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theimps.ka - Lincoln City : 1946-1971 : From the War, to Taylor

Lincoln City : 1946-1971 : From the War, to Taylor


By Nathan Jackson
December 2 2005

1946-47 – Football League resumes following the end of the war and Bill Anderson is the manager of City. Out of 22 sides, City finish an average 12th, winning 39 points from 42 games. Doncaster Rovers are promoted as champions in a season where they set a new points record for the 2 point system, something that we’ll be hearing more about later.

 

1947-48 – If you thought Keith’s budget was tight, Bill Anderson had considerably less, having an overall budget of just £2000. However, Anderson was undeterred by this and only 8 defeats in the 42 league games means that the Imps are crowned champions of Division 3 (North).

 

1948-49 – City’s return to the division they founded all those years ago, didn’t go particully well and City were relegated straight back down after finishing bottom of the table. Whereas City had only lost 8 games the previous season, they only won 8 games and were relegated with Nottingham Forest.

 

1949-50 – City did almost win promotion straight back to Division 2, however, a poor run towards the end meant that the Imps finished 4th, 4 points off eventual champions Doncaster.

 

1950-1 – City have a better season in terms of points than the previous season, but end up  1 position worse off. The division had been expanded to 24 teams and Rotherham produced an impressive 71 points to win the title.

 

1951-2 – At the end of the 1948-9 season, the chairman had declared to Division 2 that City would return to that division 3 years after getting relegated and in the 3rd season after being relegated, City again won the title, it was made even sweeter considering we pipped local rivals Grimsby to the title. City amased an impressive 69 points.

 

1952-3 – For the first time since the 20’s, the Imps managed to stay in the 2nd level of the Football League structure after being promoted and although City finished 15, Anderson still had ambitions of pushing the club into the highest level of football for the first time in the clubs history.

 

1953-4 – An unremarkable season sees the Imps finish 16th after just 14 wins from 42 games. This season, like many before it, followed the pattern of City having fantastic home form but dreadful away form. City only lost 4 at home but only won 3 away. Leicester and Everton were promoted into the top division.

 

1954-5 – Again, City fail to flatter and finish 16th again and although the away form picked up, the home form started taking a nose dive. Birmingham and Luton are promoted, Ipswich and Derby were relegated.

 

1955-6 – After 3 rather poor seasons, City pick it up a bit, finishing 8th but again the away form probably cost them a chance of getting into the higher division, 14 wins out of 19 home games was countered by just 4 wins on the road. Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds are promoted where as Plymouth and Hull are relegated.

1956-7 – A return to “normality” for the Imps sees them barely escape relegation and although a 9 point gap looks comfortable enough, there was plenty of nervous bums on seats for the Imps. Leicester and Forest are promoted, Bury and Port Vale are relegated.

 

1957-8 – You see all these teams call their escape’s from relegation as the great escape, however, this truly was the great escape. With 6 games to go, City were rock bottom and had to win all the remaining games to stay up. City got off to a decent start to these 6 games by beating both Barnsley and Doncaster 3-1 but it seemed more like a stay of execution. A 2-0 win at home to Rotherham made a few fans sit up a bit, surely it wasn’t on but when City beat Bristol City 4-0, they were no longer favourites for relegation, despite being bottom. A 1-0 win against Huddersfield made for a tense last day, Doncaster Rovers were down but the last day would decide if Notts County or Lincoln joined them. City beat Cardiff 3-1 and County’s failure to win, meant that the Imps survived by a single point. Who can beat that for the great escape?

 

1958-9 – City again survived by a single point and only 2 points separate the bottom 4 teams. City finished on 29 points, 1 point above relegated Grimsby and 2 points ahead of Barnsley.

 

1959-60 – A less heart-stopping season was a relief for many as City finished an average 13th, collecting 39 points. Aston Villa and Cardiff City are promoted whereas Hull and Bristol City are relegated.

 

1960-1 – City’s luck finally runs out and they are relegated, finishing bottom with just 24 points, 9 points adrift of Portsmouth, the other relegated team. Ipswich and Sheffield United are promoted.

 

1961-2 – Whilst the Imps had been away, there were now 4 teams relegated from Division 3 and City’s luck from 4 years previous, had defiantly run out as the Imps are relegated along with Torquay, Brentford and Newport. This was Anderson’s last season in charge of the club.

 

1962-3 -  City’s downward spiral continues as they finish 22nd out of 24 in Division 4, winning just 13 of their 46 matches. Brentford, Oldham, Crewe and Mansfield are all promoted.

 

1963-4 – The ying/yang form of Lincoln at home compared to away again seems to deny the Imps a promotion battle. City finish 11th, 11 points off the final promotion spot. 15 wins from the 23 home games would have been enough to warrant a promotion challenge if it wasn’t for just 4 away wins all season. Gillingham, Carlisle, Workington and Exeter City are all promoted.

 

1964-5 – City record a 20somethingth finish for the 3rd time in 4 seasons. This time finishing 22nd, winning 11 out of 46. Brighton, Millwall, York and Oxford are all promoted.

 

1965-6 – Yet again, the Imps finis 22nd and only avoid finishing bottom by 2 points. Doncaster, Darlington, Torquay and Colchester are all promoted.

 

1966-7 – City’s incredibly bad form over the years finally catches up to them as they finishing bottom of the entire football league, winning a measly 9 games out of 46. Stockport, Southport, Barrow and Tranmere Rovers are all promoted.

 

1967-8 – City hit the relatively dizzy heights of 13th, having an average season, winning 17 and losing 20 of the 46 games. Luton, Barnsley, Hartlepools and Crewe are all promoted. This season will mainly be remembered for the Imps’ attendance record of 23,196 against Derby.

 

1968-9 – City show improvement, finishing 8th, yet the same old story denies them a promotion challenging season as only 4 away wins, holds the Imps back. Doncaster Rovers, Halifax Town, Rochdale and Bradford are all promoted.

 

1969-70 – City have no real excuses for not putting on a promotion challenge, again, the Imps finish 8th but poor form in general sees them finish 9 points off the promotion places that are filled by Chesterfield, Wrexham, Swansea and Port Vale. Bradford Park Avenue are relegated.

 

1970-1 – City’s steady improvement is halted as the Imps finish a disappointing 21st with Notts County, Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic, Oldham Athletic and York are all promoted.

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