| Club: | Lincoln City |
| Season: | 2022–23 |
| Chairman: | Clive Nates |
| Manager: | Mark Kennedy |
| Mgrtitle: | Head Coach |
| Stadium: | LNER Stadium |
| League: | League One |
| League Result: | 11th |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup2: | EFL Cup |
| Cup3: | EFL Trophy |
| League Topscorer: | Ben House (12 goals) |
| Season Topscorer: | Ben House (13 goals) |
| Highest Attendance: | 10,152 (vs Sheffield Wednesday; League One) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 1,306 (vs Everton U21; EFL Trophy) |
| Average Attendance: | 8,486 |
| Largest Win: | 6–3 (vs Bristol Rovers; League One) |
| Largest Loss: | 4–0 (vs Peterborough United; League One) |
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| Prevseason: | 2021–22 |
| Nextseason: | 2023–24 |
The 2022–23 season was the 139th season in the existence of Lincoln City F.C. and the club's fourth consecutive season in League One. In addition to the league, they competed in the 2022–23 FA Cup, the 2022–23 EFL Cup and the 2022–23 EFL Trophy.
Following the departure of Michael Appleton at the end of the 2021-22 season, Mark Kennedy was appointed as head coach resulting in a number of backroom staff changes. At the season close, in May 2023, Lincoln finished 11th in the league with 62 points. They reached the quarter finals of the EFL Trophy and fourth round of the EFL Cup but lost their opening first round game of the FA Cup to Chippenham Town.
Toward the end of the season work began, following successful planning permission, to extend the Stacey West stand as part of increasing the capacity of the Stadium.
Following the departure of Michael Appleton, who had been with the club as head coach for three years, Lincoln appointed former Birmingham City assistant coach Mark Kennedy in early May.[1]
On 10 June, David Kerslake (first-team assistant manager) and Richard O’Donnell (first-team coach) were relieved of their duties, with both going on to join Appleton at his new club, Blackpool.[2] [3] On 27 June, Mike Garrity replaced Kerslake in the assistant head coach role, having left a similar role at Blackpool. At the same time Tom Shaw, who previously had a joint coaching role in the club's academy and as head coach for local non-league side Gainsborough Trinity, was promoted to the first team coaching staff.[4] [5]
Further coaching changes occurred towards the end of pre-season. Scott Fry was appointed the new goalkeeper coach in early July, replacing Steve Croudson who would join Grimsby Town, and Jordan McCann left his role as the clubs head of academy on 1 August.[6] [7]
In December, Garrity left to join Championship side Queens Park Rangers rejoining new head coach Neil Critchley, with whom Garrity had worked at Blackpool.[8] He was replaced by Danny Butterfield on the 23 December. Butterfield had previously worked with Kennedy for a short spell at Macclesfield.[9]
On 8 June, the club announced that LNER Stadium would have a new capacity of 10,780 following the purchase of the North-East Stand.[10]
On 27 June, GBM took over the naming rights of what was the Lincolnshire Co-Op stand in the LNER Stadium.[11]
On 28 June, Rilmac Group took over the naming rights of what was the South Park stand in the LNER Stadium.[12]
The club launched their 2022-23 home kit on 18 June. The shirt consisted of Lincoln's traditional red and white stripes with black trim and was paired with black shorts and red/white socks. It was manufactured by Erreà, their fifth and final year as kit manufacturer. During the prior season the club had featured five front of shirt sponsors through the year, however on 17 June it was announced that the club would return to a single sponsor, Branston Ltd (a local potato supplier).[13] [14]
On 4 August, the club announced their new away strip for the season.[15]
On 8 September, the club announced their third strip for the season.[16]
The club confirmed three friendlies on 16 May 2022, with two matches scheduled at home against Blackburn Rovers and an as yet unannounced team alongside an away trip to Hartlepool United.[17] On 30 May, the club announced an additional fixture against Gainsborough Trinity, a TBC Championship side behind-doors friendly, and another yet to be announced fixture as well as sending an XI to Sleaford Town, Lincoln United and Eastbourne Borough.[18] The behind-the-doors friendly was confirmed to be Sheffield United on 1 June 2022.[19] The remaining fixtures against Grimsby Town and West Ham United U23 were confirmed on 9 June 2022.[20] The game against West Ham United U23s was later cancelled.[21]
