Tonight is the Skubala Derby, the first time Michael Skubala will be in the opposite dugout to Lincoln City since leaving the club after one of the most remarkable seasons in our history.
There will always be supporters who point towards 1975/76 when talking about the greatest Lincoln City season. That side produced a national record points haul under Graham Taylor and has rightly occupied a special place in the club’s history for half a century. However, in 20 or 30 years, I think 2025/26 will be spoken about in exactly the same way, perhaps even more so. A 29-game unbeaten run, 103 points and promotion back to the second tier for the first time in 65 years means Michael Skubala will always have a major place in Lincoln City history.
That might still be uncomfortable for some people. His departure remains relatively fresh, and football being football, there will always be those internet arguments about whether Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw are better, whether Michael’s achievements were overstated, or whether his move somehow diminished what came before it. It does not. Tonight might look like the apprentices trying to topple the master, which is an easy narrative and admittedly quite an appealing headline, but it is also far too simplistic.
What happened last season was very much a collective effort, and the first person to acknowledge that would always have been Michael himself, until recently. Whenever he received individual recognition, he was reluctant to make it about him. When he won a Manager of the Month award, there was the standard photograph of Michael receiving it, but there was also a picture of the entire team. The message coming from the club was always that Michael preferred the image containing everybody, and that summed him up.
He consistently credited those around him, and those people included Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw. Chris had already worked as an assistant manager at a high level and enjoyed an excellent playing career, most notably with Nottingham Forest, while Tom’s relationship with Lincoln City stretches back even further. He first arrived at the club in 2018 and worked his way through the academy and first-team structure before eventually reaching the position he occupies now. Perhaps, then, this is not quite master against apprentices. Perhaps it is three coaches who achieved something extraordinary together now trying to outmanoeuvre one another.
There will also be plenty of emotion around Michael’s return to our orbit. Whenever a successful manager leaves a football club, supporters tend to split into two camps, and the better the manager, the wider that split seems to become. When Mark Kennedy left, there were people who were pleased and people who were disappointed, but I never felt the emotions were particularly extreme in either direction. Danny Cowley’s departure was different. On one side there was real anger, while on the other there were supporters willing to travel to Huddersfield just to continue watching Danny and Nicky work.
That is what successful managers do to supporters. They create an emotional connection, and when that relationship suddenly ends, people react differently. Michael’s departure was always going to produce something similar because of the heights we reached together. I was on the pitch at Reading at the end of last season, standing close to the players and watching the supporters celebrate. There was a connection between the team, the staff and those fans that evening which felt incredibly strong, and then only a few weeks later Michael was gone.
I’ve always thought the relationship between supporters and managers can occasionally resemble any other emotional relationship. If somebody you adore suddenly walks away, there are different ways of dealing with it. Some people become angry and convince themselves they never really liked that person anyway. Others hope they are doing well and secretly wish circumstances had been different. You can see both reactions among Lincoln supporters now.
Bristol City’s results have probably produced very different emotions depending on which side of that fence people occupy. There will have been people who enjoyed seeing them heavily beaten by Southampton, while others will have watched their victories with a little bit of satisfaction. I’m firmly in the latter camp. As long as it does not come at Lincoln City’s expense, I want Michael Skubala to do well.
If we were first in the Championship and Bristol City were second, I would be delighted for Michael. If they were 22nd and we were 21st, obviously I’d want them losing every week because Lincoln City comes first, always. However, Bristol City are probably the only other Championship club whose results I actively look for this season, simply because of Michael. I respect him personally and admire what he did professionally.
Tonight, however, none of that matters. For 90 minutes, he is just the bloke in the other dugout. I remember the first time Danny Cowley returned with Portsmouth. They beat us 3-0 (Reeco Hackett scored for them) and afterwards Danny went around the pitch acknowledging supporters. I left before that happened because, at that particular moment, I did not want to applaud him or celebrate everything he had previously achieved. He had just come back and beaten Lincoln City, and that was enough for me. Part of me regrets it now, but when Lincoln lose, I can’t be a happy clapper.
Over time, when the dust has completely settled, I believe Michael Skubala will be revered as one of the finest managers this club has ever had. Tonight is different. If you’re somebody who still holds huge affection for him and Bristol City win comfortably, it will probably hurt more than losing heavily against a club such as Bournemouth. If you’re somebody who desperately wants him to fail, a Lincoln victory will probably feel that little bit sweeter. That is the additional narrative surrounding this game, however much we might pretend otherwise.
Historically, we have not always enjoyed meetings with successful former managers either. Graham Taylor returned with Watford and beat us 5-0, while Colin Murphy oversaw a 0-0 draw and 1-0 win at Stockport, sending us to the GMVC. Now Michael gets his opportunity, and it will be difficult as Bristol City are a big football club with significant potential. There was some surprise when Michael chose to leave Lincoln for Ashton Gate, but I never really understood that because they are a major Championship club with the infrastructure and ambition to aim higher.
For Michael, it was an opportunity. For us, it was a wound that has only recently started to heal, and tonight will reopen it slightly, a scab being picked at by the fixture list. It will also provide an opportunity to see somebody who delivered something extraordinary for our football club.
We love seeing former Lincoln players succeed elsewhere. We claimed Brennan Johnson as one of our own when he was winning in Europe, watched Morgan Rogers establish himself on the international stage and wanted Jovon Makama to succeed after leaving the club. That affection tends to disappear rather quickly when those players line up against us, though, and the same applies to managers.
For 90 minutes, football is friend against foe. It does not matter who is sitting in the opposing dugout, what formation they choose or what history they have with your club. They are simply trying to stop Lincoln City from winning. Michael used to make that point himself. Managers can devise whatever tactical plan they want, but there are another 11 players and an entire coaching staff on the opposite side attempting to prevent it from working.
Tonight, Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw will be trying to prevent Michael’s plan from working, and Michael will be trying to do exactly the same to them. Afterwards, the personal relationships can resume. Tom has already joked about Michael having a beer waiting in the fridge for him, while Chris will undoubtedly feel the same affection towards somebody he worked so closely alongside.
I’ll shake Michael’s hand after the match as well. Whether Bristol City win 4-0, whether it finishes 0-0, or whether Lincoln City leave Ashton Gate with three points, that respect will remain. Chris and Tom earned their current positions through their own ability and the influence they had on last season, but both would surely acknowledge the part Michael played in their journey.
Michael Skubala is the manager credited with taking Lincoln City back into the Championship, while Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw are now Championship managers themselves. For 90 minutes tonight, though, Michael may as well be Lord Voldemort. Before and afterwards, we should remember exactly what the current Bristol City manager did for Lincoln City.
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