“He’s very honest which is a nice change from our previous manager.”


Ahead of tonight’s match against Mansfield Town in Sky Bet League Two, I’m going to fast forward to this season (rather than look back at last) and another meeting between the two sides in the Checkatrade Trophy, this time at Sincil Bank in front of a crowd of 4,205. The visitors won 2-1 that night, with Matt Rhead putting The Imps ahead in the 6th minute, followed two minutes later by a Callum Butcher goal making it 1-1. Substitute Tyler Walker netted the winner in the 72nd minute. The Imps finished the match with 10 men when Michael O’Connor was sent off in the 4th minute of stoppage time, following a melee on the halfway line.

The first meeting of this season in Sky Bet League Two was played on Saturday 24th November, in front of a crowd of 9,773 at Sincil Bank. This match finished 1-1, with The Imps taking the lead in the 85th minute through substitute Kellan Gordon. Unfortunately, though, the visitors made it 1-1 in the 3rd minute of stoppage time. Jacob Mellis the goalscorer.

Time for the Q&As! Thank you to Mansfield Town supporters Cameron and Jack for answering our questions! The answers have been published on two pages. To get to the second set of answers, simply click “click here for the second set of answers!” at the bottom right of the page, or click HERE!

First up, the answers provided by Cameron:

How long have you supported Mansfield Town?

15 years.

Where did you finish last season?

8th just outside the playoffs.

What do you think of your Manager?

A fantastic manager that’s turned the club around. He gets some stick from fans but all round does a good job and got us into a fantastic position with 9 to go.

What were your hopes and expectations at the start of the season?

After last season’s collapse, playoffs would’ve been my target but it’s fantastic that we’ve brought players in that has helped us build the best defence in the league and one of the most threatening teams in the league.

One(s) to watch?

Tyler Walker definitely because of his goal scoring threat but Alex Macdonald now that he’s fit is a real threat, attacking threat but also can pick a 30/40 yard pass out and can really create some good chances for us.

Who do you think will finish in the top 7?

Lincoln City, Mansfield Town, Bury, Milton Keynes Dons, Tranmere Rovers, Carlisle United and Forest Green Rovers.

Who do you think will finish in the bottom 2?

Notts County and Yeovil Town.

What are your thoughts on Lincoln City?

Fantastic team and what a job the Cowleys have done. Turning City from an average National Premier team into all but League Two champions is fantastic, being a stags fan and seeing stags in the conference allow me to see quite a few Lincoln games and the poor turnouts both teams got and to see what a decent manager can do to not only get decent players in but also bring the feel-good factor back to the club and take them back into the league.

What do you think the score will be?

It’ll be close but it’ll 100% depend on who wants it more. Being a Mansfield fan I want Mansfield to win and probably 2-1 Mansfield.

Random fact about your Club?

The ground used to have a dog racing track around the Edge of the pitch.

If you could steal one Lincoln City player for your own team, who would it be and why?

Bruno Andrade would be my pick, absolutely fantastic talent and really could go a long way with the ability he has.

Got the skills, got the pace and certainly knows where the net is and Stags really will have to be on their toes with him tonight.

What are your proudest and most embarrassing moments as a Mansfield Town Supporter?

Proudest is seeing the club get promoted back into the league on the last day of the season against Wrexham 2012/13 season.

Most embarrassing is probably last season after being near or in the top 3 all season and collapsing into 3rd. Had a team that could get us there but didn’t care and didn’t have the passion to get us there.

Who would you say is your most underrated player?

Ryan Sweeney. Fantastic talent and at such a young age really does have a fantastic career ahead of him. Solid unit at the back but threatening when he comes up from corners.

Do you have a Supporters Trust and what role do they play at the Club?

We have the SSA which is the Stags Supporters Association and they supported the club and helped raise funds and actually helped bring bigger players in and helped pay for players wages when the club didn’t have too much money. They also provide away match day travel at great prices which allows more and more fans to travel far and wide to support our team.

Which was your favourite match involving Mansfield Town?

Chesterfield away last season. All but relegated them and being such a big game for us it helped us in a push for the playoffs. Such fiery games between players on the pitch and fans in the stands it really was a great day to be a stag and beating the biggest of rivals.

Which was your least favourite match involving Mansfield Town?

Lincoln at home last season. Being in front till injury time and then for Palmer to pop up is just typical Mansfield, always a former player to pop up and spoil the party.

Do you have a Former Players Association at Mansfield Town?

Not as such but we have a lot of former players that have a lot to do with clubs, Kevin Bird is a fantastic example, the club named one of the corporate suites after him and helped raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society something which Kev sadly lives with but the club has always supported him with.

What’s the best thing about Mansfield?

Probably the football ground. There’s not much about Mansfield that really stands out that people want to visit.

The Swimming complex is probably a close 2nd but the ground is still the number one attraction in Mansfield.

