Day 108

No news on the Woods transfer. Maybe he'll sign tomorrow. Regardless, he won't be involved in Saturday's match against Ebbsfleet. If he's up to it and we get him in time, I may give him a run in next week's cup tie. In the meantime, I'm looking to Power and Richardson to forge a strong central midfield partnership.

While we're talking about selection policies, I need to figure out a way to ease Smith and Kanouté back into the side. Kanouté's at 71% match fitness, while Smith's at 63%. I'm reluctant to even play them off the bench at those levels.

I've decided to transfer list Rodney in December (ahead of the January transfer window) if he doesn't change his attitude and put together a string of good performances at some stage over the next couple of months. I'll also be renewing my efforts to sell the transfer-listed players around that time—but it's two months away, so they've got time to win me over.

I had a look at the transfer rumours page today, which I've not done before. Apparently we're preparing to make a £10,000 bid for defensive midfielder Stuart Kettlewell. I'm not sure how we'd manage that. I had not heard of the lad before today, and there are plenty of other players I'd look at first if I had £10K to spend (which I don't—I have nothing).

I'll never read Pitchero Non-League again. (Not that I ever did before.)

Day 107

Today was a quiet day. It rained, but that's to be expected. This is England, after all. The lads trained, and it was nice to see Francis Laurent out there doing light drills after four months out. He's the one player on the Lincoln books that I haven't yet seen in action—his hamstring injury predated my arrival.

I'm coasting on autopilot. The team picks itself most weeks, and I watch to see how the dynamics play out. There's not much to do, so I sit twiddling my thumbs—waiting for fresh drama to make life difficult. With a bit of luck, Woods will sign that contract offer tomorrow.

A note from your editor

I've really got into the swing of things over the past few weeks. I don't need to think about what I'm writing to put together an entry each day. That's great as a stream-of-consciousness look at my experience, but I fear it may become shallow if I let it go on much longer without a bit of deeper analysis.

After 106 days, it's not easy to think of something new and interesting to say. And we're at a point in the season—mid-October—where it's too soon to meaningfully evaluate progress or to prepare for the January transfer window. But I feel like I've missed opportunities to write something special—such as when Olembé suffered homesickness and needed a huge 34-day leave of absence (which is still 12 days short of completion).

I'm floundering, to be honest, not sure where to take this story or how to make (keep?) it compelling for another (roughly) 200 days. How do I externalise what I'm doing instinctively, reacting to what the game throws at me with no real understanding of why I make a particular decision. I'm largely just going with the flow; there is no method to my madness—at least that I can describe.

Day 106

Mark Bradshaw took a look at Michael Woods, and came back impressed. He thinks Woods is slightly better than Michael Richardson, the hard-working loanee that started for the first time on the weekend. It'll be interesting to see if the two of them can strike up a partnership...if we sign Woods.

I offered the 21 year old a contract. I talked him down from £1,500 a week wage demands, and he forced me to go way above the £950 a week I initially offered. But I think £1,300 a week with a £150 appearance fee and £35 goal bonus is fair for a player of his calibre.

If the deal goes through, I'll consider selling Alan Power—the current creative outlet in the centre of our midfield. Woods doesn't pass the ball as well as Power, but he's a better across the board. I'd love to try the two together, though I worry about how it might impact on us defensively.

Day 105

Striker Sam Smith returned to full training today. It might take him a couple of weeks to get his fitness up, but I'm glad to have him back. We could do with his physical style to mix things up in attack.

The Reserves hosted North Ferriby for a friendly match. I filled the team with trial players—Miro at left back, slightly out of position so that Johann Smith could take the left wing; Tô up front; Mofokeng in defensive midfield, pushed forward so that Miro and Fatih Akyel could be full backs; Chalwe and Old in central defence; and Khano Smith as Tô's strike partner, playing further forward than he'd like because we had too many left wingers to look at.

It only took five minutes for the team of trialists to score. Johann Smith met a deep Fatih Akyel cross with a brilliant diving header, leaving the North Ferriby keeper stranded.

