CF – Matt Rhead

Write him off, he bounces right back. Time and again the big man has been written off and each time he comes back stronger, doing exactly the same things that made him a hero in the first place.

In a 4-3-3 he can play centrally and his lack of pace is adequately covered. I suspect, if we’d had the players, it might have been investigated last season, but it does require your wingers to tuck in, something not all of ours are capable of, yet. Danny will work with the players and he’ll get those he wants into the new way of thinking, but there’s no work to be done with the big man. He’s going to be a City legend when he leaves, but there’s no sign of him going anywhere yet. After all, a player normally fades as his legs go, but Rheady hasn’t had any since he arrived so if he stays sharp and fit he could play until 38.

CF- Matt Green

Say what want, Matt Green is better than Ollie Palmer and if he’s fit he starts. His name is synonymous with goals, hard work and success and as our leading scorer, he’s proven he has all the attributes still at his disposal. He’s not a ‘natural’ finisher, not like Ricky Miller or Liam Hearn, but he is a striker of immense quality. He doesn’t mind doing the running, he doesn’t mind turning provider and he’s rarely greedy or self-centred. Some say the best strikers are greedy and they are self-centred, I disagree.

I’m a huge Matt Green fan, I always have been ever since he was putting us to the sword in a Mansfield kit. At times we’d be attacking in 2012/13 without any real purpose, balls forward would find nobody. How often does that happen now, truly? Matt Green turns even an aimless ball forward into a chase or even a chance.

CF: Harry Anderson

Danny and Nicky need to get their work done on the training ground, because no Lincoln City XI is complete without Harry right now. He’s such a strong boy, direct and instantly causes our opponents all sorts of problems. Full backs hate him and I’m sure eventually he’ll be conditioned to do his running in between them and the centre backs.

At present, Jordan Williams is perhaps the best fit, but with a three-year deal in his pocket young Harry is here to stay. Every time I see him I see quality, hard work and of course, blistering pace. He’s had a tough time of it so far in 2018, ever since the Luton red card really, but he’s going to be a huge part of our future. He offers the option of 4-4-2 too, meaning the flexibility that Danny alluded to in the press conference prior to Morecambe is becoming more evident.

The Bench

How did I leave out Danny Rowe, Tom Pett, Luke Waterfall and even Ollie Palmer? How can Elliott Whitehouse ever force his way into the reckoning? As for poor old Sean Long, how unlucky is he? Jordan Williams is starting right now and looking good every game, yet he’d been warming a seat in the dugout in the perfect XI.

We have a bench packed with quality, perhaps two short of a top three squad. I won’t keep on, but a single quality forward, in my opinion, might have been the difference between eighth and fifth right now. However, look what we do have. That team is excellent, pound for pound the best starting eleven at the club in many, many years.

The best thing is, it is only going to get better.

THANKS TO GRAHAM BURRELL AND LINCOLN CITY FOR THE PICTURES