retired_jgirl87

Tuesday 22nd February 2005:

I’d already been introduced to Gary Simpson who would be my assistant at the club and had had a chat with him late the day before. Consequently when I arrived at the practice ground early this morning and managed to navigate my wheelchair up the six-inch step at the entrance, Gary already had the players gathered in the change-rooms as I had requested. I was sure that they’d all heard the announcement of who their new manager was and what condition they would find him in. I needed to make a quick and positive impression on this bunch of players as we didn’t have too many games left to turn things around.

“Right lads, I’m Willie Murphy, your new manager. You can call me ‘boss’ or ‘gaffer’ or ‘Mr Murphy’ to my face. Behind my back, you’ll probably call me ‘the cripple’ or ‘the gimp’. I believe the lads at Billericay used to call me ‘Wheelie’ instead of Willie and that was quite popular”.

I watched for the effect that my self-depreciating humour had produced on the assembled players and I was rewarded with several grins.

“I’m going to spare you all the ‘rev-em-up and get-em-going’ speech. We’re all professionals here and we all know what our jobs are. What I am going to do though is make you lads a promise. It’s a promise that requires input from both of us and this is what it’s all about”.

I could see that I had the players interested.

“Lads, when the whistle blows to end the match on the final day of the season we are going to find ourselves safely situated in Division Two for another season. After that whistle blows, the fans are going to very grateful to you for turning around the poor position that this club currently is in. They are going to want to thank you and to receive that thanks you are going to do a lap of honour. If you lads promise to put this club in that position on the final day, then I promise to join you and walk with you on that lap of honour”.

I let the words sink in for a moment. It was a big challenge, not just for the players, but for me as well.

“I’m not prepared to wheel myself from the final game in this contraption. Are you prepared to walk from the final game and only have the Conference League to think about next season?

I could see that I had got most of them thinking. It was a good start to our working relationship. Now I just had to keep the pressure on.

“Right lads, Gary’s gonna take you for this morning’s session while I look you over, so let’s be having you”.

retired_jgirl87

Thursday 24th February 2005:

I settled down onto my bed and relaxed for a few moments. My back was killing me after today’s physiotherapy session at the hospital. Not only that, but my left hip was aching like hell as well. However my soreness was tempered by the fact that I had briefly been able to stand with the aid of crutches, even if I wasn’t able to move my legs forward and actually take a step. I’d told my therapist of my new goal – that I wanted to be able to walk a lap of the Sincil Bank ground at Lincoln by May 7th which was our final match of the season. My therapist Caitlin – who I swear had worked as a practitioner in a torture chamber in a previous life – made soothing sounds of agreement, but said that we’d just to see how I went over the next ten weeks.

The pain was easing the longer that I lay upon my bed. Being in a wheelchair may have helped my mobility, but it caused a lot of discomfort in the process. My best salvation from the pain and unease was to lie flat out and take the strain off my lower back. I took the chance that I was relaxing to yet again run my eye over the Nationwide Two table and the fixtures for the last dozen matches of the season.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Nationwide League Two - Thursday 24th February 2005---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |1st | Swansea | 34 | 24 | 1 | 9 | 77 | 40 | +37 | 73 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |2nd | Northampton | 34 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 49 | 27 | +22 | 64 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |3rd | Boston Utd | 34 | 16 | 13 | 5 | 55 | 36 | +19 | 61 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |4th | Bristol Rovers | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 51 | 36 | +15 | 61 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |5th | Rochdale | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 55 | 39 | +16 | 59 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |6th | Cheltenham | 34 | 15 | 13 | 6 | 65 | 47 | +18 | 58 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |7th | Cambridge | 34 | 16 | 6 | 12 | 48 | 39 | +9 | 54 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |8th | Chester | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 53 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |9th | Wycombe | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 53 | 41 | +12 | 51 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |10th | Notts Co | 34 | 15 | 5 | 14 | 46 | 43 | +3 | 50 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |11th | Macclesfield | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 52 | 48 | +4 | 49 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |12th | Rushden | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 38 | 37 | +1 | 44 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |13th | Bury | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 46 | 47 | -1 | 44 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |14th | Oxford | 34 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 36 | 37 | -1 | 44 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |15th | Yeovil | 34 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 45 | 53 | -8 | 40 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |16th | Mansfield | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 41 | 50 | -9 | 40 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |17th | Darlington | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 44 | 49 | -5 | 39 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |18th | Leyton Orient | 34 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 48 | 66 | -18 | 38 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |19th | Grimsby | 34 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 43 | 56 | -13 | 36 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |20th | Scunthorpe | 34 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 42 | 57 | -15 | 36 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |21st | Southend | 34 | 10 | 5 | 19 | 44 | 56 | -12 | 35 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |22nd | Shrewsbury | 34 | 9 | 6 | 19 | 36 | 56 | -20 | 33 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |23rd | LINCOLN | 34 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 29 | 60 | -31 | 30 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |24th | Kidderminster | 34 | 8 | 5 | 21 | 41 | 64 | -23 | 29 | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

