On this day in 1995, Lincoln City were looking to add youth, pedigree and a little midfield promise to Sam Ellis’ squad, with 21-year-old Paul Wanless arriving at Sincil Bank on a free transfer from Oxford United.
The Banbury-born midfielder had come through the ranks at the Manor Ground, having joined Oxford in 1990, and arrived in Lincoln with enough promise to make the move look exciting. He had been an England schoolboy international, had Football League experience under his belt, and the Echo report at the time noted that he had scored once in 39 League appearances for Oxford. For City, trying to strengthen under Ellis, it was the second new face of the summer.
The first had been Neil Davies, brought in from Fleetwood after the Imps saw off interest from Premier League outfit Wimbledon. Wanless followed soon after, another young player recruited with an eye on what he might become. At 21, he was not a finished article, but he was leaving a club with Football League standing and coming into a Lincoln squad where there should, in theory, have been an opportunity.
Not long after, Ellis bagged Paul Mudd, Jason Minett and a big name: Joe Allon. Wanless posed between the latter two for a photoshoot, like the jewel in the crown. Minett was an accomplished right back, Allon a proven scorer, and in the middle, the 21-year-old who we hoped had a big future.
The opening day of the 1995 season saw City beat title favourites Preston North End 2-1. David Puttnam and Dean West, two of our best players, scored, and we were up and running. Sadly, Wanless was not: he had a fractured foot, and in the programme for our opening game, it was revealed he was in plaster. He’d been injured in the Lincolnshire Senior Cup game against Boston, his only official start under Ellis.
City lost that game 3-0 against Gillingham, and further defeats against Colchester and Barnet saw Sam Ellis sacked. Wanless only played 14 minutes for the manager who signed him, coming on as a substitute for Grant Brown in Ellis’s last game.
He clearly impressed, because new man Steve Wicks kept him in. Unfortunately, he had a bit of a nightmare against Bury, scoring an own goal as we drew 2-2, although he did hit the bar moments after to almost redeem himself. Almost. Sadly, things got worse for Wicks. David Puttnam inspired the 2-2 draw with Bury, but was sold two matches later, something I never miss a chance to moan about. Wicks saw his side drift aimlessly to the bottom of the table, and eventually, five points adrift.
He only got a single win as City boss, that coming in the Auto Windscreens Shield. City won 4-3 in front of just 1,238 people, and Wanless grabbed an assist, squaring for David Johnson to score. It was a brief respite for Wicks: a week later came his final game at the Bank against Darlington, who won 2-0. It could have been different. Wanless, playing as part of a back three, saw a 25-yard piledriver cannon back off the bar.
Wanless appeared in the final Wicks game, a 0-0 draw at Scarborough, but was dropped as Steve Holmes came to the Bank. He was on the bench five times more, but didn’t appear under Beck in the league. He did start at right back as we beat Preston 2-1 in the AWS, but was brought off for Kevin Hulme. He played a handful of times in the reserves, appearing alongside a young Ben Sedgemore, on trial long before he made his mark at City.
Beck eventually tired of Wanless, who also suffered injuries in the winter of ’95. He was sent on loan to Woking, chasing promotion from the GMVC, and appeared five times, scoring once. When he returned to City, a deal could not be struck, and he spent the final two months of the season on loan at Cambridge before being granted a free transfer.
After leaving Lincoln, Wanless’ career found its real rhythm at Cambridge United. It was there that he became far more than a fringe Football League midfielder. He made 285 league appearances for the U’s between 1996 and 2003, scoring 50 goals, and became club captain. Across all competitions, his Cambridge total was close to 350 games, a proper body of work and one that later earned him a place in the club’s Hall of Fame.
That spell also brought him one of the bigger days of his career, with Cambridge reaching the 2001/02 Football League Trophy final. They were beaten by Blackpool at the Millennium Stadium, but Wanless’ standing at the Abbey Stadium had already been secured. The player who had barely had time to settle at Lincoln had gone on to become a central figure elsewhere.
In 2003, he returned to Oxford United, the club where it had all started, and was on the pitch on the opening day of the season, as they beat us 1-0, and Yeo was sent off. His second spell was more substantial than the first in terms of influence, with 65 league appearances and 10 goals before he dropped out of the Football League and joined Forest Green Rovers in 2005.
That move brought another strong chapter. Wanless played a major role in Forest Green’s battle to stay up, finishing as the club’s top scorer despite operating from midfield, and was voted supporters’ player of the year. He also briefly stepped into management, taking charge of two matches as caretaker boss in 2007 after Gary Owers left the club.
Paul Wanless was one of those names who passed through quickly, signed with a little promise and a decent background, but never quite turned Sincil Bank into home. His wider career, though, shows there was a player there, but Sam Ellis didn’t get to see it, Steve Wicks saw it, and John Beck didn’t really want to.
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