Impish Lincoln City remind us why we love football

It is about an hour between Guiseley in West Yorkshire and Burnley in Lancashire yet the greatest FA Cup story of our times has been four months in the making.

When Theo Robinson scored the winning goal for Lincoln against fellow non-league side Guiseley in mid-October to reach the first round proper of the FA Cup, little did the Jamaican forward know his old club would still be going strong in the hoary old tournament four months on.

Robinson returned to league football with League One Southend United on the final day of the January transfer window after scoring in a 3-1 win over Brighton in round four, but must be slightly bemused at missing out on all of these miraculous happenings.

Altrincham, Oldham, Ipswich, Brighton and Burnley - with the fourth-best home record in the Premier League - have all been left crestfallen by Danny Cowley’s have-a-go heroes from the East Midlands. They are the first non-league side since Telford in 1985 to conquer four league sides in the competition.

Lincoln had one shot on goal against their Premier League hosts during the match, but made it count in the final minute of normal time courtesy of Sean Raggett’s header that managed to make it over the line before the Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton could claw it back out. Somebody up there must like them.

The motto on the club’s crest is of the Lincoln Imp, apparently a creature of legend sent to Lincoln Cathedral to do the work of Satan only to be turned to stone by an angel. A greater being seemed to be a Lincoln fan on Saturday lunchtime at Turf Moor amid some not-so-angelic creatures.

There certainly felt like some sort of divine intervention after Joey Barton’s devilish conduct during the second half.

Barton, who was bundled out of Rangers before Christmas after a serious disagreement with his team-mates, quite obviously tried to get Lincoln's 6'4” striker Matt Rhead sent off after stepping on his foot before running into his elbow and performing a disgraceful dive. The referee Graham Scott missed it, but crucially didn't miss Raggett's goal.

Like the Katie Hopkins of football he is, Barton tried to excuse himself on Twitter despite plumbing the depths.

The Football Association should do the game a favour by looking at Barton’s wretched behaviour in attempting to get a bloke sent off who only plays the game for love and affection rather than the monstrous earnings Barton has accumulated over 15 years at the peak of the sport.

If Lincoln show us why we love our national sport, Barton’s unacceptable behaviour reminds us why we don’t. Not that Barton should be allowed to detract from the celebration and anticipation that will lavish Lincoln before the quarter-finals on the weekend of March 11.

Cowley is just one of the stories of a club founded 133 years ago, but who lost their right to league football when they were relegated from League Two five years ago.

This time last year, Cowley and his brother Nicky were teachers, but they have put the classroom on hold to pursue a masterclass in football management. A year on he is leading the first non-league side into an FA Cup quarter-final since Queens Park Rangers in 1914.

Cowley is following in the footsteps of the late England manager Graham Taylor, who began his management career in the city with a population nudging 100,000 at the age of 27. He led them to the Fourth Division title, now League Two, in 1976 before Watford and Elton John appreciated his considerable talent. Opportunity knocks for the Cowley brothers.

If anybody has a problem with experience, it is worth remembering Jose Mourinho was recruited by Bobby Robson to work an interpreter in Lisbon after starting as a school coach.

Being top of the National League and apparently on the rise, League Two seems more like their natural habitat, but the FA Cup has them believing there is no ceiling to aspiration. It is difficult to argue the league is more important than this.

Much has been made of Paris Saint-Germain flogging Barcelona on Tuesday and Bayern Munich gutting Arsenal the following night creating genuine shocks in the Champions League, but these four clubs are among the seven richest in football.

It is just a case of new money beating old money among the blue-chip brands of the world game. Lincoln’s astonishing rise represents no money beating much more money.

While large swathes of the Premier League view the FA Cup as a distraction, including Burnley where survival in the Premier League is of paramount importance, it continues to provide a vital umbilical cord between clubs and their communities.

The scenes on a large screen outside Lincoln's Sincil Bank when Raggett’s winning goal made it over the Burnley line on 89 minutes were greeted with greater glee than Brexit. Lincolnshire recorded one of the largest anti-EU results in last June’s referendum, but they are not so keen on making an FA Cup exit.

They will be number one in the draw for the quarter-finals on Sunday night. They are motoring along like a spruced up Ford Fiesta in the company of football’s genuine Lincolns.

With Middlesbrough, Millwall and Chelsea the only confirmed sides through to the last eight, there remains the tantalising prospect this story has yet another twist in the tale.

Can you imagine the anticipation in Lincoln if they land a home match with Millwall?

Lincoln earned £12,500 for reaching the first round proper of the tournament, but will collect £360,000 from the FA’s prize fund before live television and receipts are added on.

Yet this means so much more than money. These are the days of Lincoln's lives.

The magic of the FA Cup is well and truly alive with such glorious escapology.