City enters the January transfer window with some need for desperate incomings, with midtable being the aim. While this window won’t be make or break for the Imps, it is still an important one and one that will allow Mark Kennedy to mould the squad to his liking and make a few additions to continue the project he is building at City.
As we are in the transfer window I would like to introduce ‘The AllLincoln January Recruitment Plan’, while I might have a decent skill level on Football Manager, I am no director of football but this will be a big piece split into two parts, where I do some analysis on the current squad backed up with statistics but balanced with opinions in the first part and the second part will look at positions we may look to bring in players and some potential players to fill the specific roles identified.
I am in no way trying to dictate the way Lincoln should strategise this window, but if I was in Jez George’s shoes and believe me, I am far less qualified for his job, but this is what I would do.
Part 1 – Current Squad
In this first part of the plan, I will be taking a look at our current squad as well as our players out on loan and analysing each individual area of the pitch. As well as looking at the players and their roles in our current squad, I will also be looking at any potential outgoings in the squad with some destined to move higher up the football pyramid.
Firstly I will do a small SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat) analysis on our current squad as a whole to give you an idea of the different areas of the playing team.
Strengths – Our biggest strength as a team at the moment is our defensive resilience. The team has only shipped twenty-eight goals in twenty-three games, and while that is more than some around us, we have to remember that seven of those goals conceded have been in heavy defeats to Peterborough and Burton. So despite looking average defensively from goals conceded stats, we are much better than they show. We look excellent without the ball and that was evident in our recent draw with Ipswich at Sincil Bank, where we only had 19% possession in the second half and managed to keep hold of a point to a team that is challenging for automatic promotion. Our home unbeaten run is another big strength of ours, with the run continuing into the new year and becoming the longest in the country. Football is a game all about mentality, and to have that confidence going into home games is a massive strength.
Weaknesses – Scoring goals can be classed as a weakness for this Lincoln City team. I don’t think it is a problem that will threaten our place in the division, but if we are to keep progressing, it is one we must look at. We have scored twenty-three goals in twenty-three games, obviously averaging a goal a game. We have scored the same amount of goals as MK Dons, who are seriously troubled by relegation but our defensive record has allowed us to pick up more points. Our top goal scorer in the League is shared between Ben House and Jack Diamond with six goals each, and we have other players contributing with goals too but we need more. We aren’t in the position to sign a big name up front, and I think we have the players in our team to score more goals such as Danny Mandroiu and Ted Bishop, but they both need to stay fit and get regular minutes.
Opportunities – There are clear opportunities for City in the final stretch of the League One season following the January transfer window. Our main one is to keep taking advantage of our defensive solidity, especially against the top sides in the division. If we can keep taking advantage of that and pick up plenty of points against the top sides, then that will hold us in good stead. Another opportunity is our ability to make a profit on members of the current squad, while some will see us losing some of our assets as a negative, in the long run, it is a positive, especially if we replace them. Players like Sean Roughan and Regan Poole could be big sales for us and that is a massive opportunity for the club.
Threats – Our obvious threat is our known failure of beating the teams ‘we should be beating’. I’m not a fan of the entitlement to beat certain sides in the division but I can see exactly where people are coming from. We should have taken three points on Boxing Day considering Burton are in the relegation zone, but we failed to do so. The same story could be said for Forest Green, Fleetwood, Charlton and Accrington at home and games such as Shrewsbury and Port Vale away from home. If we can start picking up more points against sides in and around us, we could certainly challenge for top-half.
The Current Squad – Goalkeepers
Our current goalkeepers’ union is one of the strongest I have seen at the club in a very long time from our first choice to our third choice. The goalkeepers have a massive part to play in our incredible defensive record and the main man responsible is Carl Rushworth.
Carl is on loan to us from Brighton, as you will all know, and I’m going to stick my neck out and say he is one of the best goalkeepers I have seen play for Lincoln in my lifetime, if not the best. Carl has kept six clean sheets this season and is ninth in the League One standings for saves per game with 2.9. Carl is highly rated by Brighton and many football pundits and is showing maturity since his step up to League One from the division below. He won’t return to Sincil Bank beyond this season, but as things stand we have one of the best in the division in between our sticks.
Jordan Wright is our second choice and for his role, he is probably one of the best backups in the league. Jordan came in last season, and while he didn’t expect to play, he was thrown in at the deep end after an injury to regular, at the time, number-one Josh Griffiths, and he was outstanding for the rest of that season. He has been good this year too, having pulled off multiple penalty shootout saves and wins for us in cup competitions. One saw him become the hero against Barrow, and allow us to take the trip down to Premier League opposition Southampton, and the other one was more recent against Morecambe for a place in the quarter-finals of the Papa John’s trophy.
