Lincoln City

Lincoln City FC is a professional football club that was formed in 1884, starting out at the John O'Gaunt's ground before moving to Sincil Bank in 1885. 'The Imps' joined the Football League as inaugural members of the Second Division in 1892, two years after becoming founder members of the Midland League. 

City dropped in and out of the League in 1908 but won the Midland League the following season under the managership of John Henry Strawson to regain their League place. Once again at the end of the 1910-11 season the club was not re-elected, but for the second time they were handed their place back after just a year's sabbatical.

 

Lincoln were once more sent down to the Midland League, where they won their second league title in 1920-21 with George Fraser in charge of the team, before becoming founder members of the old Division Three North for the 1921-22 campaign. 

The side ended as runners-up in the same division in 1927-28 and 1930-31 before they lifted the title in 1931-32 when Harry Parkes was team manager. The 1933-34 campaign ended in relegation back to the third tier prior to another second placed finish arriving in 1936-37.

Post war, the 1947-48 team won the Division Three North title under the tutelage of Bill Anderson with Jimmy Hutchinson putting away the goals. Relegation from Division Two followed in 1948-49 before the third tier championship was sealed once again in 1951-52. This time the Imps spent a lengthy spell at the second level, remaining there until the completion of the 1960-61 campaign.

They dropped down again twelve months later to play Division Four football, where the would remain for over a decade. However, the catalyst for change came when a young man called Graham Taylor was appointed as manager in December 1972, taking his side to the fourth tier title in 1975-76.

Watford came calling for Taylor, with Lincoln sliding back down to Division Four in 1978-79 by which time another legendary boss, Colin Murphy, had taken over the reins. His side were promoted to Divison Three as runners-up in 1980-81 but dropped back down again in 1985-86 when George Kerr was in charge of the team.

Tragedy had earlier struck on the final day of the 1984-85 season. City were playing Bradford City at Valley Parade on the when fire broke out in the Main Stand killing fifty-six people. Two of them, Bill Stacey and Jim West were Lincoln fans. The club honoured them and when a new stand was built at Sincil Bank several years later, naming it the Stacey West Stand. 

At the end of the 1986-87 season, City finished bottom of Division Four, after a defeat at Swansea City with other roundabout teams winning on the last day. Unfortunately for them this was the first ever season that the Football League introduced automatic promotion from the Conference, with their bottom team going in the opposite direction. 

The Imps were replaced by Scarborough, but came back up a year later in front of record non-league crowds after lifting the Conference title under popular boss Colin Murphy returning for a second spell at the club.

Lincoln were also the opponents on another sad day for football, when on the 8th September 1990 City were away to York City when the home forward, David Longhurst suffered a fatal heart attack on the pitch.

Steve Thompson became manager following Allan Clarke's short term at the helm. The popular Keith Alexander was followed in the managers seat by Sam Ellis and a quick visit from Steve Wicks prior to the appointment of John Beck in October 1995.

The team soon gained a reputation for the long ball game and long throws during the late 1990's under his stewardship, but he took the side to promotion in 1997-98. Beck moved on and the side were relegated the following season. 

Shane Westley, Phil Stant, Alan Buckley, and even Chairman John Reames who had overseen the redevelopment of the stadium had time as Lincoln manager over the next few years. City entered administration in May 2002 as Keith Alexander was re-appointed as team boss with a reputation as someone who unearthed gems from non-league football. 

This was ideal for the financial status at the time as Alexander built a cheap but good team. In his first season in charge the team, in 2002-03, they confounded the critics who expected a relegation battle by taking them all the way to the final of the play-offs, where they lost to AFC Bournemouth at the Millennium Stadium after previously defeating Scunthorpe United.

The following season Alexander suffered a serious brain injury, but his team still reached the play-offs in his absence, but they lost out in the semi-finals to Huddersfield Town. In 2004-05 the Imps returned to the Cardiff final, losing to Southend United, after seeing off Macclesfield Town.

Lincoln continued to strive for promotion, losing in the play-off semi-final to Grimsby Town in 2005-06. In May 2006 Alexander left the club by mutual consent, but it didn't stop the team led by John Schofield reaching a fifth successive play offs, but once again they ended in disappointment with semi-final defeat to Bristol Rovers.

The manager departed the following season and after a brief spell from Peter Jackson, the former England international Chris Sutton was appointed in September 2009. Steve Tilson came in a year later and seemed to have steadied a rocky ship when he took over. 

However, the side hit a terrible run of form, picking up just one point from the final ten games which saw the club losing its Football League status for the second time in the modern era. David Holdsworth stepped in faced with the task of winning back the League's status in October 2011.

Holdsworth departed in February 2013 with The Imps not making any noteworthy progress Gary Simpson came in and secured the clubs Conference status. However, he left early in the 2014-15 season with club chairman Bob Dorrian admitting that the club had little money. Coaches Chris Moyses and Grant Brown were put in temporary control.

The appointment of Danny Cowley in May 2016 was to change things quickly. In his first season in charge Lincoln were crowned as National League champions as the elite non-league division had been rebranded. But that 2016-17 season will be remembered just as much for the FA Cup run.

