With Michael Skubala passing his 100th match in charge, it feels like the right time to reflect on the first encounters with those who have led Lincoln City in recent years.
I’ve been lucky over the years. Having done Poacher from 1998 until 2013, I came across a lot of Imps managers. Honest shout: I never really met them properly. I stayed away and kept my head down. I was just the mascot, so I never spoke to Shane Westley, John Reames, Phil Stant, Alan Buckley, Keith Alexander, John Schofield, Peter Jackson, Chris Sutton, Steve Tilson, David Holdsworth or Gary Simpson. After all, why would I?
When I came back from living in Cambridge, Chris Moyses was in charge, and I did meet him, but not immediately after his arrival. Instead, it was just a few games from the end of his tenure when I wrote an article about him. He thanked me in the tunnel not long after, as I reprised my role as Poacher for a game or three.
However, since the Stacey West has been going, I have had the pleasure of meeting all four of the previous managers on a few occasions, in a professional capacity as much as a personal one. I was going to make this a little thread on Twitter, but figured it might make an interesting read for you this afternoon.
It is often the small details that stay with you from those introductions. When I first met Danny and Nicky Cowley, what struck me most was that they already knew who I was. It was at a dinner event where a group of supporters won the chance to meet them – I want to say it was after we played Eastleigh at home, but without checking, I might be wrong.
Upon entering, Nicky immediately said, “I recognise you,” which, while flattering, showed how much research they had done into the club and its people. It wasn’t just about my ego; it was about connection, and it left a lasting impression of two managers who cared deeply about understanding their fanbase.
After that, whenever I met Danny or Nicky, it felt like they were welcoming an old friend. Always open, always friendly, that first impression of them was spot on – they were good people who gave us amazing memories.
Michael Appleton’s welcome was very different but equally memorable. He made me a cup of tea at the EPC and spoke with real honesty, like complete trust from the first moment I met him. I had some concerns about the changes he wanted to bring, especially around the Cowleys’ injury management system, but his honesty and down-to-earth nature made me warm to him.
He went through every player in the squad, and commented on things like “Dad’s Army” a couple of times, perhaps in relation to the likes of Neal Eardley, Michael Bostwick, Michael O’Connor and Lee Frecklington. I remember briefly chatting to my friend Roy Thomson and expressing a slight doubt about those changes, but because Michael had been so honest, I felt like he knew what he was doing.
The first meeting with Mark Kennedy was more formal. We did a video call first, and he’d clearly done a lot of those before, so it wasn’t easy to get a measure of him. A few weeks later, we did a live show with him, and he presented me with an award, thanking me for what I did for the club. It felt unusual, though, given he had only been in the job a matter of weeks and couldn’t possibly know what I did. It gave off a slightly uneasy vibe compared to the more genuine connections with others.
A couple of days later, there was a sponsors’ event at the ground, and he came in, walked straight past me and sat with the players. He never spoke and at the time, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. It did put me off on a personal level, and he’s the only manager my dad met who he didn’t like at all. Dad always was a good judge of character.
Also, he was the only manager never to invite us to the EPC for a chat, or to greet us if we did go to the EPC. That might sound like an inflated ego thing, but it’s not. As a fan analysis outlet, we expect nothing, but Michael Appleton invited me a couple of times, after it was built, I met Danny there a couple of times. I’ve sat and had dinner with Michael Skubala at the EPC. All were (and are) keen to show what they do and to be transparent, but I didn’t get that from Mark Kennedy.
Something non-football related stood out for me when I first met Michael Skubala. We were recording a podcast, and beforehand, we chatted about all sorts. He’d worked in Loughborough, and I remarked that my friend had owned a nightclub in the town. “I wouldn’t know about those,” Michael responded, and it impressed me. I don’t know why, but it just helped paint a picture of a man so focused on what he wanted to achieve.
I also felt he was the only manager whose trust I could see being earned before my eyes. Danny had read stuff before, and the club was in the National League, so any exposure and engagement at the time was important. Michael Appleton had engaged with fan media before, specifically Not The Top 20, and I think, as such an honest man – to a point, too honest and authentic – he just trusted supporters in our position. In fairness to Mark Kennedy, he had been roasted by the media as a player, so he had a distrust. He told us he trusted us in the first meeting, but he never did.
Michael was great, answering questions and chatting, but I believe I saw the moment he realised we weren’t just media, we understood the club and had done deep research on him. I actually credit Chris for this, as he was there, and we got into a chat about tactics, and it was almost as if the depth we went into proved ourselves to Michael. I’m not saying we had to, but we demonstrated we understood the small nuances he’d changed during his (then) short tenure.
Those first meetings do not define a manager’s success; they’re purely personal, but they give an insight into character. Skubala’s quiet, measured approach, just like Cowley’s commanding one, reflects leadership that values respect and observation. Appleton, too, for all his challenges, left behind the memory of someone authentic and approachable.
Each impression is a reminder that behind tactics and results, managers are people, and while they’re not judged on how they connect with those around them immediately, that is part of their overall legacy.