Lasse Sorensen was a player we originally acquired from Stoke City for a nominal fee after he had a spell on loan the previous season to MK Dons who were in League One at the time, writes Kyle Fox.
He struggled for game time in his first season after starting the first few games as a central midfielder in a 4-3-3 under Michael Appleton. He was mostly being used as a late sub in games throughout the season as he was struggling to affect games from the centre of the park and, therefore, couldn’t get himself into the starting eleven in midfield. This was never through a lack of effort or desire or passion as that is what Lasse excels in and those are his best qualities as a player, more detail on that later in the piece.
In his second season with Lincoln, we started to see more of him. He once again started the season by being a mainstay in the starting eleven in a 4-3-3 formation under Mark Kennedy. We then saw a change as we switched from a more expansive 4-3-3 style to a more pragmatic 3–4-3 formation after a 6-3 win over Bristol Rovers, where the defence looked pretty open at times. This saw Lasse taken out of the team due to that formation not suiting him as a midfielder, and other players preferred him in the two CM spots. He was then used once again as an impact player from the bench which didn’t tend to suit him and Sorensen once again struggled to nail down a starting position. This was until a game at the end of February away at MK Dons which saw him come on for an injured TJ Eyoma to play as a RWB.
Everything changed for Sorensen in a Lincoln shirt after this. He made the RWB spot his own where his best attributes were on display for all to see. His work rate and engine is unbelievable and alongside and that helped him fit in perfectly in to the RWB role perfectly. This made Lincoln fans take notice of him as up to this point he was thought of as a squad player who could never really break into the starting 11.
From February to May, Sorensen never left the team, and he kept getting better and better in his new role. This saw him improve his defensive game as a one-on-one defender and his attacking game in terms of crosses and getting down the line into or around the opposition’s box. Along the way, he managed to grab the Imps’ goal of the season award from his sensational strike when he scored from inside his own half in a 2-0 win away at Wycombe.
He continued his form into the 23/24 season as he started the season as our starting RWB in the same 3-4-3 system, and that didn’t change throughout the course of the season under 3 different head coaches (2 permanent and 1 interim). As this continued, more and more fans were getting behind Lasse, and he was becoming more and more of a fan favourite due to his never-say-die attitude and his incredible work rate game in, game out. I also believe this contributed massively to his improvement as it coincided with the fans getting right behind him and singing his name all the time.
He was one of the shining lights in a team that was becoming more and more frustrating to watch as performances dipped, and there was much less excitement in games for City fans at the time under Kennedy. He stayed in the team up until Kennedy’s departure in mid October after a disappointing 1-0 home loss to Burton Albion. What followed this was arguably Lasse’s greatest performance in a Lincoln City shirt which was in the 3-1 home win against Charlton. This came under the stewardship of Tom Shaw who had took interim charge of the imps after Kennedy’s sacking as the club continued their process in the search for a new head coach.
This was a terrific night for Lincoln City fans and, in particular, for Lasse Sorensen. This was a game where we played against Charlton, who had previous manager Michael Appleton in charge at the time, and maybe this helped Lasse’s performance in this match. This is due to the fact that Appleton was the manager who never really had full faith in Lasse and never trusted him to start. He was phenomenal and actually played as an RW in this game due to injuries. It seemed as if he never stopped running for the whole ninety-eight minutes. He had I believe eleven shots in the game, which I think was a record for last season at the time. He got an assist in the game and he just got up and down the pitch so much. This performance epitomised Lasse Sorensen as a player for me. It was full of hard work, passion, quality (from an assist he got) and confidence. Lasse Sorensen is a confidence player, he thrives on it and needs it and is a much better player for it.
Michael Skubala then joined the Imps as head coach in mid-November. Sorensen continued as a starter even under the new head coach and his role stayed the same until January. This is where Skubala had his first chance to really change the team more to his style due to an international break meaning a cancelled game and the club bringing in new signings. This changed Lasse’s role over time as we changed formations in and out of possession. It’s difficult to put briefly as his role differs depending on game state and what the situation is but he was a hybrid between a RB and a RWB. This is because from January to May, we didn’t have an RW, so out of possession, we would set up in either a 4-4-2 with Sorensen as an RB or as a 3-5-2 with him as an RWB. When we were in possession, we would mostly operate in a 3-5-2 where our LB (Roughan) would tuck inside as an LCB, and usually, we had a CM who would act as an RM OOP, which allowed Lasse to essentially run past down the line to be that attacking option on the right flank.
Lincoln City then hit unbelievable form under Michael Skubala, and it all started in mid-January with the formation and role changes. Lasse was a huge part of that. He was able to cause havoc as he would consistently get up and down the right flank and this helped massively in his contributing eight assists and four goals throughout last season. He became an absolute fan favourite because of how consistently he played on the pitch and how he was as a person off it.
I have heard countless stories about Lasse as a person, all of which were overwhelmingly positive. He joined with a fan and they both staged mini events where they would go to different coffee shops around Lincoln and get involved with communities where people could talk to Sorensen and he would always give everyone the time of day and it was never forced. He sent thank you videos to fans for their support and when they were in ill health to wish them well.
He is a brilliant footballer who thrives on confidence and backing from fans and will do absolutely anything to win and that is how he plays on the pitch. He can improve his game and will because of the determination he has and the type of person he is. By everything I’ve heard he is just as good a person off the pitch and I’m sure he’ll be a credit to Huddersfield Town as he was to Lincoln and I’m confident their fans will love him as well.
It was a great shame to see him sold but this is how Lincoln operates as a club and it made sense from a financial perspective. I wish him well and I hope he has a successful career (except when he plays Lincoln).
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