Following the end of the 2023/24 season, which saw Portsmouth, Derby County and Oxford United promoted to the Championship, with Rotherham United, Huddersfield Town and Birmingham City heading in the opposition direction down into League One, I asked the Vital Lincoln City members what three things they learnt.
You can discuss what has been said in this article on our 100% Imps forum here!
Here’s what sedgleyimp said:
1. We are in very safe hands behind the scenes. The biggest decision of the season just gone was the dismissal of Mark Kennedy as head Coach back in October. At the time we were sitting in the top half of the league. We had just lost at home to Burton, but that was only our fourth league loss out of the first thirteen games. On the face of it we weren’t in a bad position. But the board clearly decided that a big decision was needed and they made it decisively. It came as a shock to quite a few, not only Lincoln fans but broadly across football. It came 6 weeks after we had knocked Premier League Sheffield United out of the cup. Many clubs would have been content to see what transpired as the months progressed. Our board, a board that do not have a reputation of dismissing managers/coaches knew what was needed to move the club to the next level. After this decision, there was a further one to make. Who to bring in as a direct replacement? Supporters were clamouring for a swift appointment. Many had their favourites as to who should get the job. The board were being pressured on social media to ‘just get it done’. Again though they showed how fortunate we have to have people at the head of this club who know what they want. A new head coach wasn’t appointed for the best part of four weeks. Seven games in league and cup came and went in that period. Some good results were achieved in that time, though we did fall at the first hurdle in the Cup. The board though didn’t fall into the trap of making a panic-based appointment. They knew what kind of coach we need to move this team to the next level and, on the basis of the second half of the season, they very much found him in Michael Skubala. Be in no doubt that the further success of us as a team will be in no small part due to the skills of our board members.
2. Football fans will be very lenient to a team if they play in the ‘right way’. It hasn’t been really disclosed why Kennedy was dismissed but one of the reasons could well be that the style of play the team were being instructed to play in really wasn’t going down well in the stands. Many moans and groans could often be heard when the games weren’t going our way, though it has to be said those moans were less in evidence when we were beating Blackpool and Wycombe 3-0 way back in August. Compare that to the last game of the season. We went into that game against Portsmouth in the last play-off space and hopes were high of an extended season. We know it didn’t go to plan on the day but one of the most abiding and best memories from that game came in injury time just after Portsmouth had put the game to bed. Rather than cry as the Portsmouth scorer seemed to indicate to their supporters, our response was a spontaneous and very much heartfelt standing ovation to the team. It continued to the final whistle and beyond. Simply we appreciate what the team had achieved since the turn of the year. We appreciate the style and standard of football on show. Often as a supporter that’s as simple as this game gets.
3. We are very much in the discussion for automatic promotion at the end of the 2024/2025 season. Perhaps a bold statement when seen but one which is appropriate. League 1 in the coming season will be very competitive but there aren’t those teams we had last season in Portsmouth and Derby who looked head and shoulders above the others before a ball was kicked. It will be very tight and you’d expect the three relegated teams from the Championship to feature at the top. You’d expect the three losing play-off teams to challenge. Blackpool, Wigan, and Reading will be strong teams. Wycombe have had a cash injection. Wrexham and Stockport are on rolls and are well-backed financially. There will always be the unexpected challenge as we saw from Stevenage last term. A team such as Orient or Bristol Rovers could fill that role. Essentially there is a case you could make for 14 or 15 teams to be in those top 2 places could this time next year. We though are very much in that discussion. You don’t look at any of our opponents and think we’ll we won’t get anything from them. All we have to do is replicate the post-New Year form throughout the 46 upcoming league games. Like I say football is a very simple game!!
In October 2023 our Facebook Page was suspended with no reason(s) provided and no prior warning, so we have now decided to start a new Page, which you can “follow” by clicking the button below!
https://x.com/VitalLincoln/status/1797881481542640057