Tô could—and perhaps should—have doubled the lead ten minutes later when a wayward backpass crossed his path. He raced forward and tried to chip the onrushing goalkeeper, but his shot went wide of the mark. Then it was North Ferriby's turn to be wasteful. My defenders gifted them an opportunity from close range, but the shot wasn't good enough to beat Halstead.

Back up the other end, Khano Smith hit the post from six yards out. It wasn't quite a home-and-hosed certain goal, but it was pretty close to it.

I took Miro off at half time, reverting to the usual advanced 4-4-2 (Mofokeng dropped to left back and substitute Conal Platt slotted in central midfield). I wanted to see more of the defensive winger, but he was clearly struggling with a knock. Halstead made way for youngster Oliver Pannel. I had made my decision to start Halstead in the next league game.

North Ferriby had been tearing holes in our defence all day, and they finally made us pay on 54 minutes. Old won a tackle that spilled to one of their players, who slid the ball through to Old's vacated space for his strike partner to equalise.

Khano Smith put us back in the lead, but only after a bit of luck. The winger-cum-striker went on a mazy run and rounded the keeper, then hit his shot straight into a defender. Lady luck smiled on him, though, and the rebound landed right at his feet. He made no mistake the second time.

A wonder strike from North Ferriby striker Liam Hinds levelled the scores on 68 minutes. Poor Pannell never stood a chance, despite the shot coming from way outside the box.

But Khano Smith popped up to restore our lead once again in the 72nd minute. Pacquette, with his first touch of the game, flicked a header towards the edge of the area. Smith showed great pace to run onto the ball and tap it past the keeper. I hadn't expected him to do well at all, and there he was marching towards a man of the match performance.

Mofokeng had to come off injured with 12 minutes to play. I had a feeling that'd be the last we saw of him. Meanwhile, Smith blew two golden opportunities to complete his hat-trick—firing over the bar after doing all the hard work. Then the lad went down with what appeared to be a serious injury during stoppage time. Tough break.

More drama ensued as North Ferriby won a 96th-minute penalty. Fatih Akyel apparently fouled in the box, but it looked like a dive from where I was sitting. Brown converted the chance, so the match ended three goals apiece after regulation time.

I had scheduled extra time and penalties in the event of scores being level, so that wasn't the final score. North Ferriby took the lead for the first time in the 100th minute, converting a corner thanks to some lax marking in the six-yard box.

We piled on the pressure, desperately seeking an equaliser. But it just wouldn't come. Shots were blocked or just wide, or saved—sometimes all of the above. And even as we got in behind the defence, nobody managed to bundle the ball over the line. There could have been a dramatic 121st-minute equaliser, in the dying seconds of the game, but luck smiled on North Ferriby this time.

Great viewing all round. 4-3 the final score in favour of the visitors. But I got a great look at my Reserve players and the nine men on trial.

As it turns out, of the three trialists who went off injured, only Miro will be out for any period of time. The physio put the figure at five-to-six weeks, so his trial is effectively over.

Closing out today's news, the report came back on young central midfielder Michael Woods. I was right; he's better than our existing crop. I asked for a second opinion from one of the scouts. If they agree with Woodhouse, I'll offer a contract—no trial for this lad.

Day 104

Taylor's goal yesterday marks him as the youngest ever Lincoln goalscorer, at 16 years and 359 days. That's a pretty cool statistic. Hopefully the youngster will bang in several more off the bench as the season progresses.

We had our first backroom meeting in two weeks today (my, how time flies). I heard the usual training and new player recommendations. I don't think we'll do anything about the recommended players after scouting them, with the sole exception of central midfielder Michael Woods. A free agent, the 21 year old is pretty good, from what I've heard. If he's better than Power, he could find himself with a contract offer.

I thought it telling that Grant Brown suggested I drop Joe Anyon due to poor form. I was seriously considering just that, especially with a quality keeper such as Mark Halstead in reserve. I'll be playing Halstead for the Reserves tomorrow. We'll see how he goes there, then make a decision.

