On this day in 1988, Lincoln City were preparing for their first season back in the Football League, but Colin Murphy’s carefully assembled squad was suddenly being stretched almost to breaking point.
Less than a fortnight before the new campaign began, the Lincolnshire Echo reported that the number of injured players had risen to seven, leaving Murphy with what was effectively a first-team squad of just 11 fit men. For a club which had only recently celebrated winning the GM Vauxhall Conference and immediately reclaiming its Football League place, it was hardly the ideal way to prepare for life back in the Fourth Division.
The two latest additions to the injury list were particularly important. Captain Trevor Matthewson was struggling with a groin problem, while Graham Bressington was feared to have suffered a cartilage injury which could potentially keep him out for six weeks. Matthewson’s problem was believed to have developed from an infection caused by a cut, while Bressington was thought to have picked up his injury during a friendly game at Hayes. Murphy was waiting for a clearer diagnosis on both, but the significance of Matthewson reporting a problem at all was enough to concern him.
“If Matthewson reports an injury I know it is quite serious because he never usually moans.”
Matthewson was not simply another member of the squad. Murphy had brought the centre-half to Sincil Bank from Stockport County for £13,000 in August 1987 and immediately made him an important part of the side which won the Conference title. A gutsy and fiercely competitive defender, he captained the Imps during that promotion season and would eventually make 43 Football League appearances for City after their return, scoring twice.
His performances earned him a move to Birmingham City in August 1989, initially for £30,000 with another £15,000 due after 35 appearances, and he subsequently became a major figure at St Andrew’s. Matthewson played more than 200 times for Birmingham in all competitions, appeared at Wembley as they won the 1991 Leyland DAF Cup and helped them to promotion the following season.
Bressington was another member of the side who had helped get City back into the League at the first attempt. Having played junior football with Chelsea and Arsenal, his professional career had not taken the obvious route and he eventually established himself with Wycombe Wanderers. Murphy had seen enough when Bressington played against City in the Conference to spend £20,000 on him in November 1987.
He went on to become a significant figure at Sincil Bank, capable of operating in midfield, at centre-half or as a sweeper, and remained with the club until 1993. He made more than 180 appearances in all competitions and was City’s Player of the Season in 1990/91, although injuries would remain a recurring problem and almost completely wipe out his 1991/92 campaign.
Their problems brought the injury list to seven, and there were some important names already on it. Strikers Mick Waitt and John McGinley were unavailable, along with centre-half Darren Angell, David Clarke and Chris Scott. For a squad which was hardly enormous to begin with, losing that number of players before a ball had been kicked competitively created a genuine dilemma for Murphy.
“Everything is very finely balanced with the team at the moment and the injuries,” said Murphy.
“If some of them don’t clear up within two or three days I am the one going to take the blame for not having bought.
“But I refuse to be dragged into the transfer auction room. I believe in paying realistic prices for players who will be good for the team.
“I am paid to make the judgements on who to bring in but I admit the supporters deserve a reasonable squad.”
Waitt was the least surprising injured player. Murphy had signed him from Notts County as he constructed the team which would attempt to escape the Conference at the first opportunity. Waitt had made an encouraging start and was scoring regularly before suffering a badly broken leg against Cheltenham Town at Sincil Bank in October 1987. It was a devastating injury which kept him out for an extended period, and although he eventually returned to action, he was never able to establish himself regularly in the side again.
His City career nevertheless produced ten Football League goals from 26 appearances after the club’s return, and his life in football later took an unusual turn when he moved into coaching and eventually became manager of the New Zealand national team between 2002 and 2004.
McGinley was an established figure rather than a newcomer. He had first joined City in 1984 after spells with Sunderland and Belgian side Charleroi, left for Rotherham United in 1986 and then returned to Sincil Bank during the Conference season. His second spell proved particularly valuable as he and Phil Brown finished as City’s joint leading scorers in all competitions during the title-winning campaign, each scoring 20 times.