On 24 June, the players reported back to first team training.[22] On 28 July, the club announced squad numbers for the season and confirmed Tom Hopper as the new club captain.[23] [24]
On 22 August, Chris Maguire was suspended by the club after being charged by The FA for misconduct under FA Rule E8.[25]
On 9 September, the fixture against Accrington Stanley was postponed following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.[26]
On 15 September, the fixture against Milton Keynes Dons was postponed following international call ups for both sides.[27]
On 16 September, academy products Sean Roughan, Sam Long and Oisin Gallagher were called up for Republic of Ireland U21, Scotland U21 and Republic of Ireland U19 teams respectively.[28]
On 22 September, Jon Pepper was appointed the new head of academy.[29]
On 26 September, Carl Rushworth was called up to the England U21 squad for their upcoming fixture.[30]
On 4 November, Sam Long was called up the Scotland U21 squad.[31]
On 26 November, the Jabara family increased their stake in the club.[32]
On 11 December, assistant manager Mike Garrity left the club to join Queens Park Rangers as the assistant manager to Neil Critchley.[33]
On 15 December, the club announced a partnership with US soccer side San Diego Loyal SC.[34]
On 18 January, the club published their annual accounts for the year ending June 2022.[35]
On 18 January, planning permission was granted to develop the Stacey West stand.[36]
On 2 February, head of performance Ross Burbeary left the club to join Derby County.[37]
On 7 February, Harvey Jabara and Graham Rossini joined the clubs board.[38]
On 15 February, Pablo Webster, Evan Mitz and Brian Anderson made a significant investment in Lincoln City.[39]
On 15 March, Sean Roughan, Oisin Gallagher and Julian Donnery were called up for Republic of Ireland U21, Republic of Ireland U19 and Scotland U18 teams respectively.[40]
On 17 March, Carl Rushworth was called up to the England U21 squad for their upcoming fixture.[41]
On 20 April, Lasse Sørensen was named the PFA Community Champion for Lincoln City.[42]
On 10 May, the clubs retained list was published.[43]
See main article: 2022–23 EFL League One.
On Thursday, 23 June 2022, the EFL League One fixtures were revealed.[44]
See main article: 2022–23 FA Cup.
Lincoln City were drawn away to Hendon or Chippenham Town in the first round on 17 October 2022.[45] It was confirmed as Chippenham Town on 18 October.[46]
See main article: 2022–23 EFL Cup.
Lincoln were drawn against Doncaster Rovers in the first round on 23 June 2022.[47] The second round draw took place on 10 August 2022 by Clinton Morrison and Michael Gray in which Lincoln were drawn against Barrow.[48] The third round draw took place on 24 August 2022 and Lincoln City were drawn against Bristol City.[49] A trip to Premier League Southampton was next in the fourth round.[50]
See main article: 2022–23 EFL Trophy. The Imps were drawn into Group E of the Northern section alongside Doncaster Rover, Barnsley and a TBC invited club.[51] Newcastle United U21 were later added to the group.[52] In the second round, Lincoln were drawn at home against Morecambe.[53] In the third round, Lincoln were drawn at home against either Mansfield Town or Everton U21.[54] The quarter-final draw was made on 15 December and Lincoln were drawn to face Accrington Stanley.[55]
| Date | Pos. | Player | Transferred from | Fee | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2022 | Undisclosed | [56] | |||
| 1 July 2022 | Free transfer | [57] | |||
| 1 July 2022 | Free transfer | [58] | |||
| 7 July 2022 | Undisclosed | [59] | |||
| 13 September 2022 | Free transfer | [60] | |||
| 31 January 2023 | Free transfer | [61] | |||
| 31 January 2023 | Undisclosed | [62] | |||
| Date | Pos. | Player | Transferred to | Fee | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 June 2022 | Undisclosed | [63] | |||
| 30 June 2022 | Matt Boylan | Released | [64] | ||
| 30 June 2022 | Rejected contract | [65] [66] | |||
| 30 June 2022 | Released | [67] [68] | |||
| 30 June 2022 | Rejected contract | [69] [70] | |||
| 30 June 2022 | Released | [71] | |||
| 1 July 2022 | Undisclosed | [72] | |||
| 1 September 2022 | Mutual consent | [73] [74] | |||
| 1 September 2022 | Undisclosed | [75] | |||
| 6 January 2023 | Undisclosed | [76] | |||
| 13 January 2023 | Released | [77] [78] | |||
| 26 January 2023 | Undisclosed | [79] | |||
| Date | Pos. | Player | From | Until | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 June 2022 | End of Season | [80] | ||||
| 8 July 2022 | End of Season | [81] | ||||
