Football Season Review

An excellent season ended in disappointment for Lincoln City after they were beaten by Blackpool in the League One play-off final at Wembley. The loss will have done little to harm Michael Appleton’s reputation as he guided the unfancied Imps to the play-offs despite being hit by a budget cut due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He adopted a pragmatic approach, albeit with inherent risks, as he relied on a small squad of players, bringing in quality young loan players that he wouldn’t have been able to sign permanently. They made a superb start to the season; losing just one of their opening ten league matches. They were hit by an outbreak of Covid-19 in their squad not once, but twice, at the beginning of January and the end of March and it checked their momentum. Injuries also hit a small squad harder than most and they missed out on automatic promotion. They proved too strong for Sunderland in the play-off semi-finals but were nowhere near their best at Wembley as Blackpool got the better of them. It was a breakthrough season for Nottingham Forest loanee Brennan Johnson whilst West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Alex Palmer played all 46 league games. Liam Bridcutt played an integral role in the middle of the park and allowed playmaker Jorge Grant to provide the assists and score goals. He finished as joint-top goalscorer with Anthony Scully with 17 goals and was player of the season. Keeping hold of Appleton will be crucial if the Imps can go one better next season.

Player of the Season: Jorge Grant