From the sublime to the ridiculous

By Nathan Jackson
November 29 2005

We review how each player has performed this season, warning this is not for the "red and white specs" crew. There have been moments of pure beauty so far this season, however, there have also been moments that you'd want to forget as quickly as possible, wouldn't you Alan.

Dean Keates

Anyone who is still puzzled as to why I was so excited about signing him in the summer seriously needs to pay attention. He is easily our best midfielder and arguably, the best player in the team. It's so refreshing to see a midfielder who is willing to get stuck in after the "half arsed" efforts of Gain and Butcher last season. I sincerely hope Keates is a player at Sincil Bank for years to come and hopefully, we'll get to see some more of those amazing free kicks.

Jamie McCombe

Not a single Lincoln player has improved more in 2005 than Jamie McCombe. The tall defender is showing more promise as every game goes on and it's very unsurprisingly that Premiership teams were after he whilst he was at Scunthorpe. Jamie took a lot of unfair critisism when he's been stuck up front for the Imps but considering he's a defender, his tally of goals is considerably good. Again, a player who I hope is at Sincil Bank for a long time and he is potentially the "next big thing" at Sincil Bank.

Colin Cryan

I will admit to not actually noticing that Cryan was on the pitch for the first month or so, however, he has quickly established himself as an excellent defender and it's no surprise that Scarborough didn't want to let him go. Cryan plays a lot like Paul Morgan, he thinks about things a long time before they happen and is often calm and collected on the ball. The fact that he was also the only ever-present in the side until his recent injury says it all.

Gareth McAuley

A defender currently in the middle of a club vs country row but like some of the best players in the world, has let his football speak for itself and worry about the argument when he's off the field. A top class defender who was a bargain buy and again, is a class act in defence. For such a tall player, his touch on the ball is beautiful to watch and he has the potential to play in the Championship, let's just hope that will be with the Imps.

Scott Kerr

Another player who I often didn't noticed at the beginning of his City career, however, he has vastly improved in the last few months and like Keates, puts in considerably more effort than either Butcher or Gain did last season. In all fairness, he has earnt his first team place and has a deadly free kick, however, the reason he's only "above average" is because he has a tendency to pass the ball straight to the opposition.

Nat Brown

I was reliably informed by our old friend Terry, that Nat was a donkey but Nat has proved to be an excellent buy for Keith Alexander. Although his first touch leaves a lot to be desired sometimes, his finishing is amoungst the best at the club, especially after scoring a cracker against Notts County and being there at the vital moments for the games against Shrewsbury and Rochdale. The only problem for Nat will be that when everyone gets fit (or unsuspended), then he might struggle to get into the team because everytime everyone's been fit, he's been relegated to the bench. He is however a competent defensive midfielder who will be very useful in a injury crisis.

Gary Birch

Birch is very similar to Taylor-Fletcher, not only in terms of build, but in terms of shooting ability. Gary has recieved a lot of unfair critisism this season due to not chasing lost causes. This has seen a lot of fans call him "an overweight useless ****", however, when the defence are pumping 80 yard balls forward, that are going straight to the keeper, there's no point in running after the ball. Birch's only problem is his self-confidence, if that takes a knock, then he does seem to panic a bit in front of goal, however, he should be worth around 15 or so goals a season.

Derek Asamoah

Derek, Derek, Derek, where do I start? In all fairness, you're unlucky that Keith plays you out of position because you're quite clearly a winger playing in a strikers role. Asamoah's scoring record is about as prolific as Deuce Bigelow dating a "normal" girl but the thing about Asamoah is, that he can run a defence into the ground. God knows how many times this season, we've seen him do a reasonable pass-off of Ronaldo and beat several defenders and this kind of attacking nature, is very similar to that of Yeo's. However, Asamoah's problem is that he cross' when he should shoot and shoot's when he should cross and he does seem to have a "act first, think later" nature to his game.

Paul Mayo

To be fair, I thought Mayo was rubbish before he left for Watford and nothing seemed to have changed when he came back but recently, he has started showing promise and it appears that he's actually learnt to kick a free kick over the first defender. Mayo is always the target for the fickle fans at the club, even when he hasn't done anything wrong, it is always viewed as his fault somehow. Personally, I don't think Mayo is good enough to warrant a permanent first team place, although he is an excellent addition to the squad just incase he is needed.

Lee Beevers

Another player who recieves some unfair critisism from fans. He is viewed by several fans as the "weak link of the defence", however, very few goals are a result of the right hand side of the defence when he's there and for half the season so far, he's been playing at left back which is ludicrus considering he's right footed. I like Beevers as he seems to have a lot of potential, however, like Brown, he might struggle to hold down a first team place once everyone is fully fit.

