CLUB GUIDE: Lincoln City

Full name Lincoln City Football Club
Nickname(s) The Imps/The Red Imps
Founded 1884
Ground Sincil Bank, Lincoln
Capacity 10,127

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

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)