Lincoln Trust Joint Coaches for Championship Return

What happened:

Watch the highlights:

Lincoln City are heading into their Championship campaign with two joint head coaches, Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen, after winning promotion to the second tier for the first time in 66 years. The Guardian reports that the pair have replaced Michael Skubala, who led Lincoln to 103 points and promotion before leaving for Bristol City.

The appointment keeps continuity at a club that has otherwise gone through a summer of change. Shaw and Cohen were already inside the building as assistants, and the club moved toward promoting from within while the pair were preparing their own case to the hierarchy. That gives Lincoln a rare structure for the level: not a single manager with an assistant, but a shared head-coach model.

Why it matters:

Joint coaching setups in English football carry baggage because they are uncommon and often judged quickly. The Guardian notes that Shaw and Cohen are trying to avoid comparisons with Liverpool’s ill-fated Roy Evans and Gerard Houllier pairing. That reference is less about identical circumstances and more about perception: if results dip, the structure will be scrutinized before the details of the performances are.

Lincoln’s logic appears to be stability. A promoted side entering a stronger division usually has to make quick choices about identity, recruitment and game management. By keeping two coaches who helped build the promotion season, Lincoln are betting that internal knowledge is worth more than the symbolic clean break of a higher-profile external hire.

Tournament impact:

The Championship opener gives the story its competitive edge. Lincoln begin at Middlesbrough on Saturday, and the contrast is sharp. The Guardian reports Middlesbrough have spent more than £20m on summer signings, while Lincoln have spent a quarter of that across their 142-year history. That comparison frames Lincoln’s season: they are not just adapting to a higher division, they are entering a league with very different financial gravity.

That does not automatically make Lincoln overmatched, but it clarifies the challenge. Promoted teams can survive by being coherent early, taking points before opponents fully adjust, and turning continuity into an advantage. For Lincoln, the joint-coach model will be judged not by novelty but by whether it produces clear decisions under pressure: selection, substitutions, set-piece planning and how they manage difficult away spells.

What to watch:

The first weeks will show whether the arrangement looks streamlined or congested. If Lincoln start well, Shaw and Cohen’s shared authority can be framed as a modern, collaborative solution. If results go against them, every touchline interaction and tactical call may be read through the structure.

Confidence:

Confirmed by the source: Lincoln are back in the second tier, Shaw and Cohen are joint head coaches, Skubala left for Bristol City after a 103-point promotion season, and Lincoln open away to Middlesbrough. Still unclear: how responsibilities are divided between the two coaches and whether the model holds once the Championship schedule tightens.