Our opponents would be as follows:

Northampton (H) – currently 2nd
Rochdale (A) – currently 5th
Oxford (H) – currently 14th
Bury (A) – currently 13th
Wycombe (A) – currently 9th
Cambridge (H) – currently 7th
Darlington (H) – currently 17th
Kidderminster (A) –currently 24th
Yeovil (H) – currently 15th
Leyton Orient (H) – currently 18th
Scunthorpe (A) – currently 20th
Mansfield (H) – currently 16th

It wasn’t the greatest of starts for my tenure. Basically I had six games against team in the top half of the table and then six games against teams down in the bottom half. The plan of attack would be fairly straightforward. Firstly, we’d look to do as well as we could in those first six matches and hopefully pick up a win or two from them. Secondly, we’d then target six wins from six matches against those sides that were around us on the table. It sounded so simple when I broke it down like that, but I knew that in reality it would be far more complicated than that.

mrsevans7177

Good Luck with this one Spa... Spa...

Spav

retired_jgirl87

Watch that stutter, bartley.

================================================

Having gazed at the table and our fixtures until my brain hurt, I decided to have another read of the player dossier that Gary Simpson had prepared for me. Someone had gone to the trouble of collating the ratings for all the players from the various media sources and giving each player an average out of ten. The player stats for the season to date were also supplied.

Goalkeepers:

Alan Marriott – 26 – GK (23 apps / 43 goals conceded / 6.74)
Former Tottenham youngster who is now in his 6th season at the club where he has been the number one for the previous four seasons. Very good keeping skills, but not the strongest or toughest of keepers.

Simon Rayner – 21 – GK (16 apps / 24 goals conceded / 6.93)
A young Canadian who has shared the keeping duties with Marriott so far this season. Physically he is more than up to the job, but he needs to work on his handling and reflexes.

Defenders:

Matt Bloomer – 26 – D RC (34 appearances / 6.85)
Steady and hard-working player who will spend most of the time in the right-back spot as he is the only senior player for that position.

Ben Futcher – 23 – D C (34+2 appearances / 1 goal / 7.14)
A dominating central defender with great aerial ability and fierce determination. I will be handing him the captain’s armband for my time in charge.

Paul Morgan – 26 – D C (36 appearances / 1 goal / 7.11)
A good quality defender for this level and the Northern Irishman should partner Futcher in the heart of my defence. A leader as well as a good all-around player.

Simon Weaver – 27 – D C (27 appearances / 1 goal / 6.70)
Brave and determined player currently out with an arm injury. Will need to improve to be one of my starting centre-halves.

Gareth McAuley – 25 – D C (27+6 appearances / 2 goals / 6.48)
Northern Irish centre-half in his first season in England. Another who will need to step up a notch to gain a berth in my team.

Peter Folkes – 20 – D C (3 appearances / 7.00)
Young reserve team central defender who will probably be left in that squad to continue his development.

