The FPA guests for Tuesday’s game against Shrewsbury Town are Trevor Swinburne, Paul Miller, Gavin Gordon, Phil Hubbard, Matt Carmichael and John Hawley.
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. He was in the Sunderland team which won the FA Youth Cup in 1968/69 when they defeated West Bromwich Albion, despite losing the first leg 3-0. The Black Cats won the second leg 6-0 in a remarkable turnaround. During his time at Sunderland, he was under study to the great Jim Montgomery whose form restricted Trevor's first-team appearances. 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 and was the driving force in developing the organisation before stepping down from his role.
Lincoln City record:
Football League: 34 appearances
Football League Cup: three appearances
Football League Trophy: three appearances
Gavin Gordon
Gavin Gordon was a striker who signed for the Imps as an 18-year-old in November 1997 from Hull City. In his first season at Sincil Bank he helped City gain promotion from Division Three and continued to feature regularly in the team during his time with the club. In the first half of the 2000/01 he scored regularly and was leading scorer netting 10 goals before being sold to Cardiff City for a reported six-figure fee. Gavin, who had made his senior debut for Hull at the age of 16, later played for Notts County and Crawley Town.
Debut vs Swansea City away, 8 November 1997
Lincoln City record:
Football League: 87 appearances plus 12 as substitute, 28 goals
FA Cup: Nine appearances, two goals
Football League Cup: two appearances, one goal
Paul Miller
Paul Miller played in midfield who first made his name with Wimbledon where he spent seven years. He made 80 top flight appearances for the Dons including their first ever Premier League match against Leeds United. Paul moved on to Bristol Rovers before signing for the Imps in August 1997. He spent four years at Sincil Bank, making over 100 first-team appearances and was a member of the 1997/98 promotion winning team. He has since continued to live in the Lincoln area.
Debut vs Chester City, away August 9 1997
Lincoln City record:
Football League: 93 appearances plus 22 as substitute, 11 goals
FA Cup: five appearances plus one as substitute
Football League Cup: four appearances
Phil Hubbard
Phil Hubbard is a Lincoln-born player who was one of the Imps’ first apprentices following the introduction of a youth set-up in the mid-1960s. He made his initial appearances for the club as a forward but played in several different positions including right back during his time at Sincil Bank. He became a regular first-team player in 1968/69 and finished as leading scorer in 1970/71 when he was voted Player of the Season. Phil continued to score regularly in 1971/72 and by Christmas had 18 goals, including a hat-trick in a memorable 4-1 win over Blackburn Rovers in the League Cup. Phil was then sold to Norwich City, then in the Second Division. He moved on to play for Grimsby Town before returning to Sincil Bank in August 1976. Phil spent three further seasons with City and had a spell playing in the USA before signing for Boston United in November 1979.
Debut vs Chester, away 19 February 1966
Lincoln City record:
Football League: 250 appearances plus 11 as substitute, 53 goals
FA Cup: 16 appearances plus two as substitute, one goal
Football League Cup: 16 appearances, six goals
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.
Debut vs Scunthorpe United, home 19 August 1989
Lincoln City record
Football League: 113 appearances plus 20 as substitute, 18 goals
FA Cup: four appearances plus one as substitute
Football League Cup: nine appearances plus one as substitute, one goal
John Hawley
John Hawley was a young professional with Lincoln City in the 1960s. He mainly appeared as a winger playing for the reserves in the North Midlands League and the A team in the Lincolnshire League, and also played in the FA Youth Cup for the Imps. John moved on in the summer of 1968 and signed for Corby Town. He later played for several local clubs including Boston United and Worksop Town.
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