Lincs Cup

[TheThirdTwin]

Before I dive into negativity, well done to the club, players and match officials to get the game on and played. Considering the freezing conditions it was a victory of sorts to get it on.

Secondly, the lads who played last night should be applauded for effort, irrelevant of the result.

My issue is how under-prepared they looked and despite the effort they made, as a team they found themselves way short of vaguely making it anything of a contest.

And yes, I know it was a group of players that haven’t played as a team before, but (here comes my grumble) isn’t it  part of being a hybrid club to put a mixture of players together when needed?

For me, the performance last night only highlighted why the first team has no depth, and why very few of the u-23 players are doing anything other than occasionally warm the first team bench.

This begs the question…what is Joe Simpson actually achieving? I know what his purpose and intentions are, but is this part of our hybrid existence  simply draining the budget away from the first team?

Again, I reiterate, i mean nothing against the lads that played last night, but not playing regular or competitive matches was so evident.

[Pete Brooksbank]

Had a proper squad been constructed with hybrid then last night would have been a useful opportunity to rotate a few players - rest a few tired legs, play and assess some of the fringe u23s, and - horror of horrors - maybe even try and actually win the game.

As it is, we tossed out a half-arsed academy/u23 Frankenstein outfit that was always going to be cannon fodder, inevitably got stuffed, no-one turned up to watch and, from a first team perspective, the entire evening was a colossal waste of time that doesn't merit anyone spending more than three seconds thinking about.

2023 in a nutshell and we move on having learnt the square sum of f**k all.

[noughtyforties]

And then you wonder why long term legacy fans of almost 50 years like myself are increasingly growing completely disillusioned with the club.

Off the pitch spot on, never been better.

On it, a half arsed shambles that lurches from embarrassment to embarrassment at every turn.

[oxo]

Agree with the above no game for a couple of weeks and we treat the paying fans to a team that was always going to get beat. I have questioned what this hybrid system is bringing to the club and what this so called under 23 team is really all about and last night did nothing to answer those questions. I find it confusing that the fans through BUSA are raising money to finance the under 23s set up as advertised in the BUSA posters around the ground, I would have thought that the cost would have been covered in the clubs budget however, ours is not to question why even though we keep pumping our money into the club. UTP

[noughtyforties]

Agree with the above no game for a couple of weeks and we treat the paying fans to a team that was always going to get beat. I have questioned what this hybrid system is bringing to the club and what this so called under 23 team is really all about and last night did nothing to answer those questions. I find it confusing that the fans through BUSA are raising money to finance the under 23s set up as advertised in the BUSA posters around the ground, I would have thought that the cost would have been covered in the clubs budget however, ours is not to question why even though we keep pumping our money into the club. UTP

Unless you were being sarcastic there Mel you've every right to question where your money goes.

Thats the problem here, people won't ask questions because they'll get shot down by the "be grateful to have a club" & "how dare you question our board" mob.

As pointless as last night was it has exposed the folly of this half baked hybrid system for the 'jobs for the boys' fiasco it is. David needs to dispense with it and go back to part time where we attract the better, more experienced lads at this level, not wet behind the ears academy lads who aren't strong enough for thie level of football. 

[oxo]

And then you wonder why long term legacy fans of almost 50 years like myself are increasingly growing completely disillusioned with the club.

Off the pitch spot on, never been better.

On it, a half arsed shambles that lurches from embarrassment to embarrassment at every turn.

Agree with the above no game for a couple of weeks and we treat the paying fans to a team that was always going to get beat. I have questioned what this hybrid system is bringing to the club and what this so called under 23 team is really all about and last night did nothing to answer those questions. I find it confusing that the fans through BUSA are raising money to finance the under 23s set up as advertised in the BUSA posters around the ground, I would have thought that the cost would have been covered in the clubs budget however, ours is not to question why even though we keep pumping our money into the club. UTP

Unless you were being sarcastic there Mel you've every right to question where your money goes.

Thats the problem here, people won't ask questions because they'll get shot down by the "be grateful to have a club" & "how dare you question our board" mob.

As pointless as last night was it has exposed the folly of this half baked hybrid system for the 'jobs for the boys' fiasco it is. David needs to dispense with it and go back to part time where we attract the better, more experienced lads at this level, not wet behind the ears academy lads who aren't strong enough for thie level of football.

It was sarcasm Andy as you rightly suspected, without a fans representative on the board with the required mandate I am afraid all our protestations fall on deaf ears and it appears this situation will continue for the forseeable future. A wonderful community stadium but with no community representation. I had better leave it at that or the wrath of some will come down on me.  UTP.

[Pete Brooksbank]

Mel - re. the u23s, I think the BUSA posters were a bit misleading as they aren't funding them directly, but they are raising money for gear I believe. The actual wages/expenses etc are covered by the board.

The more I think about it beyond three seconds, the more last night rankles. Of course nobody really cares too much about the county cup, but I thought the whole point of the u23s was that we'd play friendlies where we could experiment with the academy players, which would spare us the indignity of pointlessly tossing away competitive first team fixtures without even trying.

[Oakham Pilgrim]

I too am wondering what our current system is. Last night I missed my first home game of the season as I couldn't face 50 miles each way for what I correctly assumed would be a training session for sundry players from various categories. I've held on to the new system and given it the benefit of the doubt, but after a promising start (and I don't doubt anyone sane would expect an immediate charge to top of the table), I am concerned that we're in danger of going backwards. I also backed Cully, but he does himself no favours in appearing rather aloof. But what do I know?

[wismo]

The U23’s will get another chance to play in the cup

[Burgh Boy]

Re-instated - so we are in the Semis! Shameful that a professional Club with professional staff like Lincoln City had missed the fact that they had played at least one ineligible player. So many times throughout football the important paperwork is overlooked usually resulting in a penalty for that business!

[Pilgrim86]

Seemingly, it was due to one of their trialists - while he was signed on correctly, his last club was in Ireland but didn't have international clearance to play.

[Pete Brooksbank]

The more I think about it beyond three seconds, the more last night rankles. Of course nobody really cares too much about the county cup, but I thought the whole point of the u23s was that we'd play friendlies where we could experiment with the academy players, which would spare us the indignity of pointlessly tossing away competitive first team fixtures without even trying.

See above for last night too.

[Burgh Boy]

Wow! Only 350 turned up to what should have been promoted by both Clubs as a Cup derby. Missed opportunity on many fronts, methinks! So sad this competition has been converted by so called senior clubs in the County into a series of glorified training matches. Has been like that for the past 40 years or more so the spirit of the Lincolnshire Cup has well and truly been buried!
Slightly different in the Norfolk Senior Cup at the moment. It is still treated as a serious competition by the Step 4 and below clubs but King's Lynn and Norwich City only enter their U-23s and U-21s respectively. I think the Final venue of Carrow Road is a great incentive to the players to progress in that particular competition. (For the record, Norwich United had folded their first team before they were due to play in this season's Cup!)