Jamie McCombe – 22 – D C (18+11 appearances / 6.90)
Another young defender who shows some promise, but is currently sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Kevin Sandwith – 27 – D L (0+13 appearances / 6.38)
The only senior left-back at the club, but he fell out with the previous manager and is currently on the transfer list. Tough and determined, but lacking in skill. He will play for me if he can show me something positive.

Midfielders:

Tom Cooke – 18 – D/M C (0+4 appearances / 6.75)
A young utility player who won’t figure in my plans this season. I will see if he develops in the reserves.

Steve Thomson – 27 – DM C (5 appearances / 7.00)
Hard working team player signed from Peterborough in January for £3K and he fits perfectly into the system that I want to play.

Richard Butcher – 24 – M C (32+2 appearances / 3 goals / 6.94)
A key player for the club over the previous two seasons and so far this year as well. I will be looking for him to carry the team in midfield and get forward in attack as well.

Ciaran Toner – 23 – M C (12+7 appearances / 1 goal / 7.32)
The club’s only international with 2 caps for Northern Ireland earlier in his career. Has the skill to succeed, but his fitness, stamina and lack of pace go against him.

Andrew Toyne – 16 – M C (6+15 appearances / 6.81)
A highly-skilled youngster who has seen plenty of first-team action already. However he is already showing the effects of his exertions and may be too inexperienced to cope with the battle ahead. Definitely one for the future.

Lee Frecklington – 19 – M C (8+4 appearances / 2 goals / 6.92)
Another prospect for the future, though not as promising as Toyne. Will probably stay in the reserves for the remainder of the season.

Peter Gain – 28 – M LC (28 appearances / 2 goals / 7.14)
Another long term Lincoln player, the Republic of Ireland midfielder has been here 6 years after leaving Tottenham. His form has been very good before my arrival and I expect him to team with Butcher and run my midfield.

Tom Wilkinson – 19 – AM R (0+1 appearances / 7.00)
Young right-winger who will probably stay in the reserves after he recovers from the groin injury that he is currently suffering from.

Chris Cornelly – 27 – AM RL (0 appearances / 0.00)
Back-up winger who was out of favour with the previous manager, but will probably be a bench player for me. Could work himself into a starting place if he improves.

Forwards:

Francis Green – 24 – F RC (15+17 appearances / 2 goals / 6.63)
Pacey forward who’s finishing is not as good as it could be. May well be more suited as a wide player and will probably start in a position like that for me.

Simon Blackwood – 25 – F LC (0 appearances / 0.00)
A left-side attacker who has seen several clubs in his short career. Yet to start at Lincoln, but may get a chance under me in a wide role similar to Green.

Simon Yeo – 31 – F LC (25+14 appearances / 4 goals / 6.87)
Striker suffering a bit of a drought in front of goal after his good start last season. Reasonable skills, but lacking in stamina.

Gary Taylor-Fletcher – 23 – S C (17+12 appearances / 10 goals / 6.86)
Last season’s top scorer and is leading the charts again this year. Hard-working, agile and a good runner off the ball, he will shoulder the responsibility for getting the goals we need to avoid relegation.

Marcus Richardson – 27 – S C (0+3 appearances / 7.00)
Joined from Hartlepool last season and started well like Yeo did, but has not really had a chance this season. Isn’t likely to get much of a chance under me either.

Oliver Ryan – 19 – S C (0 appearances / 0.00)
Young striker with good aerial ability. Raw, but promising and may get a chance from the bench.

Will Hoskins – 18 – S C (on loan from Rotherham) (5 appearances / 1 goal / 6.60)
A quality young striker on loan from League Championship side Rotherham, but currently out with a foot injury. I was initially going to terminate his loan, but he may be required in the final few games.

retired_jgirl87

Saturday 26th February 2005:

I’d worked with the players over the last couple of days trying to get my tactical plan across to them. This wasn’t the time to be too technical though – we just had to pick up enough points through whatever means were possible. I laid out my formation to the squad and then took aside the 16 players that I intended to use for my first game at home to Northampton to go though it with them. The formation could best be described as a 4-5-1, though at times I hoped that it was going to act more like a 4-3-3. Stopping goals going in was definitely the first priority. After that we could think about getting one or two of our own.

