Rob's Column
Rob’s Column March 2025
Some of us might remember Monty Python’s Flying Circus’s eccentric Mr Gumby in short trousers and a tank top with a knotted handkerchief on his head, seeking help from his doctor. ‘My brain hurts!’ he exclaims. If you’re not old enough then Google him, because he’s pretty funny. Ever since that classic episode was aired this phrase has been in humorous use to declare that a particular experience is getting all too much.
You’d forgive Imps fans if they used the same catchphrase. Around 1400 supporters populated the away end at Field Mill last midweek and saw the team triumph 3-0 over Mansfield Town. The team battled away admirably, Sam Clucas scored direct from a corner, and it was magnificent. Then four days later and back on home soil, with expectations high again that we might get a run going, we succumbed to lowly Burton Albion. We played poorly and when a disappointing goalless draw looked likely, we conceded a sucker punch late goal and didn’t even get that.
After a good start to the season we seem to keep following good stuff with poor stuff, and fans can’t understand it. We were delighted to see rivals Peterborough United get hammered 5-1 and then soon after Blackpool come calling and go back to Lancashire with all three points. After beating Reading well we present ex-Imp Gareth Ainsworth and his struggling Shrewsbury Town team with a welcome win in a frankly toothless display.
Different starting elevens each game, mystifyingly substitutions, and players going out on loan who might have done a good job for us, have all occupied some supporters’ thoughts in the last few weeks. Whether I agree these concerns – I don’t entirely for the record – they get voiced to Trust colleagues and I in the pre-match Fan Village and in the ground.
The bottom line is that we all care. We want the staff and players to do well, and we know they have the qualities to do so. We’re not relegation fodder, and the highs and lows mean that we’re capable of those highs – we just need more of them.
Hopefully we won’t use Mr Gumby’s words too often as the season reaches its denouement, we get the blend right, and we get some luck. A run of wins and draws would do us the world of good and here’s hoping that’s what we see.
