The Best Lincoln City Tacklers of the League One Era

Tackling is one of the beautiful arts that cuts that fine line between pleasure and pain.

A good tackle can almost be as memorable as a good goal. Michael Bostwick on Marcus Maddision. Conor McGrandles on Rhys Oates. It’s a dying art which has been whittled away, defined as aggression rather than part of the game.

Once upon a time, you could come in from the side, top, bottom, whatever, and if you got the ball, fair dos. Now, if you’re not head-on, the referee has a look. Still, it’s an underrated art. Norman Hunter and Graeme Souness probably gave tackling a ‘bad’ name. Do it right, do it fairly, do it hard, and fans will love you.

Plus, in today’s game, tackling might be more scarce, but it is a great way to turn over the ball when the opposition doesn’t want to cough it up. The perception is we’re not bad at it, and I wondered how all the players of the EFL-era compared.

Volume of tackles

My first metric is volume of tackles. There are two ways of measuring, because the highest number of tackles might come over 46 matches, while a player could play for ten and get the highest per 90. Therefore, looking at both metrics is interesting.

The volume of tackles tells you something you might not know – Conor McGrandles has always been a behemoth for us. Remember, this table would include Bostwick for a season, Bridcutt for two, Regan Poole, Adam Jackson, Lewis Montsma and a host of others. However, in the last seven seasons, including this one, McGrandles has ranked in the top five for all four where he’s completed double-digit matches. Wow. Even more impressive is that with 13 matches to go, he is fourth in the table this season.

Even Ethan Erhahon, whom I certainly had as the better midfield, only ranks for 2023/24 – in fairness, his only other full season was 2024/25, where he finished level for tackles (51) with Dom Jefferies.

I’m also slightly vindicated that one of my favourite Imps of the last few seasons, Sean Roughan, features on there for his spells in the first team. It’s impressive that McGrandles and Roughan have taken up seven of the top ten positions over the last seven years.

Tackles Per 90

This table highlights this season’s big performers – McGrandles, obviously, but also Ben House. Topping seven years of data for tackling, as a forward, for the time you’re on the pitch is unbelievable from Ben.

This suggest a level of intensity as much as volume. Ben House tackles more when he is on the pitch than anyone else over the past seven seasons, even outtackling one of the most underrated players of a generation, Michael O’Connor. We do see Bridcutt on this list, a tantalising glimpse at what we might have achieved had he stayed fit in 2020/21.

The two that really surprised me are Teddy Bishop and Dylan Duffy dropping in there, as well as Jack Burroughs. All were in 2022/23, the full Kennedy season, which I think was a stinker.

Conclusion

Conor McGrandles is one of the best midfielders Lincoln City have ever had. That’s my conclusion. His capture on deadline day back in 2023 was seen by many as underwhelming, but in fact, it was one of the most important former player second comings in Imps history, right up there with Glenn Cockerill, Percy Freeman, Andy Graver and Gordon Hobson.