Exactly 28 years ago today, Lincoln City put an advert on the back of the Echo, asking for people to volunteer to be Poacher the Imp.
So, on the same day Lee Philpott signed for the Imps, I applied for the role, and two weeks later, I had the job. My first game was against Grimsby Town at home, a day that saw us field one of two rather exotic trialists.
I say ‘exotic ‘, but in 1998, anyone who was from the UK felt exotic, so when two French players appeared for the Imps, it did feel rather exciting. As I was going through the process of becoming Poacher the Imp, Ange Oueifio of Paris St Germain and Frédéric Cissokho Wasquehal were pulling on the Imps’ colours.
Cissokho arrived with considerable experience behind him. Capable of playing in midfield or at full-back, he had made more than 170 appearances in the French league with Wasquehal and Abbeville, scoring 34 goals. Oueifio carried the more eye-catching former club, having previously been with Paris St Germain, turning out three times for their B team, having spent his youth career with Rennes and Gent.
Cissokho was clearly enjoying his first taste of English football and believed his background had prepared him for its physical demands.
“I have always wanted to play in England, and I am enjoying my time in Lincoln,” he said.
“The training is very demanding, which I like, and the style of play, although more direct than in France, still suits me.
“French football is quite physical, so I have adapted okay to that side of the English game. We have both been made to feel very welcome and are looking to win contracts if we can do well here.”
They were not the only players under consideration that summer. Paul Macari, the son of former Stoke City and West Ham United manager Lou Macari, alongside former Leicester City and Peterborough United player Mark Blake.
Both French players were given their first opportunity to impress in a 3-1 friendly victory at Stamford on July 17th, appearing as second-half substitutes as goals from Colin Alcide, Gavin Gordon and Lee Thorpe secured the win. Their next involvement formed part of a six-day tour of Scotland, with Shane Westley taking a sizeable squad north and using the trip to assess several potential additions.
The pair were included in the squad to face Berwick Rangers at Shielfield Park, where they hoped to do enough to earn contracts, but Cissokho was the only one to play as City stumbled to a rather tepid 1-0 defeat. The wide man did impress: he was on set piece delivery and almost set up Phil Stant last on, but City didn’t make the most of the move.
Both appeared on the second game of the tour, a 1-1 draw with Forfar, around the same time I was being given the Poacher job. 20 City fans made the trip to Scotland, but came back with one goal, and no real indication of what might happen with our trialists.
City then found a County Cup game dropped upon them on July 25th. Cissokho played again, but once again, there was no place for Oueifio. Macari played, but ominously, Stant suggested we were asked to play football because there was no point in pumping long balls to a ‘small front man’. Small front men were not really the order of the day at Sincil Bank. Macari scored, and Cissokho set up two as City won 4-1.
On Wednesday, July 29th, Poacher the Imp made his debut at Lincoln City as we drew 2-2 with Grimsby. Future Imp Kingsley Black made it 1-0 to the visitors before Cissokho provided an assist for Fortune-West. The big striker added a second, while Black then levelled after Blake and another trialist, Julian Alsford, combined to bring down Jack Lester.
The next night (some schedule), Oueifio was in the side, providing a cross for Gavin Gordon to stab wide as we lost 3-0 against a Sheffield Wednesday side featuring Des Walker, Benito Carbone, Paulo Di Canio and Andy Booth. However, things did not bode well: both were on the bench as we lost 3-2 against Port Vale on August 1st, and Shane Westley said he was ‘on the lookout’ for new recruits, despite the trialists’ presence. They were lucky, though, as Blake, Macari and Alford were told thanks, but no thanks.
Incredibly, there was another game, Forest, on August 3rd, which we lost 1-0, with both players on the bench and not used. 24 hours later, it was County Cup action, but an Imps side packed with trialists, including Oueifio and Cissokho, lost 4-1. Another French player made an appearance – Caen defender Guillaume Cecutti.
By the time we finally kicked off the season on August 8th, all had left the club. No big mention in the paper, just a goodbye, and farewell.
What happened to our French players? Oueifio, who didn’t seem to get as much game time, went on to have a half-decent career. He joined Belgian side FC Denderleeuw EH in 1999, making 32 league appearances before moving to Motherwell the following year. The centre-back played 17 times for the Scottish club and was released in April 2002, later spending a season with German outfit 1. FC Schweinfurt before joining SC de Bangui. He was an international as well: he represented the Central African Republic three times between 2000 and 2003.
After his trial with Lincoln, Cecutti spent the 1999/2000 season with Stade Luçonnais before returning to SAS Épinal, where he remained until 2006 and completed the final years of a career largely associated with his hometown club. He had previously made 69 appearances in Ligue 2 for Épinal and SM Caen. Cecutti died in Épinal in April 2010, aged 39, after suffering from motor neurone disease.
Cissokho joined USL Dunkerque after leaving the Bank, where he remained until 2000, before moving to Olympique d’Alès. He later spent two seasons with FC Bagnols-Pont and returned to Alès for the final year of his playing career in 2004/05. After retiring, he briefly worked as a referee before moving into coaching, including a spell with ES Wasquehal’s under-19 side from 2012.
As for Poacher, he turned in another 16 years before standing down and letting someone else have a go!
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