired_manragh

Season 1- November

The 4 day break has helped and I feel a lot better, on the road again this time we play Stevenage who are around midtable, it’s a close game with no one dominating for any length of time, but we lose the game 2-1 thanks to a double from the Centre Forward Morrison. I play well earning a 7 but just after half I am still getting tired, all the effort from pre season has gone to waste from my injury, but Colin and they physio keep telling me ill get it back with game time.

Upton Park sees our giant killing days over, they hit us hard with intense ball pressure from the start, as soon as I am passed the ball I have some one on me closing me down, it’s like it all over the park. Within 7 minutes of the game starting they are 2-0 up and are still pressuring us at the half. Colin is understanding and says we have nothing to prove just go out and enjoy the rest of the game.

After the half we get a little more time on the ball as they aren’t closing us down as hard, but on the hour I see an opportunity to have a crack at goal, I tap the ball just in front and prepare to have a decent crack, but McCartney get over and gets a foot on the ball just as I make contact, I don’t know what happened to the ball after, it wasn’t a goal, but the intense pain that just went threw my foot has my on the ground. Michael Wait the physio rushes out to me and removes my boot, the swelling has already started on my big toe and he fears the worst, Broken Toe, I’m stretchered off and taken to the Hospital for X-rays.

Good news is there’s no break, just badly bruised and a sprain they say, nothing to worry about just have a week off, no running just pool work and weights.

A cup game is played while I’m injured against Accrington the boys only manage a 1 all draw at home which Colin is livid with, our form is slowly slipping and if we don’t start to do something about it he will.

I’m sick of being injured so I tell Colin I’m fine for the Bury game at Gigg lane, I prove my fitness the day before, and even though my toe is still really sore I manage to hit near all my targets in the game and a few good interceptions earns me a 7, it’s not enough though as Bury run out 3-1 winners.

The replay of the Accrington cup game comes up and Colin says he expects us to win it we owe it to the supporters for the crap effort at home. Win it we do with a good performance aided by an early red from one their players. Another 7 for me, my toe is still sore and at the end of the game I can hardly walk. The physio has a quick chat with me but I tell him I'm fine.

Yet again another cup game this time at Home versus first Division club Nottingham Forest who are a bit of rival due to the close proximity I guess although I'm not real sure.
We match them all over the ground the only difference at the end of the day is they score 2 from their chances and we only manage 1, It was the quarter final and Colin is happy with the teams effort, and is happy with how far we progressed, the team is not me though and he says I have to show a bit more, my lethargy on the pitch was evident today and I need to pick it up a bit.

I tell him I will it’s just all the games in quick succession and only coming back recently from injury has me feeling a bit tired. We have a quick chat about how I'm finding it here and I tell him I'm happy which he seems content with.