Another day, another draw. I guess that’s how it might be seen, us getting another blank last night.
City have now taken part in seven 0-0 draws this season, and have only scored two or more twice in the league since thrashing Bristol Rovers 6-3. It’s ironic, after that game there were calls for us to tighten up. Now we have got harder to beat, there are calls for us to be more adventurous.
This season, we have lost 22% of our games, the only two seasons since the turn of the century (albeit full seasons) we’ve lost a lower percentage of our games were ones where we won titles (2017, 2019) – I haven’t checked all seasons, but in 1981/82 (our highest finish since we were relegated out of the Second Division in 1961) we lost 24%. I keep saying we’re on the right track, and that each game is merely a reflection of that, and I’m going to say much the same here.
You’re not going to get a two-page breakdown of the game (he says… we shall see) because there isn’t that much to break down. It’s hard to try to draw any conclusions from a game that already backs up everything you’ve said for the last six weeks, and it is simply labouring a point to do so. I always vow to write up each game, to treat it as much on its merits as it’s part of the wider narrative, but sometimes, that almost gets tiresome.
Before we get too bogged down in last night’s game, let me point you towards a couple of stats, presented without prejudice. Mark Kennedy currently has the joint third lowest loss ratio (losses to games played) than any other manager in Lincoln City history (27%). Only Danny Cowley (22%) and Graham Taylor (25%) lost a lower percentage of their matches than Mark, and he’s tied with David Herd. Now, David Herd is known as the manager who helped turn the team around, making us harder to beat than any manager since Bill Anderson, paving the way for Graham Taylor’s dynasty to spring up. He even signed a handful of the 1976 team as well.
Mark Kennedy also has the second-highest draw ratio (39%), topped only by a manager who took charge of 12 matches (Peter Daniel). Which manager has the third highest? David Herd (37%), a manager who helped turn the team around, making us harder to beat than any manager since etc. Don’t discount the value of being hard to beat, especially not when you’re 11th in League One and are seemingly safe by the middle of March, something we did not manage in 2019/20, nor 2021/22.
Anyway, on to last night. Firstly, we suffered a little from a haphazard approach to loan signings, naming a weak bench despite two players (Luke Plange and Tashan Oakley-Boothe) being available if we needed them. I doubt we’ll see Tashan again, but Luke would almost certainly have got minutes. However, with Adam Jackson and TJ Eyoma injured, and Sean Roughan poorly, we had to name Harry Boyes in the starting lineup, which meant we were over-subscribed on loan players. I understand Mark Kennedy found that frustrating, and I think it is the likely motivation behind his comments about reliance on loan players. I think our recruitment has been decent over the last 18 months, but this is one area where I’m sure everyone involved will assess how we got to this position and act accordingly.
To offer my perspective, I think we went over on our loans because we got an offer for Tom Hopper and for Jamie Robson, which was money coming in, and took a business decision. With Tashan more or less surplus to requirements, it meant we ended up going one over, with Boyes and Plange coming in (Shodipo was like-for-like with Garrick leaving). Sadly, circumstances have conspired to make it so our loan players are fit, but our own players are not. It’ll be a lesson I’m sure we’ll learn.
It meant a place at right wing-back for Lasse Sorensen, containing there after his solid outing against Oxford. Matty Virtue, out since the turn of the year, was included on the bench, which is a hugely positive sign, even if he is another loan player. Personally, I see only him and Carl Rushworth as the integral loan players, with one or two of the others currently contributing to some of the frustrating elements within the performances, as I’ll cover.
The first half was, for want of a better word, challenging to watch. Cheltenham weren’t awful, but a bit like MK Dons, they offered very little going forward. They had a single shot, off target, throughout the first half, but also had a little more possession. Our game plan was clearly to try to hit them on the break, soak up pressure and be hard to beat, but they didn’t want to beat us either. It was a bit like a standoff, and whilst we had the best chances, they were only half chances.
Mide Shodipo had three of those chances – two were speculative efforts from range, and the other he fired over from close range after a corner. Ted Bishop had a couple of shots as well, but nothing more the speculative drives blocked before they even got past the first man. Those two players didn’t have easy evenings either, and the Imps attack looked largely disjointed. Cheltenham are not a good side, nor a terrible one, they’re League One fodder, aspiring to be where we are right now, but just not tough enough at the back to turn defeats into draws. We’re aspiring to be better at turning draws into wins, but with the personnel on show up top last night, I’m not sure we’re going to do that until next season.
Shodipo I like – he might have had a couple of shots but he wasn’t as effective as you’d hope last night. Nor was Jack Diamond, restored to the side after his stint on the bench against Oxford. He had a really challenging night, his decision-making is just not helping our forward endeavours, and whilst I don’t want to scapegoat anyone, I do wonder if we might begin to use him sparingly as we edge towards safety. If we reach the 51-point mark, I’d prefer to see our own player, Charles Vernam, given a chance to make right or wrong decisions in good areas, so we can assess his value to the team for next season.
Turns out, I will stretch to two pages. Shocker.
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