Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2017 2:48 pm
Posts: 4809
Location: In the Armchair.
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THE BIG GAME PREVIEW – LINCOLN CITYLooking back at our Saturday fixture having had time to reflect you might want to argue that we have improved, well I can’t argue with you when comparing scorelines, we have gone from total capitulation and shipping five goals in consecutive matches to conceding one but with the same end result….and ultimately we lost again, and at home….again.
I’d also argue that Ipswich Town couldn’t hold a candle to teams like Sheffield Wednesday or Bolton, a decent team yes, but I would fall short at saying anything else, so we played better, against a lesser team, and still lost albeit by a smaller margin……. Improvement, well not really, well not in my book.
You can cling to the supposed improvement thing if you like and it helps you sleep at night, but aren’t you concerned how our players just seem to disappear into thin air in the second half. Collectively their effectiveness just seems to drop off the edge of a cliff and whilst we have conceded heavily twice recently, this game or end result didn’t feel that much different, with the chances of us scoring a goal in the second half falling to near zero, and that is going to happen in any game at the moment regardless of the opposition, promotion chasing or trying to avoid the drop, and any coaching team worth their salt of future opponents are going to know this.
Currently I’m not really sure I care if we get relegated or not as I’m starting to entertain the theory that if we dodge the relegation bullet then the club might further believe their own hype about the players that they have been peddling since August, just think Ground Hog Day comes to SMK next season.
League 2 might be what some of this lot need, a wake up call, and in reality they would have found their level, and you never know we might win a game or two, and at home, now wouldn’t that be a thing, and you never know, win a few games, and the fans might just sneak back, and there is also something lurking in the background that might just be the catalyst for attracting those fans back.
Whisper it quietly…. but some are already talking about the stars aligning once again. I said when Jacko came onboard from Leeds this could well be a short appointment if we get relegated, we have seen no mention of a contract length, and I suggested at the time it might be a come with us until May type scenario, see what happens, and we can talk some more. If we do go down, then what, will Jacko go, voluntarily or otherwise, or will they give him longer, then we might well be searching for a new manager in the summer.
Personally, I don’t think he is a bad manager, and I have to also say I feel sorry for him, as I feel he ha been sold a pup, and with a team with a better budget…well any budget come to that, and he might do well…well we will see as May creeps closer.
So, the catalyst I talk of, well Oxford and Robbo have just parted company, and he has often said he would like to comeback at some stage and the club might just decide that it is the perfect marriage or the possible solution to one major problem, getting the fans back in.
When I say perfect relationship there might just be one or two things to iron out before they sign a pre-nuptial agreement, and the stumbling block could well be what Sweeting’s role is in all this, I doubt the two could work alongside each other, but if we get relegated Pete might just decide that Sweeting flattered to deceive and call time, it might not happen, but you have to suspect consideration will be given ….who knows, but you cannot deny it’s a possibility, stranger things have happened.
Finally then looking forward to Tuesday night and our trip to Sincil Bank to play Lincoln City and you have to say it doesn’t get any easier. Lincoln may not be a Bolton, Sheffield Wednesday, or Ipswich but its hard to get away from the fact that they remain unbeaten at home in the league, even if 12 of those 15 home games have been draws, but equally you have to concede you wouldn’t be shocked to see us go there and win, it would be so us to pull off a result where better teams have failed.
Below is the current league positions of both teams, plus the home form of Lincoln, and our away form.Lincoln (15th) – P 31, W 8, D 16, L 7, GF 30, GA 32, Pts 40
MK Dons (22nd) – P 33, W 8, D 5, L 20, GF 30, GA 52, Pts 29
Lincoln (H)`(14th) – P 15, W 3, D 12, L 0, GF 14, GA 10, Pts 21
MK Dons (A) (14th) – P 16, W 6, D 1, L 9, GF 19, GA 27, Pts 19To try and give you the scale of the problem before us, Lincoln have drawn with, Exeter City, Fleetwood Town, Forest Green, Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton Athletic, Plymouth Argyle, Accrington Stanley, Bolton Wanderers, Wycombe Wanderers, Cambridge Utd, Ipswich Town, and Portsmouth, with their 3 victories coming over Bristol Rovers, Morecambe, and probably most notably Derby County, and perhaps a small reminder they have travelled to both Barnsley and Ipswich and won, happy so far.
