With Danny Schofield being mentioned once again, it’s probably worth a look at the career of this 27 year old midfielder.
Schofield has played his career predominantly as a winger, although he started as a striker. He can play on either flank, and some sources say he is one of the most talented players to never have played above League One.
He was signed in 1998 from Brodsworth Welfare for a nominal fee of £2k. He made his debut at the end of the 1998-99 season, playing the full game against a Crewe team containing Seth Johnson and Danny Murphy!
The next season he made four appearances, two of them coming in cup competitions, and it appeared that Schofield was about to break into the first team.
Despite this, he didn’t make any progress the next season, once again playing just the one match, this time in a bad tempered 3-0 defeat to promotion bound Fulham.
2001/2002 proved to be the big breakthrough season for Schofield, playing 40 league games and scoring 8 goals in the process.
The next season was another backwards step for Schofield, this time playing only 30 matches and scoring just 2 goals.
2003/2004 was more successful for Schofield, playing 41 games and once again scoring 8 goals.
2004/2005 Schofield made 12 of his 33 appearances from the bench, and scored 5 goals in the season.
Perhaps Schofield’s most successful season was 2005/2006, where he played 41 games and scored 9 goals, helping Huddersfield finish 4th in League One.
In 2006/2007 he once again featured heavily from the bench, making 10 of his 35 appearance as a substitute, scoring 5 goals.
In this, his last year at the Galpharm Stadium Schofield made just 25 league appearances, scoring only 2 goals in the process.
The Chances of us Signing Schofield?
I don’t really see that this is a realistic prospect. Unless he really wants to come and work with Peter Jackson, it will be very difficult for us to fight off competition from “bigger” clubs such as Yeovil, Bradford, Chesterfield and Rotherham. However, if Jacko really does have a big war chest and we are going to show ambition then this is just the sort of signing we need to make.
Showing posts with label Peter Jackson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peter Jackson. Show all posts
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Let's just wait and see what Jackos got up his sleeve
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!
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!
Monday, 5 May 2008
Comparison
Well, with the season at a close I have noticed more than one similariy between our folk hero, Peter Jackson, and the returning messiah at St James' Park, Kevin Keegan.
When both men took over at their respective clubs this season they had started the season well below expectations, and not only had their previous attacking flair disappeared, both teams had begun to ship goals as well.
So, in the middle of the season when both managers took over they both faced the very real, stark prospect of relegation. However, a very good unbeaten run for each team, Lincoln's coming in February and Newcastle's in March and April were inspired not only by the return to form of a goalscoring centre forward (Ben Wright/Michael Owen) but even more so by the introduction of a very special manager.
And the managers too have similarities. Both prefer to set the tone of training sessions rather than actualy get involved, leaving it to their trusted coaches to instead do the actual work. Both are inspirational motivators and perhaps most tellingly both decided to stick with the squads they had at their disposal, rather than spending what money was available to them on signing that would last less time than a test match against Bangladesh.
So, all in all I am not comparing the two - how coud you? But they certainly do have similarities.
When both men took over at their respective clubs this season they had started the season well below expectations, and not only had their previous attacking flair disappeared, both teams had begun to ship goals as well.
So, in the middle of the season when both managers took over they both faced the very real, stark prospect of relegation. However, a very good unbeaten run for each team, Lincoln's coming in February and Newcastle's in March and April were inspired not only by the return to form of a goalscoring centre forward (Ben Wright/Michael Owen) but even more so by the introduction of a very special manager.
And the managers too have similarities. Both prefer to set the tone of training sessions rather than actualy get involved, leaving it to their trusted coaches to instead do the actual work. Both are inspirational motivators and perhaps most tellingly both decided to stick with the squads they had at their disposal, rather than spending what money was available to them on signing that would last less time than a test match against Bangladesh.
So, all in all I am not comparing the two - how coud you? But they certainly do have similarities.
Judgement Day is Coming
With the retained list set to be announced tomorrow, specualtion is rising that only Scott Kerr and Jamie Forrester will be retained from the out of contract players. With the Echo pretty much assuming that the Boulding deal is signed and delivered, how many more players can we raid from the relegated twosome? Perhaps the wing wizard Hamshaw, defensive rocks Alex John-Baptiste and Jake Buxton, or maybe even the protege Boulding, Rory. Or perhaps we should be looking towards Wales, and giant defender Sean Evans, or maybe free kick specialist Wes Baynes, or is the possibilty of signing right back Spender to provide competition for player of the season Green a real one?
We shall discover on the morrow who Jackson feels can match his vibe, and just how much of chairman Wright's "good" budget he shall have to play with.
Exciting times at the Bank indeed.
We shall discover on the morrow who Jackson feels can match his vibe, and just how much of chairman Wright's "good" budget he shall have to play with.
Exciting times at the Bank indeed.
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.
Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Louis Dodds
Louis has today told The Lincolnshire Echo that, despite being a Leicester lad, he hopes the Foxes go down as then he would get more chances to play for their first team in League One.
To me, this sounds pretty negative for a couple of reasons - 1)He doesn't feel he has the ability to make it in the Championship (even if a player felt this he wouldn't usually come out and say it) and 2) It sounds as though Lincoln are very much a second resort for him.
He has impressed most watchers this season, with occasional glimpses of class intertwined with regular solid performances.
He has started 37 league games for the Imps this year, with 3 appearances as sub. In that time he has scored 9 goals - a ratio of nearly 1 every 4 games, which is not bad considering he has played the large majority of the season on the wing.
His highlight of the season was, almost without doubt, his 'Goal of the Season' against Wycombe at home in Jacko's last game before he went for his treatment.
However, he has scored many good goals - other notable ones being the free-kick away at Shrewsbury and the curler away at Rotherham.
I, personally, would like to see Dodds stay at the Bank for next season, however it doesn't sound like he really wants to be here, and I don't think this is the sort of player that PJ wants.
To me, this sounds pretty negative for a couple of reasons - 1)He doesn't feel he has the ability to make it in the Championship (even if a player felt this he wouldn't usually come out and say it) and 2) It sounds as though Lincoln are very much a second resort for him.
He has impressed most watchers this season, with occasional glimpses of class intertwined with regular solid performances.
He has started 37 league games for the Imps this year, with 3 appearances as sub. In that time he has scored 9 goals - a ratio of nearly 1 every 4 games, which is not bad considering he has played the large majority of the season on the wing.
His highlight of the season was, almost without doubt, his 'Goal of the Season' against Wycombe at home in Jacko's last game before he went for his treatment.
However, he has scored many good goals - other notable ones being the free-kick away at Shrewsbury and the curler away at Rotherham.
I, personally, would like to see Dodds stay at the Bank for next season, however it doesn't sound like he really wants to be here, and I don't think this is the sort of player that PJ wants.
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
v Wrexham
Well, on Saturday I get to see the Imps in action for the final game of the season, meaning this will be first time I have had chance to see Gary King and Ayden Duffy. From reports, King sounds to be a very good prospect and sounds like he has a very mature head on his young shoulders. Duffy, on the other hand sounds to me like he will not be offered a new contract. Numerous handing errors seem to outweigh his quality of being dominating in his area, and I really cannot see Jackson offering him a new deal! Roll on Saturday.
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