Around One – 27 August 2021

The second article of our new feature “Around One” focuses on Accrington Stanley, Bolton Wanderers, Burton Albion, Morecambe, Portsmouth, and Wigan Athletic.

You can discuss what has been said in this article HERE, as well as getting involved with many other threads on our 100% Imps forum! Every page view helps raise money for Lincoln City Football Club!

Most clubs fear losing managers and players to other clubs, but Accrington have suffered in an unusual way recently. Having lost popular kit man Naz Ali to neighbours Wigan last month, they have now lost head groundsman Martyn ‘Buzzer’ Cook to Burnley after fourteen years. Perhaps he is simply fed up with trying to make Stanley’s notoriously waterlogged pitch playable through the winter, but the move is hardly ideal as the club commences the development of a new training facility.

Bolton chairman Sharon Brittan took the unusual step of appealing to supporters to behave ahead of this week’s Carabao Cup tie at neighbours Wigan (lost 5-4 on penalties). Brittan posted her impassioned plea on the club’s website in an effort to avoid a repeat of previous disturbances at local derbies.

Big news coming out of Burton Albion: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and his assistant Dino Maamria are to open the Anslow Village Fete on 11 September.

The Carabao Cup was not kind to League One clubs this week, with Accrington, Bolton, Cambridge, Crewe, Doncaster, Gillingham, Morecambe, Oxford and Shrewsbury all exiting the competition in the second round. Potential promotion rivals Sunderland and Wigan remain and have been drawn against each other, and the more games they play, the better for us. Former Imp Alex Palmer suffered another Carabao Cup nightmare, adding a 6-0 home defeat at the hands of Arsenal to his 7-2 home defeat to Liverpool last season.

Morecambe’s incredible journey continues as they postpone a game due to international call-ups for the first time. The game against Crewe on 4 September is off because a trio of loanees – Jökull Andrésson  (Reading & Iceland U21), Josh McPake (Rangers & Scotland U21) and Alfie McCalmont (Leeds & Northern Ireland U21) – will be on international duty instead.

Portsmouth midfielder and ex-Imp Joe Morrell has been called up by Wales for the forthcoming international week. Morrell has become a fixture in the Wales team, starting every game at Euro 2020 this summer. Given that he only made his full debut while on loan to Lincoln in 2019-20, it is hard to believe that the Imps’ former Player of the Season already has 19 caps to his name. Among a plethora of League One players called up for international duty this week are Gavin Whyte (Oxford & Northern Ireland), Bailey Peacock-Farrell (Sheffield Wednesday & Northern Ireland), Shane Ferguson (Rotherham & Northern Ireland) and Lewis Fiorini (Lincoln & not Northern Ireland).

The majority of clubs raise money from their supporters through traditional means such as season ticket sales, merchandising and catering. Wigan have taken that one stage further by inviting fans to pay a monthly subscription to the club that can be directed towards the first team budget, the academy or towards the sports science team. Called the #BELIEVE FansFund, the usual benefits are offered in return. It seems a strange move, given the amount of money lavished on players this summer by the club’s new owners.

This week’s transfers:

Corey Blackett-Taylor (23), midfielder, Tranmere Rovers to Charlton

Andre Green (23), midfielder, Sheffield Wednesday to Slovan Bratislava – Slovakia

Brandon Hanlan (24), forward, Bristol Rovers to Wycombe

Niall Huggins (20), defender, Leeds to Sunderland

James Jones (25), midfielder, Lincoln to Wrexham

Elliot Lee (26), midfielder, Luton to Charlton (season loan)

Conor Masterson (22), defender, QPR to Cambridge (loan to 1 January)

Connor Parsons (20), midfielder, Dalvík/Reynir – Iceland to Wycombe

Sam Sherring (21), defender, AFC Bournemouth to Accrington (season loan)

Writer: Scotimp

Around One – 27 August 2021:https://t.co/8MBOhv4TdI#BWFC #Pompey #WAFC

— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) August 27, 2021