Lincoln City will head into the unknown in just over a months’ time at the end of July when the League One season kicks off again with a new manager confirmed, and new signings on the way. I have spent the afternoon thinking about what things Mark Kennedy could do to excite imps’ fans ahead of the new season.
Opening Doors
During Michael Appleton’s reign as manager it appeared that once the door was closed, there was no coming back. We’ve seen multiple examples over the last three years such as Tom Pett, Jack Payne, Lee Frecklington and Max Melbourne. There are also members of the current squad that seemed to be on their way out, however with a new man in charge they may get a second chance.
Max Sanders was never a Michael Appleton favourite, despite performing well on the pitch and impressing fans. With Conor McGrandles and Lewis Fiorini leaving on top of Bridcutt’s fitness record and contract uncertainty, Max may have a big part to play next season and we could have a future Championship standard player on our hands, which is good news for us. If you asked me before we played Crewe if Hakeeb Adelakun would be with us next season, I probably would have said no. However, that goal late on and a new manager may have saved his City career. It is clear he has quality (you don’t get a Championship move for nothing) and we’ve seen it a few times this season but nowhere near enough.
Good Recruitment
This is simple, after a ‘poor’ season slightly due to poor and late recruitment in many people’s opinions. 20/21 was an incredible season for us, being ninety minutes away from Championship football. However, that didn’t work out, which meant our recruitment was heavily affected and we acted late. Our first signing last season came on the 2nd July, which is just under a month from now.
So if Mark Kennedy wants to get the fans on side and excited about the new season, bringing a few new faces in the next few weeks would certainly help. Despite that getting it right is important too, however personally I trust the recruitment team and process that brought players such as Brennan Johnson, Anthony Scully and Lewis Montsma to the football club.
The Drogheda Loanees
In January, we sent out two youth graduates to Irish Premier Division side, Drogheda United. One of them was goalkeeper, Sam Long. He made his full EFL League One debut just a few days before the move, and he continued his impressive form out in Ireland, with fans raving about his performances. From what I have seen, he has kept Drogheda in games at times and has made some really impressive saves. The other loanee is of course, Sean Roughan. You could argue that Michael Appleton closed the door on Sean as he disappeared over 18 months ago from the first team picture. Roughan burst onto the scene at the start of the 20/21 season, making his debut just a few days after his seventeenth birthday, however after he struggled in a 3-1 loss to Portsmouth he hardly featured again despite trials with both Chelsea and Southampton. The club extended his current deal by a year recently, so it is unclear whether he would have been in the first team picture next season if Appleton was still here.
If Mark Kennedy uses both of these players in his first team plans it could definitely help get the fans on side and excited. Fans love players that come through the academy and that are ‘one of their own’, but they aren’t only youth graduates but they are top quality and they could both push for a first team spot next season.
Growing a Connection
I’ve spent a lot of this article saying what Appleton didn’t do well. Let me put it straight, I believe Michael was an incredible manager for us and there were a few things he did wrong including closing the door on players at times, but that management style worked for us and him over the last three years as a whole. Appleton’s style was never an emotion filled one, he wasn’t the sort of manager that stormed down the touchline kicking water bottles or fist pumped the fans. I’m not saying that was the wrong way of management but when things were tough was last season and Michael didn’t appreciate the fans, it does sometime anger them. Michael always spoke highly of the fanbase but he was criticised for his lack of engagement. If you’ve met Michael in person, he was a top guy but some haven’t met him so they may not see that.
If Mark Kennedy starts to shown some emotion on the touchline and give the fans a fist pump at full-time, it could get some sections of the fanbase, who that matters to, on side. Mark has spoken highly of the fanbase already in his few interviews so far, he is saying the right things and he will hopefully do the right things in person too.