Just nine years after becoming a non-league team, Lincoln City will play in the second division next season for the first time since 1961.
Lincoln City players and fans celebrate Friday’s win over Wimbledon, which almost sealed promotion (Image: Getty Images)
A catchy chant of “Tottenham away, ole, ole” rang out at a recent Lincoln City match even before promotion to the Championship was confirmed. It’s an away trip that fans have been watching closely for next season.
The Imps have fulfilled their part of the bargain by securing a spot in the second tier for the first time since 1961 with about a month left in the season. It remains to be seen whether Spurs will be their opponents in the 2026/27 season.
Either way, they will be facing a number of former Premier League teams. Nearby Nottingham Forest will be another dream match for supporters who must think they are living some kind of fantasy.
Ten years ago, Lincoln, who left the Football League in 2011, were coming off a season in which they finished 13th in the National League. Their league rivals included Altrincham, Southport and Guiseley.
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The next ten years have been a remarkable one, with the club now promoted three times, making a historic run as a non-league team to the FA Cup quarter-finals and winning the EFL Trophy at Wembley. After Wrexham, no team in recent English football has risen as quickly as Lincoln. The Imps did so in a much more low-key manner than the high-profile North Wales side.
read more: Lincoln City fans tease Tottenham with new chant as Spurs face relegation threatread more: “I played for Tottenham and Roberto de Zerbi – this is what my former club can expect.”
There are no A-list celebrity owners, no big-budget sponsorship deals with international airlines or media companies. In fact, a behind-the-scenes reveal at LNER Stadium would be pretty bland. That’s a compliment, not a criticism.
Long-time chief executive Liam Scully said: “It takes a village. It takes consistent action, perhaps boringly consistent action over a long period of time. We’ve been this broad version of ourselves since 2019, rarely straying from the plan, and when we have, we’ve pat ourselves on the back and get back on track.”
Lincoln got to where it is by making smart decisions, strong organizational structure, and investing its resources in the right areas. Under the Cowley brothers, who left for Huddersfield in 2019, the Imps were starting to put down roots in League One after winning promotion twice in three seasons in the late 2010s. The 2020/21 COVID-19 season had a surprise appearance in the play-off final, but Lincoln essentially became a mid-table team.
Head coach Michael Skbara developed his players (Image: Getty Images)
That was perfectly acceptable for a club that had spent most of its existence in the fourth tier. They were punching above their weight financially (they still have a budget that is considered the 18th largest in League One).
After a mid-table finish in 2022/23 and the sacking of Mark Kennedy, the club were looking for a manager who was more in line with the team’s philosophy of developing players tactically and technically. Stepping forward is former England national team futsal coach and PE teacher Michael Skbara, who was appointed in November 2023. Most Imps fans were asking, “Who is Michael?”
At the time of his appointment, he was Leeds Under-21 manager and had a brief stint as interim first-team manager following the sacking of Jesse Marsh. He has also worked within the academies of Nottingham Forest and Coventry, and has also coached England Under-18s. Gareth Southgate was a colleague of mine for a time.
Regarding Skbara’s appointment, Scully recalls: “He wanted to work together and he respected the structure of the club. He talked about how we need to adapt to the way Lincoln City does things and how we need to work together.”
Transfer models and future-proofing
There was continuity off the pitch as well. Scully and director of football Jez George have been on site since the club’s early days back in the Football League.
A clear transfer plan is in place that involves acquiring, developing and reaping the benefits of young players. Take striker Jovan Macama, for example. He was picked up at the age of 16 after failing to make the grade at Derby County.
When he was sold to Norwich last summer, he became the first player in Lincoln’s history to earn a transfer fee of over £1 million. Three other first-team regulars left, but their absences were hardly felt.
Lincoln was successful in raiding the Irish market. Exciting midfielder Jack Moylan, 24, signed from Shelbourne, could attract interest this summer, but the club recently secured his future by signing him to a new long-term contract.
Jack Moylan has become one of the stars of this season (Image: Getty Images)
The same goes for the head coach, who is under contract with the club until 2028. Lincoln also expanded into mainland Europe, signing Ukrainian midfielder Ivan Varfolomeyev, 24, from Slovan Liberec, who quickly gained a cult following among fans.
Lincoln have sought the experience of EFL veterans such as Tendai Darikwa, Sonny Bradley and Adam Leitch (who have a combined age of 101) in their final squad. Their knowledge has clearly influenced the younger members of the team and their defense is solid. “They have played a huge role in setting the standards,” George says.
Skbala is a “head coach” rather than a traditional manager, but any transfer still requires his approval. Scully asserted, “Michael and the coaching team have the first and last decision. They’re really collaborative. We’ve never brought in a player that the head coach didn’t agree to sign.”
“But the idea that the manager makes all the decisions and that is the only point of success or failure is a methodology that is disappearing. At Lincoln City, that was abolished many years ago.”
Captain Tendai Darikwa (left) is one of this season’s best players (Image: Getty Images)
Speaking about the club’s transfer model, George explained: “It was important to us to find players who are probably undervalued and have a model where they can be great for us, but are not wanted by the clubs with the biggest budgets.”
“That’s why we have to integrate everything in terms of how we play, the type of players we need, whether they’re available and how strong they are, because we’re never going to field the biggest team.
“It’s the coaches’ job to make recruiting look good, and we’ve grown as the season has gone on, so that’s exactly their job.”
As cliché as it may sound, this was truly a team effort. George added: “Off the pitch, the credit goes to our incredible staff. On the pitch it’s exactly the same, we don’t have any superstars.
“There are 10 to 12 candidates for Player of the Year. We’ve had 19 different scorers. We’re the league’s leading scorers, but we haven’t had a single player reach double-digit points.”
Lincoln fans enjoy the ride (Image: PA)
american investment
Yes, Imp also has American ownership. South African businessman Clive Nates, a driving force behind the club’s rise over the past decade, recently stepped down as chairman (he remains as vice-chairman).
Ron Fowler, former co-owner of the San Diego Padres baseball team, has increased his stake in the club and is now at the helm. He says he was drawn to the club’s “David and Goliath mentality.”
Under Fowler it will be a case of evolution rather than revelation. There are no bold statements about aiming for the Premier League, and that’s probably what the fans like.
Impressive new fan zone to be built for next season (Image: Lincoln City)
Wise spending and happy fans
Having achieved the holy grail of reaching the championship, the next and perhaps more difficult task is to stay in the championship. Naturally, there will be new investment in the squad for a big step up, but there will be no casino-style spending.
In a project led by Mr Fowler, the Imps will build an impressive new fan zone for next season, with some additional seating to be bolted in to bring the ground’s capacity to nearly 11,000.
The average attendance this season is close to 10,000, which isn’t big enough, but the club won’t rush into expensive expansion unless it makes financial sense.
Supporters love the ‘no ego’ approach on and off the pitch. Even before promotion was decided, 6,000 season tickets for next season had been reserved. That belief was rewarded with a spot in the Championship and possibly a trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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