I had decided that Alan Marriott would be my starting keeper, but he had not returned to full fitness following a shoulder injury. As a result Simon Rayner would start the first match and he would have the chance to impress me more than he had done so far. Matt Bloomer would start at right-back and Kevin Sandwith at left-back. Although Sandwith wasn’t the greatest player he was a natural left-footer and he was far more at ease than the right-footed McAuley who had recently been playing in that position under the previous manager. In the centre of defence Gareth McAuley would start today, although I was looking to Simon Morgan as the first choice. Unfortunately for Morgan he was out for at least another week with an arm injury. Ben Futcher would be the other centre-half and he would wear the captain’s armband as well. In midfield Steve Thomson would play as a holding midfielder in front of the back four to give us added protection. The key midfield roles went to Richard Butcher and Peter Gain who were charged with running the play and getting forward where possible to support the attack. Both Francis Green and Simon Yeo were given wide roles on the right and left of midfield respectively, but they were to play advanced where possible and support the main striker. That role went to Gary Taylor-Fletcher, the club’s top scorer so far this season. I stressed to Green and Yeo that they had to make sure that Taylor-Fletcher wasn’t left too far up field on his own or otherwise our attack would be basically toothless.

Lincoln v Northampton – Sincil Bank, Lincoln

With my first Lincoln team selected and the players sent down the tunnel in the company of my assistant Gary Simpson, I took a moment to compose myself in the dressing-room. It was tough first match for me. Northampton were second on the table and looking to consolidate their hold on one of the automatic promotion places. With Swansea being nine points ahead and seemingly close to securing at least an automatic promotion berth, our opponents needed the three points that they would clearly have expected to get from a team in the second-to-last spot as we were. I decided that a point today would be a more than welcome start to my tenure at Sincil Bank.

I propelled my wheelchair out of the dressing-rooms and out into the corridor. I was heading down towards the pitch via the tunnel when a voice spoke behind me.

“Are you right there, sir? Just let me give you a push to help you down to the disabled area”.

I turned and looked at the man who had taken up a position behind my wheelchair and was now about to place his hands upon the handles at the rear. He looked about fifty and he wore an orange bib over his jacket which indicated that he was one of the club’s stewards. I wasn’t prepared to be wheeled out on my first appearance before the home fans.

“No thanks, I’m fine, I can look after myself, thanks anyway”.

I put my hands down and continued to roll my wheelchair down the tunnel.

“Oh no, sir. Please let me help you. I know all the regulars around here and I’ve not seen you before, so it would be much easier if you let me show you the way to the disabled viewing area”.

He took the handles of my wheelchair and slowed my travels down to a pace that he was happy with. There wasn’t much I could do with the steward holding the back of the chair, so I reluctantly relented and allowed him to push me at his speed. He continued with his friendly ramblings.

“We pride ourselves here at Lincoln in looking after all types of football fans, not just those who can walk and make their own way to their seats”.

I rolled my eyes up at that comment, but I decided that he was just trying to be helpful and his heart was in the right place.

“Look, thanks for your help. What’s your name?”

“I’m Terry. I’ve been helping out here at the Bank for the past twenty-five years. Aye, the club’s in my blood, follow them through thick and thin I do”.

“Terry, I’m Willie. Pleased to meet you”.

“Likewise”.

“How do you think the club will go under this new manager?”

“I don’t know much about him, to be honest. Managed in the Conference, if I heard right. Did alright with a couple of teams, so they say”.

“Do you reckon he can lift the club out of this position?”

“Well, there a good bunch of lads at this club and I don’t rightly know why we are in the position that we are in. If the new boss can get their confidence, then I reckon he could save us from relegation this season”.

By now we had reached the pitch and Terry was wheeling me towards the right where I could see the enclosure for any wheelchair-bound spectators. This was also the side on which the home dugout was situated. I smiled and gave a wink to Gary Simpson as he gave a puzzled look at Terry and me as we went past. Moments later we were at the disabled enclosure.

“Terry, what else do you know about the new manger?”

