Lincoln City have waited 65 years for this and taken a huge Championship gamble | OneFootball

Lincoln City’s return to the Championship has been 65 years in the making, and they have prepared for it in a risky way.

Lincoln City’s return to the Championship has been 65 years in the making, and they have prepared for it in a risky way.

The summer has been a turbulent one in Lincolnshire, with the Imps’ head coach and star man leaving the club for fellow second tier outfits. However, the well-run Lincoln have put themselves in a position to succeed.

They have done so in a very unconventional manner: in not one, but two ways.

Michael Skubala and Jack Moylan are major losses

Former Leeds United under-21s coach Michael Skubala exceeded expectations at Sincil Bank. He took over from former Liverpool and Manchester City midfielder Mark Kennedy, and took the Imps from being a stable League One outfit with fleeting play-off ambitions to runway title winners.

They were heads and shoulders above the competition last season, losing just five games all term to secure a points tally that surpassed a century. That had the best defence, best goal difference, most wins, and second-best goalscoring record behind automatically promoted Cardiff City.

Skubala was the mastermind behind their rise, alongside principally coaches Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen. His calm approach and direct on-field style worked a treat, with the team which recorded the lowest average possession of any in League One last season (42.3%) cruising to the crown.

The Englishman has since swapped Lincoln for Bristol City, signing a deal with a club looking towards the top end of the Championship with big-money signings to back it up.

On the pitch, Jack Moylan was the leader of the Imps success. Signed from the League of Ireland, Lincoln turned the midfielder from a potentially great EFL operator into a proven asset. He left for Cardiff this summer, after racking up 17 goal contributions across 31 league games last term.

Losing both Skubala and Moylan in one summer could cripple a lesser club. But, not one run in the efficient way Lincoln is.

A different recruitment strategy for the Imps

Lincoln have done two things in an out of the ordinary way this summer. First, their replacement, or replacements, for Skubala.

The out-going coach has been swapped out for the two men who stood behind him: Shaw and Cohen. They have little managerial experience between them, but have buckets of footballing and coaching knowhow on their CVs. It is a move that shows great continuity, shifting the man at the helm, but not replacing the ideas and overall structure.

Appointing joint-managers is a risk - it is an unproven strategy. It is far from common, being the only appointment of their type in the EFL.

The closest you get to it are the former Imps chiefs Cowley Brothers, where Danny serves as head coach and Nicky his assistant.

Secondly, is Lincoln’s player recruitment. They have stretched their net far and wide, having previously dipped their toe into foreign markets with signings such as Ukrainian Ivan Varfolomeev and Swede Erik Ring. Now, they have dived in head first.

Andrei Coubis, the 22-year-old Romanian centre-back with AC Milan pedigree, joined for a club-record fee. That was soon smashed by the recruitment of giant Danish striker Mikkel Ladefoged from the Swedish leagues.

It is a risky strategy, for sure. Instead of opting for Championship experience as the newbies into the division, they have opted for talents with great potential who have caught the eye away from the EFL.

Lincoln City could spring a surprise and remain in Championship

However, the Imps are certainly capable of shocking a few Championship teams this season. They have been written off in many quarters, but certainly should not be ignored as a potential survival candidate.

It will not be an easy campaign for Lincoln, with heavy-spending clubs lining up against them frequently for the first time in their history. Victory at fellow promoted outfit Bolton Wanderers, who won the play-offs in League One last term, has given them a first three points back in the second tier.

The Imps, with the continuity of success under Shaw and Cohen, alongside a mix of new and old talent, have all of the tools they need to survive the drop and piece together what could be yet another history-making campaign.