Dino Maamria was always a thorn in City’s side. His Burton teams were big, strong and tough to beat. One of his Stevenage sides came to the Bank and turned a 2-0 deficit into a 2-2 draw in the last few minutes, with a certain Ilias Chair running the show. Maamria sprinted down the touchline to celebrate, drawing angry jeers from City fans.
It’s all pantomime, and while Maamria might not have been one we loved in the dugout, he is well respected in football. As Oldham’s manager, he relied heavily on a young Tom Hamer coming into the side. When he went to Burton as assistant to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, as any good coach does, he went back and grabbed a player he could trust in Hamer. This was a Burton side rooted to the foot of League One and heavily beaten by the Imps 5-1.
Hamer slotted straight into the side, and was clearly one of Maamria’s favourites. He’s taken to Twitter over the last 24 hours to express what a good signing he feels the Imps have made in the 24-year-old.
“Solid signing Lincoln City,” writes Mammria on the platform now called X, but always known as Twitter. “Tom came to Burton Albion with the club eight points adrift bottom of League One.
First on my team sheet with the highest PPG. Always gave his all, instrumental in keeping the club in League One every season against all odds. Top bloke and player.”
That’s high praise indeed, and whilst I always say every signing could be good or bad when it is made, some indicators can guide you. One is the opposition fan’s reaction, as we saw with Dom Jefferies and JJ McKiernan. They got positive reviews from their former club’s supporters, whereas perhaps someone like John Marquis might set alarm bells ringing, as other supporters have a mixed reaction.
The other indicator is something like this. It is rare that a former coach or manager speaks publicly about a capture in such glowing terms, so Imps’ fans should take this as a positive. We might not have liked Maamria as an opponent, but his reputation in football is solid, and hopefully, his judgement is spot on!
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