Cast your minds back nearly 6 years, the Imps were in very big financial troubles and this meant that several of our best players had to leave. Grant Brown, Justin Walker, David Cameron and John Thorpe were all first team regulars in the 2001/2 season but financial difficulties mean that the Imps had to get rid of them all. They were replaced by “the non-league elite” as Simon Yeo, Ben Futcher, Simon Weaver and Dene Cropper joined from non-league. They appeared to be the only signings that new City manager Keith Alexander would buy but then came the news that the Imps had handed a trial to Scott Willis. 

Most fans had never heard of Willis, he had been a unknown quantity and at this point, he was just 20 but had already spent time at 4 other clubs. He started his career off at Wigan Athletic before making a move to Mansfield Town, after failing to settle there, Carlisle came in for him. He soon left Brunton Park and joined non-league Droylesden. He had been described by all the fans that had seen him as the most talented loose cannon then had ever seen. 

He eventually signed a deal with the Imps after impressing in pre-season and that impressive run continued into the league season as he quickly established himself in a 4 man (yes, Keith did used to have a 4 man midfield) with Peter Gain, Paul Smith and Ben Sedgemore. Scott Willis scored his first goal for the Imps against Macclesfield Town when he hooked in a cross to make it 2-0 to City in a game that eventually finished 3-0. 

With just 5 weeks of the season gone, Scott was attracting interest from clubs much higher in the football league than the Imps. He was heavily linked with the move to Stockport County, a team that the Imps were due to face in the Carling Cup and in that game, Willis received his first red card for the Imps when he apparently spat on a Stockport defender after his equalising goal was disallowed. His 3 match suspension meant he missed out on games against Torquay, Bournemouth and Bristol Rovers, 3 games that produced just a single point for City. Willis made his comeback in style though as he scored a beautiful 25 yard shot in the 75^th minute against Exeter. 

Willis continued to impress the fans with his die-hard attitude to the game and he put in more effort than most of the other players. However, it started to become evident that his health wasn’t at it’s best and if you were sat in the right place in the ground, you could apparantly see him stood outside the astro-turf behind the Lincolnshire Echo stand having a fag and rumour circulated that Willis was on a 30 a day habit. 

Then Willis showed many fans he bad side when in a home match against Cambridge, the ball was in the air and ex-Imp, Paul Wanless went up for the ball but his head only collided with the boot of Scott Willis. The young midfielder had very little intention of winning the ball and he seemed to be the only one surprised when he was sent off. This meant even more time on the sidelines and he missed the whole of January as the Imps began a run of 1 defeat in 17 games. 

He returned in style however in an away match at Carlisle United. The Imps had already lost twice to the Cumbrians that season, in the league and in the FA Cup but City were winning 1-0 on a very cold night at Brunton Park when Willis gathered the ball on the half way before running at the Carlisle defence. He got just inside the area before stopping, looking area and sending a beautiful looping shot around Glennon for what many would argue, was the goal of the season. However, by this point, Richard Butcher had been signed from Kettering and although it wasn’t clear at the beginning, Butcher was brought in to replace Willis. 

However, Willis continued working hard for the Imps and inspired the Imps into playoff contention. However, when the Imps played Oxford at home, it was the beginning of the end for Willis. His last league appearance of the season came in the 0-0 draw with Cambridge United. He helped the Imps to a 5-3 home win over Scunthorpe in the playoffs before coming on as a late substitute in the Playoff Final and the young midfielder was clearly deflated as Bournemouth thrashed the Imps 5-2. 

The summer was quiet for Scott and whilst he was quite clearly a fans favourite, he wasn’t a favourite with Keith anymore and Scott made just 4 appearances for the Imps during the 2003/4 season. 3 of those came in the league and not only did the Imps fail to win with him in the league side, but they also failed to score. 

Willis was loaned out to Keith Alexander’s old side, Northwich Victoria. Scott’s performances were described as “lacklustre at best” and his 100% losing run in league games continued as he lost all 4 of his games at Northwich. Soon after that loan spell ran out, he was loaned out to Hereford United and his opening game for them, was a 9(nine)-0 away win at Dagenham and Redbridge. He had signed on loan with the Bulls until the end of the season but with just over a month to go, Willis was told that he wasn’t wanted there after an incident at the ground but only problem was that City didn’t want him back either and Willis entered the footballing wilderness before being released at the end of the season by the Imps. 

Halifax were quick to snap up the midfielder, then 22 and they viewed him as a player that could possibly shoulder them back into the football league, however, he made just 2 appearances for the Shaymen before being released at the beginning of December 2004. A player who was once close to joining a Division 1 side was then cast down to play for Runcorn Halton FC. He joined them 2 months after leaving Halifax and was a regular in the Runcorn team before leaving in the summer of 2005. 

His self-relegation continued as he joined Vauxhall Motors in time for the beginning of this season. He spent 3 months with them before spending just 13 days at Workington Town just before Christmas before leaving for what the club described as “a breach of discipline.” So where now for Scott Willis? Where has the game of football taken a player who had undoubted talent? The answer, Leigh RMI. 

Leigh RMI are a team struggling against relegation from the Conference North, the same division as Gainsborough Trinity and a league full of former Lincoln players. Willis has been there ever since and to his credit appears to be making an effort during his time there. However, for a player that had such potential, a transfer to Leigh RMI must seem disappointing to a player who would unquestionably be playing in the football league if he hadn’t had poor discipline. That was always Scott’s problem. 

I remember when we played away at Bournemouth in 2002/3, I was speaking to Willis in the hotel we were staying at and he was a great lad, really down to earth and a genuine nice guy. You wouldn’t have guessed that he was on 30 fags a day. Would I have him back in the team now? Probably but his disciplinary problems on and seemingly off the pitch are and probably always be his downfall and at the of 24 he had already played for 12 clubs (plus apparently 10 others on pay-as-you-play contracts) in his 6 years in football says it all. It’s a shame really, he could have been HUGE.

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