Sixty-five years is a long time to wait for anything. When Jack Moylan’s stoppage-time winner at Reading sealed promotion on Easter Monday, a generation of Imps fans finally got to say the words out loud. Lincoln City were going back to the second tier for the first time since 1961.
They didn’t just scrape up either. Michael Skubala’s side won League One with 103 points and 31 wins, finishing 12 points clear of Cardiff City. It was a record-breaking campaign built on organisation and a real threat from set pieces. They went 29 league games unbeaten along the way.
Not everyone was convinced it would carry over. Anyone looking at football betting odds before the season would have found Lincoln near the bottom of the markets. One relegation market in August had the Imps as 8/11 favourites to go straight back down with Bolton next at 11/10. For a place in the newly expanded top-eight play-off zone they were 8/1 outsiders.
A Summer That Tested Everyone
To be fair to the bookmakers, the summer gave them plenty to work with. First Skubala left to take over at Bristol City. Then Moylan, the hero of Reading, was sold to Cardiff for a club-record fee. Losing the manager and a star player in the same summer would rattle any club, let alone one stepping up a division.
Lincoln’s answer was continuity. Assistants Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw were promoted to joint head coaches, and several key members of the title-winning squad stayed on. Supporters of this site will remember the moment the club was installed as favourites for the drop before a ball had even been kicked. Lincoln had been written off before, and they had proved the markets wrong before too.
Eight Games In and Holding Their Own
The first two league games were a reality check. Defeats at Middlesbrough and at home to Portsmouth suggested the step up might be as steep as feared. Since then the Imps have settled into the division well.
After eight league games Lincoln have three wins, two draws and three defeats. That’s 11 points and 12th place going into the international break. They have scored seven and conceded eight. This is not a side being overwhelmed.
The most striking thing is where the points have come from. All three wins have been 1-0 victories away from home, at Bolton, Preston and Bristol City. That kind of record takes discipline, concentration and a back line prepared to do the ugly work.
The Night at Ashton Gate
If one result summed up this start, it was the trip to Bristol City. Lincoln went to their old manager’s new home and came away with all three points. Freddie Draper scored the only goal on 53 minutes after Ben House pounced on a misplaced back-pass, and George Wickens made a crucial save on the hour to protect the lead. Sky Sports’ report noted how well the Imps had adapted to the higher level, and it was hard to argue.
Beating Skubala at Ashton Gate was never going to be just another three points. The travelling fans made sure he heard them too.
What Still Needs Fixing
There’s no point pretending everything is rosy. Lincoln are yet to win a league game at home. Portsmouth and Swansea both left with victories, and the draws with Blackburn and Southampton felt like points shared rather than won. Turning home draws into wins would make a big difference to the season.
Goals are the other concern. Seven in eight games is a thin return, and it leaves very little margin for error. When your wins come by a single goal, one lapse can undo a whole afternoon’s work.
The fixture list won’t be easing up either. After the break Lincoln travel to Sheffield United, host West Ham and then head to Millwall, all within a week.
A Different Kind of Target
There’s a new twist this season that makes mid-table more interesting than ever. The Championship play-offs have expanded to include every side from third to eighth. Promotion is unlikely to be the aim in year one, but it does mean a solid season can keep things alive far longer than it used to.
For now survival remains the goal, and eight games in the Imps look capable of achieving it. They have been doubted before. So far this season they are proving the doubters wrong again.