The FPA guests for the New Year's Day home game against Rotherham United are host Trevor Swinburne, with guests Ron Harbertson, Grant Brown, Dean West and David Gilbert.
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
Ron Harbertson
Ron Harbertson is one of the oldest former Imps players, having recently celebrated his 95th birthday and is 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
Grant Brown
Grant Brown made a record number of appearances during his lengthy career with the Imps having first signed on loan from Leicester City in August 1989 as part of the deal which saw Tony James sold to the Foxes.
Grant immediately established himself as a regular in the back four and although he went back to Leicester when his loan ended in November 1989, he returned soon afterwards and signed on a permanent basis for what at the time was reported as a record fee paid by City of £60,000.
Grant went on to make over 450 senior appearances for the Imps and was given a testimonial in 2000 when Middlesbrough visited Sincil Bank. He was voted Player of the Season in 2001-02 which was his final season as a player.
Grant later returned to take charge of City’s youth team and was also first team assistant manager for a time and on three occasions served as caretaker manager. He finally left Sincil Bank in the summer of 2016.
Lincoln City record:
Debut: vs Aldershot, away 26 August 1989
Football League: 401 appearances + 6 as substitute, 15 goals
FA Cup: 18 appearances
Football League Cup: 22 appearances, 1 goal
Other: 21 appearances plus 1 as substitute, 2 goals
Dean West
Dean West made his debut for City in the final game of the 1990-91 season while still a trainee and scored in a 6-2 home win over Carlisle.
Soon afterwards he signed a professional contract and quickly established himself in the first team appearing at right back and in midfield making over 100 appearances for the Imps.
Dean moved to Bury in September 1995 and later played for Burnley completing over 100 first team appearances for both Lancashire clubs.
He briefly returned to City as the start of 2004-05 season and later played clubs including Boston United and King’s Lynn.
Lincoln City record:
Debut: vs Carlisle United, home 11 May 1991
Football League: 97 appearances plus 26 as substitute, 20 goals
FA Cup: 6 appearances, 1 goal
Football League Cup: 11 appearances, 1 goal
Other: 5 appearances plus 2 as substitute, 1 goal
David Gilbert
David 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