We've been drawn against Buxton at home for the FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round in two weeks time. Buxton apparently play in the "Northern Premier Premier." They're semi-professional, and their only known player is Bradley Barraclough—on loan from us. I'll be shocked if we don't crush them.

Day 103

American winger Johann Smith joined us on trial today. He's really quick. My coaching staff seem to think he's the bees knees. I'll reserve judgement until I see him in action. We now have four left-sided midfielders on trial at the club. That's going to be a tricky one to manage—how can I give them all a decent look?

The Under 18s lost again in their group match. That sends them sliding down to sixth, which is more in line with where I expected them to be early in the season.

Bore pulled up exhausted again. I called him in for a chat and said that I'd be giving him a rest. He agreed that he needed it. I told him to take a week off.

The problem with that decision is that, with Kanouté still short of fitness, we don't have any good right-backs to cover for Bore. I put Robson in, praying that he'd survive against York's quick and skilful wingers. In other changes, Richardson replaced the injured Christophe, Matthew Park took Nutter's spot at left-back, and Taylor and Atkinson returned to the bench.

We had to wait until the 30th minute before going close. Barnes-Homer picked up the ball on the edge of the box and fired a powerful shot towards the bottom corner. The York keeper only just managed to tip it wide for a corner.

Barnes-Homer popped up again 13 minutes later. Shuker drew a man out of position, then fed the ball through to the in-form striker. Barnes-Homer confidently placed his shot, leaving Ingham with no chance.

York changed formation at half time, bringing a second striker (Moses Ashikodi) on and moving into a conventional 4-4-2. I hoped that this would open up the game, which would enable us to do some real damage on the break.

I took Shuker off for Nutter on 59 minutes. He was beginning to slow down, and I felt we needed wingers full of energy. A disappointing and oddly-complacent performance from Nialle Rodney was cut short moments later, as I subbed in young winger Robert Taylor. Koroma pushed up to take on his favoured striking duties.

Koroma nearly scored on 67 minutes, sliding across the turf to connect with Nutter's low cross. The shot went just wide, though.

Taylor doubled our lead on 73 minutes, running onto a fine through ball from midfield playmaker Alan Power before tapping the ball into the bottom corner. I took this as an opportunity to rest Power, bringing defensive midfielder Chris Atkinson in to replace him. I didn't think York had much chance of turning the game around.

Of course, as is the way, they scored two minutes later. McGurk rose above our keeper to head a Swallow corner into the empty net. Two-one with 15 minutes to go. We were in for a tense finish.

Then they drew level in the 82nd minute, once again from a header. McGurk threw the ball in short to Tønne, who crossed to the near post from the byline on the left. Jason Walker beat Anyon to the ball, heading across the goal and into the back of the net. We'd thrown away a two-goal lead. I was furious.

We sent men pouring forward , but it was too late. Anyon's mistakes cost us the game, as he twice came for the ball and was beaten to it. David McGurk earned man of the match. We lost ground on league-leaders Mansfield.

Day 102

We've been given odds of 7-4 to beat York tomorrow. For the third (I think) time this season, we're underdogs. We've yet to lose on our travels, though, and I have no plans to start doing so now.

I took a look at their squad. Industrious striker Jason Walker has been the main instigator in their successful run. He's determined, hardworking, and flamboyant, but not especially good in the air or in front of goal or with the ball at his feet (just decent at everything). If we neutralise him, that'll take a lot of wind out of their sails.

Their wingers could be a problem if they get a lot of space. Both have pace to burn and good crossing ability. They have slow central defenders, though, and our big chance to destroy them could be exploiting Chris Doig's lead-footedness. Nialle Rodney's lightning quick, so maybe we'll keep him in the starting lineup.

On the subject of starting lineups, I'm concerned about right-back Peter Bore; he looks exhausted. I could put Robson in for the next match, but he might get destroyed for a lack of pace. It's too soon for Kanouté. I guess we'll see how Bore pulls up tomorrow. Either way, that could be our weak spot against York.

