Lincoln City F.C.

Lincoln City

File:Lincoln City F.C. badge.png
Full name	Lincoln City Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Imps / The Red Imps
Founded	1884
Ground	Sincil Bank Lincoln
Capacity	10,127
Chairman	Steff Wright
Manager	Peter Jackson
League	League Two
2007–08	League Two, 15th
Home colours Away colours

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.

History

Brief history

Picture of The Lincolnshire Echo Stand at Sincil Bank.

Formed in 1822 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 championship honours include three Division 3 (North) championships in 1931-32, 1947-48 and 1951-52, a Division 4 (now League Two) championship in 1975-76 (when they were managed by future England manager Graham Taylor).

It was the 1975-76 season where the club broke the record for most points for a whole season when 2 instead of 3 points were awarded for a win with 74 points in total (this was and still is the record amount of points achieved under the 2 point system); the record of winning the most games (32) and losing the fewest (4), was also set. City also become the first club in nearly a decade to score over 100 league goals (111 in total). They also won 21 out of 23 home league games in this season (the other 2 were drawn) and also won 11 games away from home, another impressive bout from the club. It was the season where, Graham Taylor recalls, "teams were petrified of coming to Sincil Bank".

Their most recent championship was the Conference, in the 1987-88 season. This season saw the club set an all-time record attendance (which has only just been beaten by Oxford United) for a Conference match, attracting 9,432 spectators in a game against Wycombe Wanderers, on 2 May 1988, the last game of the season. The game also decided the championship, as Lincoln had not occupied the top-spot at any point in the season prior to this 2–0 victory.

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). The last season that the club spent in this division was in 1960/61, they have never returned since. No team has played as many seasons in the Football League (Lincoln are now in their 102nd League season) without ever reaching the top tier.

Lincoln's record in major cup competitions has left a lot to be desired. Their best feat in the FA Cup has been the Last-16 three times, the last time being over 100 years ago in the 1901/02 season; and their best performance in the League Cup came in 1967/68 when they reached the Fourth Round after losing 0–3 at home to Derby County in a replay. In the Second Round of the 2005/06 League Cup, Lincoln narrowly lost 5-4 (aet) to Premiership outfit Fulham at Craven Cottage, being denied a result in the very last minute of extra time by a Brian McBride goal. This was after an impressive 5-1 home victory against Championship side Crewe Alexandra.

In very recent history, the club have also been in the chase for promotion from the fourth tier via the play-offs five times, twice reaching the finals (2002/03 & 04/05) and three times getting knocked out in the semi-finals (2003/04, 05/06 & 06/07), each time under the guidance of Keith Alexander with the exception of the 2006/07 play-offs. The failure to succeed in five successive play-off competitions is a record.

The last time Lincoln were in a higher league than League Two was in the 1998/99 season where they played in the Division 2 (now League One), after they had gained automatic promotion via 3rd position the previous season.

The world-famous "Dambusters" theme is normally played when Lincoln score at Sincil Bank and supporters of the club can often be heard singing the tune and doing the flying motions when this happens. This is because The Dambusters were based just outside of Lincoln, being formed at the nearby RAF Scampton during World War II, and are therefore at the heart of the city's history.

Even though the Dambusters tune does feature heavily with Lincoln they do not have a song or chant for them alone. Except for the few lines " take my hand, take my whole life too, I cant help falling in love with you" from the Elvis Presley song "Cant help falling in love with you", But this song is used slightly by other teams around the country as well.

Timeline

Early years

Having formed officially as an amateur association in 1884 after the disbanding of Lincoln Rovers (formerly Lincoln Recreation), football in the city of Lincoln had in fact been prominent since the 1860s (although not strictly connected to the modern day club).

The first game Lincoln played as an amateur team at the John O'Gaunts Ground, a ground that wealthy local brewer Robert Dawber provided and rented out to the club, was an emphatic 9-1 victory over local rivals Sleaford, on 4 October 1884. George Hallam set two records for the club that day. He scored the first ever goal for the club, and also the first ever hat-trick. Their first competitive game at home also ended in an emphatic manner, beating Boston Excelsior 11–0, with Edwin Teesdale scoring four goals. It was at this time initially, where, before the club gained entry into the Football League and professional status, the County Cup was their main priority. They got their hands on it for the first time in the 1886/87 season with a 2–0 replay victory over neighbours Grimsby Town (the initial match had finished 2–2).