Marvin Robinson

Marvin is one of those strikers who always seems to put himself about and is always there when needed. He has score some cracking goals this season and puts a lot of effort into the game but sometimes his enthusiasm causes a few mistakes and we're quite often left rueing his missed chances at the end of games. His contract expires in January and whether he gets offered another one, will depend heavily on who Keith brings in during January's transfer window.

Alan Marriott

What have you been up to this season Marriott? Since the Northampton game on the opening game of the season, it's like you've been having a laugh on the pitch and I've lost count how many times you have personally cost us points, the game against Wycombe sticks in my mind most of all. Not only did you completely ignore the ball for the first goal, but for the second you drop the ball to their player. You've have one decent game this season and that was at Fulham, in most other games, you've had very very little to do. You're out of position on some many shots it's unbelieveable or, if like the Cheltenham game, you hardly dive for any shots. I like you Marriott but sort it out, in the last 8 games, you've faced 17 shots that had a realistic chance of going in, we're not expecting you to save all of them obvious but to let in 14 of them is ridiculous. We all know that you can keep City in any game and on your day, there is no keeper even in your league in this division, but we haven't seen that Marriott this season.

Paul Morgan

In all fairness to Paul, he's a brilliant defender and still arguably our best player but like Marriott, what the hell have you been doing this season? Chester, not only do you tackle a player from behind and get send off, you physically push the ref and I'm not even going to get started on the Torquay game. When you were sent off at Chester, for the 3 games you were gone, we played the best football of our season so far but as soon as you came back against Rushden, we suddenly were rubbish again. What's happened to that calm, cool and collected defender we've seen for the past 4 years? More than any other player at the club, you have the potential to play at a higher level, possibly even the Premiership so without trying to sound harsh, get your act together and prove what a class player you are and earn that transfer to a higher club.

Francis Green

I hope you stay at Boston, you are one of the worst players I have seen at this club in a long time. You're always moaning that you never get a chance, but as soon as you do, all you do is screw everything up. I'm sorry but bringing you to this club was a mistake and if you hadn't wasted half the sitters you've had in these 2 and a bit years, we'd have been promoted a long time ago. I quite honestly couldn't care less if you never played for us again. I've spoke to you several times in person and you're a great lad and everything but at the end of the day, the only way this club is going to progress is without you in it.

Luke Foster

If you're a defender coming to Sincil Bank, you'd better be ready to sit on the bench for a very very long time. "Fossie" does look to be a very talented young player and I'd love to see him get an extended run in the first team one of these days because he deserves one.

Steve Robinson

One of the mysteries of the season. Keith (not for the first time), brings in a player, can't stop raving about him but then as soon as he's match fit, he plays 1 match and no-one sees him again. In 70 or so minutes of football so far this season, he looked to be a quality midfield player and it's easy to see why he was a fan favourite at Swindon, however, it looks like he won't get that chance at Sincil Bank.

Peter Folkes

Peter was yet another one of Keith's "I'm delighted to have signed him" buys that never gets a chance in the first team. I think he's only made 10 minutes of match time in his 18 months at the club and to be quite frank, I hope he moves to Chester (who he's on trial with at the minute), not because I don't he's good enough, far from it, but because he obviously isn't going to get a chance here and for a player of his age, it's vital to get a few good years behind you.

Oliver Ryan

Having been on the fringes last season, Ollie finally got a small chance this season as he came into the squad for a few games at the beginning of October and although he didn't score, he looked to have a lot of promise.

Simon Raynor

I bet Simon's really annoyed. After Marriott got sent off, Raynor was given a chance for 3 games and played very well in all 3 but then as soon as Marriott's suspension is lifted, Keith does even considering giving Simon an extended run in the side. Like Folkes, I don't think he has a chance of getting a decent run in the first team and a move would be the best think for his career, which is a shame because he seems to be a very very good keeper.

Jeff Hughes

Another one of the "Delighted to Sign" gang who hasn't had a chance. He's played about 30 minutes of football so far and has recieved an unbelieveable amount of unfair critisism for those 30 minutes. I think Jeff does have a great future at the club but next season will more than likely be his chance to impress.

Matt Bloomer

Again, Bloomer's only chance of getting regular first team football is to move clubs. Another player who recieves unfair critisism but after Morgan (on his good days), is our best all-round defender.

Danny Bacon

Keith signed him, Keith was delighted, enough said.

Meheta Molango

Another player that gets unfair critisism which is ridiculous considering how little he's played during the season. I saw at Gainsborough during pre-season, how impressive Molango could be but in Keith's traditional method of management, he is a loan signing that will be warming the bench throughout the season.