Khano Smith arrived on trial today. I don't think there's any chance we'll offer him a permanent deal. He has decent skill and pace, but not a determined bone in his body. He also lacks composure, creativity, and decision-making ability. Then again, who knows? Maybe he'll surprise me.

Day 101

We took a new left winger on trial today. Miro looks like a pretty good player. The coaching staff believe that he's just as good as Olembé. From what I can gather, he's not as quick or skilful as the Cameroonian, but is more creative and is stronger defensively. He's useless in the air, and isn't exactly the gutsiest individual. He'd be a fine addition to the squad, if he fits in.

I'm not sure how he'd fare with getting a work permit, though. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. First I need to see him in action. He'll start in the Reserves friendly four days from now.

Meanwhile, Olembé's another 18 days from a return from his leave of absence. And striker Sam Smith is about to resume full training after sustaining a hip injury in the second game of the season.

Day 100

Wow, so I made it through one hundred days. That's pretty cool. Here's to the next hundred days going as well as (or better than) the previous hundred.

Christophe wasn't able to adapt himself to a short passing game. Too bad—I like to have the midfielders focused on short passing. I'm beginning to wonder whether he'll stay at the club after the January transfer window. He's a good player who doesn't quite fit the way I want to play, and he'd be a prime candidate for a quick sale to help balance the books.

Kanouté's back in full training! The young Malian defender was absent for the past four weeks with a back strain. I think the upcoming weekend game will be too soon for him, but we should see the lad in a Lincoln shirt again soon.

I scheduled a Reserves friendly against North Ferriby for Monday (five days from now). We'll use that to give Kanouté some match fitness and to take another look at the current trialists.

Day 99

Josh Gowling made the Team of the Week. Good for him, I say. He had a great game against Southport. This week's Blue Square Bet Premier best eleven was dominated by Tamworth players—a whopping seven of them.

As for today's game against Fleetwood, I wasn't able to call on Russell in any way—not even for a spot on the bench. Park wasn't up to a starting berth, either. I settled for deploying the same formation and personnel that got us through the last match after Ansah's injury; Shuker switched to the left flank, Koroma dropped to the right wing (with an inside forward role), and Rodney came in up front. I prayed that would get us through against capable but out-of-form opposition.

The opening 15 minutes were a nervous affair, with both sides snatching at half chances and giving the ball away needlessly. Worryingly for me, Fleetwood looked dangerous. Although it was our boy Barnes-Homer who had the first real opportunity to score. He got in behind the defence for a one-on-one with the keeper, but Davies came off his line quickly and the striker's indecisiveness gave the Fleetwood defenders time to regroup for an important tackle.

Barnes-Homer got another chance a few minutes later, and this time he was clinical. The striker danced into the opposition's penalty area and seemed to take everyone by surprise. From a tight angle, it should have been a difficult chance to convert, but Fleetwood's defenders were stuck on their heels and their keeper much too slow to register the danger. Barnes-Homer slotted the ball home effortlessly. One-nil after 28 minutes. He's in a rich-vein of form at the moment—I hope these wonder runs can continue.

The remainder of the second half passed by with little of note. Fleetwood were a mess, but nonetheless threatening, while we wanted to make sure we didn't concede just before the break.

Richardson replaced Power on 52 minutes. I hoped he would add both energy and steel to our midfield. Then Nutter, who'd been disappointing, made way for Park around the 60-minute mark. I was forced to use our third substitution a few minutes later, when Christophe went down injured. Robson came on, and I shuffled the pack. Koroma moved inside, just behind the strikers; Bore moved up to right midfield; and Richardson dropped into a defensive midfield role, protecting the defence.

Shuker put a free kick mere inches over the bar in the 72nd minute; I wanted a second goal. We should have had it on 76 minutes, when Koroma played Rodney through on goal. The young striker took too long, however, and was tackled. Then Gowling hit the bar with a header from the resulting corner.

