7 – Neal Eardley
Injuries had disrupted Neal Eardley’s career at Birmingham City, and short spells with Hibernian and Northampton Town followed before he arrived at Lincoln as a free agent in August 2017. His initial contract only ran until January, but he went on to become our Player of the Season and stay for three years, winning the EFL Trophy and League Two title. After leaving in 2020, he joined Burton Albion, spent time on loan at Barrow and finished his playing career with Connah’s Quay Nomads before moving into coaching at Blackpool.
Eardley arrived with a career that had been badly disrupted by injury, and despite his Premier League experience, there was an obvious risk attached to signing him. We have seen similar gambles fail, Jacob Davenport and Cameron Stewart being two, and he could easily have become another player who made a handful of appearances before disappearing back into the treatment room.
Instead, he rebuilt himself into a right-back who plenty of supporters would place among the best they have seen in a Lincoln City shirt. That reflects well on our medical staff and the way Danny and Nicky managed him, but it says just as much about Neal’s professionalism and determination to ensure his career didn’t end in disappointment. He came on trial, earned his deal and became an important part of both the Checkatrade Trophy-winning side and the League Two title-winning team, offering experience, quality and a real connection with supporters. He arrived for free and left for free, but measuring that signing solely through transfer income would miss almost everything that made it such a success.
Hard to argue with the list … totally agree with comments about Harry Anderson !