Charles Vernam believes he can get his career going again after rejoining Grimsby Town following a frustrating spell at Lincoln City, write the Grimsby Telegraph.
Vernam signed for Grimsby for the second time for an undisclosed fee after just one season at their Lincolnshire neighbours.
Who is Charles Vernam?
Vernam was born in Lincoln but started his career in the youth set-up at rivals Scunthorpe United before a switch to Derby County. The winger was loaned to IBV in Iceland, Coventry City and Grimsby before moving permanently to Blundell Park in the summer of 2018.
While with The Mariners, the former Derby man would enjoy a short but fruitful loan spell at Chorley where he scored three goals in four National League games before being recalled. His first spell at Grimsby would see him make 81 appearances and contribute towards 20 goals. Vernam’s final season saw him score seven and assist twice in 27 games, form that tempted Burton Albion of League One to secure his signature.
After injury had disrupted a promising start he would find himself on the move again, this time to Bradford City in League Two. In their only full season together, Vernam would return eight goals and four assists from his 28 games as The Bantams finished 14th in the bottom tier.
Vernam would again move to League One with Lincoln City under the stewardship of Mark Kennedy. His game time with the Imps was limited, with the majority of his time spent on the bench and he averaged a little over half an hour on the pitch across his 20 League One appearances.
What’s been said?
Following his move back to North-East Lincolnshire, Vernam looked back on his career path that took him to Sincil Bank following his short stint at Burton, “I ended up at Bradford where I had a really strong season prior to moving to Lincoln, I got into double figures for goals and assists. It didn’t work out [at Lincoln] but that is what happens in football sometimes, it’s never straightforward. It was an opportunity I felt I couldn’t turn down in order to progress at the time but for whatever reason it didn’t work out.”
He added, “Last season was so frustrating for me because I wanted to keep that upwards curve going from where I’d finished the season at Bradford, so there’s a lot of disappointment with how many games I was left out of. I don’t hold any grudges against Lincoln for that, it’s just how things happened, all it has done in the end is motivated me further to come back this season and really show what I’m about because on my day I know I can be one of the best players in this division. I truly believe that and I think the club do as well. my message to them has been that I’m really motivated and want to commit myself fully to this project.”
Writer’s View
The signing of Vernam provides the Town manager Paul Hurst with a player who can operate in a variety of attacking positions, playing wide or in a more central role.
Hurst has added to the spine of his team with additions to the goalkeeping department, the centre of defence and three centre forwards and has complimented those with the signings of wide players Abo Eisa and Vernam.
Both Vernam and Hurst will be hoping the winger can recapture the form he showed in his final season at Blundell Park and provide the assists the new strike force will be craving.
In his brief Lincoln City career, Vernam showed the odd moment of what he possessed by taking a player on, cutting inside and making the keeper work but these moments were few and far between. This is not to lay blame at the winger’s feet, the lack of starts and brief cameos would have made it hard for anyone to find their rhythm.
Vernam has moved around a lot recently and, at 26 years of age, now is the time for him to find a footballing home where he can find consistent time on the pitch and allow his performances to do the talking. If he sticks to his word and uses the frustration of the lack of minutes at Sincil Bank as a motivation to prove himself then the signing may well prove to be very astute, particularly if he is driven to be one of the best players in League Two.
