jack_evans674 - Comments

2026-2027 season part two:

Lincoln's new signings would prove to be successful, as the Imps would go unbeaten in January, with Caylan Vickers and Charlie McArthur shining brightest, with McArthur being named in the League One team of the week twice in a row. It was now reaching the business end of the season, and Johnston knew that if they were to reach the playoffs, they would have to have a near perfect run in the remaining 12 games, with MK Dons breathing down their necks, only six points behind. Lincoln would not play MK Dons again this season as they had already played them twice, with a 2-1 home win back in October and a 0-0 draw in the away fixture on Boxing Day, so they would have to hope that the Dons would drop points whilst maximizing their own. Lincoln's run in to the end of the season featured three of the teams in the top six; Chesterfield, Millwall and Reading. The importance of these matches was of the highest priority, with Johnston focusing on preventative measures, as she knew that her team can score goals, but with Lincoln having conceded 54 goals by the midway point of February, she knew that to get the most out of the games against the teams mentioned above, and that meant drilling the defensive unit into the ground in preparation. The first of these games was away at Reading in a midweek fixture, but with an eleven day gap in between the previous fixture and the upcoming one, Lottie had plenty of time to prepare the team for a tough away fixture. 

Wednesday 24th February 2027: Reading (a) 

Lincoln would go into the game without starting left back Josh Donohan, who picked up a red card against Bolton in the previous match, with veteran Adam Reach taking his place. Reach would have it up against him right from the off as Newcastle Utd loanee Vakhtang Salia was giving him a torrid time from the right wing, going close twice early on, but the efforts would not trouble Spike Brits in the Lincoln net. Lincoln would go close in the 35th minute, as Jayce Fitzgerald played in inch perfect pass into the path of Amin Boudri, but the Swedish winger would curl his shot over, narrowly missing the target. Both teams would head into the break all square, with Reading dominating possession, but they were wary of Lincoln on the counter attack, with the Imps coming close on two occasions. Reading would come to rue their missed chances, as substitute Erik Ring would play Johnny Kenny in and the Irish bagsman would slot it into the bottom left corner past the stranded Joel Pereira to make it 1-0 to Lincoln in the 75th minute. Reading looked shook, and it would get even more difficult for them as Jack Moylan and Tom Bayliss would combine on the edge of the area, before Bayliss would play an inch perfect through ball into the Irishman, who placed it with perfect finesse into the bottom right, sending the travelling Imps supporters into raptures. Reading could do nothing to make something of the game and it ended 2-0 at the. The players collected in front of the away fans, pushing Lottie towards the front. The fans chanted her name, and Johnston could do nothing but smile and thank them for their continued support.

Wednesday 3rd March 2027: Chesterfield (h)

Lincoln would welcome 2nd place Chesterfield to the LNER Stadium, with confidence high after a tight 3-2 away win at Blackpool. Chesterfield would come to Lincoln off the back of a 1-0 home win against Wrexham, and were looking to close the gap to first placed Millwall. Johnston knew that Chesterfield would come to the LNER to pick up all three points, and she let the players know. Training was brutal, with the defenders being worked into the ground with defensive drills and set piece practice. Johnston had a feeling that they were going to need it, as she knew just how dangerous Chesterfield's attack could be, with Southampton loanee Rento Takaoka leading the line and Dilan Markanday the playmaking lynchpin bringing it all together. The only positive that could be drawn from the situation would be that Paul Cook had left Chesterfield to take over at Derby, so Johnston was hoping that a managerless Chesterfield would leave gaps for Lincoln to exploit.

The start of the game could not have got off to a better start, right back Andy Lyons would play a ball into the back post, where Amin Boudri would nod it back across for Johnny Kenny to head it home past the Chesterfield keeper, taking his league tally to 19 for the season with five minutes on the clock. But as soon as Lincoln took the league, Chesterfield would answer back. Dilan Markanday was upended in the penalty area and captain Lee Bonis would send Spike Brits the wrong way to bring the scores level once again five minutes later. Johnston called for calm, telling the players to relax and play the way they knew best, and it worked out as Caylan Vickers would slot the ball past Zach Hemming in the 18th minute to make the score 2-1. Lincoln would go into the half time break ahead, and deservedly so, limiting Chesterfield to just one shot all game, which was the converted penalty early on. She kept her team talk short and simple; “Don't let your guard drop, you all know how dangerous they can be. Keep doing what you're doing and we'll for sure come away with all three points”. The second half would start in Lincoln's favour, as Armando Dobra would be sent off for a reckless challenge 5 minutes into the second half, and Johnston instantly pushed her team up, looking to make the man advantage count. The second half would see loads of chances for Lincoln to add to their lead, but Chesterfield's stalwart defence would hold out. Johnston was happy with the win as it brought them within two points of Chesterfield in 2nd, and level on points with Stockport and Bolton, who drew against Millwall 0-0 and beat Plymouth 1-0 respectively.

