I checked in on the club finances, and didn’t much like what I saw. The gradual flattening of our losses has been blown out by an awful January in turnover. The club lost £144,786 in January—more than the previous two months combined. Lincoln City Football Club’s balance is now £444,959 in the red. Half a million below positive cashflow. I don’t know what our overdraft limit is, but at this rate we’ll be in serious danger of falling into administration by the end of the season.
And there’s nothing I can do to stop it, except keep winning matches. Good results bring more fans into our home games; the league title comes with significant prize money. I’m not sure why we’re haemorrhaging money, but I’m willing to bet the fact that our home games only fill out a quarter of the stadium is instrumental. The thing is, however, that attendances of ten thousand are pretty much unheard of at Conference level. There are aspects to the way this business is run that leave me questioning the intelligence of my bosses. I far exceeded expectations by getting us into top position and staying there this late in the season, yet the finances are set up in such a way that anything less than first place will cost the club its financial stability. Crazy.
[All of this makes me curious how the real Lincoln City runs its finances, and whether they’re in this same danger of slipping into administration.]
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