Barnes-Homer continued to threaten, going close twice more in the next ten minutes. It wasn't quite all Lincoln—Fleetwood scraped together a few set piece chances—but my boys were dominant. I thought perhaps we deserved a second goal, but 1-0 is how it stayed. Barnes-Homer picked up man of the match; he was really the only stand-out performer for either side.

The verdict on Christophe is bad. He injured his hip. I had to choose between sending him to a specialist, at a cost of £500, for a three-month layoff, or let the physio treat him for a six-to-seven-month spell on the sidelines. He earns more than that in a week, so it was a no-brainer. We'll be reliant on loan players in the ball-winning midfield role for the next few months.

In a nice change of pace, Fleetwood manager Micky Mellon (I can't be the only one who finds his name funny) praised me for my tactical choices in today's game. Looking at how things played out, I'd agree—I got the big tactical decisions right.

Our attendance, in case you were wondering, passed the 2,000 mark—but not by much. 2,172 people showed up to watch the game (approximately one-fifth of the full stadium capacity). These low attendances are not doing our finances any favours.

Day 98

For the third time this season, the Lincoln board is expecting a "record low" turnout. Just 2,000 people are expected to show for a clash between two of the biggest clubs—us and Fleetwood—in the Conference League.

I really don't understand this. We're going from strength to strength on the pitch. Second in the league, with 2.2 goals a game, unbeaten in seven matches. Fleetwood are underachieving in 11th, but they've got a strong squad of emerging stars—the second highest-paid team in the league. Why do our attendances struggle so dearly?

Anyway, we're being touted as "comfortable favourites" to win. At 4-7 odds for a win, 5-2 for a draw, and 4-1 for a loss, I don't know that I'd phrase it quite that way. Especially with the problem we're having with our left wingers dropping like flies.

Looking to tomorrow's match, there may be changes beyond the one that is necessary. Bore looks exhausted. I'm considering resting him, but I'm not sure how I'd feel about putting Robson in from the start. Nutter, Christophe, and Park all have question marks hanging over their fitness. And it appears that Simon Russell won't be ready to return from injury.

If Russell's still out and Park isn't fit to start, that complicates matters. Shuker may need to play on the left. Youngster Robert Taylor is busy on international duty, so if Shuker plays on the left, Koroma will need to play out of position on the right wing. And there's no way I'm fielding two weak full backs, if Nutter and Bore need a rest—yet Nicolau and Robson are the only other full backs available.

Day 97

I've been thinking about how to tackle the left wing problem. Olembé's not due to return from his leave of absence for another 22 days. Ansah's injured for four to five weeks. And Russell's due back in a few days. We do have other players who can play out wide on the left side of midfield—Nicolau, Platt, Park, and Shuker too if I play him out of his comfort zone.

But there's a lot of doubt about the quality of these options. Nicolau and Platt are not very good, to put it mildly. Park is perfectly capable of playing at this level, but he's really a defender and I fear his lack of pace could be an issue (not that it seems to cause many problems for Russell or Shuker). Shuker did well on the left yesterday, after Ansah got stretchered off, but I doubt his ability to perform consistently there across 90 minutes—not just from one game to the next.

And Russell may have been in great form before his injury, but he's punching above his weight if he holds down a regular starting spot.

The choice I need to make is whether or not to try and bring someone new in. Perhaps we offer Burgess a contract. Perhaps we find someone to bring in on loan. Or maybe I scour the list of free agents, looking for a suitable candidate. We can't really afford to do this, though. And our squad is getting big for a team at this level. So I'd need to release someone. And that costs a lot of money—like, the wages for the remainder of their contract.

A casual glance at the roster revealed two potential candidates—Miro, a Mozambican international, and Khano Smith, a Bermudan international with MLS experience. Neither of them has EU nationality, which complicates matters somewhat, but I offered them trials anyway.

I also offered a trial to Johann Smith, who holds three passports (USA, UK, Jamaica) and has loads of pace. I don't expect anything to come of these moves, but I want to consider all of my options.