Lincoln then soon helped to form what was then the Second Division in 1892/93 season as there was an increasing amount of clubs wanting to join the Football League. Their first game in the Football League was a 4–2 away defeat to Sheffield United on 3 September 1892. Their first home game was also against Sheffield United, this time, however, Lincoln won 1–0.

The first game at Sincil Bank in 1895, after moving from the John O'Gaunts Ground due to Dawber's death, was a 0–0 friendly draw with local rivals, Gainsborough Trinity. The first competitive fixture at the ground was against Arsenal, the game ended 1–1.

Up until the 1920s Lincoln spent most of their time swinging between the Second Division and the more localised leagues, the Midland and also the Central league. After then, however, in the 1921/22 season, Lincoln, along with several other clubs from the Central and Midland leagues, founded the Third Division (North). The newly founded league and the Second Division would take turns in becoming Lincoln's home up until the early 1960s where they would drop a further division to the Fourth Division in the 1962/63 season.

The 1980s to 2005/06

In 1982 and again in 1983, Lincoln narrowly missed out on promotion to the Second Division.

In 1985, Lincoln were the opposition at Bradford City when the Bradford Fire claimed the lives of 56 spectators — two of them, Bill Stacey and Jim West, were Lincoln fans, and subsequently these fans had the Stacey West stand named after them.

Lincoln were relegated on the last day of the following season, and the year after that they became the first team to suffer automatic relegation from the Football League. This was a dramatic decline for a club who had almost reached the Second Division four years earlier and has been linked to the trauma arising from the disaster.

They regained their Football League place automatically via promotion as champions of the Conference (beforehand it was done by re-election) at the first attempt with a long ball game devised by eccentric manager Colin Murphy and have held on to it ever since.

On 8 September 1990, Lincoln were the opposition when David Longhurst suffered a fatal heart attack during the first half of a game against York City at Bootham Crescent. The game was abandoned at half-time.

The Lincolnshire derby, between Lincoln City and local rivals Boston United, being played at Sincil Bank.

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.

In 2002/03, 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 and sent out of business due to financial irregularities wrong. With a team made up of cheap ex-non-league players and the lower paid members of the previous seasons squad he managed to take them to the 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 competitions, 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 in the semi-finals. 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, and in the Semi-Finals Lincoln beat Macclesfield Town 2–1 on aggregate over two legs but lost in the final against Southend United 2–0 after extra time.

File:IMG 0520.JPG

Lincoln fans do a card display before a match against Swindon.

In the 2005/06 season Lincoln City again reached the play-offs after many fans and critics believed that they would finish in the mid-table after losing many of their first team regulars from the previous 3 campaigns. In January both Alexander and former Assistant Manager, Gary Simpson, were put on gardening leave by the board. Alexander was soon after reinstated, however, Simpson was never to return. Shortly after, over a disagreement with other board members over the way the club was being run and certain personnel, two prominent board members, Ray Trew and Keith Roe departed from the club. Lincoln brushed this saga to the side though, and 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.

The new era

After speculation that he would take up the vacant managerial role at Peterborough United, Keith Alexander left his position as manager of Lincoln City by mutual consent on May 24, 2006 stating that he could take the club no further, and shortly after on June 15 John Schofield was appointed his successor, with John Deehan as Director of Football. When John Deehan was the Director of Football, the club has enjoyed a close link with Premiership outfit Aston Villa. As well as Villa hosting a behind closed-doors friendly with City earlier in the 2006/07 season, Paul Green has made a permanent move to the club, whilst Robert Olejnik has been loaned out. Deehan also brought in Ryan Amoo, a youth player who he worked with at Villa.

In recent years, the club have produced arguably one of the most successful youth academies in the lower leagues of English football. Players such as Jack Hobbs, who now plays for European giants Liverpool, and Scott Loach, who now plays for Championship side Watford, are evidence of this. Players such as Lee Frecklington and Owain Warlow who are still playing for the club, have also been cited as hot-prospects for the future, the former receiving interest from a number of Premiership clubs and a call-up for the Ireland B international squad, and the latter receiving a call-up for the Wales U-21 international squad. Other young talent who were not products of the clubs youth academy, yet were snapped up at a young age, have been seen in the likes of Jeff Hughes, Lee Beevers, Ryan Amoo and Paul Green, emphasising the clubs desire to bring future success through new talent and hot prospects and not just proven players.

