The FPA guests for Saturday’s home league opener against Barnsley are Derek Bell, Dave Gilbert and Ron Harbertson, plus Leon Stokes from the Pals Battalion.
Matt Carmichael
Saturday’s host is Matt Carmichael, who is vice-chairman of the Former Players Association.
Lincoln City record:
Debut: vs Scunthorpe, home 19 August 1989
Football League: 113 appearances plus 20 as substitute, 18 goals
FA Cup: 4 appearances plus 1 as substitute
Football League Cup: 9 appearances plus 1 as substitute, 1 goal
Other: 7 appearances plus 1 as substitute, 2 goals
Derek Bell
Derek was a prolific scorer in local football, netting over 200 goals in 1971-72 as a 15-year-old playing in schools football, and also on Saturday afternoons in the Boston League and Sundays in the Lindsey and Kesteven Youth League before joining Derby County as an apprentice.
He moved on to play for Halifax Town and Barnsley before he was signed by City in November, scoring on his debut in a 3-0 home win over Hartlepool.
Derek spent four years at Sincil Bank and continued to score regularly despite the fact that his appearances were restricted by injury. He was leading scorer in 1982-83 with 29 league and cup goals including three hat-tricks. He left Sincil Bank in the summer of 1983 and went on to play for Chesterfield and Scunthorpe.
Lincoln City record:
Debut: vs Hartlepool United, home 30 November 1979
Football League: 69 appearances plus 14 as substitute, 33 goals
FA Cup: 2 appearances plus 1 as substitute
Football League Cup: 10 appearances plus 2 as substitute, 4 goals
Other: 3 appearances, 3 goals
Dave Gilbert
Dave Gilbert was Lincoln born and bred, joining City as an apprentice in the summer of 1979 and becoming a full-time professional two years later.
He was a left-sided midfield player who made his first team debut as a 17-year-old when he came on as a sub at Bury on the final day of 1980-81.
Dave was regularly in the squad during 1981-82 when City came close to earning promotion to what is now the Championship.
He then briefly played for Scunthorpe and was at Boston United before returning to the Football League with Northampton. He went on to play for Grimsby, West Bromwich Albion and then appeared for local clubs including Lincoln United.
Lincoln City record:
Debut: vs Bury, away 4 May 1981 as sub
Football League: 15 appearances plus 15 as substitute, 1 goal
FA Cup: 3 appearances
Football League Cup: 5 appearances
Ron Harbertson
Ron Harbertson is one of the oldest former Imps players at the age of 94 and President of the Former Players Association.
Ron was a forward whose career began at Newcastle United and he went to play for clubs including Bradford City, Brighton, Grimsby and Darlington before he joined City in March 1958 when the club looked doomed to be relegated into the Third Division.
However, the Imps had a dramatic change of form, winning the final six games of the season to avoid the drop with Ron scoring in each of the matches.
He was a regular in the City team before departing to play for Wrexham in March 1960. Ron then had a short spell with Darlington before returning to Sincil Bank for the 1961-62 season. He later played for Grantham.
Lincoln City record:
Debut: vs Liverpool, away 15 March 1958
Football League: 86 appearances, 25 goals
FA Cup: 5 appearances, 1 goal
Football League Cup: 1 appearance, 2 goals
