Without doubt it’s Clark Keltie and Stefan Oakes
— Jamie Adams (@JayyAdams) April 18, 2018
The focus of our attention here is going to be Clark Keltie, mainly because in not writing about Stefan Oakes I am putting the same effort in as he put into his entire Lincoln career. He was a gifted player, technically very good and capable of much more, but he winged his Imps career.
No, Oakes was not a bad player, but Clark Keltie was.
Keltie joined as some sort of midfield enforcer (I think), a lower league general who could come into Chris Sutton’s side and imposed some sort of steel into the centre of the park. He’d made his name (if you can call it that) at Darlington and latterly Rochdale, but he didn’t join us as some washed up veteran. He’s only 34 now, he came to Lincoln supposedly bang in his prime.
Scott Kerr wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea but he battled, whereas Keltie seemed anonymous at first. He and Kerr tussled for a starting place, a battle that Keltie own. In November 2010 he started the FA Cup game against Nuneaton whilst Kerr was kept on the bench. He was sent off in the 44th minute after fouling James Armson in a game that the non-league side had dominated. Kerr came on, steadied the ship and we won 1-0, although the long-serving midfielder was soon packed off on loan.
As for Keltie, that seemed to be it. He didn’t get another look in as Steve Tilson *ahem* remodelled our ailing side. He was still out of the side when we beat Southend in March, all-but sealing out safety.
Of course, the rest is history. Tilson allegedly told several squad members they weren’t required for the following season and most just gave up. From being in with an outside shout of the top seven we drew two in eleven to go down. Towards the end of that run, the lesser-spotted Keltie made an appearance, perhaps out of necessity rather than desire.
He played on the final day as we lost to Aldershot, the picture above testifies to that as he’s seen kicking a ball. Could you remembered what he did? Me neither. If he got near the best XI we’d seen I’d give up now.
In November 2011 he faced criminal prosecution after crashing his car into a telephone box in Newcastle. Keltie was also found to have a string of past motor related offences, a spokeswoman for Northumbria Police mentioned “Clark Keltie, 28, of Denton Burn, Newcastle, has been charged with careless driving, failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident.”
As a former team mate of Delroy Facey, Moses Swaibu and Ali Fuseini, we perhaps shouldn’t be surprised.
Todd Jordan holds the honour of being in my top ten worst ever Imps. A depressing signing.
I feel a new SW XI