Lincoln footballer leads Olympic team to first victory

Lincoln City has issued its retained list for the 2022/23 season, with just two permanent players guaranteed to leave the club and two key midfielders being offered new deals.

A retained list is clarification of the players that will be kept at the club for another season, as well as those who will be leaving upon their contract expiry.

The club are in discussions with two important first team players, Conor McGrandles and captain Liam Bridcutt, with both of their contracts expiring at the end of June.

The Imps hold out hope for persuading the pair, who were influential in Lincoln City’s charge to the play-off final in 2021, to stay on at the club – especially with the fresh anticipation that has come with the appointment of Mark Kennedy as head coach.

No decision has been made by either player yet, and the announcement that they were in discussions with the club came as somewhat of a surprise to the fanbase – with many expecting Bridcutt’s injury problems to put the Imps off extending his deal, and McGrandles to go back to Scotland.

In terms of the players kept on for next season, there are 26 contracted for 2022/23, including the returning Theo Archibald, who impressed on loan at Leyton Orient last campaign.

Youth prospects include Jovon Makama, Freddie Draper, Hayden Cann, Morgan Worsfold-Gregg and Elicha Ahui, with most of them expected to head out on loan next season. Sean Roughan will remain at the club after an option was taken to extend his contract.

As well as this, January signing John Marquis and defender Max Melbourne will both leave the club when their current deals expire, again at the end of June.

Lincoln’s five loanees from last season, Brooke Norton-Cuffy, Josh Griffiths, Lewis Fiorini, Liam Cullen and Morgan Whittaker, all return to their parent clubs.

There is talk of Norton-Cuffy, Griffiths and Fiorini going out on loan to a Championship club for next season, which is testament to their development while playing for Lincoln City.

Lincoln will go into next season with the following players contracted:

• Adam Jackson
• Anthony Scully
• Ben House
• Charley Kendall
• Chris Maguire
• Cohen Bramall
• Elicha Ahui
• Freddie Draper
• Hakeeb Adelakun
• Hayden Cann
• Jamie Robson
• Joe Walsh
• Jovon Makama
• Jordan Wright
• Lasse Sorensen
• Lewis Montsma
• Max Sanders
• Morgan Worsfold-Gregg
• Oisin Gallagher
• Regan Poole
• Sam Long
• Sean Roughan
• Ted Bishop
• Theo Archibald
• TJ Eyoma
• Tom Hopper

An 11-year-old schoolgirl who ‘smiled all the way through’ her brave battle with cancer has become the first in the UK to beat a rare form of the illness.

Jeanie-May Cooke from Cleethorpes was just seven years old when she was diagnosed with leukaemia. In April 2018 she went into remission for the leukaemia but around a week later her mother Katie Hannaford got a phone call to say her daughter had an extremely rare form of cancer called Histiocytic Sarcoma.

Katie was told the best option was to amputate through the knee when later that year the cancer had spread. At the time the doctor said there was nothing else they could do for Jeanie and the best option was for her to go into a hospice.

Katie told BBC Look North: “I came out of that room and I thought she’s fought through all of this, we are not giving up on her, we can’t give up on her.”

A friend of Jeanie’s step dad lives in America and knew someone at a children’s oncology hospital, who asked for the consultant’s name in Sheffield. They came up with a plan to start Jeanie on a drug called Trametinib and she is now cancer free.

Jeanie in hospital during her battle with cancer (left) before being cancer free and playing basketball with her mum Katie. | Screenshot: BBC Look North/BBC News Hub

Katie added: “Things started to slowly improved. She had a bone marrow transplant and here we are now, she is now cancer free, she’s the first to ever overcome that cancer.”

Jeanie, who is a pupil at Havelock Academy, said: “I just feel relieved and proud of myself that I did it. I smiled all the way through it.”