Rivals Review - Lincoln City

Last updated : 09 March 2008 By Paul Smith
Position: 14th

Record: Played 36, Won 13, Drew 4, Lost 19

Recent form (earliest to latest): W,W,W,L,W,L

Manager: Peter Jackson took over from John Schofield in October, at the
Onuora... Acting manager
same time as Ian McParland displaced Steve Thompson in the Meadow Lane hotseat, but the former Huddersfield boss will be absent for this game after undergoing treatment for throat cancer. Indeed, Jackson is likely to miss the rest of the season and the Imps now have Iffy Onuora in charge as the acting manager, with Imps legend Grant Brown alongside him. Jackson and former assistant Neil MacDonald, now at Leeds, did a terrific job in guiding City from the bottom of the table at Christmas into mid-table security with his infectious nature and top-class motivational skills revamping a tired looking squad. Onuora has to guide them through that final phase, but his inexperience amounts to a poor spell in charge of Swindon Town.

Top scorer: Ben Wright: 10 goals. Striker Wright leads the way at the top of the scoring charts for the Imps, with a respectable ten goals to his name despite not figuring in City's plans until Jackson took over. Wright has gone from strength to strength with the 'gentle giant' scoring plenty of headers and poachers' finishers too. He isn't the most complete of strikers but he is a natural finisher and his unpredictability will mark him out as a threat for Notts. Once netted past Chelsea for former club
John-Lewis... Young talent set to blossom
Viking Stavanger in the Uefa Cup, only returning from Norway, where he last played for IK Start, to England in the summer.

Strengths: The Imps have plenty of options going forward and that is illustrated by the fact that they have shared their goals about all across the midfield and strikeforce. Aswell as Wright, Louis Dodds, mainly employed as a winger, has nine, while Jamie Forrester has also been played deeper this term but has still bagged eight. The talented Dany N'Guessan has six, but has been used sparingly of late. They play a very attacking game with strikers also played on the wings, and they have plenty of numbers going forward. In the form of N'Guessan, Lee Frecklington and young starlet Lenell John-Lewis they have considerable pace and flair.

Weaknesses: Defensively at times this term the Imps have been truly shocking and have one of the worst records in the division, despite picking up of late. It is the defensive problems that first got them into trouble, and they have shipped a huge 57 goals with only Macclesfield Town and Accrington Stanley conceding more. Though they have picked up with the emergence of youngster Danny Hone and the return to form of Lee Beevers, they remain subsceptible as illustrated in their 4-1 hammering by Chesterfield in their last outing.

Best win: 4-1 v Barnet, Sincil Bank, December 15, 2007.

Worst defeat: 4-0 (three times)

V Shrewsbury, Sincil Bank, August 11, 2007
V MK Dons, Stadium: MK, October 14, 2007
V Darlington, Sincil Bank, December 22, 2007

In form player: Lennel John-Lewis is something of an unknown and most Notts fans will most probably query 'who?' But John-Lewis has burst onto the scene in sparkling fashion, and has already attracted the scouts down to Sincil Bank despite only making his senior bow in November. The striker looks to have a good finish on him and has already hit three senior goals at the tender age of 18. He rose through City's famed centre of excellence and
Green... Mr. Consistency
is currently being deployed on the wing where he has dazzled, giving many League Two full-backs headaches with his blistering pace and trickery. A good weopan, and an unknown quantity, although he is a doubt for the Meadow Lane clash.

Player of the season: A difficult one considering everybody was so bad in the first half of the season, whereas nearly everyone has been so good in the second half of the season. The changearound has been that extraordinary. For sheer consistency, full-back Paul Green has earnt plenty of plaudits for his steel, spirit and assured displays. He also gets forward well and has assisted plenty of Wright's goals with some good crosses.

Recent history: City's faithful have had some heartbreak in the New Millennium, experiencing the thrill of a play-off final twice, and losing both, and also losing three semi-finals - and all in succession! For the past five seasons the Imps have made the play-offs but never gone up. The last time City were promoted came with Notts in the 1997/98 season with the Magpies champions in what is now League Two, and City third. The Imps were relegated a year later while Notts stayed up. In that same season in the equivalent to League One, Manchester City and Fulham were promoted while Wigan missed out in the play-offs and Reading were mid-table!