We last played Lincoln on January 14th in a boring draw in sub-zero conditions at SMK, a game where there were just 3 efforts on target and we had 71% of the possession. We had just the one chance according to the BBC, but I can’t recall who or what it was it was so insignificant.
Historically we have played the Imps on 15 occasions with a record of P 15, W 7, D 4, L 4, GF 24, GA 22.
2005/06 – Lincoln 1 MK Dons 1 (FAC) (Edds)
2005/06 – MK Dons 2 Lincoln 1 (FAC) (Platt 2)
2006/07 – Lincoln 2 MK Dons 3 (LG2) (McLeod, Wilbraham, Platt)
2006/07 – MK Dons 2 Lincoln 2 (LG2) (McLeod, Edds)
2007/08 – MK Dons 4 Lincoln 0 (Knight 2, Dyer, Wilbraham)
2007/08 – Lincoln 1 MK Dons 2 (Regan, Johnson)
2018/19 – Lincoln 2 MK Dons 1 (Healey)
2018/19 – MK Dons 0 Lincoln 2
2019/20 – MK Dons 2 Lincoln 1 (Brittain, G Williams)
2019/20 – Lincoln 1 MK Dons 1 (Healey)
2020/21 – MK Dons 1 Lincoln 2 (Mason)
2020/21 – Lincoln 4 MK Dons 0
2021/22 – Lincoln 2 MK Dons 3 (Twine 2, O’Riley)
2021/22 – MK Dons 2 Lincoln 1 (Darling, O’Hora)
2022/23 – MK Dons 0 Lincoln 0Top scorer for Lincoln City this season is Ben House with 9 goals in all comps, with Jack Diamond, Teddy Bishop, and Max Sanders topping the assists charts with three each.
The Imps travelled to relegation stablemates Forest Green on Saturday and added another draw to the growing list of stalemates, and by all accounts it wasn’t much of a game, Ben House scored the Lincoln goal, but one thing I did notice was that Lincoln could only field 5 subs, so they have an injury crisis, and this is probably a good time to play them…. he says hopefully.
Lincoln boast three former Dons players, skipper Regan Poole, midfielder Lasse Sorenson who seems to regularly play the last 30 minutes of a game but I wouldn’t be shocked to see him start for this game, and centre half Joe Walsh who hasn’t played since the first week in January and looks to be long term injured yet again.
The gaffer at Lincoln City is 46 year old and former Republic of Ireland International Mark Kennedy and as a winger played 536 games scoring 41 goals for teams such as Liverpool and Manchester City, plus 3 years at Wimbledon when they were in the Premiership.
This is his second appointment as a manager, his first being for Macclesfield where he was sacked after just 12 games in charge. He has though managed to make it further with the Imps, appointed in May 2022 he has overseen 42 games with a Win Ratio of 31%. His career stats however sit a little lower with a record of P 54, W 14, D 22, L 18, with a Win Ratio of just 25%.Betting – Like our last game with Lincoln the bookies are siding with the draw and who can blame them, but at least there is a bit of value if you fancy either team.Lincoln City 11/8, Draw 23/10, MK Dons 5/2.Prediction – The easy thing to do would be to predict a draw, but for some reason I am feeling brave, so I’m going with us to stop the undefeated home run of Lincoln and to win 2-1. If the last few games are anything to go by I can see us leading 2-0 at the break, then Lincoln get back in it and threaten to share the points, but we just hang on…..well I can dream.
Safe trip to all those making the journey to Lincolnshire.  WD
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Read the MELTDOWN after every game, no bullshit, just giving it straight
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