McGinley could operate from the left or further forward and, across his two spells with the Imps, made well over 100 Football League appearances. He remained with City during the 1988/89 season before joining Doncaster Rovers, later playing locally for Boston United.
David Clarke was another player who had dropped out of the League specifically to become part of Murphy’s rebuilding job in 1987. Signed from Notts County for £5,000, the Nottingham-born full-back or midfielder had already played in the top division and represented England at youth level. He played his part in the Conference championship season, scoring five times, and would remain an Imp for more than six years.
Clarke eventually accumulated close to 180 appearances in all competitions for City, his ability to play in more than one position making him particularly useful, although his own time at Sincil Bank was interrupted repeatedly by injuries. He left for Doncaster Rovers in January 1994 before finishing his playing career with a brief spell at Gainsborough Trinity.
Chris Scott’s City career was much shorter. The Wallsend-born central defender had played for clubs including North Shields, Blyth Spartans and Whitley Bay before moving into the Football League with Northampton Town. Murphy signed him for £6,000 in December 1987 to strengthen the Conference promotion challenge, but injury was a persistent problem and prevented him from making the impact originally hoped for.
Scott remained for City’s first season back in the Football League but made only four league appearances before being released and returning to Whitley Bay. His presence on the injury list in August 1988 was therefore sadly consistent with a spell at Sincil Bank in which fitness repeatedly got in his way.
Darren Angell had an even briefer association with the club. A 6ft 2in central defender and the brother of future Everton, Stockport County and Southend United striker Brett Angell, he had started out in Reading’s youth system before joining Portsmouth. His only Football League appearance before arriving at City came while on loan at Colchester United in December 1987, and even that ended after just 35 minutes when he suffered knee ligament damage.
Portsmouth released him in 1988 and he played 12 Conference games for Cheltenham Town before having a short spell with Murphy’s squad at the beginning of the 1988/89 season. Angell never made a first-team appearance for the Imps and later played for Barnet, Hungerford Town and Aldershot Town before injury eventually ended his playing career.
Even those who were technically available were not necessarily giving Murphy complete peace of mind. Paul Casey had been substituted unexpectedly during a 4-1 pre-season defeat against Leicester City, although the manager suggested his issue was less about injury and more about adapting to the demands of professional football.
Casey had only joined City from Boston United in April, having spent six years playing for the Pilgrims after beginning his career with Sheffield United. His £13,000 move to Sincil Bank had come during the title run-in and he played the final ten matches as the Imps secured promotion, meaning the summer of 1988 represented a considerable change in his working routine.
“Casey is going through a spell which others have gone through as well. He is finding trouble in adjusting from part time to full time football.”
Casey would adjust. He remained with City until 1991, making 69 first-team appearances in all competitions before returning to Boston United for another lengthy spell.
The immediate concern for Murphy was getting enough of them onto the pitch. City’s pre-season results had hardly settled any nerves, with two defeats, two draws and only one victory recorded by August 18. They had apparently played well for an hour against Leicester before falling apart once the higher-level opposition increased the tempo, conceding three times in 15 minutes on the way to a 4-1 defeat. There was little respite coming either, with First Division Charlton Athletic due at Sincil Bank that Saturday for another demanding friendly, which the Imps last 4-0.
The injury crisis did not disappear completely before the season began, but Murphy at least got some important bodies back. When City opened their Fourth Division campaign at home to Hartlepool United on August 27, Clarke, Bressington and Matthewson were all involved, meaning three of the seven players named as injured little more than a week earlier had recovered in time.
The return to the Football League began awkwardly, with a 1-0 home defeat to Hartlepool followed by a 3-0 loss at Wrexham, before City collected their first points with successive draws against Crewe Alexandra and Peterborough United. The breakthrough finally came on September 20, when goals from Phil Brown and two from Mark Sertori secured a 3-2 victory over Cambridge United at Sincil Bank.
It was hardly the smooth start Murphy would have wanted after the concerns of August, but at least some of the players whose fitness had caused such alarm on this day were back in the side when the real business began.
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