Lincoln City

From a Facebook group I am member of – something to make some think about what the reality could have been. It’s not an excuse for how the team currently play, whether RM is the right manager, or any one of a million other side issues – it’s the reality of life for a lot of football supporters that we were rubbing shoulders with just a few years ago. And it’s from the heart:

George yes it must be frustrating being beaten so often in the Premier League – but please bear a thought for my team, Lincoln City. I can remember Wigan being a new club to the entire football league and I can remember us playing each other in the old Fourth and Third Divisions. Since then, Wigan – and many, many other teams, many of whom have come up from non league as did Wigan – have leapfrogged Lincoln City – some of them two or three times – while we were still languishing in Division 4 and for three seasons in Division 3. You may know that last season Lincoln City – an original member of the old Division 2 – were relegated from the football league for the second time.

The first time, in the late 80s, we returned at the first attempt, thanks to Colin Murphy. Football has obviously changed a lot since then and that is much harder to do. In Lincoln City’s case, not only will we not return to the Football League this season, but there is a very good chance that we will be relegated for a consecutive year.

This once great club, who only 7 years ago were the only Football League club to make a profit and for several years running, now has debts of over half a million pounds, dwindling support, has been forced to make many club staff redundant, lies 3 points away from the BSP league relegation zone, has won few matches this season (or last) and yesterday was one of the many times this season that we have lost – at home – to a club with part-time players. This situation is embarrassing, humiliating, depressing and heartbreaking – and could have been avoided if we had had money, the right people running the club and the right management.

Lincoln City has been and still is in high velocity freefall before our eyes and there seems to be no end to how low we will fall. There will soon be no Lincoln City FC – after almost 130 years of existence.

I just want to say how lucky you are to have such an owner, with passion and belief, who is willing to put his money into your club and how lucky you are to have experienced such highs and such success as you have. From being a non league club you have reached the Premier League and you are still up there, albeit after a great escape every season. The highest I have seen my club is top of the old third division for a few days in March 1982 and to us that was amazing

So good luck to Wigan, I hope you stay up, but give a thought now and then to us lowly supporters who you have managed to leapfrog, and while you are up at the top, we are speedily running out of time and money into non existence

Linda Hodson