For the fifth year in a row, under a different manager, however, Lincoln City reached the League Two play-offs after finishing 5th in the league (the highest position that they have qualified for the play-offs in). Once again, however, they lost, this time to Bristol Rovers in the Semi-Finals courtesy of a 2–1 defeat away and a 3–5 defeat at home. The failure to succeed in five successive play-off competitions is a record for any club. However, the average attendance for the 2006/2007 campaign was the largest following for thirty years, as the club hardcore is increasing with the ever increasing population of the local catchment area.

The team started the 2007/2008 campaign poorly, managing just two wins before a winless streak that lasted from August 25 to November 24th. During this winless streak the Managerial team of John Schofield and John Deehan were sacked, and replaced with former Huddersfield Town manager Peter Jackson. Under Jackson and Onuora, the team has experienced a series of better results, sending the team to mid table finish.

Marriott Amoo Brown Moses Green N'Guessan Kerr Frecklington Forrester Wright Dodds Common Lincoln City line-up during the 2007/08 campaign.

Managerial history

Name	Nat	From	To	Record
				P	W	D	L	F	A	Win %
Alf Martin		--/--/1896	--/--/1897	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James West		--/--/1897	--/--/1900	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
David Calderhead		01/08/1900	01/08/1907	256	89	53	114	-	-	34.77%
John Henry Strawson		01/08/1907	31/05/1914	195	52	40	103	-	-	26.67%
George Fraser		01/08/1919	31/03/1921	46	10	10	26	-	-	21.74%
David Calderhead, Jnr.		01/04/1921	31/05/1924	118	37	28	53	-	-	31.36%
Horace Henshall		01/08/1924	01/05/1927	132	51	28	53	-	-	38.64%
Henry Parkes		01/05/1927	01/05/1936	395	187	78	130	-	-	47.34%
Joe McLelland		01/05/1936	01/01/1946	140	61	27	52	-	-	43.57%
Bill Anderson		01/01/1946	01/01/1965	855	307	189	359	-	-	35.91%
Con Moulson		01/01/1965	01/03/1965	8	0	0	8	-	-	00.00%
Roy Chapman		01/03/1965	31/05/1966	65	15	13	37	-	-	23.08%
Ron Gray		01/08/1966	01/07/1970	184	60	55	69	-	-	32.61%
Bert Loxley		01/07/1970	01/03/1971	32	12	4	16	-	-	37.50%
David Herd		01/03/1971	06/12/1972	82	30	30	22	-	-	36.59%
Graham Taylor		06/12/1972	20/06/1977	211	97	61	53	-	-	45.97%
George Kerr		01/06/1977	01/12/1977	18	5	4	9	-	-	27.78%
Willie Bell		21/12/1977	23/10/1978	40	11	13	16	-	-	27.50%
Colin Murphy		06/11/1978	01/05/1985	309	121	88	100	-	-	39.16%
John Pickering		01/07/1985	20/12/1985	24	4	6	14	-	-	16.67%
George Kerr		20/12/1985	07/03/1987	61	17	17	27	-	-	27.87%
Peter Daniel		07/03/1987	01/05/1987	12	2	5	5	-	-	16.67%
Colin Murphy		26/05/1987	20/05/1990	103	39	26	38	-	-	37.86%
Allan Clarke		03/06/1990	30/11/1990	18	3	6	9	-	-	16.67%
Steve Thompson		01/11/1990	31/05/1993	128	48	36	44	-	-	37.50%
Keith Alexander		01/08/1993	16/05/1994	48	13	13	22	-	-	27.08%
Sam Ellis		01/08/1994	04/09/1995	56	21	12	23	-	-	37.50%
Steve Wicks		04/09/1995	16/10/1995	7	0	2	5	-	-	00.00%
John Beck		16/10/1995	06/03/1997	78	27	23	28	-	-	34.62%
Shane Westley		07/03/1997	11/11/1998	82	30	24	28	-	-	36.59%
John Reames		11/11/1998	01/06/2000	87	30	21	36	-	-	34.48%
Phil Stant		01/06/2000	27/02/2001	38	12	10	16	-	-	31.58%
Alan Buckley		28/02/2001	25/04/2002	69	16	24	29	-	-	23.19%
Keith Alexander		05/05/2002	24/05/2006	213	81	69	63	-	-	38.03%
John Schofield John Deehan		15/06/2006	15/10/2007	51	21	12	18	-	-	41.18%
Grant Brown		15/10/2007	30/10/2007	2	0	1	1	-	-	00.00%
Peter Jackson		30/10/2007	Present	22	11	1	10	36	32	50.00%
Iffy Onuora Grant Brown (In Jackson's absence)		01/03/2008	till jackson's return	11	5	0	6	16	24	45.45%