“Name’s Willie Murphy, but not much more, to be honest”.

“Did you hear about his problem?”

“No, can’t say I did”.

“Apparently he’s wheelchair-bound, just like me, the result of a car accident a couple of years ago”.

“You don’t say. Do you think he ..…”

Terry stopped mid-sentence and his jaw dropped as the realisation of who I was dawned on him.

“Mr Murphy, I’m sorry that I didn’t know who you were. I feel like such a fool, yabbering on about myself and not even thinking about asking about you”.

I held my right hand up and offered a handshake to him. He took my hand and shook it slowly.

“Terry, the name’s Willie, not Mr Murphy. And thanks very much for your assistance; it’s been interesting to hear what a long-time fan like yourself thinks about things”.

With that, I returned my hands to the wheels of the chair and propelled my way back down to the dugout for the start of the match.

retired_jgirl87

I was pleased with the start that the players made to the match. It was Butcher who took the first shot after 3 minutes following a good move between Gain and Yeo, but it flew a couple of feet wide. After 9 minutes we caught Northampton a man short on our left side and Yeo released Taylor-Fletcher for a clear run at goal. The striker’s shot was firm and low to the keeper’s left, but Harper got down well to push it away for a corner. As the 17th minute mark was reached, all Northampton had to show for themselves was a couple of very wayward headers. On the other hand, I felt that we were playing quite well. This was underlined when Bloomer’s cross from the right was nodded down by McAuley for Green to dink a short cross to the near post. Butcher had arrived unmarked, but his header smacked against the post. However luck was on our side because the ball simply bounced back to Butcher who whacked it past Harper to put us 1-0 up. McAuley was playing at centre-half but he was proving dangerous for us when he went forward for set-pieces. After 31 minutes he picked up a loose ball on the right and crossed it to the far post where Yeo had a free header, but his problems in front of goal showed as his effort just flicked the top of the cross bar instead of finding the net. Moments later Green was lucky to escape with only a yellow card when he lashed out with his boot at Dolan. In the 39th minute Northampton bought off an injured Smith and replaced him with Youngs. McAuley failed to pick up the new player from the restart and Youngs was immediately sent free by a long pass. Rayner came out and narrowed the angle, forcing Youngs to shoot quickly. The ball struck our keeper’s body and rebounded loose, but Rayner scrambled across his goal to fall on the ball before Carruthers could latch onto it. That was the last significant action of the first half and we took our 1-0 lead into the dressing-rooms.

Northampton started the second half in a more determined mood and pressed us back into our own half for the first ten minutes. That pressure culminated in an equaliser as a sweeping move opened up our defence and freed Carruthers on their left. His low cross was met by Rowson with a first-time shot from 12 yards and the ball flew into our net via the post with Rayner fixed to his line. With the score now at 1-1 we needed to respond or risk letting Northampton take full control of the match. Thankfully the players picked it up again, but twice poor finishing robbed us of a go-ahead goal. Firstly Butcher wastefully skyed Green’s knockdown from Yeo’s cross after 62 minutes and then secondly Yeo prodded a loose ball just wide of the post after 69 minutes. We paid for those misses in the 73rd minute when Northampton scored a second goal courtesy of some woeful defending. Sandwith failed to pick up his opponent Amoo from a throw-in and the winger crossed towards the far post. The cross was way too long and Carruthers backtracked to retrieve it. Suddenly Rayner was charging from his goal out onto the right side in an attempt to win the ball from Carruthers. He was never going to make it and he suddenly realised it. Desperately Rayner turned and ran back towards the middle, but Carruthers simply chipped the ball over our keeper and Rowson was there to head home into an empty net to put Northampton 2-1 in front. I couldn’t believe that Rayner had done that. I sent on Toner for a tiring Butcher as I urged the players into one final effort to find another equaliser. It was the 86th minute when the best chance came. Yeo beat his man on the left and whipped in a low cross which saw Taylor-Fletcher slide in at the near post. He got his toe to it, but Harper was diving on it at the same time and the Northampton keeper managed to smother the shot. That was that – a couple of minutes later the final whistle sounded and my first game in charge had resulted in a 2-1 home defeat.

