On Monday afternoon we secured our League One safety with a exceptional three nil win over Cheltneham Town. After the game Michael Appleton wanted to end the season strongly and continue our form. With players fighting for a place in the squad next season, a game against a mid-table side was a perfect opportunity for certain players to stake their claim early for next season. Despite that, none of that happened.
We are a good side no doubt about that. Look at Sheffield Wednesday at home, Wigan away or even look to last Monday. Yesterday, we looked a completely different side, maybe similar to how Cheltenham were on Monday. Cheltenham are a very well run club and no one expected them to be as solid as they were this season, so taking their foot off the gas at the end of the season is understandable, but for us it is not in any shape or form. I won’t name players, but there is multiple players fighting to still to be at the club next season, and you’d at least want them to continue fighting until the end of the season, rather than just letting the opposition control the game.
Much of the pre-match talk was about team news. MA said he would give fringe players chances, and one of them came into the side yesterday in Max Sanders. I do think Sanders has the quality and talent to play for City, but every time he starts he does not take his opportunity. Look at Blackpool at home last season, he started and was pulled off at half-time at 2-0 down (the game ended 2-2). He is good when he plays in ten minute cameos but yesterday the game bypassed him and maybe we are starting to see why MA does not pick him more regularly.
I feel for Adelakun, he didn’t start but he was most likely going to come on, but our terrible injury luck stopped that happening. McGrandles has played his last game in a City shirt unfortunately due to his injury today, he won’t feature again and the likelihood of him leaving is very likely due to his girlfriend and family living in Scotland, which is fully understandable, especially considering he originally was going to go back to Scotland before he signed for City. Ben House will miss the rest of the season, also coming off injured with a dislocated shoulder and a broken collar bone. I have not seen anything like this season in term of injuries, it has been un-explainable. Fans will speculate and try and find a cause such as training but I think it is impossible for training to cause this many injuries over a course of a season.
For the time that House was on the pitch, I thought we looked decent. We hit the post, they hit the crossbar and it was becoming quite an end to end affair. We conceded first and after that our heads dropped like we just conceded our fifth. We had no leaders on the pitch at all. Bridcutt, McGrandles, Walsh and Hopper hardly featured and even Maguire might have been able to calm things down after we conceded.
I listened to Michael’s interview after the game, and I liked it. He was trying to be as brutally honest with the fans as possible, letting them know that some of them will not be here next season after that performance but also not naming the certain players, but I’m sure they will have an idea of who they are. Next season is going to be quite a re-build job. We had Cullen, Whittaker, BNC and Fiorini on the pitch today, who are all loanees. McGrandles’ contract is expiring, and we don’t know the status of Jackson’s contract. Wright might not be nailed on first-choice next season after a few edgy moments. That leaves Poole, House and Robson as players that will fight to get into the starting XI next season. Even from the bench today. MA will most likely want to keep Hopper and Scully. Sorensen and Bishop will probably stay, especially the latter but Marquis and Adelakun will probably leave as well.
It might have to be a 20/21 type of summer, where MA is ruthless and builds a new enough completely new squad. We didn’t deal with Accrington’s physicality, but we also missed the spine of the team, all of our leaders and when things are not going for you. A Bridcutt or Walsh are the ones to take responsibility.
In terms of positives; there aren’t many but I thought Lewis Fiorini looked very good again, not just for his goal but he showed the fight expected. Let’s be honest here, Fiorini has nothing to play for. He will get a Championship move next year after a great year so he isn’t fighting to stay with us, but he still showed fight for the badge on the shirt today. The AllLincoln POTS winner, Regan Poole was excellent again and hopefully (if we can keep him) the team will be built around him next season. Robson wasn’t the worst player on the pitch. BNC didn’t look on his game today, but for all his good performances, I think this is one of the only poor ones. Cullen wasn’t terrible, but he really struggled to lead the line, but to no fault of his own. I think Hopper or Marquis would have suited the game better but with the injuries, it left MA with only one tactical substitution.
All round, it was an extremely bad day at the office, and maybe apart from Morecambe and Crewe away. I thought this was one of our worst performances of the season. Which like I said earlier, you don’t expect from players fighting for a spot in the squad next season. Appleton has done a good job this season, but he will be the first to tell you, we haven’t been good enough for the whole season.
The AllLincoln MOTM is Lewis Fiorini (Yes, Again)