Crest and colours

File:Lincoln City F.C. logo.png

Old Lincoln logo.

File:Lincoln City F.C. home colors.png

2006/07 Home strip.

File:Lincoln City F.C. 2006-2007 away colors.png

2006/07 Away strip.

Crest

Up until recently the club's logo was very simple in design, with the historic City's heraldic shield having "L C F C" inside it and a marquee displaying the club's name below it. Since, however, Lincoln have opted to go with a more modern and stylish design, with the club's mascot and nickname replacing what was originally there.

Colours

Traditionally the colours and design of the Lincoln City strip have been a red and white striped shirt along with black shorts and red socks. This has varied, however, as in the late 1960s and early 70s, the club opted to field a predominantly red strip with white shorts, and also in the 2000/01 season where the shirt was quartered red and white with white shorts. Their away kit has never retained any single pattern or design, and has varied vastly throughout the seasons.

In the 2006/07 season, Lincoln have retained their traditional home kit colours and style, and have a predominantly black away strip with red side stripes, also with red shorts and black socks. This has been the away strip of choice for two seasons now. Their current sponsors are Starglaze (home) and Haart (away), with their kit manufacturer being Uhlsport. Dennis Horton & Son, also sponsor Lincoln, with their logo appearing at the top centre on the reverse of their home kit.

A brand new set of kits was introduced for the 2007/08 season due to the club changing kit supplier from Uhlsport to Umbro. The home shirt retains the traditional red and white stripes.

Honours

League

• Division 3 (North)
  • Winners (3): 1931/32, 1947/48, 1951/52
  • Runners-up (3): 1927/28, 1930/31, 1936/37
• League Two
  • Winners (1): 1975/76¹
  • Runners-up (1): 1980/81¹
  • Third-placed (1): 1997/98²
  • Play-off finalists (2): 2002/03², 2004/05
  • Play-off semi-finalists (3): 2003/04², 2005/06, 2006/07
• Conference National
  • Winners (1): 1987/88
• Midland League / Central League
  • Winners (4): 1889/90, 1908/09, 1911/12⁶, 1920/21
  • Third-placed (1): 1890/91

Cup

• Football League Trophy
  • Runners-up (1): 1983³
  • (Northern Section) Finalists (1): 2000/01
• Conference Championship Shield
  • Winners (1): 1987/88

Other

• Lincolnshire Senior Cup⁴
  • Winners (34): 1886-87, 1890-91, 1891-92, 1893-94, 1907-08, 1909-10, 1911-12, 1913-14, 1914-15, 1919-20, 1921-22, 1923-24, 1925-26, 1926-27, 1930-31, 1931-32, 1933-34, 1934-35, 1945-46, 1947-48, 1948-49, 1950-51, 1961-62, 1966-67, 1968-69, 1969-70, 1974-75, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1984-85, 1990-91, 1997-98, 2004-05, 2006-07
  • Runners-Up (?):
  • Shared (3):1955-56, 1963-64, 1965-66
• Pontin's Reserve League Cup
  • Winners (1): 2006/07
• Fred Green Memorial Trophy⁷
  • Winners (1): 2006/07
• Midland League
  • Runners-up (1): 1932/33
  • Third-placed (1): 1928/29

Highest finishes

• Highest league finishes
  • Overall
    • 5th in the Championship (1): 1901/02⁵
  • By league
    • 5th in the Championship (1): 1901/02⁵
    • 4th in League One (1): 1981/82²
    • 1st in Division Three (North) (3): 1931/32, 1947/48, 1951/52
    • 1st in League Two (1): 1975/76¹
    • 1st in the Conference (1): 1987/88
• FA Cup
  • Last 16 (3): 1886/87, 1889/90 and 1901/02
• League Cup
  • 4th round (1): 1967/68
• Football League Trophy
  • Runners-up (1): 1983³
• FA Trophy
  • Quarter-finalists (1): 1987/88

Notes:

¹ Then known as Division 4.