Starting in the fourth qualifying round Guiseley were defeated. This was followed by victories over Altrincham, Oldham Athletic, Ipswich Town, Brighton & Hove Albion and then a fifth round 1-0 win away to Premier League Burnley to become the first club from non-league football to reach the last eight stage in over a hundred years. Arsenal ended the fun with a 5-0 win at the Emirates Stadium.

In 2017-18 the team reached the play-offs, losing to Exeter City in the semi-finals. However, the following season the side played Everton in the third round of the FA Cup as well as lifting the League Two title to reach the third tier.

Cowley departed in September 2019 with his brother who assisted him, with Michael Appleton appointed as the new team boss at Sincil Bank. The 2020-21 season ended in play-off final defeat to Blackpool after Sunderland had been overcome. Mark Kennedy became Imps boss in May 2022 before he was replaced in November 2023 by Michael Skubala.

Lincoln City FC will play in EFL League One in the 2024-25 season.

My visits

Lincoln City 0 Hull City 0 (Saturday 25th August 1984) Division Three (att: 4,139)

I travelled down to this game on the train with some mates from Scarborough which was a long trek, getting to Lincoln early. We weren't big drinkers and money was tight, so we went straight down to the ground, rather early.

We were down the side on a large open bank of terracing. The home fans were to our left segregated by just a couple of railings. To the right was the South Stand which was primarily for away fans. 

This was a raised seating deck with some unused terracing at the front. Opposite was some open terracing and then an ordinary looking low St Andrews Stand. A cover then took over just past the penalty area and went right round behind the goal for standing spectators called The Railway End because a disused line on an embankment ran behind it.

The former South Stand at Sincil Bank

The atmosphere was feisty from the start with quite a large away following in attendance. The game was dull as many opening matches are in hot conditions. At half time the home club had an idea to enter the "Guinness Book of Records" which was to spectacularly backfire. 

A dance to record called Agadoo by Blacklace was in vogue for some bizarre reason and the club invited everyone onto the pitch to try and break the record dancing to it at half time. The away fans were kept from the pitch in the terracing but the lads in the seats piled out to join with the Lincoln fans who were goading them. There was carnage as the PA man was screaming trying to get people to behave and telling everyone what a disgrace they were.

The game petered out, but on our way back up to the station we were picked out. We were with two further Tigers fans from York while nearly all the other way fans walked in the opposite direction to their coaches and cars. We were followed by an ever-growing mob of around twenty home fans who weren't after a game of dominoes in the local pub. 

We scarpered while the mob chased. We went down a street off the High Road, turned into a courtyard and straight through an open back door with some of the lad's running upstairs. The people inside got one hell of a shock, but it turned out to be our lucky day. 

The former Railway End at Sincil Bank

It was a taxi office and we'd thrown the mob off our trail. We got taxis back to our trains and were thankfully out of the place. I was walking along Euston Road in London later in the season after watching Hull City at Orient when a group of fans approached me asking for cigarettes. 

They were Lincoln and had been to their game at Brentford. I gave them what I had left and got away. I didn't like them at all.

Lincoln City 0 Cardiff City 4 (Saturday 14th December 1985) Division Three

The following season I was at a loose end when my Bluebirds supporting mate, Gary Griffiths offered me a ride to the game at Sincil Bank. Again, I was on the away terrace with around two hundred Welshmen. 

The game was heading nowhere when the home full back tripped a Cardiff player on the wing. It was a nothing challenge, but the away fans started chanting "off, off, off" out of boredom and in jest. Remarkably the referee sent off player Steve Richards who I would the following season enjoy playing for Scarborough. Lincoln fell apart, and Cardiff ran riot in the second half. I really enjoyed it!

Lincoln City 2 Scarborough 2 (Saturday 15th October 1988) Division Four (att: 4,535)

I went to this game on the usual Post Office/Gas Board minibus stopping off at a local pub about five miles outside the city and stopping off for an hour on the way home. They were incredibly happy days. Boro more than played their part in a thriller with a typical Neil Thompson blaster earning a point.

By now Sincil Bank had changed. A new unusually large and narrow Main Stand had been built on the far side to replace the old structure. It looked very strange and out of place, while the Stacey West Stand stood in place of the old Railway End.

With it being a trip being to Lincolnshire, there is every chance that we would have stopped at the majestic Coach & Horses in Barton-upon-Humber on the way home.

Lincoln City 0 Scarborough 1 (Saturday 1st January 1994) Division Three (att: 3,912)

I had worked the previous night as it wasn't classed as a Bank Holiday and wanted some way to make up for it, so I booked on the supporters coach to Sincil Bank. I was fresh and eager to go, especially compared to my fellow passengers. 

We got there early, and I gathered up a few of my mates on the bus and we went to the back of the new stand at the ground and asked if we could go into the bar called The Centre Spot for a New Year drink. The doorman took pity on us so we could have a couple of pints before kick-off 

Boro played well against a physical team with no assistance from the officials with Jason White scoring the winner on the break past ultra veteran keeper John Burridge. Some Seadogs who chose to sit in the Main Stand told us of the real animosity towards them during the game and when they tried to leave. Not nice locals once again.

Saturday 22nd August 2009

I called into the ground while visiting the city to watch Scarborough Athletic playing away to Lincoln Moorlands Railway. How fortunes change in football. I gained access through an open gate by the side of the Main Stand where they were preparing for that afternoon's game against Burton Albion.