From play-off contenders to Conference Football – Part I

Having spent several years of my life in Lincoln, I have always had a soft spot for Lincoln City FC. Although Arsenal will always be the club closest to my heart, the Imps are still important to me and watching their demise has been painful.

When I first arrived in Lincoln to start university in 2003 the club was on the up. I attended a handful of games during my university life in the city, including a 0-0 draw with Darlington at Sincil Bank that secured the Imps' place in the play-offs. Lincoln reached the play-offs for three successive seasons and all the games I saw during that period ended in either a victory or a draw for the Imps. The late Keith Alexander worked wonders with the team but, since his departure, it seems nothing has ever been the same.

Fast forward to the 2010-2011 season and things took a surprising turn for the worse. Although the Imps had been embroiled in relegation battles in previous seasons nobody can have expected that Lincoln would actually succumb to the drop.

When I went to the Imps' pre-season game against Norwich, there were some encouraging signs during the 0-0 draw, and some fans maybe even believed at that stage it could be a good season. The next match I attended was Lincoln's clash with Bury at Sincil Bank which, after going to games later in the season, I realised would sum up so many of their matches. It actually started quite well for the Imps but as soon as the first goal was conceded they just imploded.

But there were signs of optimism when I saw Lincoln defeat Steve Tilson's former club 2-1 at Sincil Bank (on March 12). It seemed to be a completely different Lincoln side on show and, after leaving the ground that day, I never expected that I had just witnessed their last win of the season.

Lincoln quite often start brightly but as soon as the first goal goes in, it seems to end all hope of getting something out of the game - something I witnessed yet again when they played Cheltenham. The Imps were on top for large spells of the game but when Josh Low scored just past the hour the inevitable happened and the visitors ended up winning 2-0.

But even with relegation a distinct possibility going into the final day of the season, it still didn't enter my mind that it would happen as I remained confident of an Imps win as I walked to Sincil Bank.

CONTINUED IN PART II