² Then known as Division 3.

³ This final has not been officially recognised 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 in between the abandonment 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.

⁴ Most results of the Lincolnshire Senior Cup not available after 1996/97 due to outdated source book, therefore need updating; also a "runners-up" and accurate "shared" honours list needs compiling.

⁵ Then known as Division 2.

⁶ The club did not actually come 1st place, they came 13th, but were champions on the basis of re-election.

⁷ Competition contested every year from 2007 against local rivals, Lincoln United.

Records

Attendances

League

• 5 March 1949 v. Grimbsy Town — 23,146 (The Football League)
• 2 May 1988 v. Wycombe Wanderers — 9,432 (Conference National)
• 15 May 2004 v. Huddersfield Town — 9,202 (All-Seated Stadium)

Cup

• 30 January 1954 v. Preston North End — 23,027 (FA Cup)
• 15 November 1967 v. Derby County — 23,196 (League Cup)
• 13 March 2001 v. Port Vale — 4,831 (League Trophy)

Appearances

Overall

• Grant Brown — 469 (462 + 7 sub)

League

• Grant Brown — 407 (401 + 6 sub)

Cup

• Grant Brown — 62 (61 + 1 sub) (All Cups)
• George Fraser — 27 (FA Cup)
• Gordon Hobson — 23 (League Cup)
• Dave Smith — 23 (22 + 1 sub) (League Cup)
• Grant Brown — 22 (21 + 1 sub) (League Trophy)

Scorers

Overall (league)

• Andy Graver — 143 (1950-55, 1958-61)

Overall (cup)

• Billy Dinsale — 14 (1926-31) (FA Cup)
• Tony Cunningham — 8 (1979-83) (League Cup)
• George Shipley — 8 (1979-85) (League Cup)
• Lee Thorpe — 7 (1997-2002) (League Trophy)

In one season (overall)

• Allan Hall — 45 (1931-32)

In one season (league)

• Allan Hall — 41 (1931-32) (The Football League)
• Phil Brown — 16 (1987-88) (Conference National)

In one season (cup)

• Billy Gillespie — 5 (1896-97) (FA Cup)
• Mick Harford — 5 (1980-81) (League Cup)
• Lee Thorpe — 6 (2000-01) (League Trophy)

Transfer fees (top 5)

Paid

• Dean Walling — £75,000 to Carlisle United, 1997
• Tony Battersby — £75,000 to Bury, 1998
• Grant Brown — £63,000 to Leicester City, 1989
• Gordon Hobson — £60,000 to Southampton, 1989
• Lee Beevers — £50,000 to Boston United, 2004

Received

• Jack Hobbs — >£750,000² from Liverpool, 2005
• Gavin Gordon — £550,000³ from Cardiff City, 2000
• Gareth Ainsworth — £500,000¹ from Port Vale, 1997
• Darren Huckerby — £400,000 from Newcastle United, 1995
• Matt Carbon — £385,000 from Derby, 1996

Notes:

¹ official club record

² unofficial club record

³ fee based on appearances for Cardiff; due to complexities, the precise fee cannot be determined

Victories

League

• 11–1 v. Crewe Alexandra (Home), The Football League, 29/09/1951
• 2–8 v. Rotherham Town (Away), The Football League, 02/12/1893
• 7–1 v. Rochdale (Home), The Football League, 21/10/2006
• 5–0 v. Altrincham (Home), Conference National, 26/03/1988
• 0–5 v. Barnet (Away), The Football League, 14/10/2006
• 5–0 v. Grimsby (Home), The Football League 25/03/2006