Tuesday 9th March 2027: Millwall (h)

Coming off the back of the victory against Chesterfield the week before, spirits were high going into the clash against Millwall. Both Lottie and the squad knew that if they could pick up a good result here, the odds of Lincoln reaching the playoffs would drastically improve, and could possibly see them move into an automatic spot if results went their way. Lincoln were looking to make a good start, and although Millwall started strong, they couldn't stop the in form Johnny Kenny from giving Lincoln the lead in the 10th minute, slotting it past the Millwall keeper. Lincoln were showing all the plaudits of a team deserving to be in their position and they went into the half time break up 1-0. Johnston called for calm and focus, telling her players to play how they have so far, and the rewards will come. The second half started off slow, but Caylan Vickers had a huge chance squandered in the 60th minute as he spooned his shot wide of the mark after a neat through ball from Martin Sherif. Millwall would try to get back into the game but Spike Brits and the Lincoln back line would shut them out and Lincoln would go on to win the game 1-0, which moved them up into 4th place, overtaking Bolton who dropped to 5th after a 2-0 home loss to Chesterfield.

During this good period for Lincoln, chairman Ron Fowler had announced that he's be stepping down from his role and handing the reigns of the club over to the right buyer. This didn't deter the team as they looked to book their place in the playoffs come the end of the season, and now knowing they didn't have to face a team in the top half of the table, this gave them a huge confidence boost. Fast forward to the end of March, and with a win against Rotherham, as well as other results going their way, could secure a play off spot. The pressure was on. The game against Rotherham was a nervy affair, with Rotherham scoring early but it was ruled out for offside. Then, after a marauding run from Freddie Draper, Martin Sherif scored an easy tap in from six yards out to secure all three points and a guaranteed spot in the playoffs and moving into second in the table, 5 points behind leaders Millwall with four games to go. Could they do it? Could Lincoln maintain their 8 game unbeaten streak? Could they pull off a miracle and win the title? All these questions were circulating social media, but Lottie blocked it all out, knowing that if she gave it a second thought, complacency could creep in. The day before their match against Port Vale, the medical staff would deliver some grave news. Spike Brits had sprained his ankle ligaments, and would be out for at least a month, ruling him out for the final four games of the season, but if Lincoln didn't attain automatic promotion, he could be available for the play offs. Young Columbian Alexei Rojas Fedoruschenko would be the one to see out the remainder of the regular season, having shown brief glimpses of quality in the minutes he'd played this season. Lottie had full confidence in the backup keeper, and was certain he would be able to carry us over the line.

Two games to go. First was a tough game away to Wrexham. If results went their way and a win against their opponents, Lincoln would be promoted. The players knew this but didn't let it get to them, blocking out the thoughts and putting their full focus on the upcoming match. Millwall had dropped points against Leyton Orient, and the gap to them was reduced again to five. A loss to 6th place Reading and the gap would be reduced to two, taking the title race to the last game of the season. The Imps persevered and, with a truly spectacular bicycle kick from Rob Street, won the match 1-0, but the promotion party would be put on hold as a three point gap to 3rd place stopped any chance of being promoted with a game to spare.

