Sam Smith continues to set a rare feat for a Lincoln player
By Nathan Jackson
October 29 2011
Lincoln City striker Sam Smith has achieved what has been a rare feat for Imps in recent years after scoring his sixth goal of the season against Alfreton. Adrian Patulea was the last permanent Imp to score more than five in a season and six goals by the end of October is respectable.
Adrian Patulea's 11 in 2008/9 was the last time a permanent Imp scored more than 5 goals for the club. Rene Howe, Davide Somma and Ashley Grimes were the only players in the two years since to reach the five goal mark, all of them were on loan and the best a permanent Lincoln player has managed since Adrian Patulea is four goals (Jamie Clarke, Cian Hughton and Chris Fagan in 2009/10, Josh O'Keefe, Mustapha Carayol and Delroy Facey in 2010/11).
Although Smith has come under criticism from some Lincoln fans for not getting involved during the matches, Smith looks like City's best chance of a goal from the strikers. Kyle Perry hasn't scored for City since August 23rd, whereas Jamie Taylor, Brad Barraclough and Jordan Thomas have also played up front for City this season and none have found the net. Andy Hutchinson is due back from injury at some point but just 1 goal in 2 and a half years isn't the sort of record that will hint at potential of a goal glut.
Smith has become a bit of a predator in the box with all his goals coming from inside the six yard....including a sizzling 20 centimetre effort against Wrexham.
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Falling out with Patulea effectively lost Jackson his job and also cost the club a chunk of money in throwing away the fee we paid for him, paying £20,000 for his inept replacement Chris Fagan, and then paying Fagan's contract off with a year to go. I know Patulea had his critics, but I thought he was a decent player - hard-working and always alive to things in the box. We may even have made the play-offs had Jackson kept him in the team in 08/09. Instead he went with Horsfield who was cr*p and scored only once.
As for Smith, you can't complain about 6 goals in a struggling team. At that rate, he should have around 15 by the end of the season and that would be commendable. I think the lad has potential and hopefully Holdsworth will get the best out of him.
Quote:Rob Peel
Hw will get better and took his goal very well
Rob, were you on duty yesterday?
Weve had strikers that do everything but score its nice to have one the other way round for once