Unfortunately, I tuned in last night to watch my beloved Lincoln City torn to shreds my what is effectively a Premier League Team playing in the Championship.

I live away so I am not able to attend matches in person, even though I even stewarded for Lincoln back in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Let's remember that just two seasons ago West Ham - known as the Hammers - won the European Conference League. Their quality was high and we would have had our backs up against the wall anyway. We didn't help ourselves by having 2 men sent off (and no complaints tbh they were both the right call) within the first 23 minutes. For 20 minutes or so, even down to 10 men, we more than held our own, but when McGrandles was sent off the writing was on the wall. 

We did well to hold out until almost half time when they sneaked a cheeky goal to go in 1-0. I was worried that once they scored once that the floodgates would open and I was worried it would turn into a cricket score. I had 6-0 in mind.

The nine men fought valiantly and did their best, but in the end we were hammered by the Hammers and I am sad to say that it was 6-0 as I dreaded.

However we can take pride in our performance and summon the Dunkirk spirit to rise again. The final score was probably what it should have been (sadly), but we can take some heart in the fight that the Valiant Nine showed and how the fans remained with them throughout. Each of them wore their hearts on their sleeves and even managed to create a bit of pressure as the clock ticked down.

One worry I do have is that the massive -6 shift in goal difference might become a factor later in the season depending on where we end up. Personally, I tend to use goal difference as a relatively accurate indicator of what a final table might look like. It's not a perfect method, but it usually is pretty good - and if you think about it, it makes sense, the more you score and the less you concede means that you are effectively winning games, or drawing them at the very least.

As always stay safe and well my friends