May 1st 2027: The final game of the season

The final game of the season had arrived. Lincoln had the chance to not just get promoted, but to snatch the title from Millwall's hands. Lincoln would win if Millwall lost by two goals or more and if Lincoln win by three goals or more. Lincoln would face 18th place Doncaster Rovers, whilst Millwall faced Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. A sense of anticipation and nervousness echoed across the LNER, but that was all dissipated when Johnny Kenny gave Lincoln the lead 10 minutes in. A second roar would ring out as the fans were notified that Nathaniel Chalobah had given Wednesday the lead in the 21st minute. Right before half time the crowd went silent. Mihailo Ivanovic had equalized for Millwall, putting them one point ahead of Lincoln. The spark of hope was reignited as Johnny Kenny would get his second of the game in the 54th minute. The fans eyes were constantly darting to their phones, praying for a miracle in Sheffield. 25 minutes to go, a cross was sent into the box, and Erik Ring would power home a header from 6 yards out and the crowd went mad, Lincoln had done their part, now the hopes and dreams of the Imps lay in the hands of Sheffield Wednesday. With ten minutes to go, the crowd were murmuring in anticipation, checking their phones, then all of a sudden a huge roar. Micah Mbick had put Wednesday back in front, and as things stood, Lincoln would win the title on goals scored, it was as if the stars were aligning for Lincoln. But then, disaster struck, and in the 90+5th minute, Doncaster played an intricate passing play in the Lincoln penalty area and Brandon Hanlan buried his shot passed Fedoruschenko. The whole of the Lincoln team fell to their knees as Hanlan celebrated in front of the travelling Doncaster support. The referee blew his whistle and the game was over, but despite missing out on the title, Lincoln were still promoted to the Sky Bet Championship.

2026-2027 season part one:

With the start of the new season fast approaching, Lincoln City were in need of a new manager after Michael Skubala left to become the Watford manager in April 2026. In the wake of his departure, Lincoln would make it all the way to the League One Play-Off Final, before eventually succumbing to defeat at the hands of Luton via a penalty shootout. On June 4th 2026, Lincoln would appoint Lottie Johnston as their new manager. The appointment sent ripples throughout the league, with many managers praising Lincoln for hiring Lottie after the events that occurred at Olympic Charleroi. Some had their reservations, but were eager to see how Lottie would get on.

Pre season proved to be successful, bar a 3-1 loss away to Larne one week before the start of the season. Johnston was looking to build on the success from last season, but bids coming in for key players from the starting eleven would prove to be an obstacle. First choice goalkeeper George Wickens would move to Bristol City for a fee of £600,000, leaving fans worried as to whether Johnston would be able to replace him. Other departures included Conor McGrandles, Reeco Hackett, Zach Jeacock, Adam Jackson and Dom Jefferies. As a result of these departures, Lottie wanted to make a statement to the rest of the league, and she did by signing Swedish u21 left winger Amin Boudri on a free transfer after his contract had expired at MLS outfit LAFC. Signing Boudri sent shockwaves across the league, with many teams wondering how Lincoln were able to convince the tricky winger to sign for The Imps. Other signings included Spike Brits on loan from Man City, the powerful Dutch 20 year old striker Martin Sherif on loan from Everton, pacy Irish forward Johnny Kenny on loan from Celtic, and free agent signings of versatile full back Andy Lyons and the unproven Colombian youngster Alexei Rojas Fedoruschenko after his contract expired at Arsenal. Johnston wanted to keep the main core of the team intact, to help maintain the high levels of cohesion from last season and use that to push for promotion again this season.

The first game of the season came around , where Lincoln would be facing Barnsley at home at the LNER Stadium. The crowd showed great appreciation towards Lottie, chanting her name and giving her a standing ovation as she made her way to the dugout. Lincoln were in total control, going into the break 2-0 up thanks to goals from Igor Varfolomeev and Jack Moylan. Johnny Kenny would make it 3-0 before Reyes Cleary would pull one back for Barnsley, and the game would end 3-1 to the Imps. Going into December, Lincoln found themselves in 5th place, showing that they could battle it out with the bigger teams in the league. The only thing holding them back was dropping points against the teams lower down in the league, with a 7-3 away loss at the end of October to Bolton and an embarrassing 4-1 defeat at home against relegation strugglers Wrexham. The board though had full confidence in Lottie, and at the end of November they secured a new deal with her, keeping her at the club until 2028. Lottie was over the moon that the board had such high confidence in her and the job she was doing, expressing her feelings in the following press conference; “I'm delighted that the board entrusts me with the job here, and being offered a new contract fills me with confidence that I can take this team to the level they deserve to be at”. January would come around, and the transfer window would bring Lottie the opportunity to add a bit of quality from the loan market. First to come through the door was Man United midfielder Jayce Fitzgerald, coming in to help provide playmaking prowess in the midfield. Johnston also wanted to bring in a bit more depth at centre back, and Scottish 21 year old Charlie McArthur was brought in to provide exactly that until the end of the season. With Ben House leaving to join Falkirk for £450,000, there was an open spot on the right wing. Not wanting to make a permanent signing, Johnston instead went head hunting in the loan market again. There were many targets that showed promise, but none showed more than Brighton's Caylan Vickers, who across all competitions and non competitive matches, had racked up 9 goals and 4 assists. Johnston was hoping that by signing Caylan, he could carry that form over to Lincoln as they looked to continue their push for promotion.

