The Best Lincoln City FUT XI Ever

Lincoln City do not often live in the glossy end of Ultimate Team, yet the game has still captured some of our most memorable seasons and purple patches.

Over a decade and a half of FUT releases has left a breadcrumb trail of Imps from silver stalwarts to blue and black specials, each one reflecting a moment when a player stood out. Sadly, those moments are few and far between, and of course, we didn’t feature at all in FIFA 2012 to FIFA 2018.

Still, we have had some stand out players, and I decided to compile our best XI ever. There’s only one position where there was a tie, right back, where Tendayi and Neal Eardley went toe-to-toe. I picked Tendayi because other than that, current Imps don’t feature!

This is our definitive Best Lincoln City FUT XI Ever, built around how those items actually play in-game and what they say about the real players who wore the shirt.

How We Picked It

Simple rules. We have taken each player’s relevant Lincoln-era FUT item, calling out special cards where they apply. In order to squeeze all of the special cards in, I have played a 4-1-3-2, but in the graphics, Grant and Johnson are side by side.

There is no concern for market value (which could be inflated by SBCs). It’s just based on their overall points score.

The XI

GK: Matt Gilks — Silver 67 (FIFA 19)

Bit surprised given the quality of keepers we’ve had, but Gilks is the number 1. The 70 handling and 68 positioning make him trustworthy on crosses and set pieces, while 66 diving and 64 reflexes cover the bread-and-butter stops you expect at this level.

Kicking at 65 is a sneaky asset for Lincoln builds, letting you clip quickly to full backs or drive clear for second balls. He is not built for sweeping outside the box given 44 speed, but if you sit your line and defend the area, this is a calm presence who turns scrappy games into routine clean sheets.

RB: Tendayi Darikwa — Silver Rare 67 (EA FC 25)

Darikwa’s card feels tailor-made for Lincoln’s right flank. Pace at 84 gives recovery legs, stamina at 76 keeps him overlapping late, and 76 physical ensures shoulder-to-shoulder duels rarely end badly. The technicals are tidy rather than flashy, with 61 passing and 62 crossing enough to whip those chest-high deliveries that cause near-post panic.

Defending attributes are evenly spread at 62 for interceptions, awareness and tackling, so instructions matter. Keep him on stay back by default, trigger overlaps when the winger rolls inside, and you get repeatable width without losing your back line.

LB: Harry Toffolo — Silver 65 (FIFA 19)

Toffolo’s 65 silver is one of those quietly brilliant items that stitches a team together. The 76 pace is balanced across acceleration and sprint speed, so he hits top gear quickly and holds it down the touchline. Crossing at 66 and short passing at 62 keep your left-sided patterns clean, while 61 defending with well-rounded tackles gives enough bite to front-foot challenges.

Stamina at 74 lets him repeat sprints, which was always part of his attraction in real life, and 66 physical makes those shoulder checks count.

CB: Michael Bostwick — Silver 68 (FIFA 20)

Bostwick brings the snarl. An 88 physical loadout with 90 strength, 90 aggression and 87 stamina gives you the dominant, chest-out centre half that opponents hate to play. He is not rapid with 50 pace, so you manage the space rather than race strikers, but 64 defending is backed by honest numbers in the right places, including solid heading at 68 and reactions at 63.

He wins contact, he pins forwards, and he clears his box. Give him an appropriate chemistry tweak if you want a fraction more mobility, but even out of the packet this was a decent card.

CB: Jason Shackell — TOTS 82 (FIFA 19)

The blue jewel in the back line. Shackell’s Team of the Season card is a monster because it marries classy distribution to the hard bits Lincoln teams value. Defending and physical are both 84, but the detail tells the story: 93 strength, 88 reactions, 94 composure and short passing at a gorgeous 86 with long passing at 80. You can step in, you can play, and you can calm.

