As the countdown continues to Lincoln City’s 26/27 Championship fixture release date, there are a couple of key differences set to come into play.
As is standard for the second tier of English football, the Imps will have more midweek fixtures to compensate for the international windows, for which Championship sides automatically don’t play.
That differs from our time in League One, where we could request to postpone a fixture if we had three international call-ups.
That has implications surrounding the Easter period, with the Imps not in action this season. The March international window runs from 22nd to 30th March, with Good Friday and Easter Monday falling inside those dates. It does feel frustrating that we won’t have any action on this particular Bank Holiday weekend, as it’s been a very memorable time of the year for City supporters in recent years.
But the biggest change this season is the first extended international break of the campaign. Instead of two separate windows in September and October, four international fixtures will take place over 15 days across both those months. For the Imps, it means that there will be a three-week break from action between 19th September and 10th October. This has been done to reduce fixture congestion by freeing up an extra midweek.
What Does This Mean For Lincoln City?
As we head into the uncharted waters of Championship football, this does feel like it could be beneficial for the Imps. In the 25/26 campaign, there were just four second-tier fixtures before the first fortnight break from action. This season, there are six weekend slots before the first international window, with the potential for a midweek set of league fixtures.
The big bonus behind this is that it gives us a better chance to get a few positive results on the board before a break from action. If we had four really tough opening fixtures and lost all of them, we would be bottom of the division and looking up already. However, with an extra couple of fixtures to play with, the hope is that we can pick up a few points and keep ourselves in touch with the sides around the relegation zone.
I remember Wycombe Wanderers’ first-ever Championship season, where they lost their first four matches of the season without scoring a goal. They went into the international break three points adrift of safety, and then lost their next three matches. While they were only relegated by a point in that 20/21 campaign, their dismal start ended up being their undoing.
Not that I believe that Lincoln would ever make a rash managerial sacking, but it does give Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen a little more time to get results on the board. The September international break is typically the first chance that clubs take to sack their manager. While I fully believe that the Imps won’t be making such a decision in September, having more fixtures for our squad to pick up points can only be a bonus.
The positive side of the coin is that it gives City a chance to build a little more momentum than we would have been afforded in previous years. And even if things aren’t going so well, a three-week break from action then gives us plenty of time for our squad to have some time on the training ground, following what should be a packed, and exciting, start to the season.
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