2025-2026 season part two:

The second half of the season would start with the rumours of a potential mystery consortium takeover being nullified, leaving the fans dismayed and angry with the current board, which was evident at the next home game against Jong KAA Gent in the midweek fixture. The fans held up banners that read “Amico out, we only want the best for our club” which was aimed at the Director Vittorio Amico, who funnily enough wasn’t in attendance. 

The team were looking to bounce back after being absolutely demolished by RFC Liège away from home 3-0, and were without key player Jonás Ramalho, who had been sent off against RFC Liège. The atmosphere was extremely hostile, with the home fans booing when Charleroi were in possession. They had grown restless and were not happy that Charleroi had been drawn into a relegation scrap, sitting in 14th place with four points separating them from 16th placed Seraing FC. 

Chants rang out across the stadium that were aimed at Johnston, with some being rather distasteful and derogatory. After the game, Johnston attended the post match press conference with her press officer and immediately all questions were about the chants that the fans had aimed at her, this is how she responded “A manager will always come under fire from the fans when the team is underperforming, but make it personal and sexist is completely out of order, and hopefully the club takes action and bans the people responsible”. The next game would be more of the same, when Charleroi faced fellow relegation battlers Seraing FC. The fans chanted out more derogatory and sexist chants towards Johnston, which caused the referee to temporarily stop the game. The Olympic Charleroi players headed over to the away section to tell the fans to stop, but they were only met with boos and middle fingers. The team would go on to win 1-0, with Jonás Ramalho scoring in the 40th minute, but it was overshadowed by the continued misconduct of the fans. Johnston would announce that she would be stepping down from her role at Olympic Charleroi in the post match press conference, stating that she had no intention of staying at a club whose fans would stoop as low as they had done over the last two games. Johnston then met with the board to make the resignation official. 

Johnston was approached by the Belgian Football Express just hours after her resignation, being asked what her immediate thoughts were after her resignation. She replied with the following “I’m very happy to be putting this particular job behind me. Some people may see me as a coward for not standing up to the fans, but when you’re the focus of their insults, with specific aims at your gender, you have to take a stand. By resigning I feel like I’ve made my point very clear, the fans at Olympic Charleroi don’t deserve to watch my team play football”. The interview blew up on social media, with many people supporting Johnston in her decision and praising her for her courage to speak out on the matter.

The end of the 2025-2026 season would come to an end with Lottie not finding a new club. Although applying to many open vacancies throughout the back end of the season, she was unsuccessful. Many clubs didn’t offer her the job due to the controversy surrounding the events that occurred at Olympic Charleroi, but this didn’t deter her from being active and applying for any job that she thought she’d be able to obtain.

The story of Lottie Johnston

Charlotte (Lottie) Johnston was born in London on September 24th 1998 to a single mother. In her early life she showed promise and signs that she could potentially become a global superstar in the women’s game. Chelsea noticed this and signed her to their academy at age 6. By the time she was 16 years old, she had already broken into the u21’s team and went on to break the record for most goals scored in a single season for the academy, scoring 44 goals in all competitions. At age 17 she broke into the first team in 2015 after her record breaking season in the u21's, where she flourished, finishing the season with 10 goals and 15 assists. She featured in the team that included the likes of Millie Bright, Fran Kirby and Eni Aluko to name a few. At the same time she was scoring for fun for the national youth teams, being a major asset of the team that finished 3rd at the u20 World Cup. The performances for Chelsea and the England youth teams turned eyes, and in the 2017-2018 season, she was signed by the North Carolina Courage for a record fee of $200k. She went on to win the NWSL Shield in her debut season, mainly appearing from the bench, but when she did start, she lived up to the fee that the Courage had paid for her, scoring 8 goals and assisting 14 from the left wing. The Courage would eventually be beaten by the Portland Thorns in the Championship Final 1-0 after winning their playoff semi final. Her time spent at the Courage though was plagued with injury, with the most severe being an ACL tear in the 2020-2021 season, which put her out of contention for the women’s euros with England, who inevitably went on to win the tournament. In the following season she was sold to Birmingham City women on a free transfer after her contract had expired. She showed brief glimpses of quality but couldn’t save Birmingham from relegation as they were relegated to the WSL 2. She spent another two seasons at Birmingham City, just missing out on promotion in the 22-23 season to Bristol city, and 5th place in the 23-24 season. Unfortunately she would not see out the end of the 23-24 season as she picked up another major ACL injury, and at the end of the season she would announce her retirement at age 25. Lottie never made an appearance for the national team, although performances during her time at Chelsea and the first season at North Carolina Courage merited a call up, but later injuries only hindered this further. During the duration of her second injury she had been completing her coaching badges, eventually obtaining her UEFA C license. As of 21st July 2025, she is the current manager at Olympic Charleroi men’s team in Belgium's second tier.

