Usually, anniversaries are a cherished and celebrated moment, but few people will be looking back a decade and having fond recollections.
Ten years. That is how long it has been since we limped out of the Football League, bloodied and broken by a steady decline post-Keith Alexander. It was a season of catastrophic defeats, or gutless performances and of players who we would be best forgetting and leaving in the past.
That’s not our style though at the Stacey West, so in the absence of a game this week I thought I’d look back ten years at the players disrespecting the Lincoln City shirt, and track what happened to them in the years afterwards.
On Saturday 13th November 2010, we actually won an away game, one of six we won away all season. It was against Jim Bentley’s Morecambe and was the second of three wins on the spin, the others being Nuneaton (1-0) and Hereford (3-1). That little spell was brought to an abrupt end by Bury, who beat us 5-0 at the Bank in a blueprint that was not usual but would almost become normal by the end of the season.
Who were the players that lined up for the Imps for the win against Morecambe? Where are they now, or what else did they achieve in the game?
Joe Anyon
Anyon only appeared 25 times for City that season, dropped by Steve Tilson not long after he arrived and left out of the side in favour of Elliott Parrish and Trevor Carson, even spending four matches out on loan with Morecambe. Prior to coming to Lincoln, Anyon had appeared more than 100 times for Port Vale, but relegation badly affected his career. After Tilson suddenly found trust in him the following season he appeared another 42 times, but he hasn’t settled anywhere since.
He played 13 times in two years at Shrewsbury, 24 times in three years for Scunthorpe and 20 times for Chesterfield during their relegation season. He’s currently with National League North side Chorley.
Moses Swaibu
One has to call Moses a success story, one of the few to emerge from that season, but his own personal journey has taken him to the depth of despair. Moses was jailed for conspiracy to commit bribery, his playing career in tatters. He has since reinvented himself as a mentor and role model, helping young players and he conducted a fascinating interview with us earlier in the year.
Josh Gowling
Josh joined the Imps after being ostracized by Gillingham for his role in a 7-4 thrashing at Accrington Stanley, initially on loan. He appeared six times for us, winning three matches, losing two and drawing one. He sadly left for his parent club and came back to haunt us with a goal as they beat us 4-0, which he didn’t celebrate. There was some surprise when he dropped out of the league to play for us the following season, a decision with hindsight he may regret. Since then he has played just one season of football outside the non-league setup, with Grimsby whom he helped to promotion in 2015/16. After time with Torquay and Alfreton he played for Hereford, whom he now manages.
Gavin Hoyte
Hoyte should have been a Rolls Royce of a player, having been loaned from Arsenal and boasting Championship experience during a stint with Watford. The year before joining us he’d spent 18 games on loan in League One with Brighton and his arrival was sure to herald good fortune, or so it seemed. He played just 11 league matches and never demonstrated the apparent class he possessed before he returned to Arsenal. That said, I’m sure he would have been better than some of the clowns who finished in the team against Aldershot.
Hoyte is still playing, after leaving us he went to Wimbledon on loan before he was released by Arsenal and spent two years with Dagenham before having a season in League One with Gillingham. spells with Barnet and Eastleigh followed, and he’s now in the National League South with Maidstone.
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