It might surprise you to know that a few players have shared the colours of Lincoln and Chelsea.
With just hours to go until the big game, we thought we’d run you through the first six that came to our mind.
Joe Allon
Joe Allon was a prolific lower-league striker best known for his goal-scoring exploits with Hartlepool United, where he twice enjoyed successful spells. A product of the Newcastle United youth system, he broke into the first team in the mid-1980s and also featured in their FA Youth Cup-winning side alongside Paul Gascoigne. After a short stay with Swansea City, he became a terrace favourite at Hartlepool, scoring 35 goals in their promotion-winning 1990–91 campaign and being named in the PFA Fourth Division Team of the Year.
His form earned him a £375,000 move to Chelsea in 1991, but a leg injury stalled his progress and he made only limited appearances at Stamford Bridge. After loans and a permanent switch to Brentford, he found his scoring touch again, netting 19 league goals for the Bees before moving on. He also had a second spell at Port Vale, where he helped them win promotion in 1994.
Allon joined Lincoln City in July 1995 for a fee of £42,500. However, after just four starts for City he left to return to his native North east. Of those four starts he didn’t finish a single game. He was subbed in all three league games and sent off in his solitary league cup appearance. Of course, after he lef,t he managed to score against the Imps for Hartlepool. He went from being ‘Super Joe Allon’ to ‘Goofy Joe Allon’ in just a few short months, although I think the Super Joe tag was more optimism than fact.
Allon was one of a number of talented goal scorers who suffered dry runs when turning out for the Imps, like Phil Stant before him and Leo Fortune-West after him.
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