Sam Long may be out on loan, but from what I have seen he still plays a crucial part for City. He has been pictured in training photos before and if we desperately needed him, I would have no worries about him either starting or being the second choice. As a third choice, he is top quality and is getting football elsewhere in the process.
The Current Squad – Central Defence
Considering our defensive area is our best statistical area on the pitch, we are have quality in depth in the central defensive positions and that is a massive platform for us going into the second half of the season.
Paudie O’Connor has become an unsung hero for City in central defence. He started fairly slowly when he first arrived, and I was one of the first to question his ability, but now I take it all back. Paudie has become one of the most consistent performers at the club and while he isn’t the most exciting defender, like a Poole or a Montsma, he is a very good centre-half for the level and he is a key player for Mark and our system. For me, Paudie is the first name on the teamsheet at the moment.
Moving onto our red card specialists (light-hearted joke). Joe Walsh and Adam Jackson are two extremely good defenders for this division and their stats certainly prove that. Adam has only been dribbled past on an average 0.3 times per game, which is very good against some of the divisions top defenders such as Peterborough’s Ronnie Edwards, who has a higher average of 0.4. Some have been claiming that Joe Walsh is not the same player he has been for us, and while I agree somewhat, he has been quietly having a good and consistent season on the left side of our back-three. I’m going to use the Morecambe game at home as example to show Joe’s quality, in that game he wasn’t dribbled past at all despite the Imps coming under some pressure late on. He was also arguably our best defender against Southampton, and managed to keep the right-hand side of the Premier League team quiet alongside Sean Roughan. What we have in Joe and Adam are two very capable League One centre-halfs and they are crucial to our results. this season and most likely next year.
TJ Eyoma is currently enjoying his best run of form since his return to the club in August 2021, and his recent performances have made fans remember just how good of a defender he is. TJ is a real assets to this football club and if we can get him consistent, he will be one of them players that moves up the leagues and goes on to have a very successful career.
The final centre-half I am putting in this list is Lewis Montsma. When Lewis returns he will almost feel like a new signing and I am extremely excited to see the flying Dutchman return. Not only will he be a massive boost but I can’t wait to see him in the new system that Mark is playing. The back-three will give him the licesence to drive forwards, try more dangerous switches of plays and even take on a shot every now again (and we know he is capable of pulling a screamer out). Once Lewis is back, there will be fierce competition, which is what we need.
The Current Squad – Wing-Backs
The change in formation to the three/five at the back has seen a change in how we utilise our full-backs, so much so that they have become wing-backs. The use of wing-backs is becoming a real art in the world of modern football, so much so that Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City use the back three system in possession at the moment. We have had a few ins and outs in the wing-back department this window already as I write this, so here is my verdict on the contracted ones.
Regan Poole has been put in the wing-back section due to most of his football recently being played in this position. We all know what we are going to get with Regan and that is 100% commitment and passion every week and at least a 7/10 performance. There is a lot of interest in him at the moment and with only six months remaining on his deals, he may depart this window. Our other out-and-out wing-back option on the right hand side as it stands is Jay Benn, and he is a player that really excites me. We may have only seen him once, but in that one outing he looked quality and while he may not be ready for full first team football yet, I hope we get to see him some capacity before the end of the season. If we bring in another wing-back though, a loan move could be a real possibility.
There has been a lot of movement on the left-hand side recently, Jamie Robson departed the club on Friday to Forest Green, with his replacement already signed an hour before. Harry Boyes was the man to replace Robson, coming in on loan from Sheffield United and from what I’ve seen, he looks like a very good wing-back and one that should improve us offensively on that side. Our nailed on starter on this side for me is Sean Roughan. He is a player that I’ve rated ever since his professional debut and he has come on so much this season. He is playing like a player with over 300 EFL appearances and it won’t be long until he gets interest from teams above us in the EFL, so we have to get him signed up to a new deal.
The Current Squad – Midfielders
In our current system we are playing a two man midfield, something that is quite rare these days with the popularity of the 4-3-3, but we are making it work with plenty of energy from our midfielders. We are quite short in this area with the injury of Matty Virtue, so it will be interesting to see where we go in the market.
