You know where I said the Gods are against us? Sorensen, the best Imp on the field in the first half, has to go off injured after ten minutes of the second half. Couldn’t make it up? Damn straight. I used to like writing stories as a kid, but even I wouldn’t have written one quite like this one. Sorensen and Makama were the two players the home commentators liked; imagine if they could see the other nine players we couldn’t field. Imagine.
I don’t even like writing about the football in this situation. It has got worse and worse, and I still think the team have done relatively well to keep battling away. Blackpool had a couple of decent efforts before Lasse’s injury, and we got a shot on target with Duffy’s daisy-cutter, but it felt inconsequential. It felt almost secondary because whatever happened, you can just point to the squad situation as a defence. Every. Single. Time.
Up until the final moments of the second half, I thought it was an even game. We didn’t create much. They had a couple of moments, but it looked like a game between two tired teams after a heavy Christmas schedule, one without a forward line. Shodipo came on and looked focused, whereas Duffy wanted to make things happen as well. It is all disjointed, though, not quite coming together, but we know why. At the other end, I felt we defended admirably. Kyle Joseph scored ten at this level for Oxford last season, Jordan Rhodes has scored more than that since August, and yet they barely had a sniff. TJ, Jacko and Mitchell were very good at nullifying the threat, and all have come out of December with credit. Mind you, that’s about the only era of the pitch that was at proper full strength this afternoon or an acceptable version of it.
There are one or two who have question marks over them for me. At one stage in the second half, a ball was heading for Smith on the edge of our area, and a tangerine shirt just came in and won it without the midfielder getting off the ground. It was just the sort of thing you don’t want to see when the chips are down, and Smith hadn’t had a bad game. It’s about the desire, perhaps even a little perception. Okay, if he goes for it and gets sent off for going too hard, these days, he gets criticised. If he doesn’t go for it, it’s the same (it’s called the Mandroiu effect).
Look, the injuries and suspensions are, of course, the overriding narrative here, but they also serve to highlight the bits that don’t go so well, such as not challenging for a header. At least when you’re up against it, you want an Adam Jackson block or Duffy trying to batter his way through, not weak headers. Jack Vale is another I have been disappointed with. He came on for his first game and looked tigerish, and since then, he’s been more Kevin Gall than anything. He runs a lot, but where? With what purpose? There’s zero doubt in my mind he’ll be back at a League One club on loan by Feb 1st, scoring against us before the end of the season.
Of course, Blackpool gave the scoreline a gloss it didn’t deserve. Hamilton had a decent afternoon, not as threatening as at Sincil Bank earlier in the season, but he got some reward after TJ’s slip. TJ was close to my Man of the Match, and it was tough on him to be at fault for their second. It didn’t matter, though – we were beaten at 1-0, victims of a squad so ravaged by absence that I’m barely writing 1,000 words today.
What can I say that I didn’t say after Derby, Bolton and Northampton? This was the final fixture we had to limp through, and we have limped through it. We now have 12 days without a game, 12 glorious days where hopefully Erhahon, Burroughs, Roughan and Sorensen can get back to fitness. Maybe Reeco hits a certain marker, and there’s a bit of movement in the transfer market. 12 days where Draper gets himself back in red and white, or at least back on our treatment table. Jack Moylan stakes a claim, and (we can only hope) a body or two arrive to bolster the depleted, despondent side lacking confidence.
I’m actually a little worried that we might need to push forward the expansion of the EPC (not that there is one planned, but this is called a joke) in order to accommodate all the injured players. Perhaps a temporary tent on one of the training pitches. It’ll feel like Covid times, only during Covid, it seems far fewer Lincoln City players were out of action. Just imagine, if we didn’t have Jez and Liam, those players would be fit and ready to go. Damn, those two.
I’m going to cook some dinner and think about work tomorrow. I know this is a short write-up, but after the last fortnight or so, I genuinely cannot wait for 12 days where I don’t have to think about Lincoln playing, and that’s no fault of Michael Skubala or 80% of the current players.
Sadly, I’m just a bit tired of football right now.
One bit of football I’m not tired of is the new Discord channel that we’ve set up for Patreons of the site. Balanced opinion, respectful disagreement and a few insights as well. The Patreon is available for the price of half a pint a month and it offers some great respite from the usual clamour to condemn, cajoule and criticise.
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Don’t forget that other teams have injury lists similar to us. They manage.
Ill-discipline should be stamped out. Move players on if necessary.
Jevon needs to go out on loan to whoever will take him.
We need some mature players with experience. It’s too much like watching “boys v men” these days.
Please God it’s not the beginning of a side down amongst the Dead Men! It has all the hallmarks of a slide.