Free transfer and FA Cup 1st Round
During the 1987/88 season a strange decision was made by neighbours Lincoln City, they decided to give their striker Tony Simmons a free transfer. Possibly even more surprising was that the ex-Rotherham and Queens Park Rangers player Simmons joined Lincoln United.

Without a doubt this was the most important and influential signing ever made by United, as Simmons' goals were the catalyst for the success of the next seven years. The goals and class of Simmons helped the club to three promotions in four years though the team was nowhere near a one-man show.

The glory trail began in the 1990/91 campaign when the Central Midlands League's Wakefield Cup was added to the trophy cabinet. Next in was the Central Midlands Supreme Divisional Championship in 1991/2, it was also during this season that United reached the FA Cup First Round Proper but lost 0-7 away to Huddersfield Town; still, the players enjoyed the day and were featured on BBC's Match Of The Day programme. Promotion followed to the Northern Counties Eastern Division One where they won the title at their first attempt in 1992/3.

Unibond Division One
The Club missed out on a third successive promotion in 1993/4 and instead United had to wait another season before winning the Northern Counties Premier Division. This granted the Whites entry to the Unibond Division One. In their first and second seasons in their new divisions they finished third. At the time, the top two teams only were promoted hence United suffered heartbreak, though not worse than in their second season when they again missed out, this time by goal difference.

As a new century dawned, the dream of reaching the Unibond Premier Division and subsequently the Football Conference was placed on hold. In January 2000, manager John Wilkinson, who had steered the club through their recent success and near misses, quit to join local rivals Grantham Town.

Departure
The departure of Wilkinson and the players coincided with the resignation of the chairman. So in January 2000 a depleted club existed at Ashby Avenue; Peter Doyle was appointed as the new chairman and he in turn immediately appointed ex-Sheffield Wednesday player Ian Musson as manager. It was simply a case of making it to the end of the season as best they could, fortunately relegation was not a possibility.

A new era dawned for the club, however the 2000/01 season that had promised much got off to a bad start. Ultimately it was Musson who paid the penalty by receiving the sack in November 2000. In Musson's place came former manager Allen Crombie as caretaker manager before being given the post on a permanent basis.

The 2000/01 season seemingly saw Lincoln United progress towards the fulfillment of their desire to make United a senior non-league side in the Conference division. The club has in place a good youth structure which has already seen their players reach the later stages of the FA Youth Cup plus various players have attracted attention from Football League clubs. October 2000 also saw the opening of the club's official web site.