Players who didn't play

Well done, Jon. We can usually rely on you for information about friendly fixtures. That's why I try to emphasise "competitive first team football" (but not including the Devon Bowl/St Lukes!).

Our discussion about Gordon Duck made me speculate about our descendants in fifty years time unearthing Marc Walton, another Torquay player from the North East who never made a full first team appearance.

Admittedly, Walton was only at the club for a few weeks during the early part of 2006. He arrived from Newcastle United, sat on the bench (without playing), made the half-time 50/50 draw on one occasion and promptly disappeared. I saw a Northern League game the following season between West Allotment Celtic and Whitley Bay and – you’ve guessed it – Marc Walton remained on the bench for the entire ninety minutes. You can find him at blythspartansafc.co.uk/new_php/?p=298

That got me thinking about other players who’ve been registered without making an appearance in the league, a league-organised cup competition or a FA competition. This means adult players rather than youth trainees/apprentices.

I guess there’s several categories: those who came for a fair time and never played; those who were upgraded from youth terms at the age of eighteen but didn’t make the team; those who passed through on a short-term basis (maybe on a contract - or not – but who had more status than a triallist).

Can we attempt to make a list? It’s no good referring to the usual resources because that’s just the point – they didn’t play so they’re not listed. So we’re down to memory, old team pictures, programmes and anything else we might have up our sleeves.

I’ll start with one from this season – Ben Joyce. Then, a few years back there was James Bittner, the goalkeeper who was Andy Marriott’s understudy throughout 2005/2006 (just as Don Payne in 1972/73 acted as cover for Mick Mahoney without playing).

Talking of goalkeepers, am I right in thinking that Derek Bellotti was registered as emergency cover when he moved to Devon following his playing career with Gillingham, Southend, Charlton and Swansea? I'm pretty certain he wasn't on a contract but I'm sure he was registered without ever playing. Oddly his son Ross (now playing for WBB) makes it on to the list of Exeter City first-teamers having played in a emergency as a sixteen-year-old. Now, of course, he publishes Exeter's programme.

Referring again to 2005/2006, Nick Skinner was on the bench on a number of occasions without getting a kick. Indeed it's odd to think that, whilst thirty-odd players appeared during that season, Bittner and Skinner – who were around throughout – did not. There were even more players during the disastrous 2006/2007 season – in excess of forty – but two who were registered but didn’t play were Nathan Simpson and John Wheeldon. Different circumstances, timescales, terms and conditions to Bittner and Skinner – and arguably in far more marginal categories – but they too were registered without being sighted.

Any more?