| 11 August 2022 | 5 January 2023 | [82] | ||||
| 29 August 2022 | 30 March 2023 | [83] | ||||
| 1 September 2022 | End of Season | [84] | ||||
| 6 January 2023 | End of Season | [85] | ||||
| 14 January 2023 | End of Season | [86] | ||||
| 30 January 2023 | End of Season | [87] |
| Date | Pos. | Player | From | Until | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 July 2022 | 13 January 2023 | [88] | |||
| 10 August 2022 | End of season | [89] | |||
| 12 August 2022 | 4 January 2023 | [90] | |||
| 12 August 2022 | 4 January 2023 | [91] | |||
| 15 August 2022 | End of season | [92] | |||
| 19 August 2022 | Work experience | ||||
| 30 August 2022 | 4 January 2023 | [93] | |||
| 6 January 2023 | Tayo Alexander-Tucker | Work experience | |||
| 6 January 2023 | Theo Mussell | Work experience | |||
| 26 January 2023 | End of season | [94] | |||
| 31 January 2023 | 25 March 2023 | [95] | |||
| 31 January 2023 | End of season | [96] | |||
| 31 January 2023 | End of season | ||||
| 4 February 2023 | Work experience | [97] | |||
| 4 February 2023 | Julian Donnery | Work experience | |||
| 10 February 2023 | End of season | [98] | |||
| 12 February 2023 | Nathan Kabeya | 12 March 2023 | [99] | ||
| 17 February 2023 | End of season | [100] | |||
| 17 March 2023 | Darryl Powell | End of season | [101] | ||
| Date | Pos. | Player | Length | Expiry | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 September 2022 | — | — | [102] | ||
| 1 February 2023 | — | — | [103] | ||
| 23 February 2023 | Michael-John Kamson-Kamara | — | — | [104] | |
| 19 April 2023 | 2 years | June 2025 | [105] | ||
| 7 May 2023 | 2 years | June 2025 | [106] | ||
|-|colspan="12" style="text-align:center;" |Away on loan|-|colspan="12" style="text-align:center;" |No longer at the club|}
Includes all competitive matches.
| Player | League One | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Trophy | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FW | 18 | Ben House | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | ||
| 2 | FW | 27 | Jack Diamond | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 3 | FW |  | 19 | Danny Mandroiu | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| 4 | MF | 10 | Teddy Bishop | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 5 | FW | 9 | Tom Hopper | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 6 | MF | 26 | Matty Virtue | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 7 | DF | 2 | Regan Poole | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| FW | | 11 | Anthony Scully | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | ||
| MF | 21 | Lasse Sørensen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 8 | FW | | 11 | Olamide Shodipo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| DF | | 15 | Paudie O'Connor | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| DF | | 24 | Sean Roughan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 9 | DF | 5 | Adam Jackson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| MF | 6 | Max Sanders | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| FW | 7 | Charles Vernam | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
| FW |  | 14 | Jordon Garrick | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| DF | 16 | Joe Walsh | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| FW | | 28 | Dylan Duffy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| FW | 32 | Jovon Makama | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
| FW | 34 | Freddie Draper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
| FW | 46 | Charley Kendall | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
| Own goals | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 47 | 0 | 9 | 13 | 69 | |||||
| No. | Pos. | Name | League One | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Trophy | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | ||
| 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 15 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
| 26 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 24 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 27 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| width=10 | No. | width=10 | Nat. | Player | Matches played | Clean sheet % | width=150 | League One | width=150 | FA Cup | width=150 | EFL Cup | width=150 | EFL Trophy | width=150 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 46 | 43.48% | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | |||||||||
| 29 | 14 | 28.57% | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||