2025-2026 season part one:

After a strong pre season, Olympic Charleroi had a shaky first 10 games of the season, picking up 12 points from 10 games through August and September, forcing Johnstone’s hand and making her adopt a more defensively solid 5-2-1-2 formation from her more familiar 4-3-3. A winless October followed, and Johnston's side would be knocked out of the Croky Cup in the seventh round 3-2 by RAAL La Louvière in extra time. There were also murmurs of rumours of a potential takeover of the club by a mystery consortium with promises to pay off the debt that Olympic Charleroi found themselves in, but no official bid had been made for the club as of yet. Sitting in 14th after fifteen games on 14 points, Charleroi’s main focus for the rest of the season would be to try their best to avoid relegation, but with the board reducing the available wage budget, they would most likely have to make do with the players they have at their disposal, and potentially look to their youth teams for emerging stars, like full back Mike Bettinger and striker Vito Kopic, who after 11 appearances had accumulated 5 goals in the under 21’s. On Christmas Eve, the team received a not so welcome gift, as the board informed the team that the club had been placed under a transfer embargo due to their financial standing until the end of June 2026. Doubts had started to form in Johnstone’s mind as to whether the decision to take on the job at Olympic Charleroi had been a good one, which were only more deeply seeded at the news of the transfer embargo being put in place. Belgian football, especially for the teams not competing in Europe, was known to be a struggle financially with quite a few teams with insecure finances, even administration which was the case with Westerlo. 

Johnston had a huge decision to make, whether to battle through with Olympic Charleroi and their dire financial situation, or to move onto pastures greener. She knew that teams would have their doubts about her severe lack of experience, but in her case, it was either jump ship or go down with it. She had been keeping a close eye on the news, and had seen that many top teams like Spurs and Wolfsburg were looking for new managers but she had to be realistic. KRC Genk and Sint Truiden were both searching for a new manager in the top flight of Belgium as they were performing well below where they should be in the table, and Lottie figured she may have an outside chance of potentially succeeding in getting the role, but all focus was to be set on the next game against Royal Francs Borains at home. Anything less than a win would set Lottie’s plans in motion. In the pre match press conference, she was asked about whether she was thinking of leaving before the situation at the club got worse, and to that she answered “Look, I’m only here to talk about the upcoming fixture on Sunday. If you have any questions regarding anything else then please, the door is right there” before ending the press conference early and returning to her office. Sunday comes around and Lottie’s nerves aren’t exactly at ease, as she knew that if they didn’t win she would all but definitely leave the club. Niklo Dailly settled the nerves after converting a cross from full back Luca Ferrara in the 20th minute, but Borains answered back with a perfectly placed header from Slobodan Stanojlović ten minutes later. The half ended one apiece, with Charleroi dominating possession but Borains’ counter attacking prowess had been a major threat, creating an xG of 0.65, compared to Charleroi’s measly 0.38. Lottie went into the second half with a quiet confidence, after a rousing team talk, but Borains came storming out the blocks, bombarding the Charleroi goal and putting them under huge pressure, but thanks to backup keeper David Vitásek, the score remained 1-1. Charleroi managed to get back in control of the game, with substitute Kevin Kis being fouled in the penalty area, and on loan Raphaël Eyongo smashed it down the middle to make it 2-1 in the 66th minute. Borains continued to batter Charleroi’s goal but to no avail, and the game ended 2-1. Johnstone’s reign at Olympic Charleroi would continue, for now.