Rob's Column
Rob’s Column September 2025
Thanks to the Lincolnshire Echo
Life at a football club is rarely a bed of roses. This might mean difficulties occur that are wholly internal but they might mean that others are affected too. This can include outside organisations and businesses or volunteer bodies attached to the club of which our Trust is of course one.
Over the last few weeks there have been some negative issues that directly affect us or that people have brought to us, all of which we need to take up with club officials.
I think it’s just a matter of coincidence that these things have cropped up together when usually we don’t have a lot to query and we all work together quite happily.
It’s not our function to wash our dirty linen in public so I’m not going to be specific. However, in case some fans think the people who run our Trust, me included, have bought every pair of rose-tinted glasses our local optician stocks, then I think it’s good to point out that policies or actions we don’t agree with are questioned. It’s our job in fact, as an active supporters’ organisation, to do so. I’m raising such things in this column to show publicly it’s what we do.
Lincoln City FC is a multi-discipline organisation. Playing football is just one of many activities. It’s almost like there’s a large number of businesses rolled into one, so there’s bound to be some slip-ups, and we support the club by giving feedback so that they can be rectified.
In my experience of running a business and having involvement in other sporting bodies there will always be genuine mistakes made – which is OK – or failure to do stuff when asked to do so – which is not OK. We learn from them though, respect each other’s views, and work better in the long run.
Our Trust currently, in my view, sets good strategies and carries out good work. When our standards fall there’s no animosity – we make good and move on. I think that applies to other fans’ organisations at the LNER too like the Red Imps Away Travel Association and the Fan Advisory Board who both do great things.
All in all there’s brilliant people at Lincoln City whether employed or working voluntarily. And when things go wrong we’re adult enough to talk about it and sort it out, and that’s how it should be.
