As Patreons of the site know, we have a Lincoln City Discord channel which has a podcast questions section. We don’t always get to answer the questions on the podcast, especially not at a time like this, but I do strive to answer them in articles, if I can.
Having spent some time trawling recent questions, I’ve grabbed a handful of them to answer here. I have taken another to do a full article on, but these are ones with shorter answers, so hopefully, will make good reading.
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Anyway, the pitch is over, on with the questions!
Stew Fox: We’ve clearly been a club over the last few seasons renowned for developing young players and giving them the opportunity to move to a higher level. Now we’re a Championship club, has that percentage and perception changed? Do you think some of those players might now believe they can achieve that step with us rather than using us as a stepping stone?
I think it changes slightly, but not massively. The core idea of developing players stays the same; it is just the level of player we are now looking at. Previously, we were bringing in players from League Two and developing them into League One players, names like Rob Street, JJ McKiernan and Cohen Bramall come to mind. Now, we will likely be targeting that same type of player, but from League One and looking to develop them into Championship players.
At the same time, we have to be realistic. Just because we are in the Championship now does not mean we will be there for the next five or six years. There is every chance we could be battling relegation, so I do not think there will be a huge shift in approach unless we establish ourselves at that level over time.
What I do think changes is the mindset of players. Before, players might have felt they needed to leave to reach the Championship. You look at players like Ethan Erhahon, Paudie O’Connor and Sean Roughan; they all had that aspiration, and some moved on without quite getting there. Others like Lukas Jensen, Anthony Scully and Jorge Grant did reach that level. Now, we are the Championship club, so players within our squad do not have that same need to move on to achieve it. That speaks volumes in itself.
Stew Fox: It’s clear through recent articles that clubs like Sheffield Wednesday and Chesterfield are interested in how we’ve progressed. How much work do you think the club has done analysing how similar teams have fared in the Championship, such as Charlton Athletic, Oxford United and Plymouth Argyle, and will that change our approach at a higher level compared to League One?
I think there will have been a fair bit of work done, but every club that goes up does so under different circumstances. Charlton are an example, but they are a bigger club at that level and likely paid higher wages to get out of League One, so their situation is very different.
Location plays a part as well. Being in London gives you access to a much bigger pool of players and loan opportunities. It is easier to move players around and manage a larger squad because there are more clubs nearby. For us, based in Lincolnshire, that is much more difficult. It is harder to loan players out locally and probably harder to attract a wide pool of talent in the first place.
Oxford are another decent example, but they have very wealthy owners who have backed them strongly. Wll we look at the fact they sacked Des Buckingham after going up as a blueprint? I’m not sure it tells us anything, one way or another.
Plymouth are probably closer to us in terms of recruitment challenges, given their location, but even then they are a bigger club with a bigger ground and a bit more natural pull. That said, we are an attractive club in our own right. The story we have built and the headlines we have created give us something others perhaps did not have when they went up. That should not be underestimated.
Ultimately, I think the key thing is preparation. This is not something you only start thinking about once promotion is secured. There will have been ongoing work behind the scenes, looking at what happens if we reach the Championship and how we respond to that.
Stew Fox: There are clubs now in the Premier League that spent time at a similar level to us, such as Brighton & Hove Albion, Brentford, AFC Bournemouth and Burnley. Have we aligned ourselves with any of those models by choice, or is that something we might look at more closely now?
I do not think we have deliberately aligned ourselves with any one model, certainly not Brighton, Bournemouth or Burnley. Brentford is probably the closest in terms of approach.
They have used a data-driven model for recruitment, focusing heavily on metrics like expected goals and judging performance on underlying numbers as much as results. There is that much-cited example where a manager would not be questioned after a run of defeats if the underlying data was strong, but would be challenged after wins if the performances were poor. That is quite a different way of looking at things.
They have also been a development club, bringing in players, improving them and then selling them on, with Ollie Watkins being a standout example. What they have done well is implement that model at Championship level, which is something we have not had the opportunity to do yet.
Another strength of theirs is succession planning. When Dean Smith left, Thomas Frank stepped up from within, and the club carried on without disruption. It is a system rather than reliance on one individual, which makes it more sustainable.
I would not say we have set out to copy Brentford, but in terms of principles, they are probably the closest to what we are trying to achieve. Brighton, for example, operates on a completely different scale, buying players globally for significant fees and selling them on for huge profits, while Bournemouth has a reputation for spending heavily to get out of the division. Those are not really models we can follow at present.
Paul Stallebrass: Do you think there are any League One players at bigger clubs, perhaps on higher wages and out of contract, who would now be interested in signing for us, even if it meant taking a wage drop to play in the Championship?
Yes, but it really depends on the player. Some players will take a drop in wages if there is an opportunity to play at a higher level, especially if they have not experienced the Championship before.
Age and experience play a big role. A 28-year-old who has never played in the Championship might be more willing to take slightly less money to get that opportunity. On the other hand, a 27-year-old who has already played at that level might feel they can get back there without taking a pay cut, or that they don’t need to prioritise level over money.
There will always be clubs willing to pay more, even when we’re in the second tier. You could be competing with a League One club offering significantly higher wages, and some players will choose that. That is just the reality of the market.
What being in the Championship does give us is an extra bargaining tool. It allows us to compete in conversations where previously we might not have been able to, and in some cases, that will be enough to tip the balance in our favour. In others, it will not.
It really is a case-by-case basis, depending on what motivates the individual player.
Jo: Regarding Freddie Draper, do you think he stays with us in the Championship or gets loaned back into League One until January to regain match sharpness?
No, I do not think so. I think Freddie Draper stays. There is no real need to send him out on loan to regain match sharpness when he has a full pre-season ahead of him. He has only missed the tail end of the campaign, so he should come back in good shape.
He is the type of player who could suit the Championship as well. He has the physical profile, he is big and strong and capable of making life difficult for defenders. His finishing is still developing, but that is something he has been working on and will continue to improve.
We will look to bring in attacking players, of course, but I do not see him dropping back into League One. With a proper pre-season behind him, he should be ready to go from the start of the new campaign and could have a role to play.
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