Selection headache for Linnets boss

Adam Lakeland knows he has some serious selection headaches at The Walks as he takes charge of his first full season in the dugout.After flirting with relegation last season, nobody’s place in the team is set in stone this term as the Linnets look to launch a charge towards the top end of the table.Lynn’s summer recruitment has been smart, strengthening a side that finished the second half of last season strongly to stave off the threat of the drop.One such dilemma is at full-back, where Lakeland is likely to have to choose between Kian Ronan and Dylan Crowe for a starting berth against the Yellows.Gibraltar international Ronan typifies the progress the club has made on the pitch over the last nine months.”What a difference in him as a player and as a lad, because I think when we first came in there was a question mark over him,” Lakeland said.”He was having a difficult time and his confidence was on the ground. “Now it’s like night and day and I’ve got a right headache over who to pick, because both he and Dylan are both super players and that’s a good issue for me to have because competition is healthy for players. “They’re pushing one another, but we’ve got that right across the pitch.”Johnny is going to miss the first couple of games, but he’s going to come back into it after. We’ve got Gold (Omotayo), Bart (Cybulski), we’ve got Ross (Crane) and Fin (Whiteley).”We’ve got Freddie on the left, but Dylan can play on there as he did so well for us last season. The lads in midfield, we’ve got good options and good headaches right across the pitch.” Although he has plenty of cover in the striking department, the Lynn boss admits the absence of Margetts for the opening two games is a blow.”Johnny is not only a goalscorer, but he’s a leader and he works tirelessly. Every time he’s on the pitch he applies himself so well,” Lakeland said. “Day-to-day in training and when he’s on the pitch, he leads from the front through his work rate and his demands that he puts on others.”I think any team is going to miss Jonny because he’s a goalscorer – but as a club that wants to do well this season, we can’t be reliant on one goalscorer, “We need multiple sources of goals and obviously we’ve got Gold and Bart, and we’ve got other players as well who I think can chip in with goals.”Lakeland also has highly-rated midfielder Cody Johnson, signed on loan from Stockport County on Tuesday, to throw into the mix.The 19-year-old defensive midfielder played against Lynn when on a loan spell with Banbury United in February 2023 and was an unused substitute when Scarborough Athletic visited The Walks in January 2024.Meet the opposition for 2024/25 Alfreton TownNickname: The RedsStadium: Impact ArenaCapacity: 3,600 (1,500 seated) Last season’s league position: 5thBrackley TownNickname: The SaintsStadium: St James Park Capacity: 3,500 (300 seated)Last season’s league position: 3rdBuxtonStadium | Buxton FC Photo Credit: Buxton FCNickname: The BucksStadium: SilverlandsCapacity: 4,000 (490 seated) Last season’s league position: 14thChesterNickname: The SealsStadium: Deva StadiumCapacity: 6,500Last season’s league position: 10thChorleyNickname: The MagpiesStadium: Victory ParkCapacity: 4,300 (975 seated)Last season’s league position: 4thCurzon AshtonNickname: The NashStadium: Tameside StadiumCapacity: 3,000Last season’s league position: 7thDarlingtonNickname: The QuakersStadium: Blackwell MeadowsCapacity: 3,300Last season’s league position: 16thFarsley CelticNickname: The Celt ArmyStadium: The CitadelCapacity: 4,000 (300 seated)Last season’s league position: 20thHerefordNickname: The BullsStadium: Edgar StreetCapacity: 5,250Last season’s league position: 11thKidderminster HarriersNickname: The CarpetmenStadium: AggboroughCapacity: 6,444Last season’s league position: 22nd (National League)LeamingtonNickname: The BrakesStadium: New Windmill GroundCapacity: 2,300 (294 seated)Last season’s league position: 3rd (Southern Premier League Central)MarineNickname: The MarinersStadium: Rossett ParkCapacity: 2,200Last season’s league position: 3rd (Northern Premier League)Needham MarketNickname: The MarketmenStadium: BloomfieldsCapacity: 2.400Last season’s league position: 1st (Southern Premier League)Oxford CityNickname: The HoopsStadium: RAW Charging StadiumCapacity: 3,100Last season’s league position: 24th (National League)Peterborough SportsNickname: The TurbinesStadium: Lincoln RoadCapacity: 2,300Last season’s league position: 15thRadcliffeNickname: The BoroStadium: Neuven StadiumCapacity: 3,500Last season’s league position: 1st (Northern Premier League)Rushall OlympicNickname: The PicsStadium: Dales LaneCapacity: 1,400Last season’s league position: 19thScarborough AthleticNickname: The SeadogsStadium: Flamingo Land StadiumCapacity: 3,251 (586 seated)Last season’s league position: 13thScunthorpe UnitedNickname: The IronStadium: The Attis ArenaCapacity: 9,088Last season’s league position: 2ndSouth ShieldsNickname: The MarinersStadium: 1st Cloud ArenaCapacity: 4,000Last season’s league position: 8thSouthportNickname: The SandgroundersStadium: Haig AvenueCapacity: 6,008Last season’s league position: 17thSpennymoor TownNickname: The MoorsStadium: The Brewery FieldCapacity: 4,300Last season’s league position: 9thWarrington TownNickname: The YellowsStadium: Cantilever ParkCapacity: 3,094Last season’s league position: 12th