Day 96

The Under 18s lost to Chesterfield in the Under 18s Cup—no doubt in large part to a red card in the 27th minute. That knocks them out of the competition at the Second Round. Shame they won't get any more cup experience this season, but that's otherwise no big deal.

We played Southport in the league today. I put new loan signing Michael Richardson on the bench—I don't want to throw him in the deep end after just a day at the club. Christophe returned to the starting eleven after two weeks out with a damaged elbow. Atkinson dropped out to make way for the Frenchman. With Russell injured, I had no choice but to bring Ansah back in on the left wing. We kept the same back four that's been holding steady for most of the season.

Disaster struck in the 3rd minute when Ansah went down injured. With no specialist left wingers available, I had a tough decision to make. Matthew Park could do a decent job, but he was still recovering from yesterday's Reserves friendly and I doubted he would last the 86 minutes. Nialle Rodney is rated at "awkward" for playing on either wing. Shuker is a "competent" left winger, while Koroma is a "competent" right winger.

I opted to shuffle things around. Rodney came in, and slotted up front. Shuker switched flanks. Koroma dropped to the right wing and took on the role of inside forward. I prayed it would work out.

It appeared that we'd be fine. Barnes-Homer linked up with Rodney in the 10th minute, then went charging through the Southport defence before belting a strike past the keeper and into the roof of the net. It was one of the best goals I've seen this season. Brilliant stuff.

Two minutes later, a Barnes-Homer long ball put Koroma and Rodney on the break in a two-on-two matchup. The Southport defenders did just enough to concede a corner rather than a goal.

An excellent run and cross from Koroma should have doubled our lead on 23 minutes, but Barnes-Homer's header sailed way over the bar. No matter, as Gowling converted a Shuker corner with a close-range header in the 26th minute.

We were unlucky not to add a third in the 33rd minute. Nutter's looping cross was flicked goalwards by Barnes-Homer. Nemes dived to his left to make the save, but could only parry the ball into the path of Rodney. Rodney's shot rebounded off the defender trying to protect the goal-line, then off Barnes-Homer and back to the defender—who cleared the danger.

Rodney blew another chance to make it 3-0 in the 50th minute, shooting straight into the keeper after a lofted through ball put him in a one-on-one.

I had an eye to the midweek fixture coming up against Fleetwood, so Power made way for Richardson on 55 minutes. Park came on for Shuker in the 78th minute, moments after Richardson nearly scored a cracking long-range effort on his debut.

Two-nil is how it finished. Gowling earned man of the match for a strong all-round performance. Barnes-Homer, Marques, and Bore also impressed. The only negatives were Ansah's injury—out for four-to-five weeks—and that we didn't win by more.

And Mansfield lost, so we closed the gap to two points. Awesome.

Now I have to think fast about the left wing problem. Olembé's still away, Ansah's out, Russell's out. That leaves Park, Nicolau, or Shuker playing out of position. Or I could try to sign Burgess.

Day 95

We face lowly Southport tomorrow. Their manager, Liam Watson, spoke out against my style of football (what opposition manager would like it when we keep a tight defence while attacking with venom?). I hit back that they're struggling because he's a shit manager. I'll take anyone on with these stupid mind games.

We've been given odds of 4-7 to win, despite being the away team, while Southport are at 4-1. That tells me the bookies are not ruling out an upset, so we should be careful not to get caught out.

Kiwi defender Steven Old arrived on trial just in time to play for the Reserves in their friendly against Long Eaton today. Unfortunately his fellow trialist Tô was off on international duty. And just when I was on the brink of going after the lad. Maybe next time. Mofokeng, another trialist who impressed in the last match, dropped to the bench because of poor fitness.

Fatih Akyel's high looping cross fell to Burgess on the far post at the 11-minute mark, opening the scoring. It looked set to be a very one-sided match, but Long Eaton rallied immediately—with two close efforts in quick succession.

Nothing came of it, though, and we exposed the weakness of their defence with another goal. Burgess crossed to the near post and young striker Jordan Thomas broke from his man to tuck the ball in. Long Eaton's defenders never moved.

