Marcus Richardson
I’ll state right now: I was a Marcus Richardson fan. Sure, he was ungainly and a bit unorthodox, but he did score goals. He was what we need right now; a physical presence best coming off the bench. He was aggravating, strong and had a bit of pace. Yeah, I liked him and I don’t care what you say.
He initially came in on loan from Hartlepool and it took him a few matches to get going. Bear in mind, we had started the 2003/04 season with Ellis Remy and Rory May up front, so when this guy touched down we’d not exactly been spoiled. By the conclusion of his first loan spell, he’d hit five goals in eight games, including three in consecutive matches. Hartlepool recalled him at the end of October, and manager Keith Alexander desperately searched for a way to bring him back in. He re-joined on loan in December before making the move permanent in January of 2004.
I don’t think his permanent move was a bad one either. He scored another five goals before the end of the season to give him a total of ten from 41 games. we’ve had worse; much worse, and many of those were as a sub as well. He scored the goal that put us 1-0 at Huddersfield when they then got the offside goal from Pawel Abbot and he bagged a last-minute leveller against Kidderminster at Sincil Bank.
The following season he found goals a little harder to come by, but he still offered a threat when he got a chance. A red card just ten minutes after coming on as a sub against Chester didn’t help him establish a starting role, but just three games later he scored a dramatic last-minute winner against Northampton which kicked off a spell of four in four games including two in a 3-1 over Yeovil.
Unfortunately, February 2005 saw him involved in a training ground incident with Ciaran Toner which immediately cost both him and Toner their places at Lincoln. The ‘incident’ certainly consisted of a fight, with racist undertones, that much we do know. There was allegedly damage done to Gary Simpson’s car as well, if rumours are to be believed because of Toner being knocked out across the bonnet. Whatever happened neither played for the Imps again. It was a crying shame as well because a few months later against Southend in the play-off final we desperately needed another option from the bench, but in Richardson’s absence, we had to settle with bringing Matt Bloomer on as we slumped to a 2-0 defeat.
Re Jae Martin: ‘Perhaps John Beck didn’t know how to spot a player after all.’. And perhaps the supporters didn’t either – I well remember the chants of “sign him up!”
Wasnt Grant Brown originally a loan deal? Surely he has to be no.1.
I had completely forgotten how the Marcus Richardson signing ended up, well I remember Toner but had forgotten it was Richardson. That was a dark day for the club
John Finnigan