Why Josh Honohan Arriving At Lincoln City Is So Important

December 19, 2025 Gary Lincoln City, Opinion 0

The club’s capture of Josh Honohan feels less like a January gamble and more like the logical conclusion of a plan that has been quietly unfolding for months.

It broke really early, probably forced by a leak at the Irish end, but the announcement felt sudden, and yet when you sit with it for a moment, it makes complete sense. This is not panic buying. This is not reacting to a bad run or an injury crisis. This is Lincoln City doing exactly what Lincoln City under this structure has learned to do well: identify early, move decisively, and back their judgment.

The timing caught a few people off guard, but the pursuit itself should not have. Honohan has been hovering around the periphery of Lincoln conversation since the summer, with enough smoke to suggest something was always burning behind the scenes. October and November went quiet, but that silence felt more like respect than hesitation. Shamrock Rovers were still competing on multiple fronts, still chasing silverware, still playing European football, and no one at Sincil Bank was going to destabilise that process prematurely.

When the news finally landed, there was the familiar reaction from parts of Ireland. Lincoln City is a sideways step. Lincoln City is a downgrade. That argument always comes up when EFL clubs recruit from bigger teams in Ireland, like Shamrock Rovers, and in narrow terms, it has some validity. Shamrock win trophies. They play in Europe. But football careers are not lived in isolation. They are built on exposure, progression, and opportunity. In that context, Lincoln City is not a step down. It is a step forward.

Honohan’s choice of Lincoln speaks loudly about ambition. He did the same when he left Cork to join Shamrock, prioritising development over comfort. Now, at 24, he is making another calculated move. This is the age where players stop waiting and start pushing. Lincoln City offers that push. We are not just a club hoping to compete. We are a club with a proven record of developing players and moving them on to higher levels.

That matters. Sean Roughan arrived from Ireland as a 16-year-old and moved on for serious money. Ethan Erhahon was developed, trusted, and sold at a significant profit. Morgan Rogers, Morgan Whittaker, these are not coincidences. Even when deals do not quite land, like Trai Hume and Luke McNally, the calibre of player Lincoln are targeting tells its own story. You do not consistently shop in that market without knowing what you are looking at.

Honohan fits the profile perfectly. A left back by trade, but far more than a simple functional defender. He is aggressive going forward, comfortable overlapping, capable of contributing goals and assists, and trusted in high-pressure environments. He has played across the back line, including centre half, but this does not feel like a utility signing. This feels like a statement of intent at left back.

The suggestion that he arrives to sit patiently and integrate slowly does not ring true. Fees being discussed, whatever the final structure turns out to be, tell you this is an immediate first-team signing. The expectation should be that once fully fit, Honohan becomes Lincoln City’s starting left back. That in turn unlocks Adam Reach further forward, a move that could quietly transform our left side without signing another attacker.

There is also something about Honohan’s mentality that stands out. Watching him, listening to him speak, there is a focus that feels familiar. It reminds me of Sean Roughan, not in style but in mindset. No noise. No fuss. Just clarity about what he wants and how he intends to get there. Some mistake that for coldness. It is not. It is professionalism. It is ambition sharpened into discipline.

This signing also tells us something important about the rest of the window. We do not look like a club preparing for wholesale change. The squad is deep. There is competition in every area. Fans are asking for more minutes for Erik Ring and Lewis Montsma while also calling for new signings, and that tension says more about squad strength than weakness. You cannot demand opportunities for fringe players and wish for endless new arrivals at the same time.

With the cups gone, the season becomes pure League One. Fewer rotation games. Fewer chances to spread minutes around. In that context, Honohan feels like the major winter addition rather than the first of many. Stability matters. Panic buying does not win promotions. Planning does.

Perhaps the most striking thing is how well this squad has already exceeded expectations. Many of us, myself included, had the Imps finishing mid-table. Going into Christmas in the top three forces a recalibration. This is not a fluke. It is structure, recruitment, and culture alignment.

Josh Honohan arrives in that environment, not as a saviour, but as another carefully chosen piece. By the time the window closes, he should already be embedded, understood, and contributing. That is how good recruitment works.

On paper, this looks like an excellent signing. Experience tells us to temper expectations. Jamie Robson remains the cautionary tale. But the reaction on both sides of the Irish Sea suggests Lincoln City have done something right here.