Midfielder Ali Smith has signed a season-long loan with AFC. Wimbledon in League Two.
The Wombles finished tenth in the basement division last season, just four points outside the play-offs, and it represents a good opportunity for the 25-year-old to go and get regular games.
City’s director of football, Jez George, said: “This is a good solution for all parties. As Ali’s contract is up at the end of the season, we wish him well at AFC Wimbledon and his future career.”
Smith signed for the Imps 12 months ago from Sutton, and he missed just two matches through to New Year’s Day. One of those was our 2-0 defeat at Peterborough under Mark Kennedy, and the other was the EFL Trophy game against Accrington. He only missed a single squad as he was not picked at all for for the defeat in Lancashire.
In that time, he scored once for the Imps, in our 1-1 draw against Exeter City. However, following our 2-0 defeat at Blackpool, a game where I did criticise his application, he moved to Colchester on loan.
“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.”
I don’t think it’s entirely fair on Smith if I were to say he lacked desire because he certainly impressed at Colchester. I think he was a player who was brought in without a position to play. Mark Kennedy tended to operate a 3-4-3, with two ‘proper’ midfielders and a ten. Bishop and Mandroiu played advanced, and we brought Ethan Hamilton in to play with Erhahon. That left Smith out in the cold before a ball was kicked, and he ended up deployed pretty much everywhere except his usual position.
A move to League Two on loan is a great one from our point of view. Assume he goes there and smashed it in the first six months, clubs might be willing to pay a small sum for him before his contract runs out, and we win. If he doesn’t, we’ve lost nothing, but he gets regular football allowing him to set himself up for 12 months, when he is a free agent. He wasn’t going to be around the first team squad this season, so we really can’t lose.
However, let’s no make any mistake, he isn’t going to be playing in a Lincoln City shirt again, and I think Jez’s comments confirm that.
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