David Campbell (1993/94) v Carlisle United
I bet you didn’t expect to see an international on the list, did you? David Campbell was on the books of Nottingham Forest when called up to the Northern Ireland squad for the World Cup in 1986. He played against Brazil and earned ten caps in total. He had a brief spell with us on loan from Burnley, and Keith Alexander handed him a debut against Carlisle as we lost the Northern Area Semi-Final. Played four more times for the Imps, scoring as we beat Hereford 3-1.
Matt Carbon (1992/93) v Scunthorpe Utd
Matt Carbon came off the same talent conveyor belt as Ben Dixon and Darren Huckerby, under the watchful eye of Keith Alexander. When Keith progressed to team manager, he brought Matt Carbon through with him, handing him his debut against Scunthorpe as we drew 2-2 in the three-team group stage. He was a powerful and commanding defender, and it was widely assumed he would go on and have a decent career. After scoring 10 league goals in 66 starts and surviving Alexander, Sam Ellis and Steve Wicks, he was sold to Derby County for £385,000.
David Parkin (1986/87) v Hartlepool
Youth team graduate David Parkin played twice for the Imps, once as we drew 0-0 with Hartlepool in the Freight Rover Trophy and again in the GMVC season against Weymouth. Both times he came on as a sub, replacing Gary Wets in the first game and Steve Buckley in the second.
Errington Kelly (1982/83) v Chester City
Kelly joined City on a non-contract basis in 1982/83, playing two league matches, but his debut came in the 3-1 Semi-Final win against Chester City. He was brought in after the board resigned, and Colin Murphy was able to sign players but wasn’t able to make an impression. Either side of his Imps spell, he played for Bristol Rovers and Bristol City, controversial at the time, and later had a decent spell with Peterborough.
Chris Moyses (1982/83) v Scunthorpe United
Chirs played the final four games of the 1983/84 season after coming through the youth team, but his debut for the club came the year before in the run to the final of the FLT. He made three starts, the first against Scunthorpe, as well as appearing against Sheffield United and Grimsby. As I’m sure you know, he later came to the club as a director and manager.
Stuart Hall (1982/83) v Norwich City
Hall appeared against Norwich City in the FLT as a sub for Gordon Hobson. It was the apprentice’s only appearance for the Imps, but not a bad one – Norwich were in Division One at the time, playing against the likes of Liverpool and Nottingham Forest every week. They boasted John Deeham, Martin O’Neill and future England stopper Chris Woods in their side.
Paul Brown (1981/82) v Scunthorpe United
Brown was another youth team graduate, and he made his only Imps appearance in the first season of the Trophy, also against Norwich. The following season he replaced Chris Moyses late on in the Scunthorpe game but didn’t appear again for City.
David McVay (1981/82) v Notts County
Like Adam Jackson last season, McVay was a senior professional who made his debut in the Football league Group Cup, the early version of the trophy. He signed after a successful trial on a short term deal, having previously played for Notts County and Peterborough, amongst others. Despite being ever-present during his time at the Bank, he only managed a handful of appearances before being told he hadn’t earned a contract. After the game, he faired very well. He was a keen writer, and he kept a diary during his time at Notts County documenting his struggles as a lower league player. Those diaries were later turned into a book and a player called “Diary of a Football Nobody.”
Steve Cammack (1981/82) v Notts County
Cammack signed from Scunthorpe United in the summer of 1981 and made his Imps debut in the competition by virtue of it being played ahead of the big kick-off. His Imps record didn’t end up being great – he claimed he was played wide right and didn’t like it, although he scored six goals in 18 league appearances. We paid £20,000 (around £78,000 in today’s money) and David Hughes for Cammack, and a year later sold him for £3000 (about £11k with inflation) and David Hughes.