The Lincs Page

A nice move from Lincoln City, following the postponement of their upcoming League One game with MK Dons due to international call-ups, to schedule a double-header of action at the LNER Stadium this coming Saturday (September 24th).

The Imps' Under-18's will take on Huddersfield Town before Lincoln City Women against Newcastle United in the FA WNL Cup.

Tickets are on sale now, costing £5 for adults and £1 for concessions.

Sincil Bank will, of course, feature in Pilgrims' Patch, a new book on the football grounds of Lincolnshire, published by Steven Penny of the @LincsFootie twitter page.

Catching A Glimpse

I always like to look out for a ground wherever I am and the central location of Sincil Bank made it easy to have a quick walk around last Sunday morning.

It's always pleasing to me to see a club rooted in their local community and not physically cut off  in an out-of-town location.

The local Lincolnshire Echo reported on how crowds are holding up well despite the upward progress of the last few years, perhaps inevitably given the departure of the Cowley brothers, having slowed slightly.

It was also good to see a busy Imps shop in the city centre.

I was in Lincoln the day after the club's youngsters had made it into the third round of the FA Youth Cup and an away day against Manchester United which sadly won't be played at Old Trafford.

The following ties are being played at Premier League grounds, however.

AFC Bournemouth host Barnet at the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday 11th, 7pm, with tickets priced at £5 Adults, £3 for Over 65's, Under 21's and Students and £1 for Under 16's.

On Tuesday 10th it is Norwich City against Newcastle United at Carrow Road, kick-off 7pm, with admission on the night priced at £3 and £1.

Bramall Lane is the venue for Sheffield United against AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday 17th, 7pm. Admission is priced at £3/£1.

And this coming week in the FA Youth Cup there are scheduled matches at Pride Park and Elland Road among others.

Update: Lincoln City FC

Having been hit hard by the news that the Co-operative Bank want to 'end their relationship' with the club, Lincoln City FC supporters and officials are working together to raise the £380,000 needed by the Imps without the need to sell property assets.

As part of that, a 'Name Your Price' scheme was in operation for the visit of Chester FC in the Conference on Saturday afternoon by which supporters could pay what they thought a ticket was worth for the game, subject to a £1 minimum.

I think it is in scenarios like this that 'Pay What You Want', or versions of it, work best as they can achieve a double whammy of actually increasing gate revenues from a normal game and also create positive publicity.

And that seems to have been the case at Sincil Bank where a crowd of 4,568 watched the game against a season's average of around 2,500.

Also on Saturday, 4,614 watched Mansfield Town's home clash with Northampton where £7 was the maximum adult price for a ticket. This compares to 2,436 for the Stevenage game a week previously and included 1,210 away supporters with the offer also extended to Cobblers fans.

Name Your Price for Valentine's Day at Lincoln City

The financial future of Lincoln City Football Club has been in the news this week after the club's bankers decided to call in a £380,000 debt.

Chairman Bob Dorrian and the club have this week appealed for funds through the issue of shares and bonds while supporters have set up a crowdfunding page to try and help.

Although the financial situation is not mentioned in connection with it, the Imps have also announced a 'Name Your Price' ticket offer for the Valentine's Day clash against Chester FC at Sincil Bank.

All tickets purchased in advance before close of business on Friday 13 February, subject to a £1 minimum, will be available for what the purchaser feels is a 'fair and reasonable' price.

"We're always looking at new ways of getting people to the ground on a match day and this initiative is a prime example," said General Manager John Vickers.

"The price of watching football is always a hot topic amongst supporters so this is the perfect opportunity for people to decide for themselves as to what's a reasonable price to pay."

 

Away fans can take part too.