Former Lincoln City winger Mustapha Carayol has been released by Peterborough Sports, as manager Michael Gash is also confirmed as leaving.
Carayol spent a single season on loan at the Bank, the 2010/11 campaign, which ended in relegation. He moved on at the end of that season and has since had quite a career in the Football League and even Europe.
He’s most recently been with Peterborough Sports, a side we have loaned players to, but their retained list shows him as departing this summer. He’s not the only one: former boss Michael Gash, who stepped down, remained as a player, then took over again in March, is also confirmed as on his way, although that’s been common knowledge since the start of May, and he’s being replaced by former Stamford and (briefly) Matlock boss Graham Drury.
Carayol is one of 18 players released by the Turbines, who were relegated from the National League North after finishing second from bottom, 13 points from safety. They’ll play in the Southern League Premier Division Central, and their spot in the National League North will be taken by near rivals Spadling United.
Carayol at Lincoln City
Carayol arrived at Lincoln City in 2010 from Torquay United, with the Imps eventually agreeing a compensation package worth £35,000. He made an immediate impression, scoring on his debut in a 2-1 defeat against Rotherham United, and went on to show flashes of the pace and directness that would later take him much higher. His season was interrupted by injuries, but he still made 37 appearances in all competitions, scoring four times, including goals against Wycombe Wanderers and Hereford United. It was a difficult year for the Imps, ending in relegation from the Football League, and Carayol was made available for transfer during the summer clear-out.
After leaving Sincil Bank, Carayol joined Bristol Rovers, where his performances quickly attracted Championship interest. Middlesbrough signed him in 2012, and he went on to play regularly in the second tier, also having loan spells with Brighton & Hove Albion, Huddersfield Town and Leeds United. Further Championship football followed with Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town, before spells abroad with Apollon Limassol and Adana Demirspor, and later returns to the EFL with Gillingham, Burton Albion and Exeter City. He also represented The Gambia, earning seven caps and scoring twice, and later continued his career with Wealdstone and, most recently, Peterborough Sports.
Now 37, he is sure to turn up elsewhere in the non-league scene, bringing bags of experience and knowledge to a side either in the National League North or South, or maybe lower. If they’re ambitious, they could certainly do a lot worse.
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