Lincoln 1 Butcher 17
Northampton 2 Rowson 55, 73

Rayner – 6, Bloomer – 7, Futcher – 7, McAuley – 7, Sandwith – 7, Butcher – 7 (Toner – 7), Thomson – 7, Gain – 7, Green – 7, Taylor-Fletcher – 7, Yeo – 7.

retired_jgirl87

Sunday 27th February 2005:

Back at home on Sunday I read through the newspaper reviews of the match against Northampton. There was nothing in the way of praise or approval for the effort that the team put in against second-placed Northampton. A typical report was to be found in the Lincoln Standard where Tony Cunningham – the reporter I had mocked at my introductory press conference – had this to say about my first match in charge.
It was at this point that I flung the newspaper to the floor before driving my wheelchair back and forth over it several times. I’d make Tony Cunningham eat his words by the end of the season, no doubt about it.

Monday 28th February 2005:

There was good news for me today when physio Michael Wait declared that keeper Alan Marriott was fit to resume full training following a shoulder injury that had ruled him out for the previous two months. After Simon Rayner’s howler against Northampton, I had decided that Marriott needed to go straight back into the team when he was given the all-clear. Our other physio Keith Oakes had been tending to Paul Morgan’s arm injury and he too was given the all-clear to resume full training with a view to starting this weekend’s match against Rochdale.

retired_amyslack

Enjoying this one Spav - nice idea and well executed :thup:

retired_jgirl87

Thanks for the support Bob.

================================================

Wednesday 2nd March 2005:

A series of phone calls on Monday between Lincoln chairman Rob Bradley and the editor of the Lincoln Standard had began the battle between the two organisations after Tony Cunningham’s article was posted in Sunday’s edition. I had reacted to the journalist’s use of the terms ‘wheelchair-bound cripple’ and ‘paraplegic’, not because of any offence against political correctness, but simply because they were inaccurate. The editor stood by his writer and refused to retract the statements or offer an apology. On Tuesday the threat of a media ban on the Lincoln Standard and a sternly worded letter from the club’s solicitors were sent to the newspaper. Finally, after consultation with their solicitors on Tuesday evening, the newspaper agreed to publish a correction in Wednesday’s edition.

At home this evening I looked through the Lincoln Standard and found the ‘correction’ five pages in from the back page, buried amongst the horse-racing results. It said:

I put the newspaper down and allowed a thin smile to cross my face. Round one to the newspaper maybe, but round two to me, I thought.

Saturday 5th March 2005:

I met the players and coaching staff outside the Sincil Bank stadium for the trip to Rochdale. Everyone milled around and chatted while we waited for the bus to show up. I talked with Gary Simpson about the fitness of the squad since we had stepped up the intensity of the physical training during the week. He indicated that everyone seemed to be handling it okay at the moment. Just as we finished our discussion the bus pulled up in the car park next to us. The driver disembarked, nodded hello to Gary and went down to the side of the bus to open up the luggage compartment for the player’s bags.

I pushed my wheelchair over towards the door of the bus and immediately encountered a problem. I had mastered the art of sliding from the wheelchair into my car and then pulling the chair inside, but getting up the four steps from the ground to the front seat of the bus was something entirely different. I could sense that everyone was watching me and I needed to do something quickly.

“Boss, do you want a hand up into the bus?”

It was Steve Thomson who had made the offer. However I wasn’t going to let anyone lift me up or carry me around like a big baby.

“No thanks, Stevie, I’ll manage. But if someone can collapse and fold the chair and stow it with the kit, then that will be great”.

With that, I rolled over next to the open door of the bus and forced myself to my feet. I turned to the side and let my backside fall onto the first step. I then reached up with hands and took hold of the guide-rails, pulling myself up onto the next step. I repeated the process for each of the steps and finally hauled myself into the front seat on the passenger side of the bus. When I had settled into the seat, I looked out the window. All the players and staff were still standing as they had been. God, I hope that I didn’t look like a fool doing that, I thought. Maybe I should have let someone help me, but I know that my pride would not have allowed that. I leant around to the open door and called out to everyone.

