Nicke Kabamba – if it’s more than a rumour, get excited.

I’ve had a little chuckle to myself this evening. I was collecting some dinner from a local shop (health food stuff, obvs) and I caught a glance of a post linking us with Reading full back Sean Long, courtesy of rumours page on Twitter. It amused me because I think you’ll find you heard it here first.

Digging a little deeper into this account I also found us linked with Nicke Kabamba, a young striker currently terrorising defenders in the league below us. He plays for Hampton and Richmond and formed a deadly partnership with a player called Jamal Lowe who recently moved to Portsmouth.

I didn’t link Kabamba with Lincoln prior to today, but I have championed him as a potential signing, and as the season has worn on I’ve kept a keen eye on the striker. He’s had a great time in the forty odd days since I initially identified him as a target and I can’t help but feel he is a perfect fit for Danny and Nicky, should the rumour have any ounce of truth at all.

Firstly, why it might be more than ‘Stefan Payne’ style speculation. There’s one thing that points to there being some truth in the rumour. The player started following City on Twitter recently. He followed Barnet and Newport too, so he might just be a fan of Football. 

Also, Nicke shares an agency (achieve) with non other than our own super sub Adam Marriott, and also our two month wonder Jonny Margetts. Coincidence? Perhaps, but if the agents have a foot in the door with Danny it could help grease the wheels of a move. Kabamba has been around the southern non-league scene for a few seasons and it is almost nailed on that our management team are aware of him and what he can do.

What can he do? Well first and foremost he scores goals, apparently for fun. He bagged 18 last season for Hemel Hempstead and is already on 15 for this season at Hampton and Richmond. He’s got a real all-round feel to his game as well, he’s not only devastatingly quick but he’s a physical presence as well. He’s 23 so he has moved beyond the billing of promising youngster, and is shifting towards ‘now or never’ when it comes to his big break.

I have to admit, of all the rumours I’ve heard recently (Turgott, Ferrier, Akinola, perhaps even Miller) this is the name that gets my pulse racing. I have a strong feeling he can go on to achieve the sort of success Andre Gray and Jamie Vardy have, if he is managed right and attention is paid to his development. Danny and Nicky Cowley could undoubtedly bring the best out in Kabamba. Of all the players we’ve been linked with, this is the on I’ll be praying for if I go to church on Sunday morning. Which I won’t.

A message for Nicke

Nicke Kabamba is, quite rightly, hot property and is likely to be attracting the attention of the likes of Barnet as well as us. I have some advice for the player in that respect. Look at Ben Tomlinson: he scored regularly for the Imps in the National League, but a move to Barnet has stunted his career. Jumping up to the wrong club can make or break your career, especially at 23. Now look at fellow Achieve clients Adam Marriott and Jonny Margetts. One is featuring in a side top of the National League, being man managed through injury to help him become fitter and stronger. The other was given a chance by the same great club, took it and secured a move to the Football League, although now he has faltered. Ask these two what they think of our management duo, and indeed all of the staff at the club. I bet you hear nothing but words such as ‘sign up’.

The big win here for you Nicke, should a move be on the cards, is to join Lincoln City. You will be a Football League player next season, you will play regular football in an exciting and successful team and you will be working with two of the best man managers in the National League. You’ll be working with two of the best tactically minded and most thorough individuals on the non-league scene and two of the most exciting young managers in the English game today. If you want to go to the next level, you need to get on the Lincoln Loco at the next stop. Come and join the party.

As for non-league rumours on Twitter, if you want to know what is happening I suggest subscribing to my blog, although sources suggest you already do. I’ll only keep helping if you stop printing far fetched crap about Nathan Arnold. He was a Cod, now he feels like he’s at home in red and white. He’s on of us now, hopefully like Nicke Kabamba will be soon!

A book is for life, not just for Christmas. My book, The Who’s who of Lincoln City 1993-2013, is out and available on Amazon.

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I am hoping to have some copies to hand in time for the next home game too

 

 

Strikers: The other options

Most people agree that at some point in the near future Lincoln City will need to add to their centre forward options. Days like yesterday do make it seem as if Matt Rhead can do the job of a nine and ten, but the truth is since Jonny Margetts left we’ve been a bit light up front.

Theo Robinson has come in and done a decent job, but I suspect his intention is to secure a move to a Football League club in January, and there are bound to be some takers in League Two as teams look to strengthen.

The obvious choices are Ricky Miller and Simeon Akinola, but I suspect we might have hit a stumbling block on both fronts. Ricky Miller is the man of the moment, but with the form he’s showing I sincerely hope that he is looking to the Football League in January and not cashing in by moving to Village Green. He deserved a crack at league football with Luton but the court case (in which he was found innocent) took away that chance. To be fair to Dover they took a punt on him when nobody would and despite my disdain for them they deserve to get some cash for taking that chance.

The Akinola deal has gone very quiet as well, and I know that Danny and Nicky would love to bring him to the Bank but I suspect like Miller there will be league clubs watching him very closely. There’s also the question of finances, we might be stable but we’re not rolling in cash like many assume. An FA Cup run might help that, and a third round tie would take place ahead of the January transfer window should we get that far. Perhaps there’s a chance a good cup run could fund a move for Akinola, and if by some twist of fate we got Man Utd or Liverpool in a third round tie we might even be able to stretch to Miller.

