Imps need more investment

Lincoln City have been through some rocky financial times, although in the period during which they reached the play-offs in five successive years they managed to make a cumulative profit of £1m,   At tonight's annual general meeting a loss of £200,000 is expected to be reported.

Supremo Bon Dorrian thinks that they should go global in their search for investment, seeing county cricket clubs as a model.   However, Vinay Bedi, a football specialist at stockbrokers Brewin-Dolphin is rightly sceptical.   He thinks that the chances of finding a foreign backer are remote and they should look for a local businessman with a strong affinity to the club.    The question then would be, is there such a person who hasn't been tapped up already?

Lincoln has one great advantage: it is a stand alone club with no rivals anywhere nearby.   Boston United was once treated as their main rival, but they lost their place in the Football League amid financial troubles.

In a sense, Lincoln is a bit like Norwich City which has flourished.   But the county is more thinly populated outside of Lincoln.   Wealthy farmers towards the north of the county, who could be a source of funding, are linked to Scunthorpe who play in the Championship.