The rumour mill continues to turn at Sincil Bank as a new tale began to surface this week regarding the position Keith Alexander will be holding come August.
Local press seem to have already packaged Keith up in brown paper and written ‘London Road, Peterborough’ on the parcel, but the streets of Lincoln are now awash with a new fantasy that sees Alexander moving closer to home but staying in League Two… with Notts County.
Please, humour me as this story does seem a little unbelievable. Also please bear in mind this is mere conjecture and probably bears no relevance to events that have taken place or are likely to take place.
Events begin to unfold in March this year when Rob Bradley, the peoples chairman, opted to resign from his position at the club to concentrate on his architecture business. However what if at a prior board meeting a fellow director had indicated that money should be spent on the squad? What if this had been met with indignance from the chairman well aware he is not only running the club he loves, but a club that wants to avoid being in a poor financial state once again? Certain gossips even mention talk of the aforementioned director threatening to up sticks and head to a more ambitious club. It is well known some City directors have strong links with the Nottinghamshire area and one was even courted by Notts County before joining the City board.
On the playing side the agent activity has been frenzied. Players have been hawked around other clubs who have finally taken note of the talent currently residing at Sincil Bank. Bradford City for one have an eye on Alan Marriott after failing to tempt him a couple of summers ago. Their scouts check out Mazza’s form and another jewel in the City crown catches their eye, namely Richard Butcher.
Keith desperately wants to manage at a higher level and League One will do him nicely especially with the Imps team he has crafted. Play Offs and eventual promotion will heap great financial reward on the club and earn them the chance to compete with the likes of Forest and possibly Sheffield Wednesday. Failure will condemn them to another season visiting backwaters such as Macclesfield and Boston and probably signal the break up of Keiths heroes. Enter Notts County, despite being a league two club presenting a formidable fan base and potential for growth. They have also been watching a few City stars, and were linked with Simon Yeo last summer.
The end of the season arrives and City lose a tightly contested play off final to a spirited Northampton team who come away with a 1-0 win courtesy of Andy Kirk. The fans cheer their heroes as they parade in an open topped bus through the City. Marriott and Butcher trade Lincoln City for Bradford City days later, shortly followed by Keith being unveiled as Notts County manager at a press conference. By the end of June Peter Gain and Paul Morgan are wearing red and white whilst Ben Futcher becomes Barry Frys protégé at Peterborough. Steve Thompson applies for and receives the Imps job immediately signing Stuart Bimson on a free transfer.
As I’ve said pure fantasy but nonetheless an engrossing tale being told by many fans as they queue for those all-important play off tickets. Certain facts do emerge, and the story gains credibility when linked with comments made on Radio Lincolnshire about Keith Alexander attending a job interview the week previous to our 3-0 defeat by Yeovil. That week Notts County were interviewing three candidates, one of whom was thought to be ex Cambridge and Imps boss Steve Thompson. The others were heavily rumoured to be Keith and Ray Lewington formerly of Oxford.
Positive news is that the rumour does see Simon Yeo stay at the club, and of course if the Imps are promoted the chinese whispers indicate Keith and most the players (bar Futcher) will stay. Should we lose again at Cardiff then my own interpretation sees us up as Champions next season with Thommo steering us unbeaten through a whole season, ending with a home 7-0 thrashing of Notts County.