Title Winner To Survivor: Chris Sutton's Epic Journey
By Jeffrey Cammack

12th March 2010

“It’s a funny old game” said Jimmy Greaves when observing the vagaries and transient nature of football. For Greaves, arguably the greatest striker of his generation, it was watching Geoff Hurst score a hattrick in the World Cup final when he was fit and able to play, knowing that, injury notwithstanding, it would be his name forever written into the pantheon of English football legends.

For Chris Sutton, one time member of the deadly S.A.S (Shearer and Sutton) strike partnership at Blackburn Rovers, Premier League Winner, a £10m player, a full England cap (more on that later) and formerly the most expensive player in the Premier League, it is very much about life at the other end of the scale, trying to secure Football League survival, on the tightest of budgets, at his new home Sincil Bank; home to Lincoln City football club. A £10m Premier League striker at Lincoln City? You’d be hard pushed to have found any bookmaker offering odds on that a few years back!

SUTTON : THE £10m PREMIER LEAGUE STAR BECOMES A LOWER LEAGUE MANAGER

As a player, Sutton plied his trade initially against the modest backdrop of Norwich City, but moved on to bigger things with Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Celtic, Birmingham City and Aston Villa, where an eye injury caused him to retire from football in 2007. He won the league title both North and South of the Border, won the FA Cup with Chelsea and played in an UEFA Cup final with Celtic.

Now he’s much more concerned with trying to scrape together enough cash and results to ensure that Lincoln will still be in the football league next season...and it’s tough. Together with player/assistant manager Ian Pearce, Sutton has managed Lincoln in 27 league games since taking over in September 2009, they have won eight, drawn eight and lost eleven and sit an uncomfortable 21st in the league table and the financial constraints at the club are such that Sutton explained to the Lincolnshire Echo last month;

"Myself and Ian (Pearce) have to look at everything and, at the minute, I don't know what we can do.

"We do have a budget, and I really don't know how to say this, but the current situation is not down to us.

"But ultimately, it undoubtedly does have an effect on who we can and who we can't bring in to the squad.

"It is not all about money, but at times, being able to spend does help, and I have to say I don't think we've spent an awful lot since we've been in.

SIGNS OF PROGRESS?

A small squad, a lack of goals (Other than Darlington, Lincoln are the lowest scorers in League Two – a fact for which Sutton has been criticised by some of the Imps faithful) and an inability to bring in players to resolve these issues due to financial constraints, is hampering Sutton’s chance to progress Lincoln much higher than their current 21st position, but since his comments in early February, Sutton has signed two strikers on loan, Drew Broughton and David Somma, and there have been encouraging signs including last Saturday’s impressive 1-1 draw at league leaders Rochdale. The position in the table remains precarious however and last week the club was twice on the front pages of major news publications.

SUTTON ADVISES BRIDGE

Firstly, Sutton spoke to The Sun newspaper about Wayne Bridge’s withdrawal from the England squad, admitting his regret at having made a similar decision, albeit in very different circumstances, when he fell out with England manager Glenn Hoddle in 1997. Sutton stated ;

"Would I have changed things? Yes, I probably would. In hindsight, I shouldn't have done what I did. I would have had more caps for England, certainly in friendlies.

“My manager at the time, Roy Hodgson at Blackburn, told me to think carefully about what I did with England. Obviously I didn’t think carefully and I regretted it!”

This story was then followed a few days later by the tragic news that a much respected former Lincoln manager, Keith Alexander, had died.

SUTTON’S HERCULEAN TASK

Sutton’s journey has certainly been an epic one, from the converted centre half who made a name for himself at Norwich, to the most expensive player in British football, a £10m striker, a league title winner in England and Scotland and a UEFA Cup finalist, but Chris Sutton now faces his biggest task in football; securing survival in the football league for Lincoln initially and winning over a critical section of home fans who are perplexed by his defensive tactics. Then Sutton must attempt to build on this next season and beyond, all within a very strict and controlled budget, supported by just 3000 hardcore home fans and with a threadbare playing staff that played eight games in 25 days in February, winning just once.

Yes Jimmy, It is, indeed “A Funny Old Game” at times.

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