By Nathan Jackson
December 31 2010

Lincoln City's season may finally resume after an absense from the footballing world since November 27th. Eight postponements in a row have frustrated the Imps and has now caused a fixture back log, but at least the recent run without a game hasn't put us in the drop zone.

Well, here we go again. With the match seemingly almost certain to be on, the Imps look set to play in the League for the first time since November 23rd and face a long awaited opportunity to put the 5-0 defeat to Bury behind them. In all fairness the first few postponements weren't really a surprise due to the weather, but as the weather improved, the constant postponements became frustrating and I suppose we're lucky in a sense that Barnet have wasted the chance to overtake us, meaning we have three games in hand over them and are level on points.

This is a shorter preview than normal due to not really having a lot to right about, although the Imps certainly won't have an easy time against Bradford, although almost ironically it is the second game City play in a row that will see them come up against a side that has lost their last match 4-0. It's safe to say that Bradford will be far tougher than Hereford were though.

Lincoln can go 19th with a win, Bradford could rise as high as ninth with a victory, although they would need a massive goal difference swing.

Having not played for five weeks, I can't really make comments about current form or anything like that, so I won't do my usual run down of whom I expect to start and some quirky little stat, which I know you all love.

Since City last played the Imps have lost Josh Gowling, who returned to Gillingham, but all the other loanees had their loans extended. It will also be the last game before Danny Hone returns from Darlington.

The only definite absentee is Clark Keltie, whom is out with a thigh injury. Facey has returned from holiday, whereas Andy Hutchinson and Scott Kerr have both returned from injuries gained during the unexpected time off.

The Imps and the Bantams only started competing again in 2007 and the sides have both won twice and shared two draws in that time. It all started back in September 2007 as Bradford made their way to Sincil Bank for the first League meeting between the clubs since the first in 1985. Lincoln took a very dubious lead early on when Louis Dodds' strike was adjudged to have crossed the line, although whether it did or not is very inconclusive. Despite a spirited performance from the Imps, goals from Ndumbu-Nsungu and Colbeck secured the win for the visitors. It was the second in a run of five defeats that started to spell the end for Schofield and Deehan.

Lincoln made the return trip to Valley Parade on Boxing Day and couldn't have wished for a worse start, conceding to a Peter Thorne goal within the first minute. Lincoln would dominate the rest of the game however before equalising through Lenell John-Lewis. The game appeared to be heading towards a draw when Barry Conlon scuffed an effort and it trickled past the useless Ben Smith to give the Bantams the double over Lincoln.

It would be another year before the clubs met again, this time it was a 0-0 draw on Boxing Day 2008 that saw a 0-0 draw, although the visitors were generally the better team. The return fixture was the game that officially confirmed that Lincoln would be a League Two team for the next season, then again, only the overly optimistic thought that City had a realistic chance anyway. Andy Hutchinson gave the Imps the lead just after half time with his first, and to date only, goal for the Imps. The lead latest until just after the year when Bullock equalised.

Last season saw City travel to Valley Parade early on, infact it was City's first League game and after Rob Burch saved a first half penalty, goals from Rene Howe and Chris Fagan propelled City to the nosebleed section of 7th place, it wasn't to last. This turned out to be Peter Jackson's last win as Lincoln manager, he was sacked two weeks later. The return again saw City go into a 2-0 lead through goals through Herd and Gilmour, Boulding did pull one back but Bradford couldn't find an equaliser.

The clubs haven't shared many players over the last ten years. Two current Imps have played a competitive match for Bradford in that time, Scott Kerr (above) and Delroy Facey. The clubs have also shared Luke Cornwall, David Graham and Spencer Weir-Daley in that time. Scott Loach has also been at both clubs, but he didn't play for the Imps before being sold to Watford.

Now that they have gotten rid of the egomaniac that was Michael Boulding, Bradford are having another average season. They did got off to a bit of a struggle, only winning one of their four League games in August and their only three points during that month coming from that game....even Lincoln managed more than that. Infact, Bradford had only won two League games up until mid-October, when a 2-0 win at Barnet appeared to kick start their season as it was the first in a run of four wins in five.

They appeared to be starting a push for promotion but just one win and three defeats in the five games since has pushed them back down the table, they now sit five points off of the relegation zone, although they are still just six off of the top seven.

In recent weeks they have lost Resh Rehman but still maintain a decent squad which includes several former Premiership players, namely Lee Hendrie. Other names you might recognise are the ever dangerous Omar Daley, former City target Gareth Evans and former Hull striker Jason Price. They do have a half-decent squad on paper.

Will Imps finally return to action against Bradford?

Discussion started by theimps.ka (IP Logged), 31/12/2010 14:35

theimps.ka
31/12/2010 14:35

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