Lincoln City F.C.

Lincoln City F.C.

Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are members of the Conference National in 2012–13 following relegation from the Football League in 2011.

The club play at the 10,120-capacity Sincil Bank, and are nicknamed the Imps after the legend of the Lincoln Imp. They have also been known as the Red Imps. Traditionally they play in red and white striped shirts with black shorts and red and white socks. Their most recent championship was the Conference, in the 1987–88 season. This season saw the club set an all-time record attendance (which has since been beaten by Oxford United) for a Conference match, attracting 9,432 spectators in a game against Wycombe Wanderers, on 2 May 1988, the last game of the season. The game also decided the championship, as Lincoln had not occupied the top-spot at any point in the season prior to this 2–0 victory.

Their highest ever position achieved came in the 1901–02 season, where they reached 5th position in the English Division 2 (now known as the Championship). The last season that the club spent in this division was in 1960–61, they have never returned since. No team has played as many seasons in the Football League (Lincoln are now in their 102nd League season) without ever reaching the top tier.

Their best feat in the FA Cup has been the Last-16 three times, the last time being over 100 years ago in the 1901–02 season; and their best performance in the League Cup came in 1967–68 when they reached the Fourth round after losing 0–3 at home to Derby County in a replay. In the Second round of the 2005–06 League Cup, Lincoln narrowly lost 5–4 (after extra time) to Premier League outfit Fulham at Craven Cottage, being denied a result in the very last minute of extra time by a Brian McBride goal. This was after an impressive 5–1 home victory against Championship side Crewe Alexandra.

In very recent history, the club have also been in the chase for promotion from the fourth tier via the play-offs five times, twice reaching the finals (2002–03 & 2004–05) and three times getting knocked out in the semi-finals (2003–04, 2005–06 & 2006–07), each time under the guidance of Keith Alexander with the exception of the 2006–07 play-offs. The failure to succeed in five successive play-off competitions is a record. The last time Lincoln were in a higher league than League Two was in the 1998–99 season where they played in the Division 2 (now League One), after they had gained automatic promotion via third position the previous season.