“If you think that was funny, you should see me trying to board a bloody 747 at Heathrow”.

There was outbreak of laughter from the group.

“Now c’mon you lot, we’ve got a game of football to play”.

retired_jgirl87

Rochdale v Lincoln – Spotland, Rochdale

Just as I had planned all week Allan Marriott was the new starting keeper in place of Simon Rayner who was relegated to the bench. Paul Morgan was given a start in the centre of the defence with Gareth McAuley dropping down to the position of substitute. After the lads left the team bus and had a bit of a stretch Simon Yeo reported that the hamstring injury that he had been carrying had flared up again. There was no choice but to give Michael Blackwood his Lincoln debut on the left of midfield with orders to support the attack as Yeo would have done.

It was Green who was prominent early on as he had our opening two chances. Debut boy Blackwood found space for a cross from the left and it reached the far post where Green caught it on the half-volley, but from 10 yards out he rattled the ball against cross bar. Bloomer sent Green away in the 10th minute, but just as he was about to put the ball under the keeper the referee noticed a very late offside flag from the linesman and blew his whistle. I was very pleased that we were holding 6th placed Rochdale like we were. They still hadn’t had a decent chance when Taylor-Fletcher created yet another one for us in the 29th minute as he battled his way past Burgess and fired in a shot which Price tipped around the post for a corner. I sensed that we had it in us to take the lead as we just kept pounding away at the Rochdale defence. The breakthrough came in the 38th minute when Taylor-Fletcher again surged past Burgess and looked to get in a shot from the edge of the area. Gallimore slid in from the side to knock the ball away from our striker, but that merely put it in the path of Gain who was presented with a gaping net into which he rolled the ball to put us 1-0 in front. It was no more than we deserved and we carried that lead into the half-time break.

The second half began with Taylor-Fletcher testing Price with a 25-yarder which the Rochdale keeper handled well. After 54 minutes another good move started on the right wing following an intelligent throw-out from Marriott. Green advanced with purpose and played a ball inside to Gain whose control let him down slightly. As Gain stretched out to regain control of the ball Clarke poked a boot at it and the ball suddenly arced up and over Price from 20 yards out for the flukiest own-goal that I had ever seen. It didn’t bother either the players, supporters or myself how the ball went in though as we celebrated our 2-0 lead. Just 2 minutes later we had the chance to wrap up the game when Gain surged into the box from the left and sent an inviting low ball across the Rochdale six-yard box. Butcher had timed his run well and he arrived on the far post perfectly, but somehow managed to sky the ball over the cross bar from an almost unmissable position. With both Butcher and Taylor-Fletcher tiring, I sent on Toner and Richardson as their replacements. It seemed that we lost a bit of impetus at that point, but we were two goals up so I wasn’t too worried. Cornelly made his Lincoln debut as he replaced the influential Gain with about 12 minutes to go. It was then that Rochdale created their two clearest chances all day, but Brisco shot straight at Marriott after 82 minutes and substitute McGivern curled a 15-yarder into the side-netting after 87 minutes. In the end we registered a fine 2-0 win against a team looking to secure a play-off berth, so I was extremely happy.

Rochdale 0
Lincoln 2 Gain 38, Clarke o.g. 54

Marriott – 8, Bloomer – 7, Futcher – 9, Morgan – 7, Sandwith – 8, Butcher – 7 (Toner – 8), Thomson – 9, Gain – 9 (Cornelly – 7), Green – 7, Taylor-Fletcher – 6 (Richardson – 7), Blackwood – 7.

My joy at our 2-0 win was tempered somewhat when I heard the remainder of the Nationwide Two results after the match. Kidderminster, Shrewsbury, Scunthorpe and Southend – the four teams above us – had all picked up a point each with draws in their respective matches. That put us level with Kidderminster on 33 points, but with a -30 goal-difference to Kidderminster’s -20 we were still sitting in 24th and last position. The gap to safety was now two points and there were ten matches still to play.