22/23 is now firmly done and before we look to the next campaign, we need to look back and review.
There’ll be a few parts to this ‘Rating Our 22/23 Signings’ piece over the next week but today I’m starting with the new arrivals that joined the football club in the summer. I’ll basically give a short review and then give them a rating out of 10.
Paudie O’Connor
Paudie O’Connor was the first signing through the door under Mark Kennedy in the summer and it is fair to say he became a crucial part of our success last season. In the summer we were in need of someone who could play forty games a season in defence and bar Regan Poole, we didn’t have anyone else that could do that in the current squad. Adam Jackson and Joe Walsh were on the treatment table under Michael Appleton more than they were off it, and Lewis Montsma was in the middle of treatment for his ACL injury. Paudie soon showed he could provide that solidity and availability and since his first start against Exeter in July, he only missed two league fixtures.
Paudie showed his ability to be a top-class defender throughout the season, especially once we changed to a back-five system. With Poole leaving, he is a shoo-in for the captain’s armband next season and is quickly becoming a real fan favourite at Sincil Bank.
AllLincoln Rating: 9.5/10
Charles Vernam
Charles Vernam is a name that splits opinion. Some see him as creative and someone who could play a big part for us and others see him as a player that has no end product. I think Charles has been unlucky this season, he looked like he would start our first league game but got injured the day before and then missed a few weeks putting him behind later signings in the pecking order. Once he did get back, he failed to make a real impact and in 20 League One games, he failed to notch a goal or an assist. He did show promise though, especially against Southampton in the EFL Cup being our best player that night.
His bad luck continued in the second half of the season after he picked up an injury to keep him out for the rest of the season. In that time we lost Jack Diamond after he was arrested for his criminal charges, meaning Charles may have had a chance in the team. Now though, he looks like he is behind Mandroiu and Duffy in the pecking order with at least two potential incomings expected in the wide areas. In short, we didn’t get the goal-scoring winger we thought we’d signed and it will be interesting to see where Charles is next season, Lincoln or another club.
AllLincoln Rating: 5/10
Tashan Oakley-Boothe
I had high expectations when Tashan Oakley-Boothe signed for Lincoln City in the summer. He came in from Stoke City, where he’d played Championship minutes and everyone thought that injuries were the thing holding back the young midfielder from progressing there. He joined the Imps to gethis career back on track, and what wasn’t there to like? Championship experience, youth international winner with England in the same squad as the likes of Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho. It seemed like a real coup but from the first game, you could see that it might not work at City for Tashan.
He looked physically weak, which was a problem and despite showing some good touches and a good pass every now and again, he offered nothing. Matty Virtue, Max Sanders, Lasse Sorensen and Ted Bishop challenged for the two spots in midfield meaning Tashan dropped down the pecking order and things got worse in January, when we signed two more loan players to take us over the quota and the marquee signing of midfielder Ethan Erhahon. I think if we had the chance to terminate Tashan’s loan, we would have done that but he stayed with the club and played no real part in the second half of the season. The game that sums up his City career will probably be the Barnsley game at home, when he came on and didn’t look bothered at all.
AllLincoln Rating: 2/10
Danny Mandroiu
When Danny Mandroiu arrived, I was excited. We were getting a player that was previously wanted by bigger clubs than us and one that had really impressed for Shamrock Rovers. He had a bit of a slow start due to injury but his first few games were impressive scoring against Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday. His real form came once he got over his injury problems though, in the second half of the season. He really started to look the part towards the end of the season and ended the campaign with 6 goals and 4 assists in League One, which is impressive for his first year at this level.
A pre-season with Mark Kennedy and an injury free start to the campaign next season could turn Mandroiu into an excellent player for us and I quietly think he could be in the running for Player of the Season next year.
AllLincoln Rating: 8/10
Carl Rushworth
Carl Rushworth became our third loan goalkeeper in as many seasons and this season saw potentially the best of those three. Alex Palmer was an important part in an impressive team, while Josh Griffiths’ did well despite the circumstances but Rushworth was a level above, especially considering his age. The way he commanded his area was the best I’ve seen in this division and his long throwing and quick distribution was a key factor in our success this season, and the seventeen clean sheets too.
Rushworth was our best loan player in terms of performance and consistency and won the AllLincoln Young Player of the Season. He’ll be a big miss next season, no matter who we bring in and I’ll be very surprised if isn’t a Premier League goalkeeper in under five seasons.
AllLincoln Rating: 9/10
Jordon Garrick
Jordon Garrick came in and added a much-needed powerful and quick attacker to our ranks, well on paper anyway. Morgan Whittaker went to Plymouth after being with us and Garrick came to us after being with Plymouth, many thought we got the better deal. We didn’t, Whittaker was a crucial part of Plymouth’s title challenge in the first half of the season before gaining interest from Rangers and being recalled by Swansea. Garrick also got recalled in January but was sold to Forest Green Rovers, who later got relegated, and Garrick departed Sincil Bank with just one goal and two assists, none of them coming in League One.
There is a good player in Garrick, which he has shown over his career and even at FGR, where he has scored five goals in (to put it nicely) an awful team. It’s a shame it didn’t work out for Garrick, but sometimes things aren’t meant to be.
AllLincoln Rating: 3/10
Matty Virtue
In the first half of the season, Matty Virtue was in the running for Player of the Season and without his injury, he would’ve certainly been in the conversation when May came around. He came in on loan on deadline day and transformed our midfield. His performances throughout the first half of the season earnt us multiple points and we really struggled once he got injured in that January period. Ethan Erhahon’s arrival meant we had an upturn in form, and even once Virtue came back into the side he got given more freedom to add to the attacking part of his game, which was evident with Matty scoring two goals in the last two games of the season.
With Blackpool extending his current deal by a year, I don’t see Virtue here next season but he excelled for us this year and hopefully, we can get someone that can fill the void he has left in the summer.
AllLincoln Rating: 8.5/10
Others
Jay Benn, I couldn’t give a rating because it just feels unfair considering he has played just one game for us. Despite having a stop-start season, I think Jay could still be a massive player for us in the future but he needs time to develop. The other player not included is Jack Diamond because of the current criminal charges brought against him, and I feel it would be wrong to discuss his success or failure as a footballer this season.
I’ll be back either over the weekend or early next week to review the January signings and the impact they had on the team. Up the Imps!