The FPA guests for Saturday’s home game against Reading are host Matt Carmichael, plus guests Ron Harbertson, Trevor Swinburne, David Gilbert and Gavin Gordon.
Matt Carmichael
Matt Carmichael was signed by Colin Murphy in August 1989.
At the time he was planning to join the Met Police after having previously served in the British Army but Colin offered him a professional contract and his career changed track.
He was initially used as a striker and scored on his debut against Scunthorpe United but later converted to centre back.
He was voted the supporters player of the season in 1991-92 and made over 150 first team appearances before moving on to Scunthorpe in July 1993.
Matt later played for Preston, Mansfield, Doncaster and Darlington. Matt 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
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
Trevor Swinburne
Trevor Swinburne began his long goalkeeping career as an apprentice with Sunderland in the late 1960s and finished it with the Imps 20 years later.
During his time at Sunderland he was understudy to Jim Montgomery and made several first team appearances before moving on to Carlisle United in the summer of 1977.
Trevor made over 250 first team appearances for Carlisle during his six years with the club and was an ever-present in their team which won promotion to the old Second Division in 1981-82.
He then played for Brentford and Leeds United before signing for City in February 1986 as a replacement for Stuart Naylor. Trevor made regular appearances for the Imps until retiring in the summer of 1987.
He was the first chairman of the Lincoln City Former Players Association when it was formed in 2017, was a key figure in developing the organisation and has recently returned to the committee.
Lincoln City record
Debut: vs Blackpool, away 25 February 1986
Football League: 34 appearances
FA Cup: 3 appearances
Football League Cup: 3 appearances
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
Gavin Gordon
Gavin Gordon was a striker who made his senior debut for Hull City just two months after his 16th birthday and went on to make regular first team appearances for the Tigers before he was sold to the Imps in November 1997 when he was still just 18-years-old.
In his first season, he helped City win promotion and was a first team regular. In 2000-01 he scored 10 goals by early December and was then sold to Cardiff City for a six-figure fee. He later played for Notts County. Gavin is chairman of the Former Players Association.
Lincoln City record:
Debut: vs Swansea City, away 8 November 1997
Football League: 87 appearances plus 12 as substitute, 28 goals
FA Cup: 9 appearances, 2 goals
Football League Cup: 2 appearances, 1 goal
Other: 4 appearances plus 1 as substitute
