We take a look at where the Lincoln City players who made up the matchday squad for Mark Kennedy’s final game in charge, against Burton Albion on 14 October 2023, are now.
It was an afternoon that summed up the frustrations of Kennedy’s final weeks at Sincil Bank, although the first half offered little indication that we were about to lose. Without the injured Ben House and Tyler Walker, City struggled to turn possession into clear chances against a disciplined Burton with Tom Hamer in defence, a side who were perfectly happy to let us have the ball. Jack Burroughs forced a save from Max Crocombe, while Danny Mandroiu had a couple of efforts, but the goalless half-time score reflected a contest desperately short of attacking quality.
The game turned on two incidents early in the second half, with Mandroiu sent off by Rebecca Welch in the 55th minute before Burroughs put through his own net from a corner three minutes later. Having struggled to break Burton down with eleven players, we were left trying to retrieve the situation with ten, and the response was painfully slow. Late changes brought a little more urgency, but the 1-0 defeat left questions about our attacking approach, our defending at set pieces and the increasingly visible frustration within the side.
Kennedy’s public criticism of Mandroiu afterwards added to an already uncomfortable atmosphere, and four days later his time at Lincoln was over. Appointed in May 2022, he had delivered a top-half finish in his first season, but departed with City sitting 16th after one win in six league matches. Assistant Danny Butterfield also left, with Tom Shaw taking temporary charge, bringing an abrupt end to a tenure that had lasted almost eighteen months.
Where are those players now?
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