Starting with Tashan Oakley-Boothe, I wouldn’t have been surprised a week ago if he was recalled by Stoke but with the injury of Matty, he may have another chance to get into the team and prove his worth as a top player in this division. His loan spell hasn’t been a complete failure, as there are certainly moments of quality like a cross-field ball or burst from midfield, but them moments aren’t consistent enough and that has led to his downfall here. If we keep him for the rest of the season, he may need to play a big part for us with Matty’s injury and that could give him a chance to save his hopes of staying at Stoke. Our other midfielder that is out of favour is Jacob Davenport, if I’m honest I actually have no idea if he is still contracted with us but since he signed we haven’t used him really and it would surprise me if we extended that short term contract.
Max Sanders has been a revelation since Mark became head coach in May and he is enjoying an outstanding campaign. I think the majority of the fanbase knew Max had potential but the treatment he received under the previous manager saw him hardly get on the pitch. Max has made it no secret that he was looking for a move away in the summer but the change in management allowed him to stay at the club, play regular football and extract his full potential.
Lasse Sorensen is a similar success story of the Mark Kennedy appointment. While it may have gone under the radar because Lasse had a decent amount of football last year, he has still made good progress under the new manager. He has been kept out of the team in parts of the season due to the former of Max and Matty but with the injury of the latter, he has a perfect chance to step up and become a crucial player for us. Our final midfielder is Matty Virtue, and I’m aware he is injured but he still remains our best midfielder and that is why he probably will stay with us despite the set-back. If we can manage without him for ten weeks, we will be doing very well and we will be in for a big boost when he returns.
The Current Squad – Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
We are clearly weak in our wide areas and we don’t have the creativity that we wanted at the start of the season. We certainly have the players to create chances but keeping them fit has been the biggest challenge so far this season, with multiple injury lay-offs across the forward line.
Jack Diamond is a player that we need to keep and I’m growing more confidence in that being the case. Sunderland are flying-high in the league and have a really good crop of attacking players including Amad Diallo, Jack Clarke and Patrick Roberts. If Sunderland want him to develop, then he needs to stay here. He has been the difference this season multiple times and his willingness to take the game by the scruff of the neck is something we need more of across the team.
Danny Mandroiu has failed to show what he is fully capable of City so far in my opinion. In his spell here so far, he has showed moments of class but he has struggled to stay fit and have a good run in the team. He has started the last two and hopefully he gets that consistent run because it is obvious there is a player in there and one that can finish chances when they arrive, which is something we lack at times. Danny’s main competition for a spot in the side is Charles Vernam, and he is another player that is capable of doing so much more for us. He has impressed when he has played but his output has been poor, if he can start hitting the back of net, whilst still creating chances he could be on hell of a player.
Ted Bishop is the final player I have put in this section. In our current system he is most likely to play out-wide and we cannot count Ted out as being a crucial player in the second half of the season. Similarly to Danny, Ted needs to stay fit and if he can continue the form he was on before his injury in September, then we have a player that will be pushing to get back in the starting eleven.
The Current Squad – Strikers
It seems every time a transfer window comes round the whole fanbase thinks we need a striker, even if we don’t. It’s the same at most clubs and I think if we had Haaland and Mbappe, people would still want Tyler Walker to return. That being said a new striker is crucial this window to help Ben House up front.
Our club captain Tom Hopper isn’t having the season he probably envisaged, being kept out of the team by Ben House and his last start coming in a disappointing battering on Boxing Day to relegation threatened Burton. Tom is a good striker but he isn’t the goalscorer that we all crave. He will be here come the end of January I’d imagine but if we see him in a Lincoln City shirt next season, I don’t know.
Ben House has become a key part of our side this season and is currently our joint top goalscorer along with Jack Diamond. I really like Ben and he is crucial to our system, his off-the-ball intelligence is second to none but having that knowledge alongside the energy to be able to press like he does is incredible. He knows where the goal is and he has found it on multiple occasions this season. He is not the finished article and when he is, he will be one hell of a footballer.
Our other contracted strikers are Charley Kendall, who was recently recalled from his loan spell at Sutton United and Freddie Draper. I don’t see neither being the ones to take us up League One this season but they are a massive part of the club’s future. Kendall needs another loan move, perhaps to the National League because sitting on the bench with us is pointless for his development.
Our current squad is more than capable of competing at League One level as it has shown over the last few months and if we can secure the right additions in January, then we will be able to push for a top half finish.
Part Two – Potential Targets
This is it for part one, I’ve worked really hard on this piece, so I hope you’ve enjoyed it and found it an interesting read. Part two will be out within the next few days as I’m aware the transfer window is now in full swing.