The Ugly: Tyrone Thompson
Tyrone Thompson’s place here comes from two spells that reflect very different eras at Lincoln City, and probably not quite what he did for us. A Sheffield United youth product, he made his senior debut against us, coming off the bench in the Blades’ 6-1 League Cup win at Bramall Lane in August 2000. He also started the return leg, which we won 1-0, although his opportunities at United remained limited and he was released in 2003.
His first Lincoln spell came on loan in October 2002, during Keith Alexander’s first season back in charge. There was the promise of a young player arriving from a higher division, but he made only three appearances, including the 4-3 LDV Vans Trophy win over York City, before returning to Sheffield United. When he came back in November 2011, we had fallen out of the Football League and he had accumulated years of non-league experience. David Holdsworth knew him from Mansfield and brought him in as we tried to keep our heads above water.
That was an ugly period to support Lincoln, with a revolving door of players and very little certainty about where we were heading. I thought Thompson brought some welcome steel and organisation to a midfield that often lacked both, and he scored in the 3-3 draw with Braintree at Sincil Bank. He stayed until the end of the season before joining Sheffield FC, linking up with former Blades teammate Curtis Woodhouse. His two spells capture the contrast between a club beginning its climb under Keith and one desperately trying to arrest its decline a decade later.
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