In case you missed it, Lincoln City have been promoted to the Championship. There is a lot of conjecture about what that might mean long term, and I was asked on Twitter to look at similar-sized clubs who have made the leap in the past.
To do this, we have to decide what a ‘similar-sized’ club is. Some of the clubs I have mentioned here will feel they’re not meant to be on the list, as some are, traditionally, bigger clubs.
I came up with a plan. I’ve picked clubs that fit two criteria: no top-flight experience since the start of the Premier League, and teams we have faced in either League One or League Two (or their equivalent) during my lifetime as a City fan. It rules out the likes of Blackpool, Peterborough and Luton Town, as they had experienced higher up before their promotion.
I’ve also picked a club based on their first promotion after 2004: some, such as Rotherham, wouldn’t typically qualify as they’d been relegated a couple of times between their promotions, but that first promotion came after we’d played them in 2010/11, with no second-tier spell in between, if that makes sense.
Without further ado, let’s look at clubs the size of Lincoln that have ascended to the Championship in the last 20 years.
Colchester United, 2006
Southend United were promoted to the Championship in 2006, but having had six seasons in the second tier between 1992 and 1998, they don’t really compare, despite us losing to them in the 2005 play-off final. Colchester had been in the Third Division and Fourth Division for much of their history, as well as having two years in the GMVC.
They were promoted in 2006 after a slow and steady climb, finishing second, and then 10th in their first season in the second tier. They were above the likes of Leeds United, Leicester City, QPR, Norwich City and Crystal Palace, but it was short-lived. The following season they finished bottom and, in 2016, after eight years in the third tier, they dropped into the basement division.
Scunthorpe, 2007, 2009
Here is a cautionary tale. For a couple of seasons, Scunthorpe were the model, signing strikers, seeing them thrive and selling them on. Their promotion in 2007 came just four seasons after losing to us in the play-off semi-final, and two years after we beat them 2-0 in front of the Sky cameras as we battled for the automatic spots with them. We lost to Southend in the play-offs, Scunny and the Shrimpers went up and within two years, both were Championship sides.
They were immediately relegated, finishing bottom, but were promoted quickly. They survived a single season the next time before another relegation, meaning they’ve had three years as a second-tier side. Remarkably, in 2017/18, with them in the top six, they sacked Graham Alexander with just seven games to go. He’d given them a seventh and third-place finish, and they still finished fifth that season.
12 months later, they were relegated, and 36 months later they dropped out of the EFL.
Doncaster Rovers, 2008, 2013
Doncaster dropped out of the second tier in 1958 and spent four years in the Conference at the turn of the century, making them comparable to the Imps. They won the League One play-offs in 2008, and it set them up for some decent seasons. They had four years in the second tier before relegation and immediate promotion, but quickly found themselves back in League Two.
One point in seven games at the end of the campaign cost them their Championship spot under Paul Dickov, and a lack of goals hurt. Chris Brown hit nine in all competitions; their next highest scorer, Theo Robinson, got five.
Yeovil Town, 2013
Yeovil are a great example of a club overachieving. After a lifetime in non-league, they got into League Two, faced us four times, and then earned promotion to League One. After finishing in the bottom half six seasons out of seven, they were promoted via the play-offs to the second tier.
It was not a good season. They won their opening fixture, then picked up three points from a possible 33, and never got out of the bottom three from there. It was a tough division, with very few sides they’d expect to compete with, and they finished seven points adrift, relegated with Doncaster.
MK Dons, 2015
I’m not sure whether MK Dons should count, picking up the ashes of the old Wimbledon and claiming them as their own. Still, under their current guise, their promotion in 2015 was their first and only stint in the second tier. Much to the delight of football in general, they were immediately relegated, and two seasons later, relegated again.
Burton Albion, 2016
Another side not entirely comparable to us, as they climbed the divisions on the back of decent funding. After promotion in 2009, they spent six seasons in League One, winning back-to-back promotions in 2016 and 2017. As we started life in League Two, they were a Championship outfit.
They finished 20th, then 23rd and were relegated to League One, where they have settled in recent seasons. After three wins in four at the end of the season, they were beaten on the final day, where a win would have seen them stay up.
Wycombe Wanderers, 2020
Wycombe’s rise is fascinating, but they have been bankrolled in recent seasons. They bounced around the third and fourth tiers until Covid gave them a play-off spot some might say wasn’t entirely deserved, but a chance they took.
They made a decent fist of it, relegated by a single point, but haven’t been back since. They choked last season, looking dead set for promotion alongside Birmingham until a manager change.
Conclusion
There are other teams I had on this list originally: Rotherham United, Plymouth Argyle, Oxford United, but all had experience in the second tier, or top tier, in the decade or two prior to their promotion. They may feel like similar-sized clubs, but they’d had that experience. Preston North End, a side I wanted to compare to us and suggest they’re what could happen, also had a stretch in the Second Division between 2001 and 2011, making them a stalwart of the level.
Nothing is proven here, but I do think survival for more than two seasons has to be the aim. Doncaster are probably the one side you’d think are most similar to us in terms of profile and journey, and they managed four seasons. Brighton and Bournemouth, both with a history in the second tier but having been in the basement division to face us as well, are the aspiration, but it wouldn’t have been fair to liken them to us in this article.
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