The Worst City XI of the 2010s?

THE GOALKEEPER: AIDAN GRANT

This was a really tricky decision to make. We’ve had some excellent goalkeepers this decade. Paul Farman, Nick Townsend and Josh Vickers spring to mind but I don’t think we’ve had a horrendous keeper. Maybe this is a little bit unfair on Grant who only made a handful of appearances in the back end of the 2014/2015 season and the 2015/2016. He mainly played understudy to the goalkeepers that we already had at the club. Largely playing behind Nick Townsend who was outstanding that season. Grant never really pulled off any incredible saves or had any blunders therefore I think this was the toughest choice to make of the entire team.

RIGHT BACK: PAUL ROBSON

Where else could I have gone with this one? Robson was part of the team that were nearly relegated from the Conference back in 2012, the less said about that the better really. Robson struggled to adapt to the level and was swiftly released shortly after signing a new deal. His season at the Imps would be highest level he would play at in the latter stages of his career. He would go on to play for North Ferriby United, Scarborough Athletic, Barton Town and Bridlington Town before retiring at going into management. Robson is currently assistant manager at North Ferriby United. They currently play in the Northern Counties East League Division One.

CENTRE BACK: THIERRY AUDEL

We had some horrendous defenders this decade, none worse than Audel. The Frenchman arrived on loan from Crewe in 2014 and had two short loan spells with the Imps. From what I can remember he made a host of mistakes leading to goals and ultimately defeats as we slumped to another average finish the in National League. A centre-half who could supposedly play out from the back, he struggled to complete passes left, right and centre. Audel went on to have a decent career after his spells at the Bank. He swiftly moved to Macclesfield before moving to Notts County. He spent two seasons with the Magpies before slipping down the football pyramid with spells with Barrow, Welling and is currently at Brackley.

CENTRE BACK: TONY DIAGNE

Another awful French centre-back. Diagne was someone who just swung his boot at absolutely everything. Supposedly a left footed centre-half who had been successful at Macclesfield before arriving in Lincolnshire. He was never able to get up to speed of the level and looked massively out of depth in the heart of the Lincoln defence. It was perhaps more luck than judgement that he made a successful punt up the field. Following his loan spell, he would make a step up to the Football League with Morecambe before arriving back at Sincil Bank on a permanent basis. However, his Wikipedia page tells me he seems to have dropped off the face of the Earth footballing wise so if you’re reading this Tony, we’d love to know what you’re up to.

LEFT BACK: NICKY NICOLAU

I promise you I haven’t got anything against foreign defenders to have played for Lincoln City in this decade. Cypriot Nicolau was a bit of a utility player. He could play in the midfield but was often used at left back. He came with quiet a high pedigree having  come through the youth system at Arsenal but never quite lived up to his potential. The Cyprus U21 international dropped into the depths of non-league from 2009 with spells at Woking, Dover and Boreham Wood. He then arrived at Sincil Bank where we would go on to make 45 appearances and score four goals. Nicolau wasn’t a bad footballer by any stretch of the imagination, but in comparison to John Nutter, Sam Habergham and Toffs I think its clear to see why he’s made his way onto this list. He was last seen kicking a ball around for Bishop Stortford back in 2015.

NEXT PAGE: THE FANTASTIC FOUR IN MIDFIELD