This season’s FA Cup\u00a0will be profoundly remembered for it’s\u00a0giant killers. Eastleigh embarrassed League One’s Swindon.\u00a0Leeds United\u00a0and AFC Wimbledon fell\u00a0to a\u00a0spirited Sutton United, while Millwall\u00a0defeated Premier League\u00a0title-holders Leicester City.<\/p>\n
Lincoln City, however, still remain\u00a0in the world’s oldest cup competition after defeating\u00a0Guiseley, Altrincham, Oldham, Ipswich Town, Brighton\u00a0& Hove Albion and Burnley. The Imps are the first non-league side to appear in the quarter-final round\u00a0since 1914 and reportedly made \u00a32.5 million\u00a0thanks their FA Cup journey so far.<\/p>\n
Formed in 1884, the club\u00a0have\u00a0predominantly been a Football League club, mainly featuring in the\u00a0third and fourth tiers of English football. Playing at the 10,000-seat capacity Sincil Bank, the Lincolnshire club have been on an emotional rollercoaster during much of their history; experiencing financial difficulties, spirited\u00a0play-off campaigns and the odd cup run including three appearances in the FA Cup Round of 16.<\/p>\n
Their 127-year stay in the Football League ended\u00a0during the 2011-12 season, following a tragic final-day\u00a0drop after losing to Aldershot\u00a0while\u00a0relegation rivals Barnet won. Since then Lincoln have\u00a0become a mid-table side, occasionally\u00a0flirting with\u00a0relegation until brothers Danny and Nicky Crowley’s\u00a0appointments last summer.<\/p>\n
The Crowley’s takeover has seen a vast improvement in the team’s fortunes, with Lincoln City currently six points clear at the top\u00a0of the National League and enjoying a historic FA Cup run.<\/p>\n
With only one loss in 2017 (a 3-0 loss to Barrow)\u00a0across all competitions, the National League outfit are six points clear of second-place Forest Green Rovers.<\/strong>\u00a0As Bayern Munich put five past Arsenal on Tuesday night, Lincoln continued their title surge with a 4-0 win over Braintree just 50 miles away.<\/p>\n Outside of their FA Cup exploits, Crowley’s men are also in an FA Trophy semi-final against York City, with the first leg being played only days after their quarter-final tie at the Emirates.\u00a0Lincoln have proven to stand up against the face of adversity, meaning\u00a0Arsene Wenger’s men\u00a0should not\u00a0take the non-league club lightly.<\/p>\n While Theo Robinson left for Southend United shortly after scoring against Brighton, there are still\u00a0plenty of threats elsewhere. Leading club goalscorer Matt Rhead will spearhead any Lincoln City attack, supported by creative attacking midfielder Nathan Arnold, who previously scored an injury-time winner over Ipswich Town.<\/p>\n Paul Farman has proven to be a reliable shot-stopper. On-loan Peterbrough and former Spurs\u00a0striker Lee Angol scored a mid-week hat-trick against Braintree, but will unfortunately not be able to take part at the Emirates after playing in the tournament already with the Posh.<\/p>\n There are not many, sadly. The most famous figure would be West Brom’s Gareth McAuley, who spent two years at the club and appeared 77 times\u00a0from 2004 to 2006. Elsewhere, former England international\u00a0Mick Harford started his career at the club in the late 1970’s.<\/p>\n In terms of managers, former England manager Graham Taylor guided the Imps to a Fourth Division league title in 1974 before managing Watford. Former Celtic and Chelsea striker Chris Sutton was appointed as manager in September 2009 before leaving for personal reasons, and further\u00a0reported disagreements with Lincoln’s boardroom 12 months later.<\/p>\n Main Photo:<\/p>\nKey players<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Notable former players and managers<\/strong><\/h3>\n