Admit it. When you hear George Wickens is injured, the first thought is horror.
It’s hard not to feel that way. If a left-back gets injured, 99% of the time, the person coming in has appeared from the bench a few times. When a keeper gets injured, it is almost like having a brand new player having to settle. I appreciate that in the case of Zack Jeacock, there have been some cup matches and the like, but in the main, he is an unknown quantity, isn’t he?
The keeper is the one position that feels fixed, that feels like it is the starting point. In seasons where we mix and match keepers, we tend not to do well. That’s the preconception, although, in our last two trophy-winning seasons, we used no fewer than six different keepers (Vickers is on the list twice, but in two seasons). In 2017/18, Ryan Allsop made 16 League Two appearances, Paul Farman 13, Josh Vickers 17, and in 2018/19, Matt Gilks made 12, Grant Smith 16 and Josh Vickers 18.
Maybe it’s a good thing?
Well, I decided to look back at all the times the man in reserve has been called up for a single game or two. I haven’t counted Jordan Wright’s 12 appearances in 2021/22, rather just the times we’ve called up the stand-in for a single game or two, usually because of injury or a red card.
It actually makes interesting reading.
April 1st, 2024 – Jordan Wright (Carlisle United, 3-1)
Last season, Jordan Wright had to stand in for a single game after Lukas Jensen picked up an injury. To be fair to Wright, it certainly wasn’t his first game, in fact, it was his last league start of 17 for City, so it didn’t feel too damaging. City won, 3-1.
January 22nd, 2022 – Sam Long (Plymouth Argyle, 2-1)
Sam Long started six times for the Imps, but was thrown into action in the league during the 2021/22 season. Josh Griffiths didn’t play as many games as our other loan keepers, but was injured after a 1-0 home defeat against Cambridge,. Long stepped up and had a decent game as we beat Plymouth 2-1, our first win there since 1982.
May 19th, 2021 – Joe Bursik (Sunderland, 2-0)
I genuinely cannot believe Bursik is now with Hibernian; I thought he was going to smash it at Club Brugge. Alex Palmer’s injury at the end of the 2020/21 season, was a big blow – he completed 46 league games and was outstanding throughout. The first game fans could attend post-COVID saw an unfamiliar face in the sticks, namely Stoke City’s Joe Bursik on an emergency loan. It’s fair to say he turned in quite the performance.
April 25th, 2017 – Ross Etheridge (Maidstone, 0-0)
This isn’t quite the same as the others, as Etheridge played the final two matches of the 2016/17 season, having previously played in the FA Trophy. There’s a strong argument that his mistake cost us a place in the Trophy final, but he was solid enough in his two matches after the Macclesfield win. We also drew 1-1 with Southport, signing off from the National League in style.
November 11th, 2015 – Aiden Grant (Aldershot, 2-1)
Aidan Grant was called into Imps action twice, the first time after Paul Farman picked up an injury in the aftermath of our 5-3 defeat at Whitehawk in the FA Cup. He had a decent game, City winning 201 at Aldershot.
April 25th, 2015 – Aiden Grant (Dartford, 0-0)
He was also called up for the final game of the 2014/15 season, with City relatively safe. Going into this, we’d lost three on the bounce to Telford (1-0), Torquay (1-0) and Eastleigh (2-1), but Grant kept a clean sheet, the first in eight games and only the second since January 17th.
November 2nd, 2013 – David Preece (Welling, 0-1)
Finally, you have to go back more than a decade to find a stand-in keeper suffering a defeat. Paul Farman had played in goal in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round against Worcester City a few days earlier, but sat out as we went down 1-0 to Welling. Just bear that in mind – it’s only a decade since we were playing Worcester and Welling.
Conclusion
There is no solid conclusion here, only that a stand-in keeper is often not a bad option – we haven’t lost a league game with a stand-in keeper who only played once or twice in more than a decade, so the omens are good.
However, there are many variables, such as the opponent, the keeper who comes in and the state of the defence, and I think we’re on decent ground with the two latter variables. Wigan will provide stiff opposition, although they rank 16/24 for number of shots this season, just one above us.
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