Former United States keeper Kasey Keller believes that any Lincoln City US investment and push into the American market must be done ‘the right way’ if it is going to be a success.
Keller was a trailblazing American goalkeeper whose career bridged the US and UK, becoming a key figure for the US national team while also making a major impact in English football.
He was one of the first US players to make a big splash in England, featuring for Millwall, Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton and Fulham. He won the 1997 League Cup with Leicester and became a popular figure during his time at Millwall.
He later returned to play for Seattle Sounders, where he now resides (in Seattle, not actually at the ground). We got a chance to put a question to him this week, where he was expecting to talk about World Cup 2026 betting odds but instead got me asking about how important US exposure through the likes of Landon Donovan, and investment from Ron Fowler, could be useful for a club like Lincoln City.
“It’s only important if it’s done the right way,” he replied. “You have to keep the British identity.
“Wrexham is insane. I’ve talked to Rob McElhenney a couple of times, and I was like, ‘I keep wanting to ask you about Plan B, but Plan A just keeps working’.”
We’ve spoken about clubs wanting to follow our model, with the likes of Barnsley and Chesterfield citing Lincoln City as the way forward. There is a danger that people looking at us might think, with our US connections, we’re hoping to follow the Wrexham model. We’re not, but Keller believes that is the danger.
“I think it’s going to be very difficult if a lot of other clubs think the Wrexham model is now the new model. You have to keep your English identity. The US can’t come in and be like, we’re going to tell you all what to do. It doesn’t work that way.
“If it’s done the right way, I think it can be great. If it’s done the wrong way, it’s no different from any kind of investment, either foreign or domestic.
“If they do it the wrong way, they do it the wrong way. So I would always just say, look, if it’s done the right way, brilliant.”
Landon Donovan, our stategic advisor in the US, was highly visible in the weeks after our promotion on various podcasts, driving the Imps’ brand. This week, he’s more visible for his battle with United Airlines, played out on social media as he refused to let them sneak off into direct messages and hide from his one million followers.
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