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Lincoln City F.C. are an English football team currently playing in Football League Two (the fourth tier of the English football league system).
The team play at the 10,127 capacity Sincil Bank in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, and are nicknamed the Imps after the legend of the Lincoln Imp. More recently, they have also been known as the Red Imps. Traditionally they play in red and white striped shirts with black shorts and red and white socks.
In 1985, Lincoln were the opposition at Bradford City when the Bradford Fire claimed the lives of 56 spectators - two of them were Lincoln fans. Two years later, they became the first team to suffer automatic relegation from the Football League. They regained their Football League place at the first attempt and have held on to it ever since.
Graham Taylor, a former England manager, began his managerial career with Lincoln City in 1972 - when he was just 28 years old. He went on to have successful spells in charge of Watford and Aston Villa, although he was villified for failing to get England to the 1994 World Cup and this criticism forced him to resign.
History
Formed in 1884 as an amateur association, Lincoln turned professional in the 1891/92 season. Originally they played at the John O'Gaunts ground, however, in 1895 they moved to their current ground, Sincil Bank.
Their honours include 3 Division 3 (North) championships in 1931/32, 47/48 and 51/52, a Division 4 championship in 75/76 (when they were managed by future England manager Graham Taylor & broke the record for most points for a whole season when 2 points were awarded for a win with 74 points), and most recently they were Conference champions in the 1987/88 season. The year before the club had had the rather dubious distinction of becoming the first team in English history to be automatically relegated out of the league (prior to this teams only left the league due to failing to secure re-election, a rare occurrence). Their highest ever position achieved came in the 1901/02 season, where they reached 5th position in the English Division 2 (now known as the Championship). Recently they have spent most of their time in the former Division 3 (now League Two) with one season spent in Division 2 (now League One) in the 1998/99 season. Their lowest point came in the summer of 2002 when they almost went out of business, only to be saved at the last minute. With the departure of manager Alan Buckley his assistant Keith Alexander was put in charge and given the task of keeping the team in the football league, he proved the many pundits and fans who believed that Lincoln would be relegated wrong. With a team made up of cheap ex-non-league players and the lower paid memembers of the previous seasons squad he managed to take them to the 2002-2003 play-off final which they lost 5-2 to Bournemouth. The team were rewarded with a civil reception in Lincoln, and an open-top bus ride through Lincoln, an event usually preserved for the winners of such competions, but was awarded to the team because of the massive achievement.
In 2003/04 Alexander again confounded the critics by coaching the Imps to another play-off position, this time losing to eventual winners Huddersfield Town. Alexander, one of the very few black managers in the Football League, had a very serious brain injury (a cerebral aneurysm) halfway through the season, but made a full recovery. In the 2004-05 season they again qualified for the Play-Offs, for a third year running, in the semi final Lincoln beat Macclesfield Town 2-1 on aggregate over two legs but lost in the final against Southend United 2-0 after extra time.
In the 2005-06 season Lincoln City again reached the playoffs when many fans and critics believed that they would finish in the mid table after losing 11 of their best players from the previous 3 campaigns. The Imps finished 7th in League 2 after only losing 3 games since the new year. Lincoln were to face local neighbours Grimsby Town in the play-offs, a side they had beaten 5-0 at Sincil Bank earlier in the season. However, once again it was not to be, as Lincoln lost 3-1 on aggregate to become the first team ever to lose four consecutive play-off competitions.
Keith Alexander left his position as manager of Lincoln City by mutual consent on May 24th 2006, on June 15 John Schofield was appointed his successor.
League History
1888-1889 - The Combination
1889-1891 - Midland League
1891-1892 - Football Alliance
1892-1908 - Division 2
1908-1909 - Midland League
1909-1911 - Division 2
1911-1912 - Central League
1912-1920 - Division 2
1920-1921 - Midland League
1921-1932 - Division 3 (North)
1932-1934 - Division 2
1934-1948 - Division 3 (North)
1948-1949 - Division 2
1949-1952 - Division 3 (North)
1952-1961 - Division 2
1961-1962 - Division 3
1962-1976 - Division 4
1976-1979 - Division 3
1979-1981 - Division 4
1981-1986 - Division 3
1986-1987 - Division 4
1987-1988 - Conference National
1988-1992 - Division 4
Introduction of the FA Premier League/Rebranding of the Football League
1992-1998 - Division 3
1998-1999 - Division 2
1999-2004 - Division 3
Rebranding of the Football League
2004-Present - League Two
Honours
Winners: 1931/32, 1947/48, 1951/52
Runners-Up: 1927/28, 1930/31, 1936/37
Winners: 1975/76 (*)
Runners-Up: 1980/81 (*)
Third-Placed: 1997/98 (**)
Play-Off Finalists: 2002/03 (**), 2004/05
Winners: 1987/88 Runners-Up: 1983 (***)
- Highest League Finish
(*) = Then known as Division Four
(**) = Then known as Division Three
(***) = This final has not been officially recognized in the current Football League Trophy records, and consequently the club have not been credited as Runners-Up in the history books of this competition. This is due to the fact that inbetween the abandonement of the Texaco Cup/Anglo-Scottish Cup and the arrival of the current competition, this was the competition that took place (the Football League Group Trophy) but has not been considered an "official" replacement/transition between the trophies.
(****) = Then known as Division Two
Records
Attendances
- League
- Cup
15 November 1967 v Derby County - 23,196 (League Cup)
Appearances
- Overall
- League
- Cup
Gordon Hobson - 23 (League Cup)
Dave Smith - 23 (22 + 1 sub) (League Cup)
Scorers
- Most league goals in one season
- Most league goals in total
Famous Ex-Players/Managers
- Graham Taylor (former manager)
- Gareth Ainsworth (now playing for Queens Park Rangers)
- John Fashanu (television presenter and ex-Wimbledon, Norwich and Aston Villa player)
- Darren Huckerby (currently at Norwich City with past spells at Manchester City and Newcastle United among others)
- Phil Neale OBE (cricket great)
- Fred Trueman (cricket great)
- Bruce Grobbelaar (former Liverpool player)
- Steve McClaren (Current England Manager)
Rivals
Squad List 2005/06 Season
External links
- Official site
- Impsight, Rivals based fansite
- Unofficial Lincoln City News + Views
- - Lincoln City fansite, online since 1999
English football clubs | Sport in Lincolnshire | Lincoln, England
Lincoln City Football Club | Lincoln City Football Club | Lincoln City FC
"Lincoln City F.C."