Pace at 60 is perfectly manageable next to Bostwick if you hold a sensible depth. In practice, this feels like a lower-league icon — the card that makes the rest better just by being there — and it gives the XI the authority of a real contender.

CM: Jorge Grant — TOTS 85 (FIFA 21)

Grant’s Team of the Season is the creative engine and one of the most complete Imps items ever released. Ninety-nine agility, 91 balance and 86 ball control make him twirl away from pressure, while the end product is loaded across the board: 84 passing with 85 vision, 87 curve and free-kick accuracy at a ludicrous 97.

Stamina at 94 turns a good card into a relentless one, and 80 shooting with 83 long shots means he will punish loose clearances from the edge. He is not a pure holder, though 72 defending with a strong standing tackle at 81 lets him nibble and recover.

Play him as a roaming eight in a double pivot and he will run the game with the swagger he showed in real life.

CAM: Brennan Johnson — IF 77 (FIFA 21)

Johnson’s in-form is pure chaos in transition. If memory serves, he got it after the hat-trick against MK Dons, but I might be wrong.

Pace at 90, stamina at 94 and a staggering 99 agility give you first-step separation all day, while 80 shooting is spiky where it matters, with 90 long shots and 83 finishing. Short passing at 89 makes one-twos snap, and composure at 80 is high enough that late-game chances do not melt away.

There are two-star skills on this item, so you win metres with movement rather than trick spam, but that fits the Lincoln template.

RM: Harry Anderson — IF 69 (FIFA 18)

The early-era special that still slaps – Anderson got his uplift after his midweek goal at forest Green not long after we came back into the league. 84 pace, 73 dribbling and 70 physical turn Anderson into a straight-line problem, and his 67 crossing, 62 short passing blend nicely with the overlap from Darikwa. He is not a technician in tight boxes, yet on the spin into space he is exactly what you need to stretch matches and make room for your creators.

Balance at 88 and agility at 89 keep him upright through contact, which mirrors the real-world version who bounced full backs out the way and kept going. Give him get in behind, set your width a touch higher, and watch defences backpedal.

LM: Jack Diamond — IF 75 (FIFA 23)

Jack Diamond’s gold in-form adds the explosive left-sided runner to complement Johnson on the other flank. Grabbed after his hat-trick against Bristol Rovers, he’s a decent card.

Pace at 93 with acceleration at 96 means full backs fear the first three strides, and 77 dribbling with 97 agility and 96 balance creates that slalom feel when he cuts inside. Shooting and physical are both at 70, good enough to finish across goal or ride the first bump.

Passing at 65 is modest, so keep the combinations simple: wall passes with your overlapping Toffolo and diagonal slips into the striker.

ST: Chris Maguire — IF 76 (FIFA 22)

Urgh. Maguire leads the line with just about enough pace at 82 to stay dangerous, the 78 shooting is salted with 86 penalties and 84 shot power, and the 79 dribbling is spiced by 95 agility and 92 balance, so he turns sharply in the area. Vision and crossing sit at 74 with long passing at 74, which suits his habit of drifting off the front and knitting moves together.

Most telling is the attitude cooked into the numbers, with aggression at 93 and strength at 75 possibly reflecting the fact he won this in his one decent game for City, where he needled Lee Johnson.

RM/ST: Jovon Makama — TOTW 85 (EA FC 25)

Makama’s Team of the Week is the cheat-code wildcard that could tilt matches, should this squad ever actually be available. 92 pace on a 6’5″ frame, 85 shooting with 94 shot power, and a towering physical profile of 99 strength, 99 jumping and 72 stamina. Heading accuracy is a perfect 99, which turns every wide free-kick and back-post cross into a panic drill, and the dribbling set is far silkier than you expect at 82 with 97 agility and 90 balance.

He can play wide right, he can bulldoze through the middle, and he gives this XI an end-game out ball that few lower-league special cards can match. In FUT terms he is the handful every defence remembers for weeks.

Final Team