John McGinley
John McGinley had two spells with Lincoln City, first arriving from Belgian club Charleroi in 1984. He scored his first Division Three goal as we beat Preston 4-0 a couple of weeks later, and ended up scoring 11 goals in 71 league appearances before leaving for Rotherham United in August 1986. That move came after George Kerr transfer-listed him, following the arrival of Ian McInnes and Kevin Kilmore. He was swapped with Tony Simmons, with Kerr saying he ‘is 27 now, and I wouldn’t have thought he’d get much better’. Bear in mind, Rotherham were in Division Three.
The left-winger and forward returned in February 1987, with Kerr admitting he’d made a mistake and sold him because of his fitness. Ironically, he put Simmons on the transfer list as a result. McGinley scored a brace to help us beat Halifax a few weeks later, and he went on to become a key figure in the Imps’ immediate recovery from relegation to the Conference. His first goal came as we hammered Enfield 4-0, and he finished the 1987/88 title-winning campaign as joint leading scorer alongside Phil Brown, with both men netting 20 goals in all competitions as City secured promotion back to the Football League on the first attempt, where he bagged twice more in Division Four.
McGinley remained at Sincil Bank until 1989 before joining Doncaster Rovers, later continuing his career with Boston United.
Comments Welcome!