We don’t know when we will be watching live football again and it seems a very long time since we played Burton Albion, so we have to do what we can to keep things ticking over on 100% Imps and the Front Page. We’ll be doing Q&As with our members and anyone else that would like to take part over the next few weeks. So, if you’d like to put yourself on the spot, please email lincoln@vitalfootball.co.uk.
The second person to answer questions is Luke Imp:
Are you a Jedi?
I’ve never seen any of the Star Wars movies, so I’m not sure I’d be an accepted member of the Jedi Community (if there is such a thing!). Truth be told, I’m not a massive fan of films full stop, I’ve seen very few compared to most. Anything over a couple of hours and I start to lose interest in it. I’ve not seen Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Sound of Music, Jaws or any others you would have thought I’d have watched! I’d rather watch factual/true story documentaries/programmes than films.
When I do watch a film, I generally opt for comedy or war/military ones but they’re few and far between. That said, the last one I watched a couple of weekends ago was The Two Escobars, which I’d highly recommend.
If you could go back and watch a Lincoln City match that you have attended again, which would it be and why?
The short answer is probably the Ipswich Town FA Cup game. Everything around that in terms of being at home, then non-league vs Championship, TV game, night game, sell-out crowd, unlucky not to win the first game, good performance, late goal etc was a perfect storm.
I’m going to cheat slightly here and choose a small sequence of games from 2006/07 as well with the Lincoln 7-1 Rochdale, Swindon 0-1 Lincoln and Barnet 0-5 Lincoln run. I can remember losing 3-2 at home to MK Dons that season as well (has anyone worked out why that penalty was given yet?!) and that was a really good game even though we lost.
The above said, how many great games have we had over the last 3 or 4 years? Not necessarily for full 90 minutes performances like, say, Ipswich or Brighton but Torquay, Gateshead, FGR, Notts County, Grimsby, Chester, Crewe. Some crackers.
Do you hold any grudge against the Cowleys for the circumstances of their departure?
No, none, although I’d question whether the move fell under ‘perfect’.
I did say in the summer after the Scunthorpe friendly that DC had become a little Mourinho like in his comments. He just didn’t come across as enthusiastically as he had done previously. Maybe it was the budget, maybe he was getting itchy feet here, maybe he felt the squad was coming to the end of its cycle and wanted to change things quicker than he was able to or perhaps a combination of them all and other bit and pieces.
Ultimately, you look at where a Club is at when a manager joins and where it is when he leaves so that speaks for itself. I’m not going to list it all because we all know what it is, which is quite incredible. There are very, very few examples of a club changing so quickly in such a short period of time and Clive and the Board must take huge credit for their part as well in terms of delivering off the field like DC/NC did so on the field.
Luke, your first match watching City was?
It was a home 0-0, that’s all I can 100% remember although I’ve got Kidderminster in my head. Terrible game. I say them because I was in the now Bridge McFarland Stand with my Dad and a family friend’s son who were over for the weekend from Kidderminster and I can’t imagine my Dad taking us two otherwise because he’s not really a football fan. Can’t remember what year it was, maybe mid-90’s. I’ve never checked whether we’ve even had a 0-0 in the 90’s against them so I could be completely wrong!
First away game was Hull 0-1 Lincoln and that was when I started following Lincoln both home and away. I only got a ticket for it at last minute because someone had dropped out of another group so it’s weird how something like that has shaped my weekend for the following years! A phone call at 12pm, car at 12.30pm, celebrating Bimson’s penalty at 4.20pm and nearly getting beaten up at 5.10pm in the car park so that was an eventful afternoon! It was definitely the game I got the Lincoln bug. I was already watching games in that season anyway but that was when it became a serious hobby.
Like most my age at the time, my first ST was in the SW right behind the goal but in 2007/08 moved into the Co-op where I’ve remained since, albeit moved around due other seats becoming available and the new gantry being put in.
I’m about 18 years or so of watching Lincoln now. My Mum and Sister have no interest in football, my Dad has a passing interest in that he’ll watch cup finals, Euros, World Cups but that’s about it so I’m the anomaly of family!
Which school(s) did you attend, and when?
Dunholme Primary until 1999, then onto William Farr in Welton until 2006 after my A-Levels. Advice for any of the youngsters who are about to embarking on their A-Levels, and that is not to try and combine Maths, Physics and Business Studies because it doesn’t end well..!
In all fairness, I probably didn’t do as well I should have done. Primary school I was generally a level or two above the norm, GCSE’s were pretty straight forward as well but by the time the A-Levels came around, I’d reached my learning threshold, didn’t kick on as I should have done. Accountancy was the plan initially, then I picked up a job at my current employer’s as a trainee Quantity Surveyor but long story short, I’m about to embark on my qualifications in Compliance and Auditing (Corona permitting – it’s already been cancelled once!) having dipped in and out of that for three or four years when needed alongside my current job role.
To be honest, though, I wish I had gone down a business/economics /finance/investment route. I’ve always loved numbers, stats, trends etc so it’s probably a missed opportunity, although I don’t think I was ever clever enough to succeed to be fair.
Who is your favourite band?
I don’t have a preferred artist or genre of music. I drive a couple of hours a day for work so I listen to a fair bit of music on my iPhone but it can jump from Dire Straights to Michael Jackson to Eric Clapton, Coldplay, Michael Buble, Eminem, Status Quo, Take That, 50 Cent, Andrea Bocelli, Elvis, Queen, 80’s, 90’s, pop, rap, dance, clubland, RnB, live, acoustic, covers – there are all sorts on there!