In the (more likely) occurrence that we beat Altrincham and then get someone like Coventry away and slide out of the cup, we need a Plan B. Your favourite Imps blogger has therefore put together a collection of five players who might just fit the bill.

Turgott

 

Blair Turgott (Bromley)

After writing this blog I found out Danny had started following Turgott on Twitter, it means very little but it is an indication that the player is at least known to the gaffer. He should be, it was Turgott who capitalised on Tom Champion’s slip earlier in the year to give Bromley a share of the spoils.

Turgott has rolled off the West Ham talent conveyor belt and at just 22 still has his best years ahead of him. He’s had some league experience having played 31 times for Orient and had spells with Coventry, Dagenham and Colchester.

He has represented his country right up to Under-19 level and seems primed for a step back up to full time football. He has primarily played as a winger which could account for a lack of goals in the past, but recently he’s been getting down the centre for Bromley to good effect. He’s young, hungry to succeed in professional football and coming from the south will be all-too aware of what the Cowley brothers might be able to bring to his game.

Asande

 

Akwasi Asande (Solihull Moors)

Here is a personal favourite of mine who could make a significant impact given the chance. He’s a former Birmingham player who attracted the interest of Ajax in his youth having been born in the Netherlands. He’s a six footer but his all-round game is about far more than just raw power. He had an abortive spell at Kidderminster where he picked up and injury and was later released, but he’s found a real lease of life at Solihull. He’s hit seven so far this season, albeit including hat-tricks in back to back matches. That said Solihull (as we’ve seen) go away to get a point and that often leaves him isolated or even worse not on the pitch. At 24 he’s approaching the threshold for being classed as ‘young’ talent and perhaps might be a risky choice. However he will also surely be looking to get back into the full time game, and more importantly he’s changed his agents in the last three days which could mean he’s on the look out for another club.

Theophanous

 

Louie Theophanous (St Albans)

Louis is another 24 year old who stands at six foot two, so it may be he isn’t exactly perfect foil for Rheady. That said with diagonal ball coming into the box it could be he would add an additional threat. Why would we look to St Albans though?

Well he’s currently the second leading scorer in the National League South with 13 goals, including two yesterday as promotion chasing St Albans hammered Truro 5-0 in a game which he also grabbed an assist. Theophanous is also very well known as being Cristiano Ronaldo’s body double on Nike adverts, and counts arguably the best footballer on the planet as a ‘personal friend’. He was so highly thought of at Staines Town that he was the only full-time player on their books. He’s aching for a shot at a return to full time football and is primed for someone to take a chance on him. Could it be us?

He has had experience at Wimbledon too and is desperate to be given a chance to show what he can do higher up. If we were to tempt someone such as Turgott away from Bromley I could see Theophanous making a step up to them, or another side in the south. However he might just be worth a punt given his impressive scoring record, and his famous connection.

The only picture I took of Margetts.

 

Jonny Margetts (Scunthorpe United)

It may seem a bit of a cop out to include Margetts on the list, but I have a gut feeling we haven’t seen the last of our former striker. He isn’t getting a sniff at Scunthorpe at the moment and he originally came here for first team football. If Theo moves on it could leave someone the chance of regular first team games, and perhaps Scunthorpe will want their investment to be getting game time? If we continue to perform at the levels we have been doing then he would be getting plenty of opportunities in and around the box, and he might be an economical choice.

I did wonder if maybe we’d see him back before January to give us the cover until the obvious transfer merry-go-round kicks off. He was hungry whilst he was here and I think it’s a crying shame that a promising career has been so stop / start. A lot depends on Scunthorpe but we know DC and NC are big fans of Margetts, so never say never!

Kabamba (right)

 

Nicke Kabamba (Hampton and Richmond)

Kabamba is another name that I’m sure will pop up in the near future after his recent goal scoring exploits. He’s been in fine form alongside Jamal Lowe, and Lowe recently signed an 18 month contract with Portsmouth commencing in January. Even as early as August the Hampton manager Alan Dowson had predicted he’d need to replace his forwards by Christmas, and he’s already half right.

Kabamba has already hit nine goals this season, adding to the 18 he scored the season before. He scored yesterday too as Hampton & Richmond strolled to a 3-1 win over Weston Super-Mare. He’s hot property and could well fall into the demographic that appeals to our managers: he’s only 22 an unlike the others forwards on here he’s made his way up the pyramid rather than down having played at Uxbridge, Hayes, Burnham and Hemel Hempstead before moving to Hampton and Richmond. He may be the sort of raw and ambitious talent that Danny and Nicky would be able to develop if they got their hands on him.

In conclusion

Personally I think I wouldn’t be disappointed in any of these players coming to Sincil Bank, but I think Asande has the potential to really add significant value to the group, and as we know that’s what Danny’s transfer policy is all about. Kabamba is the other player I’d be really excited to see pitch up at the Bank, he is a player on an upward trajectory just like our management team and if his personality is right I think he would be a super fit with our club.

We know the managers will be conducting due diligence on anyone who might be a potential target, and I would expect both Danny and Nicky to be well aware of all the players on my list and to a degree their strengths and weaknesses.

I think a strong favourite to actually wear the red and white in the near future would be Jonny Margetts though, his lack of game time at Scunthorpe will be a major concern and if we don’t get the cup run and increased income then I can see us looking to the loan market to fill the gap left. Who better to fill a Jonny Margetts shaped gap than Jonny Margetts?