Lincoln City Football Club’s annual accounts show positive results despite the financial strain of COVID-19, mainly thanks to Danny Cowley’s compensation package.
The club recorded a turnover of £6.55 million for the 2019/20 season, an increase of £1.16 million from the previous year, despite the impact of coronavirus.
It is estimated that the £1 million compensation received in Danny and Nicky Cowley’s departure to Huddersfield was a primary factor in the club’s improved financial performance, with numerous mentions of the duo in the report.
Season ticket numbers also increased from 6,200 to 6,400 from 2018/19 to 2019/20, but average attendances dropped from 9,006 and 8,986.
The club more than held their own financially despite the pandemic. | Photo: Lincoln City Football Club
The club projects that due to the high-profile fixtures that were still left to play for the Imps, attendances would’ve increased to an average of 9,150 if the season was allowed to finish.
The Imps received an unspecified amount of government grants relating to COVID-19 after the season was cancelled, but the halt of play still resulted in a £495,000 loss for the football club.
The LNER Stadium on Sincil Bank. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The financial impact of the virus and a lack of ticket revenue on match days meant that Lincoln recorded a net loss of £0.89 million.
However, that is a marked improvement on the 2018/19 accounts, where the club’s net loss was £2.24 million, meaning the Imps saw a 60% decrease in their losses.
Within the report was also a section dedicated to the club’s “investment in people”, which looked at how the club recruited players, as well as the wage bill of the squad.
Danny Cowley’s exit from Sincil Bank brought about a change of identity to the club, with his successor Michael Appleton attempting to balance the books and lowering the average age of the squad.
Danny Cowley, the legendary former Imps manager. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Experienced fan favourites such as Michael Bostwick and Neal Eardley were released and replaced by younger, cheaper options like Tayo Edun and Anthony Scully.
Despite this, the Imps’ League Two promotion-winning season saw many players rewarded with wage increases, the primary factor in a rise in staff costs at the club.
All of these factors resulted in a £5.15 million investment in the first-team squad and staff, up 5% from 2018/19.
Lincoln City supporters were also awarded the Family Excellence Award for the second season running, after scoring a record high of 80%, as well as ranking 3rd out of all 72 EFL clubs for match day satisfaction at the LNER Stadium.
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Can you help us identify the woman in these CCTV images?
We are appealing for help to identify the woman shown in these CCTV images following a theft that occurred on Wednesday 22 June in Grimsby.
A 92-year-old woman was walking through Freshney Place Shopping centre, Grimsby when it is believed that her purse was taken from her shopping trolley.
The woman in these images we believe may be able to assist with our investigations and we would ask anyone who believes they recognise her to please contact us on our non-emergency 101 line quoting log 246 of 23 June.
A retired fire engine that used to operate in Grimsby was used in Ukraine to help combat a missile attack on a shopping centre, which the G7 has described as a ‘war crime’ by Russia.
On Monday, footage emerged of a missile striking a shopping centre in the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky claiming is is evidence of a deliberate attack by Russia.
At least 20 people were killed and around 56 were injured following the incident, with G7 leaders saying the attack is considered a war crime. More than 1,000 people were inside the building when it was hit by the missile.
A familiar looking fire engine can be seen in video footage of the blaze shared across news outlets and social media platforms, in the form of an old Humberside Fire & Rescue vehicle.
Large shopping mall in Kremenchuk with hundreds of civilians inside has been hit by a Russian strike. Russia is a disgrace to humanity and it must face consequences. The response should be more heavy arms for Ukraine, more sanctions on Russia, and more businesses leaving Russia. pic.twitter.com/Uvi6fbyShK
The fire engine used to operate here in North East Lincolnshire, covering Grimsby and Immingham, and it is one of many vehicles sent out by Humberside Fire & Rescue to various countries across Europe in recent years.
Fire Aid recently sent a convoy of around 75 vehicles, equipment and clothing to Ukraine to help provide resources for recovery.
At least 20 people were killed in the incident. | Photo: BBC Look North
Area manager Matthew Sutcliffe told BBC Look North: “We’ve sent a number of fire engines since 2015 over there. These are end of life fire engines for us in Humberside, so we share them across Eastern Europe where we can.
“It’s an absolute tragedy what we saw yesterday. Firefighters there were using one of our old fire engines to protect the property but also save lives.”
"Absolute terrorism" – says @ZelenskyyUa and publishes a video of a deliberate missile strike on the Kremenchuk shopping center with people inside. Russian propaganda always lies: there is no coincidence, it is a deliberate blow to intimidate the population and mass victims. pic.twitter.com/Gx1f90cMta
During a regular nightly address to the nation on Monday, president Zelensky said: “The Russian missile hit this very object, purposefully. Obviously, that was the order. It is obvious that Russian assassins received such coordinates for this missile.
“They wanted to kill as many people as possible in a peaceful city, in a regular shopping mall.”
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