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A three-year Lincoln City pursuit of Gordon Mair finally came to an end on 22 August 1984, with Colin Murphy bringing the Notts County winger to Sincil Bank for £20,000. Mair was due to complete the move subject to medical reports, and the expectation was that he would go straight into the City side for the opening Third Division fixture against Hull City that weekend. The 25-year-old arrived with significant experience behind him, having played around 100 first-team games for County, including 13 in the First Division during the previous season. For Murphy, the attraction was obvious. Mair was a naturally attacking wide player, comfortable on the ball and capable of giving City a different dimension in the final third. Former Notts County player David McVay, by then working as a journalist in Nottingham, offered an enthusiastic assessment. “He is a very skilful player, who has one of the most cultured left feet in the business.” Mair had joined Notts County straight from school as an apprentice under Jimmy Sirrel and became an important member of the side that climbed into the First Division at the beginning of the 1980s. He scored nine top-flight goals during the 1981/82 campaign before eventually leaving Meadow Lane following County’s relegation. His arrival also appeared to signal something about the direction Murphy intended to take with his team. Mair was described as a stylish, crowd-pleasing winger, and bringing him in strengthened the belief that natural wide players would have a significant role in City’s approach. There was another piece of important business still to be completed that day, with midfielder Neil Redfearn’s future close to being resolved. Redfearn (again, after twice being mentioned in articles this week) had been training and playing for City throughout pre-season while the Imps and Bolton Wanderers remained locked in discussions over his valuation. An independent tribunal sitting in Manchester eventually fixed the fee at £8,250, close to what Bolton had originally wanted. City were, however, reluctant to accept an additional clause which would have entitled Wanderers to 50 per cent of any future transfer fee above £8,250. The move did eventually happen, and Redfearn went on to become an important part of the side. He made 100 league appearances for the Imps and scored 13 goals before joining Doncaster Rovers in 1986. His career later took him to Crystal Palace, Watford, Oldham Athletic and Barnsley, where he enjoyed the most sustained period of his playing career. For City, though, the headline arrival was Mair. His time at Sincil Bank would ultimately bring 57 league appearances and two goals before he returned to Scotland, where he later played for Motherwell, Clydebank and Ayr United. The signing had taken Murphy three years to complete. With the new season only days away, City had finally secured the winger they had been chasing.