The Ugly: Josh Ginnelly
I don’t know about Ginnelly. He had two loans, one I think felt like it went well, the other went nowhere, and yet his post-Lincoln career has been unusually impressive.
He had already introduced himself by scoring against us for Altrincham before arriving on loan from Burnley in January 2017. He was quick, direct and offered something different, making 17 appearances as we won the National League title. There was enough there for Danny Cowley to bring him back for our return to the Football League, and his opening-day goal at Wycombe suggested the second spell might be even better.
It never quite developed that way. Ginnelly added 19 appearances and three goals before that loan ended early and he went to Tranmere, leaving us with flashes of ability rather than a winger who had established himself in the side. There was an unfortunate twist to his Burnley connection as well: he could not play in our famous FA Cup win at Turf Moor in February 2017, having already appeared in the competition for Walsall. He spent three years on Burnley’s books without making a senior appearance for them.
For me, the ugly element is the frustration of that promise, rather than any suggestion he contributed nothing. He played his part in our promotion, helped Tranmere go up after leaving us, and later enjoyed a productive spell at Hearts in a career that also took him to Preston, Swansea and Azerbaijan’s Turan Tovuz. His 36 City appearances and three goals leave him as one of those players whose best moments made you hope there was considerably more to come.
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