Does it still hurt to see away fans sat in the North Stand and has it ever been questioned about giving it back to the home fans?

Because I’m still young I never actually saw the home fans in the North Stand so I’ve always grown up with the Quarry Lane End being the home end.

I hear many stories about the North Stand having a great atmosphere and fans wish they had it back but I think now that the club has spent money on the QLE it wouldn’t be worth moving the home fans again.

Are you glad you own your stadium again?

Fantastic to finally own the ground, to get rid of Haslam has been long overdue and last week finally came to get rid of him so now hopefully we can start to make Field Mill a good ground again.

And now for the answers provided by Jack:

How long have you supported Mansfield Town?

20 years.

Where did you finish last season?

8th.

What do you think of your Manager?

I like him, he’s very honest which is a nice change from our previous manager. If we’ve played poorly he’ll openly say, he’s obviously very complimentary of the fans/owners of the club which is always nice to hear.

What were your hopes and expectations at the start of the season?

My hopes were promotion. The end of last season was horrible, when David came in we were 4th, closing in on 3rd yet managed to finish 8th.

One(s) to watch?

Tyler Walker. He had a lot of doubters at the start of the season as his actual involvement in games seemed very little despite his goals, as the season has gone on he’s got better and better. CJ Hamilton is also a key figure, his pace is unbelievable and has added goals to his game, making him more of a finished article.

Who do you think will finish in the top 7?

Milton Keynes Dons, Tranmere Rovers, Carlisle United & Exeter City.

Who do you think will finish in the bottom 2?

Hopefully Notts County, they had a good laugh at us when we went into non-league football. It would be nice to repay the comments. I think it’ll be tight and 2 from either Yeovil Town, Macclesfield Town or Notts County. I’ll go for Yeovil Town & Notts County.

What are your thoughts on Lincoln City?

I think it’s admirable what you’ve achieved, in the non-league days I remember your crowds being under 3,000, a good few seasons and that fantastic FA Cup run, you are practically a new club, it’s great to see and you can only take your hat off and applaud. I don’t see the Lincoln City as rivals, it’s just a local game. Many other Mansfield fans will share this opinion as we have Chesterfield and Notts County as our main rivals. The games against Lincoln always seem to be good though.

What do you think the score will be?

I think it’ll be close as it always is. Head says 1-1 draw, heart says 2-1 win. Got to be confident, I’ll back us to win.

Random fact about your Club?

Field Mill is the oldest professional football ground in the world.

If you could steal one Lincoln City player for your own team, who would it be and why?

Bruno Andrade, I think he’s excellent and has really excelled for you this season. I would like to say Matt Rhead as well, huge respect for him and his days at Mansfield.

What are your proudest and most embarrassing moments as a Mansfield Town Supporter?

The proudest moment must be the way the fans stood up to Keith Haslam back in our dark days, it’s amazing how people in football all come together, although a lot of anger and frustration was around, the fans stuck together. The most embarrassing was our relegation into non-league, I don’t ever want to experience that again.

Who would you say is your most underrated player?

I think Matt Preston. He’s often overshadowed by his CB partner Krystian Pearce. Matt came in from Swindon, he’s been absolutely brilliant.

Do you have a Supporters Trust and what role do they play at the Club?

Yes, The SSA (Stags supporters association). They offer the travel to all the away games and run at least 1 bus to every single game. Over the years they have put lots of money into the club to provide new equipment and facilities. Run by a handful of volunteers.

Which was your favourite match involving Mansfield Town?

I think Hereford away in our promotion season from the conference. We won 2-1 with a last minute goal from Matt Green, assisted by Matt Rhead. If we hadn’t of got that last minute goal, Kidderminster would have gone onto win the title at our expense (look at where they are now!!). The sheer ecstasy in the away end that night will stay with me forever

Which was your least favourite match involving Mansfield Town?

We got hammered 4-0 at Hayes & Yeading in the conference days, that was pretty bad. The last day 2-0 defeat at Dag & Red. We got beat 2-1 by Rotherham at home in our relegation season, this pretty much sent us down, our GK got lobbed from the halfway line, home fans stormed the board room and attacked Keith Haslam, it was such a toxic day.

Do you have a Former Players Association at Mansfield Town?

Not that I’m aware of.

What’s the best thing about Mansfield?

Erm…

The pubs? On a serious note, I think the determination of the townspeople is to admire. It’s been a tough town over the years with the miner’s strike etc, times have been hard for families etc. Hopefully, the Football Club can improve the area and put smiles back on people’s faces.

Does it still hurt to see away fans sat in the North Stand and has it ever been questioned about giving it back to the home fans?

Absolutely, we feel robbed of it. John Radford has always wanted us to have it back, it’s a Police decision and unfortunately will never be overturned.

Are you glad you own your stadium again?

Yes, it’s brilliant and we cannot thank John Radford enough for what he’s done.

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