August 2026, the month when Lincoln City returned to the Championship and showed that we can compete at this level.
It has been a busy start to the season, with City playing five matches across the Championship and Carabao Cup. We recorded three wins and two defeats, scoring eight goals and conceding seven.
There were cup victories against Derby County and Blackpool, while our first Championship win of the campaign arrived at Bolton Wanderers. Middlesbrough and Portsmouth both got the better of us, although there were still plenty of encouraging individual performances across the month.
Who was your Player of the Month? Which game stood out to you the most? Here’s how the Stacey West readers voted.
You can now check out all the winners of our monthly awards by going to our Roll of Honour page
Player of the Month
Ben House (7.35)
Ben House takes the first Player of the Month award of the new season, narrowly beating Deji Elerewe after an impressive start to life back in the Championship.
Ben’s performances have underlined just how important he is to the way we play. He scored 7.94 against Derby County and followed that with 7.60 at Middlesbrough before topping the ratings against Portsmouth with 6.42.
He missed the victory at Blackpool, but returned at Bolton and produced another excellent display. His score of 8.09 was the third-highest of the afternoon, helping City secure a hard-earned 1-0 victory.
Deji finished just 0.03 behind him after topping the ratings in our opening two matches. Ryley Towler took third place, helped by his outstanding performance at Bolton, while Callum Elder and Freddie Draper completed the top five.
| Player | Derby | Middlesbrough | Portsmouth | Blackpool | Bolton | August Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House | 7.94 | 7.60 | 6.42 | 00 | 8.09 | 7.35 |
| Elerewe | 8.29 | 8.08 | 6.00 | 00 | 7.48 | 7.32 |
| Towler | 6.53 | 6.77 | 00 | 6.91 | 8.56 | 7.10 |
| Elder | 6.16 | 00 | 00 | 7.62 | 7.46 | 7.04 |
| Draper | 7.75 | 7.92 | 6.03 | 6.47 | 6.94 | 6.98 |
Individual Performance of the Month
George Wickens (Bolton A) 8.69
George Wickens takes the Individual Performance of the Month award for his display in our 1-0 victory at Bolton.
City had to withstand plenty of pressure, particularly during a difficult first half, but George provided a calm and assured presence behind an unfamiliar defensive unit. When Bolton did find a route towards goal, he was there to keep them out.
His 8.69 was comfortably the highest individual score of the month, putting him ahead of Ryley Towler’s 8.56 from the same game and Deji Elerewe’s 8.29 against Derby County. It was a performance that helped turn a determined away display into three valuable Championship points.
Best Team Performance of the Month
v Derby County (H) 7.18
Our best collective rating of August came in the 2-1 Carabao Cup victory against Derby County.
It was an excellent way to begin the competitive campaign. City produced a strong performance against Championship opposition, with Deji Elerewe leading the individual ratings on 8.29. Ben House, Ivan Varfolomeev, Freddie Draper and Dom Jefferies all scored above 7.70 as well.
The result gave us an early indication that the squad was ready for the step up in level. Bolton might have delivered our first Championship victory and the month’s highest individual scores, but Derby remains the best overall team performance with a rating of 7.18.
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