Which League One Lincoln City Manager Did Best Comparatively During His Tenure?

Burton Albion 22.01 (884)w skubala — Credit Graham Burrell

I love numbers, and sometimes, it’s fun to just play around with Lincoln City numbers and see if there is anything worth commenting on.

I do love the debate I have with the likes of Marcus Clayson online about Kennedy and Appleton, one of those never-ending debates that has turned into something we do for fun now, long having given up on convincing the other that we’re right. Still, every time I find a new metric to explore, ot some numbers to cloud the judgement, I like to drop them in.

Recently, I was pointed in the direction of a site that allowed me to find a League One table between two ranges. For instance, I could take Michael Appleton’s start date, and his departure date, and find out exactly how many goals Lincoln scored, their points, etc. I haven’t included Danny Cowley as he only managed a handful of City matches.

That made me think. I could then explore how those managers did comparatively, according to the division at the time. Mere points wouldn’t be fair: Michael Skubala has amassed more League One points during his tenure than any other team over the same period, so his Lincoln are top of the 37-team table. However, having played 118 games, it’s expected he’d be above Birmingham and Wrexham, who played 46.

However, we could work out a PPG for him, and average goals scored, home and away. If we then set the parameters, we could do the same for Michael Appleton and Mark Kennedy, and just for fun, present them here without (too much) comment for others to pick apart on social media, couldn’t we?

How very, very exciting.

Manager	Points Per Game	Goals Per Game	Conceded Per Game	League Position During Tenure
Michael Skubala	1.74	1.59	0.97	7
Michael Appleton	1.35	1.32	1.23	17
Mark Kennedy	1.35	1.07	1.04	14

This table isn’t conclusive of anything, obviously, but it does raise interesting questions.

I have heard it commented that Mark Kennedy helped solidify us as a defensive unit, allowing Michael Skubala to build, and with just 1.04 goals conceded per game, I think this table provides an argument for that. However, with just 1.07 goals scored per game, down from 1.32 under Appleton, it also suggests there was an issue finding balance.

The irrefutable takeaway is how much better Skubala’s side has been. Remember, this isn’t an average for this season, but across the whole tenure for each manager, so while we’re good this season, the actual numbers are boosted by a consistent approach.

I would also point out the difference in placements that a 1.35 PPG shows for Kennedy and Appleton. During his time as Imps manager, Kennedy was 14th in terms of PPG, from a pool of 31 teams. Appleton was 17th, with the same PPG, and from a pool of 34 teams.

The truth is that while I’ll argue Appleton over Kennedy any day, and others will argue back, there really isn’t much of a difference. One understood how to attack, but not defend, and another got defending, but not attacking. Different approaches, same outcomes.

Michael Skubala’s Lincoln City have done both elements well over his tenure, building to a promotion crescendo.

Michael Skubala League One Table

Team	Plyd	Points Per Game	Goals Per Game	Conceded Per Game
1 – Birmingham City	46	2.41	1.83	0.67
2 – Derby County	30	2.17	1.67	0.73
3 – Portsmouth	30	2.03	1.70	0.97
4 – Wrexham	46	2.00	1.46	0.74
5 – Cardiff City	41	1.98	1.85	1.02
6 – Stockport County	87	1.78	1.53	1.08
7 – Lincoln City	118	1.74	1.59	0.97
8 – Bradford City	42	1.69	1.24	1.10
9 – Bolton Wanderers	118	1.61	1.54	1.25
10 – Wycombe Wanderers	120	1.57	1.43	1.06
11 – Reading	119	1.55	1.54	1.29
12 – Charlton Athletic	78	1.54	1.35	1.09
13 – Plymouth Argyle	42	1.50	1.57	1.38
14 – Luton Town	41	1.49	1.39	1.22
15 – Leyton Orient	120	1.45	1.40	1.26
16 – Huddersfield Town	88	1.43	1.40	1.26
17 – Stevenage	116	1.43	1.03	1.01
18 – Blackpool	118	1.42	1.39	1.27
19 – Barnsley	116	1.41	1.58	1.59
20 – Oxford United	30	1.40	1.60	1.33
21 – Peterborough United	116	1.34	1.60	1.57
22 – Wigan Athletic	117	1.30	1.05	1.13
23 – Doncaster Rovers	42	1.26	1.02	1.52
24 – Mansfield Town	86	1.24	1.28	1.35
25 – Exeter City	119	1.24	1.09	1.34
26 – AFC Wimbledon	42	1.19	1.17	1.50
27 – Cheltenham Town	30	1.17	1.13	1.33
28 – Rotherham United	87	1.10	1.03	1.39
29 – Northampton Town	117	1.10	1.04	1.46
30 – Burton Albion	118	1.05	1.00	1.42
31 – Bristol Rovers	76	1.01	0.97	1.63
32 – Crawley Town	46	1.00	1.24	1.80
33 – Fleetwood Town	30	0.90	1.03	1.57
34 – Cambridge United	75	0.88	0.95	1.52
35 – Shrewsbury Town	75	0.81	0.88	1.65
36 – Port Vale	69	0.81	0.84	1.51
37 – Carlisle United	29	0.55	0.97	2.10

