It feels like every season, a host of Lincoln City games get moved to another date. The new fixture list comes with such a warning, but how many do change?
It hardly ever felt like we were kicking off on the right day last season, but the truth is that while kick-off times changed, it was actually quite rarer for a game to shift from the original fixture date.
I’ve looked back over the last five seasons, comparing the June fixture list with the completed fixtures come May, to see how many games do move, and for what reasons. The results are quite surprising.
2021/22
In 2021/22, the first season I selected, we had seven matches that changed dates. Three were moved courtesy of the international break, while we lost four to the weather, three of which were away: Rotherham United, Ipswich Town and Fleetwood Town.
| Fixture | Original date | Played date | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln City v Rotherham United | 04/09/2021 | 14/09/2021 | Moved back 10 days |
| Wigan Athletic v Lincoln City | 09/10/2021 | 26/10/2021 | Moved back 17 days |
| Sunderland v Lincoln City | 13/11/2021 | 11/01/2022 | Moved back 59 days |
| Lincoln City v Doncaster Rovers | 18/12/2021 | 15/02/2022 | Moved back 59 days |
| Rotherham United v Lincoln City | 29/12/2021 | 15/03/2022 | Moved back 76 days |
| Ipswich Town v Lincoln City | 01/01/2022 | 08/03/2022 | Moved back 66 days |
| Fleetwood Town v Lincoln City | 19/02/2022 | 05/04/2022 | Moved back 45 days |
2022/23
The following season, once again, we lost games to international football. First, we lost due to the passing of the Queen, while games against Cheltenham and Burton were lost to a frozen pitch. We couldn’t play against MK Dons in September due to Nations League matches.
We had mixed results in the rearranged matches, winning two
| Fixture | Original date | Played date | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln City v Accrington Stanley | 10/09/2022 | 01/11/2022 | Moved back 52 days |
| Lincoln City v MK Dons | 24/09/2022 | 28/02/2023 | Moved back 157 days |
| Cheltenham Town v Lincoln City | 17/12/2022 | 07/03/2023 | Moved back 80 days |
| Lincoln City v Burton Albion | 21/01/2023 | 25/04/2023 | Moved back 94 days |
2023/24
Having lost four from the original list in 2022/23, we dropped five in 2023/24, although one was controversial: Derby away at Christmas, which got shuffled forward two days. Our game against Oxford in September was lost to international football, while we tragically had to replay our game against Orient after the passing of Derek Reynolds.
We didn’t lose a single game to the weather in 2023/24: Shrewsbury reached the Third Round of the FA Cup, and that meant the game shifted, while we also lost the second Oxford United game to international football.
| Fixture | Original date | Played date | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln City v Oxford United | 09/09/2023 | 31/10/2023 | Moved back 52 days |
| Leyton Orient v Lincoln City | 03/10/2023 | 21/11/2023 | Moved back 49 days |
| Derby County v Lincoln City | 23/12/2023 | 21/12/2023 | Moved forward 2 days |
| Lincoln City v Shrewsbury Town | 06/01/2024 | 27/02/2024 | Moved back 52 days |
| Oxford United v Lincoln City | 23/03/2024 | 16/04/2024 | Moved back 24 days |
2024/25
Two more international breaks saw games moved in 2024/25: Northampton in September and Wrexham in November. Both were played the following month. The Mansfield Town game moved as both sides were involved in FA Cup action.
| Fixture | Original date | Played date | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln City v Northampton Town | 07/09/2024 | 29/10/2024 | Moved back 52 days |
| Wrexham v Lincoln City | 12/10/2024 | 26/11/2024 | Moved back 45 days |
| Mansfield Town v Lincoln City | 11/01/2025 | 18/02/2025 | Moved back 38 days |
2025/26
Officially, in 2025/26, only four games were moved. The Burton Albion fixture shifted to a Thursday, the first in five seasons to change days for TV coverage. Bradford and Doncaster were changed thanks to international call-ups, while our game against Exeter City was moved due to their FA Cup involvement.
| Fixture | Original date | Played date | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford City v Lincoln City | 11/10/2025 | 28/10/2025 | Moved back 17 days |
| Lincoln City v Burton Albion | 24/01/2026 | 22/01/2026 | Moved forward 2 days |
| Exeter City v Lincoln City | 10/01/2026 | 10/03/2026 | Moved back 59 days |
| Doncaster Rovers v Lincoln City | 28/03/2026 | 21/04/2026 | Moved back 24 days |
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