By Philip Priddle
Lincoln City are back in the Football League. So what? They are not in the Premier League, so they don't really matter. Chelsea won the Premier Leagueand reached the FA Cup Final despite spending only £122.25 million on players during the 2016 close season. That's the definition of achievement, isn't it?
Consider this: less than two years ago, Lincoln faced closure when the Co-op Bank called in their £380,000 debt. To place that into some kind of context, poverty-stricken Mr Neymar earns that amount every 82 hours, even if he spends the time asleep. It is a trifling amount within the unrestrained lunacy of the current world of football, yet a professional football club of 133 years' standing almost disappeared because of it. Money was raised by the supporters to stave off immediate closure, and a 'financially damaging' fifteen-year repayment deal was struck with the bank. The 2016-17 season promised very little.
Enter a PE teacher from Essex named Danny Cowley. Out of nowhere came promotion and that incredible FA Cup run, the like of which has probably never been seen in the history of football. What the record books will not tell us, is that Lincoln did all of those wonderful things on a playing budget of around £700,000. Clubs receive more than that each season simply for being in the Football League. That peerless season not only eradicated the debt to the Co-op Bank fourteen years ahead of schedule, but also set the club up for several seasons to come.
Lincoln have raised their game massively over the summer. They had to, because the standard of football in League Two - although a trillion miles short of the alleged genius of the average Premier League player - is far higher than the National League. Some old favourites have alighted from the Lincoln Loco, replaced by players with Football League experience and the potential to carry them further up the pyramid. Last season was remarkable for a sheer bloody-minded determination to win, regardless of what it took.
This season there is a new style of play, with speed, skill and - gasp! - playing the ball to feet. On Saturday, they murdered Morecambe 1-1. They had 26 shots, yet managed to score with just one, drawing the conclusion that they need to raise their game further still. There were 8,000 passionate supporters there to cheer the Imps on, 6,000 of whom are season ticket holders. The City of Lincoln Lancaster flew over the ground with a Spitfire in tow, the sun was shining, and everything looked very rosy. This was not like Lincoln City at all. Everyone was very happy despite witnessing one of the most one-sided draws seen at the ground for decades.
They were happy because their club still exists. Anything more is a bonus. Lincoln have ambitions to reach the Championship, and in a city that is vibrant, confident and expanding rapidly, who would bet against that happening? They have plans for a new stadium in the pipeline, with the initial planning application due in October. They have money in the bank, but money is only an advantage if you have the right man to spend it. Lincoln do. They must ride the tidal wave of momentum for as long as they can, yet not be wasteful. They have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take themselves from the brink of mere survival and create a solid, progressive medium-sized Football League club. Can they do it?
Place your bets now.
