The last of the retained lists are creeping in, and another former Lincoln City player is on the lookout for a new club.
Callum Connolly broke the mould, to a degree. We always say things like ‘let’s get a loan player from xxx club’ after a cup game, after we impressed a big club with our hospitality, and very rarely does it actually happen. In late 2019, it did. We drew Everton in the League Cup, gave them a run for their money, and a day later, signed Connolly on loan until the end of the season.
Sadly, not long after, Nicky and Danny (spun you out, saying it that way around, didn’t it? Like saying ‘Dec and Ant’) left for Huddersfield, and rather than being a part of a first League One campaign since 1998, Connolly will be remembered for being a part of the great collapse. One minute, we’re in the top three under the Cowley brothers, the next, we’re getting beaten 6-0 at home by Oxford, with Connolly playing a role.
He never really recovered from that. He had made six starts by the time Michael Appleton sat in the stands and watched us get hammered 6-0 by Oxford. He made a couple more starts, including the 3-0 win against Rotherham, which signalled Ben Coker and Lee Frecklington’s last appearances for the Imps. Connolly was hauled off against Gillingham at half-time a week later as we lost 1-0, and didn’t appear for the Imps again. After two months as an unused sub, he returned to Everton before being loaned to Fleetwood.
Like Matty Virtue, he was a player I thought would climb the divisions, but instead, spent another full season with Fleetwood. He moved to Blackpool when his Everton contract expired, where he was a teammate of Virtue and, briefly, Tyreece John-Jules. After 108 appearances, he swapped for Stockport County, where he’s been a regular over the last two seasons, starting 41 times and making 63 appearances in all competitions.
He was injured in an EFL Trophy game against Cambridge United in December, having just won the club’s Player of the Month award for November. He wasn’t expected back this season, but given the Hatters were playing a striker in defence for the final few weeks, there was certainly a desire for him to come back. He played just a minute of the 4-1 play-off final defeat against Bolton before being released.
He is one of four senior pros being released by the League One side. The others are Ben Hinchliffe, Odin Bailey and Max Metcalfe. Ex-Imps Tayo Edun, Kyle Wootton, Jack Diamond and Lewis Fiorini remain under contract at Edgeley Park, and will be looking to help fire Dave Challinor’s side to the Championship next season.
Curiously, Stockport’s official press release thanks both Bailey and Hinchcliffe for their contributions, but not Metcalfe or Connolly.
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