John Schofield 2006

Division: League Two

Estimated Budget: Upper Mid Table

Ins: Jamie Forrester, Martin Gritton, Mark Stallard, Adie Moses, Ryan Semple, Lennel John-Lewis, Ryan Amoo,

Outs: Gary Birch, Jamie McCombe, Gareth McAuley, Matt Bloomer, Jude Stirling, Nathan Peat, Luke Foster, Simon Yeo

Rating at the time: 6/10

Rating with hindsight: 7/10

John Schofield’s job in the summer of 2006 was markedly different to Keith’s. He had a bit of cash to spend, possibly a top half budget, but he also had a legacy weighing him down. Keith’s sides had hit the play-offs four years in a row, and yet the key figures from that period had gone. In truth, our 2005/06 squad was weaker than the previous two seasons, and losing McCombe, McAuley and Yeo for a second time looked like a tough hit to take. Schoey did magnificently; he signed Jamie Forrester on a permanent deal, added Martin Gritton and Mark Stallard to bolster the attack and went some way to tightening up the defence with Adie Moses. Ryan Amoo was one from John Deehan’s past who was solid, if unspectacular.

Was it a success? Well, putting the new faces with a new style of football raised eyebrows for six months or so, but perhaps an inability to replace McCombe and McAuley eventually led to us tumbling out of automatic promotion contention. In the play-offs, we were well beaten by Bristol Rovers, and five years of decline followed. Still, that wasn’t entirely down to bad recruitment, and perhaps if Shcoey had managed to sign the same calibre of striker the following season, his fate as manager might have been different.

Biggest Hit

It’s hard to separate Mark Stallard and Jamie Forrester; they’re still the best duo I think I’ve seen for City. Stallard had one decent season left in him, Forrester still had three perhaps, and for that, I’ll pick Jamie Forrester. His arrival on loan the previous year was a shock, but to find him coming back permanently? Mind-blowing, and he lived up to the hype.

Biggest Flop

Ryan Semple, without a doubt. Semple was swapped for Yeo and we’d hoped to get a vibrant, pacey striker with an eye for goal. Instead, an injury-ravaged time at Lincoln saw him barely make an appearance, and few would be able to identify him from a photograph these days.