Cup

• 9–0 v. Boston Town (Home), FA Cup, 25/10/1890
• 0–13 v. Peterborough United (Away), FA Cup, 12/10/1895
• 5–0 v. Hull City (Home), League Cup, 09/09/1980
• 0–3 v. Doncaster Rovers (Away), League Cup, 18/08/1992
• 4–0 v. Hartlepool United (Home), League Trophy, 06/02/1985
• 0–3 v. Hartlepool United (Away), League Trophy, 26/01/1999

Players

Youngest player

• Jack Hobbs — 16 years and 149 days v. Bristol Rovers, 15/01/2005, The Football League
• Shane Nicholson — 16 years and 112 days v. Charlton Athletic, 23/09/1986, League Cup

Oldest player

• Albert Iremonger — 42 years and 312 days v. Doncaster Rovers, 23/04/1927, The Football League

International appearances whilst at the club

Name	Representing country	Caps	Versus
Gareth McAuley	Northern Ireland	5	Germany (June 2005) Portugal (November 2005) Estonia (March 2006) Uruguay (May 2006) Romania (May 2006)
George Moulson	Republic of Ireland	3	Portugal (May 1948) Spain (May 1948) Switzerland (December 1948)
David Pugh	Wales	3	Scotland (February 1900) Scotland (March 1901) England (March 1901)
Con Moulson	Republic of Ireland	2	Hungary (May 1936) Luxembourg (May 1936)
Dean Walling	St. Kitts and Nevis	2	British Virgin Islands (April 1998) Guadeloupe (April 1998)
Jeff Hughes	Northern Ireland	2	Uruguay (May 2006) Romania (May 2006)
Arthur Fitzsimons	Republic of Ireland	1	Czechoslovakia (May 1959)
David Felgate	Wales	1	Romania (October 1983)

Note: Italics denote that the player came on as a substitute.

Notable players and managers

In the PFA Fans' Favourites survey published by the Professional Footballers' Association in December 2007, Andy Graver was listed as the all-time favourite player amongst Lincoln City fans.

Name	Nat	Description
Ainsworth, Gareth		Now playing for Queens Park Rangers Was sold to Port Vale for a then club record (and still official) fee of £500,000 and was voted 4th in Lincoln City's 100 League Legends
Bannister, Gary		Also played for West Bromwich Albion, Queens Park Rangers,Nottingham Forest and Coventry City
Black, Kingsley		Also played for Nottingham Forest,Sheffield United and Grimsby Town
Branfoot, Ian		Later Fulham, Southampton and Reading manager
Carbon, Matt		Also played for Derby County and West Bromwich Albion
Cort, Carl		Currently at Leicester City with past spells at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Wimbledon and Newcastle United
Croft, Gary		Also played for Ipswich and Blackburn as well as Grimsby Town Played a minor role in the 2007/8 season for the Imps after a season of injury
Eaden, Nicky		Also played for Barnsley, Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic Helped the club reach their fifth successive League Two play-off campaign in the 2006/07 season
Fashanu, John		Television presenter and ex-Millwall, Wimbledon, Norwich City and Aston Villa thug Played at Lincoln as a trainee
Forrester, Jamie		Also played for Leeds United, AJ Auxerre and FC Utrecht Helped City reach the 2005/06 League Two play-off semi-finals with a bagful of appearances and goals as a loanee, and finished as top-scorer for Lincoln as a permanent signing in the 2006/07 campaign which also lead to a play-off semi-final defeat
Greaves, Ian		Also played for Manchester United
Grobbelaar, Bruce		Also played for Liverpool Saw out his latter days at Lincoln
Harford, Mick		Also played for Newcastle United, Birmingham City and Chelsea
Harford, Ray		Later Blackburn Rovers, Queens Park Rangers and West Bromwich Albion manager
Hobbs, Jack		Signed for Liverpool at the end of the 2004/05 season and is tipped as a future England international Youngest ever player to play for Lincoln first team
Huckerby, Darren		Currently at San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer with past spells at Manchester City and Newcastle United amongst others Was an early product of City's youth set-up and was sold to Newcastle United
Hughes, Jeff		Northern Ireland international, now playing for Bristol Rovers Helped to guide the club to two unsuccessful League Two play-off campaigns and was then sold to Crystal Palace
McClaren, Steve		Later England and Middlesbrough manager
McGlen, Billy		Also played for Manchester United
Megson, Gary		Also played for Everton, Newcastle United and Manchester City
Nicholson, Shane		Yongest ever League player and a former Derby County, West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield United player
Moses, Adie		Also played for Barnsley
Neale, Phil, OBE		Also played for England cricket
Redfearn, Neil		Also played for Bolton Wanderers, Barnsley, Wigan Athletic and Charlton Athletic
Savage, Robert		Also played for Liverpool and Manchester United
Sinclair, Frank		Also played for Chelsea and Leicester City Won the FA Cup and League cup with Chelsea and Leicester respectively.
Taylor, Graham		Later England, Watford, Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Guided Lincoln to their most successful ever league campaign by winning Division Four (now League Two) in 1975/76
Trueman, Fred		Also played cricket for England
Williams, Paul		Also played for Derby County, Coventry City and Southampton
Woodcock, Tony		Also played for England, 1. FC Köln, Nottingham Forest and Arsenal

