MICK MCCARTHY’S demeanour said everything and his post match comments confirmed as much. Not only had his Ipswich side been humbled by Lincoln City, they had been embarrassed.
Finding yourself outplayed by a side three divisions below you and lucky to still be in the FA Cup is one thing. But being outplayed over the course of 180 minutes and then deservedly knocked out is a whole different kind of humiliation.
It’s not often I call games correctly but across Lincoln’s last two opponents from higher leagues, I couldn’t see them losing and even going into the fourth round tie against Brighton, their loftier opponents have far more to fear than they do.
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I’m a big admirer of both Mick McCarthy and Chris Hughton – two managers who know what it takes to get clubs out of the Championship and in to the promised land above.
But what Mick came up against and Chris has to contend with next week are a management team who haven’t known failure or hard times yet and that is key in the revolution happening at Sincil Bank.
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The total belief that top managers have in their philosophy and methods is just as key as what they do and that translates to the players.
Failure in football management may become more likely the longer you continue to be successful but Danny and Nicky Cowley seem to have struck the balance right between confidence and a work ethic that ensures they have covered as much ground as possible in preparation.
Just as the Non-Leagues have become fertile breeding ground for young players who have slipped through net, they are perfect for young managers cutting their teeth in the game.
There are shining examples out there like Rafa Benitez, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger who didn’t have notable playing careers and began their coaching careers earlier meaning they steal a march on those coming later to coaching.
Those extra years of experience are invaluable to them and starting out at a lower levels lessens the pressure on them and allows them to develop their coaching style and lean from their mistakes as they go.
Young coaches such as Ian Cathro at Hearts are making waves and challenging the theory some hold that you need to have played at a high level to succeed.
If you have the right template and have the character to put it into place efficiently then it should work at any level. In that manner, football is like any other business.
Tuesday night was the first game I can remember paying in to watch a game of football and I’d have quite gladly paid double to watch that game again.
It’s so much easier to criticise and there are plenty of people quick to do it so I make no apologies for dishing out compliments to Lincoln City right now. Perhaps the biggest compliment paid to Danny was by Mick McCarthy himself by playing three at the back to deal with the threat of Rhead and Robinson and in the end that was their downfall.
Perhaps that’s being a little too harsh on the Lincoln players because man-for-man they were better than Ipswich all over the pitch.
The “experts” are already saying that Brighton will be a game too far but I’m not so sure about that. Brighton’s eyes are clearly on promotion, as are Lincoln’s, and neither will want focus to deviate from that for too long.
But Lincoln have already shown in the FA Trophy game at Gateshead that they are managing their squad well and have the right mentality to cope with the changing landscapes of each competition.
The value of the cup run isn’t just great in financial terms either. The profile has been lifted further than just that of the rest of the country. Because of my time in Denmark, I was asked to help out with a bit of background homework and some thoughts on the game for Danish TV who were showing the game live.
Timing
Luckily, my prediction turned out to be correct and the football fans of Denmark were treated to a great performance and a great advert for Lincoln themselves. It’s that type of result that can gain them fans from all over Europe.
The timing is perfect because Scandinavian leagues are in the middle of a barren time football-wise because of the long winter break and fans are desperate to watch any live football.
Every Danish football fan loves our football and everyone has their English team. Not all of them are the ones you’d necessarily think. They still have a romantic notion about the English game. They want to be a little different.
The manner with which Lincoln won the game will have set a few pulses racing and hearts fluttering across the North Sea.
The only downside of this for me is that I’ll be in Holland this weekend and won’t be able to get to the Brighton game. You never know. They might show it over there so Lincoln can add the Dutch to their list of fans.