Once again Long Eaton tried to rally, and it took great goalkeeping from Halstead to prevent a goal from close range. Nothing was going to stop Joe Gray's strike from some 35-or-so yards out, however. They looked to be back in it.

The goals continued to flow freely up the other end. A corner from Burgess was cleared unsuccessfully to the centre of the six-yard box, where Old poked at the ball. It rebounded off two players before rolling over the line—3-1.

Just moments later Fatih Akyel played another cross from deep, aiming for the edge of the box. Thomas threw himself head-first towards the oncoming ball, connecting with a diving header that bounced past the surprised Long Eaton keeper—4-1.

After a thrilling first period, the second half felt anti-climactic. It took 33 minutes for anything noteworthy to happen, and that was a horrendously-mishit shot from Long Eaton's Moss—after a great run forward into space. In the 85th minute Husbands tried to get onto the end of a great long ball from Paul Hunt. Chalwe outpaced the striker, and went to pass back to Halstead. But Moss was alert to the move, and beat the keeper to the ball. Moss's shot ricocheted off Halstead into the path of Husbands, who fired into an empty net—4-2.

Fatih Akyel, Thomas, and Burgess all impressed me. Thomas looks to have a bright future, while the two trialists have now performed well twice. Ahmadi killed off his hopes of a contract. I ended his trial three weeks early. I think I'll wait to see what happens with Olembé before I make a decision on Burgess. We don't really need (or have the budget for) another left winger, but he'd be a decent replacement for the Cameroonian.

Day 94

Newcastle accepted my loan offer for young industrious midfielder Michael Richardson. He agreed to join us at 11:45pm. Christophe may now find himself warming the bench instead of starting (when he's fit).

I scheduled a Reserves match against Long Eaton tomorrow. I need to take another look at the trial men (Akyel, Mofokeng, Chalwe, Burgess, Tô, and Ahmadi).

The first-team squad is apparently still unfamiliar with our starting formation. Considering that I've barely changed it at all in the past ten matches, I find this puzzling. Surely bumping one of the wide men a little further up the pitch then back to the old spot, then bumping the other wide man forward, could not have such a big impact?

Eh, I don't know. I switched the additional focus area of our match preparation from defensive positioning to defending set pieces. Hopefully that will prevent a future late-game set-piece goal scored against us.

Day 93

Today I entertained myself with league stats. It turns out the defensive record I'm so proud of—given that we average more than two goals a game—is only fourth best in the league. Leaders Mansfield have conceded just eight goals (and scored 28) in 12 games. That's dominance, if ever I saw it.

I felt better about our measly attendance when I saw it was sixth best in the league...then immediately worse when I looked at the numbers. Our average of 2943 pales in comparison to Luton's 6563—or even to 2nd best Stockport's 4161. Looking at it by capacity, we're averaging just 29.08% of the maximum. Luton are at 63.72%, Stockport at 40.40%, and the hapless Hayes & Yeading at 6.44%.

At least we have the best away record in the league. That'll hold us in good steady as the season progresses. (Our home record, on the other hand, is way down in 11th, with three draws, a loss, and two wins).

I've felt all along that I'm doing a lot with a little when it comes to personnel at Lincoln. Turns out that "little" is not quite a fair term. Our current salary per annum is £778K, which is fifth highest (Luton lead the way with £1.41M). Telford are fifth in the league and getting by on £384K a year in player wages. I guess I should stop complaining about budget.

We play a clean game (and so do league leaders Mansfield, I was pleased to see). Just eight yellow cards, giving us the third best discipline. I don't like dirty play, so I'll take that as a sign my boys play clean and honest—rather than being pansies.

On the players front, Shuker's holding equal third on the assists charts—behind fellow aging stars Lee Hendrie and Steve Jones. Power, Barnes-Homer, and Atkinson are all passing well—at greater than 80% completion rates. Koroma loves to go for a run, and the stats show it. His 3.46 dribbles a game place him second behind York winger Matty Blair.

