Football changes constantly.
Sometimes, a team can be before its time. Sometimes, a team can be of its time, and you often wonder how they were ever successful. A manager can be hot one minute and not the next. It’s so unpredictable, and only certain teams and certain managers ever truly remain timeless.
Think about the 2006/07 season, where for six months, City looked like world beaters, only to crumble like cake after Christmas and then sink like a stone the following season. It’s mad when you think about it – in a month where we beat Rochdale 7-1 and thrashed Barnet 5-0, going top by beating Swindon, it felt like John Schofield was the hottest manager in the EFL.
Less than a year later, he was out of work as we slumped to the bottom of the table. What went wrong?
That is a debate for another time, but it got me thinking. What if I had to pick the best XI from that era? Some of the players pick themselves, but could I pick a side from the 2006/07 (and a bit of 08) season that could compete now? Remember how I said football had changed? Well, we have changed, the game has changed, and I think Schofield’s Imps could be even better in the modern game.
Here’s how.
I think the Imps were within a whisker of hitting on something good, and when we got figured out, a shift to 3-5-2 might have been appropriate. Now, I appreciate we didn’t quite have the players required, and there is an element of makeshift about this XI, but bear with me.
One thing we could do was play football. We moved it around well, and like now, we had quality midfielders who could grab hold of a game. Another area of the field we’ve been good of late has been up top, and that’s because (in my opinion) we play a two. Whenever anyone mentions two up top for the Imps (and you started going after 1983) it’s obvious who the best two were; Stallard and Forrester.
Therefore, let me present the Lincoln City 2006/07 XI that I think would hold it’s own in League One today.
Provided by https://www.lineup-builder.co.uk/
We start with the obvious – Alan Marriott in goal. He was more of a Rushworth than a Wickens in terms of size, but I firmly feel he could have played League One, had we ever gone up.
I’ve then gone for three at the back, and this is where we may have had to sign a centre back. However, Paul Morgan and Lee Beevers were both fine players, with the latter playing regular football in League One with Walsall, proving my point. As for Paul Morgan, it is criminal he did not play higher, because he was a Rolls Royce of a defender who never let us down.
I have dropped Paul Mayo in at left-sided centre back, which would be the one weak spot. However, had we played as Skubala does, and needed a traditional left back in possession and shifted to a four, he would have been perfect.
The two wing backs might divide opinion, but I firmly believe had Paul Green not suffered from horrible injuries, he could have played Championship football. I’d back him as a Lasse-style wing back all day long, and Jeff Hughes was certainly quality in an attacking sense. He’d benefit from having a more left-back-minded left centre-half behind him, but can you imagine him in full flow down the flank in this system? Frightening
In the midfield, Scott Kerr and Lee Frecklington could have comfortably held their own in League One. Freck did (and higher) for most of his career, and Kerr was just a grafter. He never set the world alight in terms of silky skills and goals, but there’s a reason he managed to convince four managers he was worthy of a place in the side – he was.
In the ten role I’m going to pick a player I think was far better than we gave him credit for. He could carry the ball, score goals and impact play all day long. He played regular Championship football, and if he could be motivated, I think he could have been explosive coming from deep. Dany N’Guessan.
He had everything I want in a ten, everything I think you need. He was composed, tricky with his feet, but strong as well. His problem was never what he could do; it’s when he decided he wanted to do it. In the modern game, where you might argue there’s a little more focus on technical footballers than there was, he could have been a game-changer.
Up top, Stallard and Forrester, obviously. However, there is a call for another player who signed at the end of the 2007 season….
That’s right. While the winter transfer window is often lamblasted for being poor, we actually signed two players on this list, Green and N’Guessan, both good signings. The following summer, Jamie Hand and Steve Torpey joined. oh dear.
However, we also signed a young man by the name of Louis Dodds, and I can see his explosive pace being nice foil for Stallard’s strength. The two could have been excellent together – in fact, one of them scored in three of the five games they started together under Schofield.
What do you think? Could this side hold it’s own in League One right now? Were they ahead of their time? Let me know in the usual polite manner on social media!
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