This is kind of a ‘part 2’ to my 2005/06 special – something that might take quite a bit of working on!
However, with this being deadline week, I thought I’d try to do a couple of transfer specials, and here is the first. We all like a done deal, eagely awaiting news of a new signing, but what about when we drop two? Madness. Three? Insanity. Well, on July 1st, 2005, Lincoln City announced 11 new signings.
Yep. 11.
It was bittersweet, or course. As my original piece examined, we lost the nucleus of the squad – Butch, Gainy, GTF, Yeo and others. The squad that had given us three great years fractured, and it seemed a big ask to assemble anything close to the same sort of side. How could you replace those Imps heroes? Promotion seemed as far away as ever before, and as June rumbled on with no solid news, fans would be getting itchy feet. Luckily, nobody could moan about it on social media.
Then, July 1st lands and the Echo screams ‘all change’ as Keith secures the signings of 11 new faces. Of course, they’re likely to have been done through June, but in the absence of that social media clamour, the was no pressure to get them announced and on a bright but mild afternoon in Lincoln, the Echo took a new squad photo. Not the full squad, but a team of 11 we’d not seen before.
That’s not technically true – we had seen some of them before. We wouldn’t see some of them very much after, but that’s a story that will unfold over the coming pages.
Here are the new faces we unveiled on a single day, 19 years ago.
Danny Bacon
Technically, we’d already unveiled Bacon. He had previously been with Mansfield, and had made bold predictions about he was going to win things with Lincoln, because being a winner was one of his big strengths. There was hope he’d turn into another Simon Yeo, having impressed in the non-league scene.
Sadly, he never got going. He was left out for part of the season, then fractured his fibia. He was restricted to two appearances, and was told he could leave the club in 2007, along with another of the July 2005 new faces.
Gary Birch
I had a discussion about Birch the other week with one of my podcast co-hosts, Chris. He feels the striker was underrated, and perhaps he was. He smashed five goals in his first five games for City, then grabbed five in his next 38.
He’d previously been with Walsall and Kidderminster, and was one of two we signed who’d played for Harriers, who’d been relegated from the Football League the season before. He had played League One football for Walsall and had some pedigree.
Sadly, after us, he drifted into non-league, playing for Chasetown and Solihull Moors.
Omari Coleman
Most fans won’t remember Coleman, a signing from Watford. He’d impressed in non-league with Dulwich Hamlet, then moved to Watford, and arrived from the Hornets at the same time as another of the new faces. He scored for City, albeit in a pre-season friendly against Gainsborough, but never made a senior appearance.
We sold him to Crawley for a reported £25,000, and he later also appeared for Fisher Athletic.
Colin Cryan
Cryan was quite a big signing and, like many of the others, came as part of a pair from Scarborough. In 2003/04, the non-league Seadogs had made headlines by getting Chelsea in the FA Cup Fourth Round, and the Irish defender had been a key part of that run. Cryan had Eire Under 21 caps as well, and looked a solid signing.
He played for much of the 05/06 season but was barely used the following campaign and left with 37 League Two starts to his name, briefly appearing for Boston before dropping out of the Football League.
Luke Foster
Luke Foster is well known to Imps fans, perhaps more so for his second spell. In 2005, he was a youngster from the Sheffield Wednesday academy, and his impact was negligible – he played 17 times, before being told he could find a new club on the same day as Gary Birch.
He did, working his way up from Oxford to Mansfield, then Stevenage, Rotherham and finally Championship outfit Preston North End, before coming back to City for the 2013/14 season.
He’s currently in prison.
Willis Francis
Francis came in as a trialist from Grantham, having previously been with Notts County. He played in a pre-season friendly against Brigg, but didn’t earn a deal. He later played for Rugby Town and represented St Kitts and Nevis. He’s currently a lead youth development coach at Forest.
Jeff Hughes
Francis was one trialist we had that season, the other was ‘highly-rated’ left back Jeff Hughes from Larne. It’s fair to say Hughes was one of the best decisions made by Keith on this July day – he scored 11 goals in 68 matches for us before going on to have a solid career across the Football League.
Curiously, he is also a lead youth development coach, over in Ireland with Larne.
Dean Keates
There are a lot of patterns forming across these 11 players, and here’s another. Keates had played in the same side as Birch the season before, and had also been with Walsall. He was the marquee signing in my eyes, a combative midfielder who would fight for lost causes and had a goal or two in him.
He also had a hot-headed streak, something I explore in this article, which led to him leaving the club before the season was out. It was a shame – he was one of my favourite Imps for a short time.
Scott Kerr
In terms of appearances, Kerr was by far the best signing of this window. He’s 33rd in the all-time Football League appearances chart for City, and while he didn’t taste success in the long term, he’s still well-regarded by supporters.
On this day, he was one of two players coming from Scarborough, but much-heralded, given that he’d played in Europe for Bradford City (briefly, as a sub) and represented England C while with Scarborough.
Paul Mayo
Mayo had left the club for a six-figure fee not long before, and along with Coleman, arrived from Watford. His spell there probably wasn’t as successful as expected, but as one of our play-off heroes, he was welcomed back with open arms. He represented a bit of a coup, having turned us a profit and bringing a little familiarity with him, having played in the 02/03 season.
He was a member of the side that made the play-offs two seasons in a row, before turning down a new deal in 2007, instead opting to sign for Notts County. In stark contrast to Luek Foster, Paul is now a police officer.
Steve Robinson
Our new-look midfield was packed. Kerr and Keates were good, while Steve ‘Turbo’ Robinson was a respected player from the league above with Swindon. Robinson spent eight years with Birmingham City and made more than 150 appearances for Swindon, so he brought experience and energy to the side.
Sadly, he only brought it for 12 matches. He was injured in his first game, a 2-0 win against Stockport, meaning he had only played once by January 14th. He got injured on his 12th outing against Bury in April and didn’t play again in the Football League.
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