Michael Appleton League One Table

Team	Plyd	Points Per Game	Goals Per Game	Conceded Per Game
1 – Hull City	46	1.93	1.74	0.83
2 – Coventry City	25	1.92	1.32	0.84
3 – Rotherham United	73	1.92	1.63	0.86
4 – Sheffield Wednesday	46	1.85	1.70	1.09
5 – Peterborough United	72	1.83	1.82	1.06
6 – Wycombe Wanderers	70	1.76	1.50	1.16
7 – Sunderland	118	1.73	1.55	0.97
8 – Oxford United	117	1.69	1.72	1.17
9 – Portsmouth	120	1.66	1.48	1.07
10 – Blackpool	71	1.54	1.27	0.96
11 – Wigan Athletic	92	1.52	1.48	1.32
12 – MK Dons	118	1.52	1.42	1.19
13 – Charlton Athletic	92	1.45	1.36	1.25
14 – Plymouth Argyle	92	1.45	1.32	1.39
15 – Ipswich Town	119	1.43	1.20	1.04
16 – Accrington Stanley	118	1.36	1.36	1.56
17 – Lincoln City	117	1.35	1.32	1.23
18 – Bolton Wanderers	71	1.34	1.37	1.37
19 – Cambridge United	46	1.26	1.22	1.61
20 – Gillingham	118	1.25	1.07	1.30
21 – Burton Albion	116	1.24	1.28	1.53
22 – Fleetwood Town	118	1.21	1.23	1.30
23 – Doncaster Rovers	118	1.19	1.19	1.48
24 – Cheltenham Town	45	1.18	1.40	1.76
25 – Shrewsbury Town	117	1.13	1.02	1.20
26 – AFC Wimbledon	116	1.03	1.14	1.52
27 – Crewe Alexandra	92	1.03	1.01	1.57
28 – Rochdale	71	1.03	1.27	1.70
29 – Northampton Town	46	0.98	0.89	1.46
30 – Swindon Town	46	0.93	1.20	1.93
31 – Bristol Rovers	70	0.93	0.90	1.53
32 – Tranmere Rovers	25	0.92	0.88	1.76
33 – Morecambe	46	0.91	1.24	1.91
34 – Southend United	25	0.56	1.08	2.40

Mark Kennedy League One Table

Team	Plyd	Points Per Game	Goals Per Game	Conceded Per Game
1 – Plymouth Argyle	46	2.20	1.78	1.02
2 – Ipswich Town	46	2.13	2.20	0.76
3 – Sheffield Wednesday	46	2.09	1.76	0.80
4 – Barnsley	58	1.86	1.81	1.02
5 – Bolton Wanderers	57	1.77	1.42	0.89
6 – Peterborough United	58	1.69	1.60	1.14
7 – Portsmouth	58	1.69	1.41	1.00
8 – Derby County	57	1.65	1.49	1.00
9 – Stevenage	13	1.62	1.38	1.15
10 – Blackpool	12	1.58	1.25	1.00
11 – Wycombe Wanderers	57	1.54	1.32	1.16
12 – Leyton Orient	12	1.42	0.92	1.25
13 – Charlton Athletic	57	1.35	1.53	1.40
14 – Lincoln City	57	1.35	1.07	1.04
15 – Oxford United	57	1.30	1.26	1.14
16 – Shrewsbury Town	58	1.26	1.00	1.28
17 – Exeter City	58	1.24	1.29	1.41
18 – Burton Albion	59	1.22	1.15	1.61
19 – Bristol Rovers	57	1.19	1.30	1.51
20 – Wigan Athletic	11	1.18	1.36	1.55
21 – Northampton Town	11	1.18	1.00	1.00
22 – Fleetwood Town	57	1.16	1.07	1.21
23 – Port Vale	58	1.14	1.02	1.57
24 – Cambridge United	58	1.05	0.91	1.41
25 – MK Dons	46	0.98	0.96	1.43
26 – Cheltenham Town	58	0.97	0.79	1.40
27 – Morecambe	46	0.96	1.02	1.70
28 – Accrington Stanley	46	0.96	0.87	1.67
29 – Reading	11	0.91	0.82	1.36
30 – Carlisle United	13	0.85	0.85	1.23
31 – Forest Green Rovers	46	0.59	0.67	1.93

Which League One Lincoln City Manager Did Best Comparatively During His Tenure?

Michael Skubala League One Table

Michael Appleton League One Table

Mark Kennedy League One Table

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