Stilton or Roquefort?
I do love a good cheese board but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t concentrate more on the different Ports on offer that come with it! The latter I haven’t heard of and I’ve tried some horrendous cheeses down the years but that’s a perfect excuse to have another Port, so every cloud and all that..!
Simjon: reasonable man on the top-deck of the Clapham omnibus or unconscionable prevaricating fence-sitter?
He comes across as the former, but if you personally know him you may think otherwise! Always seemed to post in a well constructed, balanced way. Unless I’ve missed otherwise…
On a general point, I think the forum is a very friendly, well-balanced one. Obviously not everyone agrees all the time but nothing ever feels personal. It’s a very easy place to have a constructive debate with the odd(!) thread tangent thrown in for good measure!
Are you in the know and if so how?
Before I answer this, I want to state that anything I do get told doesn’t come directly from anyone who works for, or is employed by, the Club, anyone who covers the Club i.e. Radio Lincs, Lincolnshire Live, Lincs Sport etc or Leigh Curtis who probably still talks to our media team a lot.
In the know to a point I suppose but I don’t throw info around to everyone and put it in the public domain. It’s generally player transfer related stuff so there’s never any sensitive information such as financials or anything like that. It all seems to come out of the woodwork across forums a day or so before anything happens anyway, I just seem to pick it up a little quicker.
Who is your favourite ‘character’ to have played for City? (i.e. just someone memorable for whatever reason, not necessarily anyone good!)?
Got to be Rhead, surely?! I can’t think of too many others who wound the opposition players and fans up as much as him! By all accounts he was good around the squad as well so as a whole package on and off the field, it’d be him.
Kevin Ellison is another who springs to mind but that’s about it. Can’t believe someone wasted a perfectly good pie by throwing it at him in front the Co-op Stand all those years ago! I don’t think we’ve had too many pantomime villains down the years? Anyone else think of any?
Were you on the whaddesley bridge special in March 1977?
I wasn’t even an itch in my Dad’s underpants in 1977, that’s a few years before my time!
Which City player who was before your time would you have liked to see play?
Big Keith. We knew Keith the manager, he lived in the same village as me so you’d bump into him as Keith outside of football so Keith the footballer would have completed the set.
Which is your favourite LCFC shirt (away strip allowed as well)?
I honestly don’t think I’ve ever had a favourite home shirt. We seem to have managed to get that one wrong more times than an away kit despite red and white stripes being pretty simple. There was 2004ish with the weird collar thing going on, then a year or two after having that slab of material across it as a sponsor (Starglaze?), which in all fairness acted as a small stab vest for Grimsby away. First season in the NL, that hideous downward arrow thing and I can’t say I was a massive fan of the retro kit a couple of years ago either.
On the flip side, I was a big fan of the 2018/19 grey away kit and likewise the 2019/20 one. The black Selenity sponsored shirt in 2017/18 was also good – common them here of darker colours! I can’t recall what season it was, but the last shirt I bought was an away grey one with a V-neck colour. Must’ve been the mid-00’s.
Which City match is your favourite which you’ve attended?
Like the second question, I’ll go for Lincoln 1-0 Ipswich.
What has been your best away day following the Imps?
Swindon 0-1 Lincoln. Top of the table clash, a really disciplined performance, 1-0 away wins are always good, long journey there and back, 1,000 Imps, singing in the stairwell.
Results-wise, mentions to Peterborough 1-2 Lincoln, Grimsby 2-4 Lincoln (Yeo hat-trick), Mansfield 2-4 Lincoln (Forrester hat-trick) and Walsall 1-2 Lincoln (Weir-Daley brace).
I feel lucky because I’ve had some really, really good away days down the years with some good people. We don’t do it as often anymore because circumstances change for people but we’ve had some crackers. I’ve struggled to only name five there.
What is your favourite away ground that you’ve seen the Imps play at?
Wembley was the most impressive but in terms of the enjoyment of the visit, I’d say Underhill. A straightforward journey down the A1, Peterborough services, park at the train station, a quick walk to the pub on the corner and then another short walk to the ground, which was old school terracing and really close to the home fans.
It’s great going to the nice stadiums but sometimes grounds are so bad, they’re good. Accrington – open terracing, you get piss wet through but it’s fun. Was anyone else at Accrington in August when it was lovely sunshine in the first half then in the second half it was a storm?!
We always seemed to get a good following there as well, historically better than at Grimsby, I think.
Honourable mention to Rochdale for the chippy outside the away end.
We’re raising money for the Bradford Burns Unit this month and our target is £500.00. There are many ways you can help us reach this target. One of those ways is to have a go at our quizzes because they generate page views. Once you have had a go, share your results on Social Media, increasing the reach and page views!
If you haven’t already had a go at the quizzes, they can be found here: Quiz No.1, Quiz No.2, Quiz No.3, Quiz No.4, Quiz No.5, Quiz No.6, Quiz No.7, Quiz No.8, Quiz No.9 and Quiz No.10.
Thank you to Graham Burrell and Lincoln City Football Club for the photograph!
"The short answer is probably the Ipswich Town FA Cup game."
Q&A with @lukew_87:https://t.co/awg9DC5SfF#ImpsAsOne #ProudToBeImps #ITFC pic.twitter.com/wA6X2oSJA6
— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) April 27, 2020
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