Thanks – Mustapha Carayol

It’s a real odd one this week, because I’m thanking them for taking a talented footballer from us.

Carayol was one of those insanely frustrating players who had so much to offer but simply didn’t produce when it was needed. He agreed terms with Chris Sutton in the summer of 2010, although due to Carayol being under the age of 24 the fee was decided by a tribunal.

In August, it was announced that a deal had been struck between the two clubs with Lincoln paying £35,000. He scored on his debut, in the opening game of the season, in a 2–1 loss away at Rotherham United.

It has been rumoured tha the deal to bring Carayol included much more than just a big fee. We allegedly haemorrhaged money in 2010/11 due to all sorts of different deals whereby players had houses and accommodation paid for over and above their wages. Was Carayol one of those players? Who knows?

As our miserable 2010–11 season progressed, Carayol began to suffer from injuries which saw him restricted to 37 appearance in all competitions. Despite his obvious ability he often went missing in games, just like Dany N’Guessan before him.

He only played four games in that horrible final run in, and was absent as we slipped out of the league. Carayol’s future at City was doubt after a clause was activated on relegation that gave him freedom to quit the club, and he left in May 2011 for Bristol Rovers. He had been one of the higher earners at the club and his departure allowed us to build a squad that would ultimately do badly the following season.

Still, at least they took him.