League One Round-Up: Portsmouth eye midfielder swoop, Peterborough target 23-year-old

 It might be a relatively quiet day on the Lincoln City front, with little more than literal fireworks expected this evening at Sincil Bank.

But, as families around the country prepare to celebrate the death of a man who would probably be classed as a hero if he tried to blow up parliament today, we look at news happening at other clubs around the third-tier.

Accrington Chairman Lashes Out

Imps at Accrington in 2018

Andy Holt is no stranger to getting his opinion out there and nine times out of ten, he appears to be in touch with the feelings of the common football fan.

He’s been giving his thoughts on the Bolton Wanderers saga this week. For those who haven’t followed, Bolton possibly face a points deduction for cancelling a fixture against Brentford last season, as well as the Doncaster postponement this campaign. Holt was quizzed about the situation on Twitter and confirmed he thought that it was ‘a shambles’.

“It was an awful decision by the EFL to let you start the season,” he replied to one social media user. “It’s a shambles. I wish no harm to any club, especially local clubs. I’m fully aware of their importance to our towns and communities.”

As usual, fans seem to be in agreement with Holt, who has campaigned against the EFL on many occasions. I bet the meetings all the clubs have are a right laugh with him in the corner.

MK Dons Boss Plays Down Positivity

Imps at MK – Courtesy Graham Burrell

MK Dons reacted quickly to this weekend’s 3-1 defeat at home to Tranmere; they sacked Paul Tisdale and replaced him with 33-year-old Russell Martin.

Martin is a former Norwich and Scotland defender who joined to help them to automatic promotion last season. He’s only been given a deal until January and it’s thought there could be some cash problems at Mk Dons, who were reported to be losing £10,000 per day earlier in the season.

Martin has predictably played down their chances this season, something I think most new managers do when they take over at a club.

“I want us to play attractive football, of course, but that won’t happen overnight,” he told the MK Citizen.

“There are a lot of things I want to work on off the ball. I want us to be aggressive, pressing high up the pitch, hard-working, so it’s up to us to put that out there on the training ground. There will be a few small tweaks this week that will help us function as a team.”

Not exactly the exciting times promotion were meant to bring.

Sunderland suffer injury blow

Imps v Sunderland – Courtesy Graham Burrell

Elliott Embleton made a lot of noise in the summer before signing a new deal with the Black Cats. He wanted to get assurances over first-team chances after a successful loan spell with Grimsby.

It was touch and go whether he remained at the Stadium of Light or tried his luck as a free agent with the credit of his Blundell Park stint on his CV. He chose Sunderland, but won’t be in the first team for a while.

Manager Phil Parkinson has confirmed that the youngster is set for a long spell on the sidelines after picking up a relatively serious injury.

“That’s going to be a long-term injury, unfortunately. It’s going to be months before we see Elliot again,” he said of the 20-year-old. “My talks with the physio have been that it will be longer than that [two months]. When I came in, he said it was a long-term injury.”

It’s a big blow for Embleton, who has played up to under 20 level for England.

2 Comments

  1. ‘That season I saw Yeo and Cropper start for Lincoln, the one where I tipped Cropper for greatness’.

    Reminds me of the time when Steve Williams and Darren Huckerby were just breaking through into the first team and I rated Williams as the better prospect of the two.

    • Malcolm.. I remember saying the same about Williams and Huckerby after watching us at Doncaster.
      My Dad said “Huckerby is better, and stronger”

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