When He’s Good, He’s Very, Very Good: Ted Bishop

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Part of me feels guilty about writing this piece. Part of me feels excitement, and another part of me feels joy.

I find no problem with pigeon-holing players. I do it all the time. Players I like, players I don’t. Players who I feel have their strongest position, players I feel can achieve great things. Players I think are important in our journey, players who have a lot to do to become Lincoln City stalwarts.

Of all the players we’ve had over the last 20 years, Ted Bishop is the one I can’t categorise. He’s the one that I have an opinion on, which changes more often than the summer weather. There are spells where I write him off, spells where he excites me as much as Peter Gain used to, and spells where I forget about him altogether.

Ted is an anomaly – a Lincoln City player that I just cannot work out at all. What is his best position? What is his role in the squad? How important is he on our journey? Each day I feel slightly different about him, and it’s a testament to the player that I bet I’m not the only one. He is fragile, but he’s brilliant. He’s inconsistent but impactful. He’s talented, but few expect him to start 25 games this season.

This is the anomaly that is Edward James Bishop.

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Before Lincoln

Cambridge-born Bishop started his career as an apprentice at Ipswich Town, where he worked with current Imps’ head coach Mark Kennedy. He burst onto the scene with Ipswich in 2014/15, making his league debut in the Championship against Derby County. He played 36 times for them in all competitions that campaign, scoring once.

After that, his progress was been hampered by injury, shin splints upsetting the 2015/16 campaign, ankle ligament damage ahead of the FA Cup games between the Tractor Boys and us in 2016/17, and a ruptured hamstring Boxing Day 2017, the following season. In 2019/20, with the season curtailed early, he saw little action courtesy of a knee injury, playing just nine League One matches.

In his final Ipswich season, he appeared 36 times, scoring four goals. Injury also ended his England youth hopes, having been called up by the Under 19s but withdrawing without kicking a ball. In total, Bishop appeared 132 times for Ipswich, with 76 league starts, and scored five goals.

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Lincoln Career

He’s now in his third season with the Imps. He made his debut against Gillingham in 2021, arriving from Portman Road billed as the ‘new Jorge Grant’. He scored in his second game against Shrewsbury in the cup and was nursed through the season, starting 28 league games, appearing in 36. This was the first post-Covid season, the first with fans in the ground, and it’s worth noting Ted started more games than all but four outfield players (Anthony Scully, Lewis Fiorini, Regan Poole, and Conor McGrandles started more). He scored five times, including a brace against Cheltenham.

Last season, Ted suffered from injuries and started just 19 matches – but when he was good, he was very good. He scored five goals before the end of August, two against Barnsley and two against Fleetwood, but came off injured as we beat Derby in September and only played four more matches in 2022. He did come back with a whimper more than a bang, scoring as we beat Accrington, but not appearing after April 7th due to another injury.

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This summer, City signed Ethan Hamilton and Ali Smith, seemingly pushing Ted down the pecking order. He had a disrupted pre-season, niggles ensuring he didn’t get the minutes in pre-season some teammates did. When he did play, he impressed, scoring twice against Harrogate, but he was in and out of the squad. Few expected him to play a significant role, but he’s appeared three times from the bench, scoring, assisting, and changing games as soon as he appears.

What Next?

When he’s good, he’s very good. There’s no doubt about that, and watching him come on and pull the strings against Wycombe proved that. Michael Appleton said Ted Bishop was a top-end Championship player. Mark Kennedy said he’s one of the best at this level when he’s available. When he signed, Jimmy Walker said he could be better than Jorge Grant was for us. There shouldn’t be a debate about him at all, and when he’s on form as he is now, it’s hard to knock him.

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He’s a softly-spoken man off the field, he comes across as reserved, maybe a little weary of his body letting him down when his ability is top draw. His injury record is not great, and that must take a toll on you as a person. It’s easy for fans to label someone a crock, and moan about their fitness, but it’s a person we’re talking about, someone who wants to play, make a success of themselves and the club. it must be a drain on their mental strength. Then they’ve got to read opinion from the likes of me, passing judgement. I don’t envy that.

Here’s the big question – are 25 games a season enough from Ted Bishop? Can you carry one player like that in your squad, one who it could be argued has helped us to six points across two games we might have taken just two from? In my opinion, one player like that in the squad, is a luxury, but also affordable. Then there’s the debate of start versus super sub. In an era where squads of 18 are the norm, and you can make five changes, is it acceptable to have a player who you know will have an impact for 30 minutes? In the days of two or three subs, maybe it wasn’t, but I strongly suspect that the role of a sub is changing. Some players are always on the bench, used as impact players. Could Ted be that for us? Not hampered by a lack of ability, but instead wrapped in cotton wool and deployed as and when needed, like a power-up in a video game that has a massive impact but is good for limited uses only?

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One thing I do know is when he is good, as I’ve already said, he is very good. On Saturday, we just needed a player to get on the ball and show some quality. Nobody had managed that; difficult conditions and an organised opponent made it difficult, but Ted came on and immediately showed some class. One moment, which I mentioned on the pod, saw him carry the ball forward a good thirty or forty yards. He made three dribble attempts after coming on, all three successful (resulting in a pass, shot or some other positive action). For comparison, Reeco Hackett, who I thought had a decent game, made four dribbles, all unsuccessful. Ethan Erhahon, playing in a central midfield role, the same as Ted, made two in the 90-odd minutes he was on the field, both successful. Ethan Hamilton, the goal hero, made one successful dribble all game. That’s not to say those players had bad games, they didn’t, but it underlines exactly what Ted brought in his 37-minute cameo.

A year ago, I felt Ted Bishop was the most important player in our squad. Six months ago, I wondered if he’d be with us after the summer. Six weeks ago, I had no idea where he’d be in the scheme of things, and yet here we are, debating how he fits in and where.

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I think this could be a good season for Ted because of the other players in the squad. There’s no pressure for us to have him playing 90 minutes; the squad looks capable without him. However, it looks much better with him in it, and if the best way to get him through the next 40 games is 30 minutes at a time, 30 devastating minutes where he turns on the style as he has the last two Saturday afternoons, then I’m all for it.

Part of me is excited to see what he does to prove me wrong next – starts against Blackpool, lasts 90 minutes and bags a hat trick? That’s just the thing – with Ted Bishop, you never quite know what’s coming next.