Michael Skubala 100 Games In: How He Lines Up In History

Michael Skubala has now hit 100 games for the Imps, a milestone worth mentioning.

Apologies, I did intend this article (and two others celebrating the milestone) to go out yesterday, but as many of you know, I had a bit on.

So, where does Michael Skubala’s 100 games leave him in Imps history?

His 100 games take him 17th in the all-time table for long-serving managers, 16th if Colin Murphy’s two spells are combined. By the end of the season, hoping we play 43 more games (36 league, four in the EFL Trophy and three in the FA Cup), he’ll ascend to joint-ninth (tenth if both of Murphy’s spells are looked at separately), going above Steve Thompson (128), John Beck (130) and possibly Michael Appleton (143).

His current win percentage is 44%, which is outstanding across history. Only three managers have better win ratios – Danny Cowley, Graham Taylor and Harry Parkes, who managed the club from 1927 to 1936.

In the interest of fairness, I have also worked out the loss percentage, and it turns out not losing games isn’t the route to longevity, after all. Danny Cowley and Graham Taylor have the lowest loss percentage (22.16% and 25.12%), but next are David Herd (26.83%) and Mark Kennedy (28.77%). In fact, Keith Alexander and John Beck even come in higher than Michael Skubala, 29.58% and 30.77%, before Skubala lands on 31%. It’s still the seventh-lowest of any manager in history, fifth-lowest of managers who have managed 100 games or more.

While this isn’t Skubala-related, I did find the managers with the highest draw percentages interesting – Kennedy, Herd, Alan Buckley, Allan Clarke and Willie Bell. None are remembered too fondly, but it does hint at the odd ‘good point’ or long unbeaten runs full of draws not quite being as strong as they seem at the time.

Is Michael Skubala shaping up to be an Imps managerial legend? Trophies and promotions always matter, something Cowley, Murphy and Taylor have that, as yet, Michael doesn’t. However, were he to earn us promotion during his tenure, going from League One to the Championship would be a different level altogether.

While stats are all well and good, sometimes numbers alone are not enough – being League One in 2025/26 is very different to being Third Division (North) in 1932. We are a small fish at this level, not top 12 in terms of budget, whereas we certainly were among the top dogs in the National League, 2016/17, and in League Two 2018/19.

There are elements of some old Imps’ managers rolled into Michael, in my opinion. We have some of Keith’s pragmatism, hard-working and organised, whereas we also have that physical dominance Danny Cowley liked, perhaps blended with a little more ability than some of Keith’s side. I don’t mean that against Keith, by the way, I mean we can get it down and play as well as bully.

I think Skubala is grounded in his interviews, pensive in the way he thinks and delivers pre- and post-match assessments. There is an intelligence there, it’s not hyperbole like Peter Jackson, nor delusional (like some I won’t mention). With that in mind, he feels a little like Taylor, a man who always came across as very human, if that makes sense. I will caveat that by saying I only remember Taylor from his England and Villa days.

This might not go down well, but there is even some of John Beck in there. Terry Fleming’s long throws, the flick-ons and set-piece menace? It’s hard not to see the similarities in elements of what we do.

I actually think we’re becoming a bit like a lower-budget Bolton Wanderers under Ian Evatt, a team blended nicely together, born out of physicality and a bit of nous, able to mix gamesmanship with genuine hard work, graft and, in places, flashes of individual talents. Bolton fans might not rate that, but having seen us get our arses kicked against them time and again, I see value in what we’re doing now.

Win percentages can go up and down, but if we were comparing 100 games, like for like, I doubt many managers other than Cowley have got off to a start like this. Even Graham Taylor took time to blend his title winners. Whatever the future holds, it’s been a good century of games from our current head coach.