Thursday, November 21st
The world was transfixed on meetings between Ronald Reagan and Mikail Gorbachev, a news story from the front of the Echo on November 21st, 1985, but on the back, Imps news was scarce. Boston United took their FA Cup First Round tie with Runcorn to a second replay with a 1-1 draw, but lost the toss to host the game (they lost the third match 4-1).
The one big bit of Imps business was around loan keeper Alan Judge. He had come in and made important saves as City drew 1-1 with Bristol City, halting a run of five defeats, and he’d come out of the Derby humiliation with some credit, described as keeping the score respectable (as respectable as 7-0 can be). However, an injury to Oxford’s reserve keeper meant a recall and ruled him out of the upcoming game with York City. He left the Imps after just two appearances.
“We are now looking for a couple more players,” said Pickering, who had seen three leave in a week. “We are working on two or three different avenues,” he added, although he admitted he was unlikely to add to the squad before the visit of York City. With West, McCarrick, Steve Richards, and striker Warren Ward all doubtful for the game, that was a big blow for the Imps.
Friday, November 22nd
Players leaving, promises of some coming in, but a slow process, and no win in the league for two months…. all we needed was a scapegoat, and in Bob Latchford we have one. (Those of you used to my subtlety might have now spotted why I chose this week). Sadly, Latchford was the right scapegoat – he’d not really performed for the Imps, scoring just twice and spending time out injured. However, fans had identified the former England striker as a problem, and John Pickering was in the press defending his player. It’s interesting that in a day where it would have been easier to avoid the media, the football club seemingly put more out than in 2023.
Fans had seen Latchford’s return to the side coinciding with the current downturn. He returned with the Imps sixth in the table on a seven-match unbeaten run, but since coming back into the squad, the Imps lost five in a row. Some fans accused him of coasting through the cup tie, but Pickering was not amused. “To blame Bob is disgraceful,” he blasted. “They are picking on him just because he is a name player. He is bound to come in for the strongest criticism.” Pickering then accused fans of not ‘knowing what they’re on about’, a move that is never popular.
Saturday, November 23rd
With games played on some Sundays through 1985, Saturday was a time for team chatter, and it was all doom and gloom. John Pickering usually named his team the day before a game, but he had to delay picking a side to face York City due to a scare around Gary West. He missed training all week, joined the squad on Friday but suffered a swollen knee, and looked likely to miss out. The same went for Mark McCarrick, but Andy Toman was fit to play. It was expected that Steve Collins and Gary Strodder would play full backs, with Gary Richards the only fit centre back, as namesake Steve was also struggling. Toman, Phil Turner and Neil Redfearn were expected to return in midfield, whilst McGinley and Mair played either side of Latchford up top.
Pickering felt confident, even with West’s absence. “We have got the side in shape, and I am sure we can pick up points again,” he said, in contradiction to the obvious lack of shape in the side due to injuries.
In opposition were York City, already victorious over the Imps twice in the Milk Cup, although the other two Sunday games to date, against Doncaster and Notts County had provided plenty of goals, if not points – finishing 3-3 and 2-3 respectively.
Sunday, November 24th
The headline is from Monday’s paper, but it caps off the week that was in 1985. The expectation of goals was certainly not misplaced, but Pickering’s proclamation of points was – the Imps got nothing and extended the winless run to six matches. Sadly, Pickering wouldn’t get another win as Imps boss.
He risked Gary West and Steve Richards, both struggling. It backfired as David Whaley wrote, if the Imps had scored six, York would have scored seven, such was the collapse. Both players were classed as coming off second best against the Minstermen pairing of Keith Walwyn and Dale Bantan, and already the writing was on the wall for Pickering, whether it was denied or not.
It had started well for the Imps. Latchford, shaking off the criticism from the previous week, crossed unselfishly for McGinley to volley the Imps into a 20th-minute lead. Banton levelled for the visitors before the break, but there was still time for Keith Houchen (an FA Cup winner in 1987 – deja vu) to handle in his own area inexplicably. Neil Redfearn stroked the penalty home, and City led at the break. It was suggested Toman, Redfearn, and Turner had got the upper hand, and City were in a good place. Sadly, it was a game of two halves.
York were level on 47 minutes, Steve Senior smashing a drive in from 25 yards, with the ball described as ‘never being two inches off the ground’ as it went into the net. Stuart Naylor could do nothing to prevent it, and 13 minutes later, Walwyn left the future West Brom stopper stranded with a looping header from a corner that gave the visitors a 3-2 lead. West almost grabbed a second own goal in a week as he attempted to clear Walwyn’s effort, and Bob Latchford missed a glorious chance to get back at his critics with the game evenly poised.
It was Latchford that played a role in getting the Imps back on terms. His knockdown found Turner, who unleashed a vicious drive at goal. It hit John MacPhail, which took the sting out of the effort, but also wrong-footed Andy Leaning, who watched it trickle over the line to make it 3-3. Maybe if it had stayed that way, John Pickering wouldn’t have been in the Job Centre before Christmas, but it didn’t.
With nine minutes to go, Banton raced clear of the defence before deftly lobbing Naylor to make it 4-3. It might even have been 4-4, were it not for a fingertip save from Leaning denying Gordon Mair a late goal. However, it wasn’t to be, and the Imps lost again, with Darlington climbing out of the bottom four at our expense. That led to the Echo reporting ‘the struggle out of the relegation zone looks like a long one”.
They were right. A 3-2 reverse against Wigan a week later left Pickering on thin ice, and when bottom side Cardiff hammered us 4-0 a week later, he was sacked. City emerged from the bottom four for a week in March, before making a brave fight of it in April under George Kerr.
Sadly, the week that was commencing November 18th was the final nail in the manager’s coffin after just a few short months, but it was only the start of 18 months or so of decline that led us to non-league football.
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