Note: Names in bold are still at the club.

Mascot

The Lincoln City mascot is called Poacher The Imp, after the old song 'The Lincolnshire Poacher'. He is currently in his 10th year, and has been portrayed by Gary Hutchinson for the entire ten years.

In 2003 Poacher finished 12th in the Mascot Grand National, representing his best finish.

Rivals

• Boston United — Lincoln's nearest rivals locally. Rivalry intensified when Boston returned to the Football League in the early 2000s but is likely to die down again now Boston are in a lower division.
• Grimsby Town — Rivals from North Lincolnshire, who historically have spent time in higher divisions than Lincoln, however, in recent times have shared the same division.
• Scunthorpe United — Also rivals from North Lincolnshire. Scunthorpe have spent the majority of time in lower or the same division as Lincoln, however, recent success has seen them rise two tiers higher.
• Hull City — Rivalry intensfied when Hull dropped to the same division as Lincoln for a number of seasons but has since died down again due to Hull being promoted to the Premiership
• Peterborough United — Never a traditional rivalry, but have slight geographical similarities; Peterborough have since been promoted.

Despite sharing the city with Lincoln United, the two are not usually considered rivals, as United are much lower in the League system than City and the clubs never play each other except for friendlies, which usually take place in every pre-season. This is the same situation regarding Lincoln Moorlands. Other county rivals in the past have been Gainsborough Trinity and Grantham Town, but in recent times Lincoln have been in a higher league than these clubs.

Current squad

Coaching staff

Role	Nationality	Name
Manager		Peter Jackson
Assistant Manager		Iffy Onuora
First-Team Coach/Youth Team Manager		Grant Brown
Player/Coach		Frank Sinclair
Fitness Coach/First Team Physio		Michael Wait
Head of Youth		Tom Spall
Youth Team Physio		Kevin Oxby
Chief Scout		Kieran Scarff

First team

As of 03 August 2008.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ENG	Robert Burch
2	DF	ENG	Paul Green
3	MF	ENG	Aaron Brown
4	DF	HUN	János Kovács
5	DF	WAL	Lee Beevers
6	DF	JAM	Frank Sinclair
7	MF	ENG	Stefan Oakes
8	MF	IRL	Lee Frecklington
9	FW	WAL	Kevin Gall (on loan from Carlisle United)
11	MF	ENG	Scott Kerr (captain)
12	MF	FRA	Dany N'Guessan

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
13	GK	ENG	Ayden Duffy
14	FW	ENG	Lenell John-Lewis
15	FW	ENG	Ben Wright
16	DF	ENG	Daniel Hone
17	FW	SCO	David Graham
18	MF	ENG	Martin Pembleton
19	MF	ENG	Shane Clarke
20	MF	WAL	Owain Warlow
21	MF	ENG	Gary King
22	FW	ENG	Sam Mullarkey
23	FW	ROU	Adrian Patulea

See also

• List of Lincoln City players and managers
• Lincoln City seasons
• Lincoln City F.C. season 2007-08
• Lincoln City L.F.C., the affiliated women's team

External links

• Official Lincoln City website
• Lincoln City's Sky Sports homepage
• Lincoln City's BBC homepage
• The Imps (unofficial fansite)
• The Forgotten Imp (unofficial fansite) - online since 1999
• Vital Lincoln (unofficial fansite)