I remember my last fan forum before tonight. It was in the Legends Lounge, and it was in the days of Dan and Nick.
I left halfway through as the same questions got rolled out about corners, celebrating in front of the wrong stands and bad food. The truth is they bored me, not because of the people answering the questions. They were just stale; nothing had really changed since the days of John Reames (apart from the fact they were a bit friendlier).
The weeks after that were interesting. It wasn’t long after my back op, and I was still struggling, and I wrote about that here. Someone at the club read it and (enough time has passed for me to admit this) got in touch to ask if I would like to see a physio who worked with the club, a back specialist. I popped into the buildings on the Showground before the training ground was open and had a brief session, which helped me get back on my feet.
I tell that story, because it is reflective of the club now. That gesture, a massive thing for me, was the early signs of what the club are now. I’ve heard of people who have been ill getting invited into the training ground, meeting players and managers, and me getting that help back then was an early manifestation of the club changing, adapting to be something that belongs to all of us, and something that feels appreciative of its support, beyond just saying it really values us.
That’s why fan forums are always such a disappointment because, for all that change around the club, this one form of interaction hasn’t evolved (or hadn’t evolved). For six years since that day, we’ve had opportunities to speak to key people at the club. It’s been the same merry-go-round of banal questions, a routine that has become as tired and worn as Sweet Caroline or the teddy bear I keep on my bedside table that I was given as a baby (true story, he’s called Yellow Ted). I stopped going.
For six years, these events have come and gone, and I haven’t. It’s nice being able to meet all of the managers (well, not all of the managers) and chat to Liam, Clive, and perhaps Harvey, but honestly, the fan forums have bored me. They’re like listening to a rerun of a post-match interview repeatedly.
Until now.
Tonight’s forum was a bit of a Trojan horse. A fan forum snuck onto my calendar with all the stealth of a ninja in Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak in Plimsols. It was advertised as a presentation with Jez (and other names). That sold me. A presentation with Jez will have me like a fish on a hook every time. It sounded like a chance to listen to him talk about recruitment, players, and anything. Sure, there were other things on the bill, and like a good festival, they got me as well. Jason Futers was talking about growth an innovation, and Michael Skubala would be talking football. It was like buying a (free) ticket to watch Millie Manders and the Shutup, only to find out Black Water County and Hell’s Ditch were also on the bill (quick plug there for the Lincoln Badlands Punk Festival this weekend).
It was only after booking the (let me repeat, free) tickets to the event that I saw it was the Legend’s Lounge. Dammit, I’d been tricked! This wasn’t a presentation with Jez, Michael and Jason. It was a Fan Forum! Those pesky marketing guys…..
Now, it’s ten to eleven at night, and I feel compelled to write about it, which should tell you how good it was. When I go to Sincil Bank, I go to be entertained and enjoy myself. I’ve had some wonderful moments at that ground, from birthday parties (27th and 31st, if I recall correctly) to the 5-a-side tournaments I’ve arranged. I’ve done live podcasts on three sides of the ground (the new Foundation building would make it all four….) and had my book launch all sorts. I’ve watched us win titles and score goals, and I’ve got drunk numerous times. I go to Sincil Bank because it is a place where I know good things happen and where I can relax. That’s why I don’t usually do fan forums. I can’t stand being bored at my place of worship, my happy place.
Tonight, I was utterly enthralled. The forum bit, actually laden with good questions (and the odd turkey) was unusually good. I think that may be because of Harvey, a man who has such a childlike passion for the club. I mean that in the nicest possible way, but when he talks (and he can talk) it’s like I imagine a child talking about their favourite thing, there’s an innocence to his love of the club which I like. He’s not childlike, obviously, he’s an astute businessman who is of huge value to the club and community, but it’s something about how he sees us that feels, almost, romantic.
The other three guys in the forum, Liam, Jez and Michael, had already convinced me to go to everyone in the future, without answering a question. That’s because before the questions, we got a presentation from each and Jason Futers. They spoke about the SMCP (Liam) and how finances looked in the division, as well as future growth and expansion opportunities (Jason). Jason’s bit was perhaps the most surprising, and while I won’t divulge too much of what was said, it’s unreal to hear how, as a football club, we’re trying to futureproof. Both Liam and Jason delivered subject matter that not everyone in the room expected, but it was very informative.
Michael did an overview of our tactics, which constitutes a ten-episode series on its own. I’ve written this before, but the thing about Michael is he’s so unassuming but also so utterly brilliant at the same time. When we walked in, I was speaking to Imps fan Ian Heward, who kindly donated to our Cancer Research charity fund (£3440 now), and I glanced at Chris, who was chatting to Michael. I didn’t recognise him as the manager. Danny Cowley was brilliant at owning a room; when you walked in, you knew he was the manager. Michael Appleton, you could have been forgiven for thinking he was a bouncer, but Michael Skubala could just be another punter, relaxed and chilled.
Then, when he starts to talk about football, he comes alive, still in a measured and calm manner, but skimming a tiny bit of his knowledge off for us. He delivered an in-depth look at our tactics and approach, but it felt like he’d scraped the froth off the top of a beer and blown it at us – there’s much, much more we wouldn’t get to taste. If he presented the same thing tomorrow, I’d go again.
Finally, we had Jez. Bear this in mind – I’ve been to Jez’s transfer presentation before, at the EPC. He was kind enough to meet me for coffee over the summer and give me the lowdown on transfers, and he spent almost an hour on the podcast last week. You’d think that after me being so lucky to get that sort of insight, there would have been a degree of repetition, at least for me, in his presentation. Not a chance.
‘I’m going to take you through the presentation we give to players,’ he said (that’s not verbatim). ‘It’s 76 slides, so I’ll be quick.’ I laughed at what was obviously a joke poking fun at himself. He wasn’t going to take us through…. Okay, that’s exactly what he did. The whole presentation, start to finish, was as quick as I’m sure Jez has ever done it, but everything was there, every slide he presented to a player over the summer. The depth is unreal, and again, I’m not going to delve into it as I don’t want to be the guy who gives our opponents a hint of what we do. Needless to say, if anyone ever pays you as much attention as we pay players we want to sign, either marry them or take out a restraining order and move to Outer Mongolia.
I’m buzzing right now. Like I said, I always want to love my football club. I go to a game because I want us to win. I want to believe we’re the best at evertything, that we’re never wrong. I want us to always be the good guys, and I go to Sincil Bank because I want to forget the bad things in life, like not having a job or having a neighbour whose renovations have been going on for nearly nine months. I want to be impressed.
I was. Look, every fan wants to believe their club is special, that they’re doing things differently in some way. Ours really is. We really are a different football club. I’ve come away from my church knowing that the entity I pray to (and quite often, in the past, pray for), the red and white beast that is the Mighty Lincoln City, really is the best.
All hail the fan forum, at last.
By the way, if you don’t believe me, there is a presentation for 35 people at the club later this month – it’s £30, but I have zero doubt it will be worth every penny. If you’ve not been before, and you can afford to, I can genuinely recommend it. it’ll change the way you look at our squad and recruitment forever.
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