When former Lincoln Ladies Chairman Geoff Adams sought the help of local businessman Ray Trew to support his vision for the rising club, he had no idea of the controversy it would cause.
A no brainer you would say, a local man, with local money investing in a local project to take the Lincoln Ladies to the next level, the Women’s Super League.
The club had been progressing nicely in the FA Women’s Premier League Northern Division but needed that extra financial backing, Trew’s financial backing, to get there.
However, what Adams didn’t realise, was the local business man’s intentions to move the Lady Imps away from Lincoln and to a new home in Nottingham.
By this point, Adams had left the club, but the role he played in getting Trew involved in the club is something he regrets.
“I take my part in the responsibility for the move happening and I have apologised to many people up to this point.”
Although a million miles away from the riches of the Premier League the Women’s Super League, with TV rights, was where the money in women’s football could be found.
And as the league continued to grow, Trew wanted his club to continue to grow – 40 miles down the road in Nottingham.
However, despite taking some of the blame himself for allowing Trew into the club, Adams insists that Lincoln City should harbour some of the blame for allowing the move to happen.
“I think Lincoln City men’s football club also had their part to play in this. The support was so thin from them that really, that is one of the reasons we have to look at why this club no longer exists in Lincoln.”
Adams is critical of the lack of interest the men’s club had in the Lady Imps from the beginning and their refusal to support the club on any level.
“We had to fight tooth and nail to get into Sincil Bank stadium to play there.”
“One of the reasons that I involved Ray Trew in the club is because I got so little financial and other support from Lincoln City.”
“Blame is probably not the appropriate word but the lack of support we got from the men’s club has very much contributed to the situation that is there today.”
The departure of Lincoln Ladies from the city in 2013 has left a void in women’s football in the city.
Lincoln Moorlands Railway Ladies FC compete in the Lincolnshire County Women’s League, but that is a very local level.
With the fan-base and support from the local community, women’s football in Lincoln became big news, and Adams believes with the right foundations, the city could see top level women’s football again.
“I think there is [a niche for women’s football in Lincoln] because we had a good following before but it is going to take somebody to come along and really take it by the scruff of the neck and be prepared to play the long term game – that’s the only way you can do this.”
In the height of the clubs success they were able to attract big names such as England captain Casey Stoney, who arrived at the club from Chelsea, along with other England internationals Sophie Bradley and Jess Clarke.
However, any future success will not be built overnight and attracting stars of that magnitude back to Lincoln could take some time.
“You can just, like Notts County did, take a club with a franchise and then re-name it, we can’t do that,” said Adams.
“We would have to build from the very bottom and take it slowly but surely to the top.”