Barnes-Homer's record in front of goal is a wasteful one—just 37% of his shots have been on target. Peter Bore, meanwhile, has covered an astounding 128.2 kilometres—that's 10.9 kilometres a game. Olembé was averaging a staggering best-in-the-league 12 kilometres a game before his injury and subsequent leave of absence. We miss him for more than his passing and shooting. That's a lot of running power we've lost.

Power has averaged slightly more than a key pass every game—13 from the 11 times he's played. That puts his importance in perspective for me. Marques and Gowling dominate in the air against most opponents. Now I have some numbers to prove it. Marques's 22 key headers is sixth best in the league, while Gowling's 19 key headers is 10th.

The official verdict on my best performers so far this season puts Olembé at top (and 11th in the league), followed by Barnes-Homer, Russell, Marques, Bore, Gowling, Koroma, Shuker, then Power. None of my other players are listed in the top 100.

Day 92

In a frustratingly-comedic turn of events, Jean-François Christophe returned to full training only to injury winger Simon Russell in his first session. Russell's injury isn't bad, thankfully—he'll only be out for a couple of weeks. I think we can handle that.

The Reserves faced Rocester in a friendly match today. It was my chance to look at trialists Chalwe, Ahmadi, Tô, Fatih Akyel, and Mofokeng.

It only took seven minutes for Tô to threaten. The striker turned sharply on the edge of the box and fired a shot inches wide of the post. We piled on the pressure, with right-sided players Mofokeng and Rodney putting several crosses into the box in quick succession.

Tô put us in front on 37 minutes after a one-two pass, turn, and shot with Cunningham. He looked great value—a cut above the other players on the pitch.

Rodney doubled the lead three minutes later, opportunistically running onto Park's speculative cross when the Rocester defenders stood on their heels.

Fatih Akyel added our third on 53 minutes when he broke off his marker and Burgess's corner met his head. Burgess, who'd been poor up to that point, sprang to life, firing a vicious strike towards the corner of the goal moments later. Then in the 68th minute the winger wasted an opportunity to get a goal, after doing the hard work to win the ball inside the penalty area.

We took the game out 3-0. Ahmadi was quiet, but the other trialists played well. I was also delighted to see good performances from Park, Cunningham, and Rodney.

I got more scout reports today—on the midfielders recommended two days ago in a backroom meeting and on the players I asked my scouts to looks at yesterday. Newcastle youngster Michael Richardson looks like he'd be a great addition to the side. He has an incredible engine. I approached his club with a loan offer.

Falkirk's Dale Fulton is decent, but not as good as Richardson. Since they play the same position, I won't be going after the young Scot unless Richardson turns sour. Liverpool defender Stephen Sama is similarly talented but unworthy of an approach.

Kiwi free agent Steven Old still sounds like a good bet after Ian Gardner's report. Hopefully he'll join us on trial shortly and I can take a closer look.

And Dunfermline castaway Craig Easton looks like a definite purchase, except we have no means of signing him at this stage. I don't want to agree to a January transfer so far ahead of the new year, and a loan deal is off the table. I'll have to remember to re-evaluate closer to that date.

Day 91

I got reports on two of the players suggested during yesterday's backroom meeting. Central defender Fraser Kerr is a talented lad with a bright future ahead of him, and I would seriously consider approaching Birmingham about loaning him...but he joined Conference league leaders Mansfield on loan this morning. Damn.

Stephen Sama—a German central defender—is not as good as Kerr, but he is available to loan. I think I'll pass on him for now—we've already got cover at centre back, and that's all he'd be at this stage. I did ask for another scout report, though.

Mark Bradshaw updated me on his UK & Ireland scouting assignment. Kiwi defender Steven Old is not at all old, and looks worthy of a closer look. I offered him a four-week trial and asked for a more detailed report. Dunfermline midfielder Craig Easton is getting rather old, but he's still got plenty of ability. I requested another report on him, since we don't have reliable information on his ability, but I think I might go after the Scot.