The ink has dried on the contracts, and there are more than a couple of surprises on the retained list.
Everyone expected Moses, Stallard and Croft to go and a few even said they wouldn’t be surprised if Marriott went. Most said Forrester would stay, and everyone expected captain Kerr to sign a new deal. A few even said that Clarke was deserving of another year to prove himself. However, very few expected to see Ayden Duffy offered a new contract!
The thinking behind. . .
Letting Marriott go – Perhaps this wasn’t our choice. My guess is that he was offered a one year deal, and he felt that wasn’t enough security for a man of his responsibilities. He will find a new club, perhaps in this league or maybe the one above, but I am sure that if he is ever to return to the Bank he will receive the largest of standing ovations. Thanks for the memories Mazza, you will never be forgotten!
Letting the three aging campaigners go – Croft, Moses and Stallard have all played at a higher level than this – two of them even playing in the dizzy heights of the Premiership – and all have undoubted ability. However, between them they have started just 50 league games this season, and that is not enough. Stallard was a fan’s favourite in his first season, and will always be remembered fondly. Croft’s LCFC career never really got going, and Moses’ had more false starts than an old Llada.
Keeping Scott Kerr – No question here, especially as his number of appearances this season triggered a clause in his contract meaning he had to be offered a new one. He has been inspirational this season, and but for his misdemeanours with referees would surely have won the player of the season award. I’m sure this will not be the last contract that Kerr earns at the Bank.
Keeping Ayden Duffy – Strange one this. I for one don’t think he should have been offered a new contract. Apparently he dominates his area, and is also a good shot stopper and before I had seen him I knew this sounded too good to be true. And rightly enough, come Saturday when I saw him for the first time he flapped, wandered around his box, couldn’t make decisions and looked generally poor. I personally cant believe he has been offered a new contract, and genuinely hope that Jacko manages to find a top notch first choice keeper who doesn’t spend too much time on the sidelines!
Keeping Shane Clarke – although unpopular with large sections of the Imps following, Clarke supplements the arguably more talented midfield trio of Freck, Kerr and Pembleton very well. He showed his potential in the 15 minutes after half time on Saturday, and clearly has the potential to become a top player. He has the attributes of pace, hard work and good tackling ability, he just needs to pick the right pass more often.
Keeping Jamie Forrester – I would suggest there have not been many occasions in the history of the Imps where a player who has scored 14 goals in a season has been so unsure of his future, and this is the situation Jamie found himself in until today. However, I believe this is the right decision, and one that could prove greatly beneficial to the development of Forrester’s career as a coach, but lets not forget that Forrester has actually played more football for the Imps this season that anyone else!
Conclusion
Although there are a couple of shocks in there, I believe we need to have faith in the decisions of Jacko and Iffy and be patient to see what signings they have up their sleeves. Hopefully they have already got players they want to sign on a hit list, and let’s just hope that come August the only signing isn’t a 36 year old striker from Scunthorpe!
Showing posts with label Alan Marriott. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alan Marriott. Show all posts
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Friday, 2 May 2008
The Goalkeeping Question
Despite being one of the most successful goalkeepers in the clubs history, breaking records for both appearances and clean sheets, there is still much debate over whether Alan Marriott should be offered a new contract this summer.
I, for one said at the start of this year that perhaps we needed to sign someone as genuine competition, as this would improve Alan as a goalkeeper.
No one was signed and Marriott started the season as our automatic 1st choice keeper, and it wasn’t until results had got so bad that the two Johns were sacked that is place was called into question.
One of the first things PJ did when he took over was sign Ben Smith on loan from Doncaster, a 22 year old goalkeeper. He started off solidly enough, but a number of errors culminating in a clanger away at Grimsby saw him shipped back to his parent club and Marriott reinstated.
Mazza has since been the first choice, his run of games in the first team only ended when he got injured at Chester. He was inspirational in some of the games during the winning streak in February, and has looked solid ever since being reinstated.
Ayden Duffy has replaced him, and although he has never played a league game before has impressed many watchers with his strong, authoritative command of his area – something that Mazza has never done.
So, do Lincoln offer Marriott a contract, offer Duffy a contract, or offer them both contracts or indeed neither of them? I still believe that Marriott needs competitions to perform to his best – just like when we had Paul Pettinger or Simon Rayner (both very competent goalies). If Marriott is to be offered a new contract, therefore, I don’t feel it can be as a definite number one, so can Duffy provide adequate cover? His performances in the last couple of weeks certainly suggest so, but would PJ start them both off on an equal footing? Perhaps the best thing to do would be to offer Duffy a new contract, and find another more experienced keeper to contest the place with him? Or offer Marriott the contract and try to persuade somebody of similar ilk to himself to join the club?
However, what the Ben Smith experiment showed was that there aren’t a lot of better keepers than Marriott around who would be both a) available and b) willing to come to Lincoln, so perhaps the best option is indeed to sign them both on again for next season, but with neither as the assured number one – giving Marriott real competition.
I, for one said at the start of this year that perhaps we needed to sign someone as genuine competition, as this would improve Alan as a goalkeeper.
No one was signed and Marriott started the season as our automatic 1st choice keeper, and it wasn’t until results had got so bad that the two Johns were sacked that is place was called into question.
One of the first things PJ did when he took over was sign Ben Smith on loan from Doncaster, a 22 year old goalkeeper. He started off solidly enough, but a number of errors culminating in a clanger away at Grimsby saw him shipped back to his parent club and Marriott reinstated.
Mazza has since been the first choice, his run of games in the first team only ended when he got injured at Chester. He was inspirational in some of the games during the winning streak in February, and has looked solid ever since being reinstated.
Ayden Duffy has replaced him, and although he has never played a league game before has impressed many watchers with his strong, authoritative command of his area – something that Mazza has never done.
So, do Lincoln offer Marriott a contract, offer Duffy a contract, or offer them both contracts or indeed neither of them? I still believe that Marriott needs competitions to perform to his best – just like when we had Paul Pettinger or Simon Rayner (both very competent goalies). If Marriott is to be offered a new contract, therefore, I don’t feel it can be as a definite number one, so can Duffy provide adequate cover? His performances in the last couple of weeks certainly suggest so, but would PJ start them both off on an equal footing? Perhaps the best thing to do would be to offer Duffy a new contract, and find another more experienced keeper to contest the place with him? Or offer Marriott the contract and try to persuade somebody of similar ilk to himself to join the club?
However, what the Ben Smith experiment showed was that there aren’t a lot of better keepers than Marriott around who would be both a) available and b) willing to come to Lincoln, so perhaps the best option is indeed to sign them both on again for next season, but with neither as the assured number one – giving Marriott real competition.
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