It?s déja vu time again at Sincil Bank tomorrow as Lincoln City continue to search for their very own version of the golden fleece ? three points (kick-off 3pm).
Now the well-documented winless run is beginning to grow at an alarming rate, it is time for Keith Alexander?s men to stand up and be counted, show some passion and dig deep into their reserves ? if they don?t then it could be a long, hard winter for them ? and for the supporters…
Chester City come a-calling tomorrow, buoyed by recent wins over Peterborough and Leyton Orient in the League, and a thrashing of Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup.
With their tails up and confidence at a high ? despite the loss of talented strike duo Gregg Blundell and Michael Branch, both of whom are still injured ? they will fancy their chances of piling more misery onto Alexander?s shoulders.
And Chester boss Keith Curle is in hearty mood ahead of the clash: ?I feel we?ll be going to Lincoln full of confidence as we?re in a good run of form,? he told the Chester Evening Leader.
Indeed they are and unfortunately, Lincoln are not. But why not? Well, where does one start? From goalkeeper Alan Marriott through to frontman Gary Birch, something is not right with the side. The defence is making too many mistakes and losing concentration at vital times, although that hasn?t stopped Championship side Crewe from taking an interest in Lee Beevers and Jamie McCombe, nor has it prevented Gareth McAuley receiving admiring glances, either.
In midfield, Dean Keates has been a revelation, but Nat Brown ? despite his goalscoring streak ? and Scott Kerr haven?t performed on a consistent basis.
But City?s biggest problem area is still up front where goals are proving to be a luxurious commodity ? there is just one Imps striker doing the business at the moment, but unfortunately he?s on loan at Boston United.
Birch has done okay scoring more goals than expected, but too often he?s looked lethargic, while current strike partners Derek Asamoah and Richard Logan have scored one goal in a combined tally of nearly 30 matches and that just isn?t good enough.
To be brutally honest, Logan isn?t the answer and never was. He?s a journeyman, flitting from club to club, just doing what?s required and not a lot else. Alexander would be better served shoving Marvin Robinson back into the mix because at least he?s got something to prove ? and has scored five goals in less than 20 games. Not a prolific rate, but better than the rest of the strikers put together.
How long Alexander will persist with Birch, Asamoah and Logan remains to be seen, but it?s only three weeks to the re-opening of the transfer window and hopefully the board of directors will back their manager in the transfer market. But before then, a formation change just has to be the order of the day, as what is the point of having three frontmen when two of them cannot score?
A return to 4-4-2 is required and Alexander should give Robinson another chance, in place of Logan, to see what he can do ? and put Asamoah out on the wing where he can run at people and get crosses in. I am not a believer of sticking young Ollie Ryan just because he?s a young lad who?s hungry. He hasn?t shown yet he has what it takes to do the business, and his failure to score while on loan at Ilkeston doesn?t bode well, does it?
We are all desperate for a win and it is getting ever harder to ?keep the faith?, but hopefully come 5pm the messageboards will be full of contended Imps fans not spouting vitriol, but extolling the sheer beauty of witnessing a three-point haul for once.
And wouldn?t it be great to hear Alexander?s post-match comments repeat those of opposite number Curle after Chester?s defeat of Leyton Orient last week: ?We needed a lot of hard work, guts, determination, a willingness to do well, application, and sheer bravery to get the three points we required.?
