Longest serving current player

[Padz]

Seeing the NLFL forum on longest serving players got me thinking

Who is our longest serving (unbroken) first team player currently?

Liam/Gunny ?

[ChrisB]

Liam Malone - first game 02/12/06 v Hanwell Town
Mark Bell - first game 24/03/07 v Brook House
Andy Gunn & Darren Pond - first game 18/08/07 v Bracknell Town

Strange, they all seem to have been 'fixtures' in the 1st XI for much longer!

In terms of appearances...
Baird (60), Ballard (157), Barisic (15), Bell (108), Brooks (49), Clarke (41), Davis (96), Douglas (7), Emery (4), Gunn (114), Janes (37), Knight (17), Lyon (64), Malone (142), Morris (1), Perpetuini (25), Pond (112), Puddy (8), Savage (63), Steele (19).

[claire]

Well done Chris, knew you'd know - we were wondering if Mark Bell has actually been at the club the longest as he played for the Youth?

[ChrisB]

Mark Bell, Steve Davis and Mark Janes all came through that same Youth team didn't they?

Hope you were watching Hearts v Celtic

[claire]

Yes of course, I don't know which of them would have joined first.

(We were there, very pleasing!)

[Duncan Colwell]

Hi Claire & Chris, Merry Xmas to you & all at City & a Happy New Year.

In answer to your longest serving player, Mark Bell was playing for the Colts at U'11 & 12 I think, before going to Ox. Utd. I managed to get him back when he was released by them aged 16.

I brought Steve Davis to the club from Quarry Rovers aged 15 to play in the Colts U'16 team knowing his potential & in preparation for the Allied Counties Youth Team.

I tried at the same time to bring Mark Janes from Quarry as well, he decided to go elsewhere at the time. I eventually managed to get him as a 17 year old.

So I would say Mark Bell has the longest connection, but Steve Davis, (apart from his spell at Banbury) would be the current longest serving player still playing.

[Ballards mum]

Ballard signed for the colts at under 13's then left city at the age of 21 only to return last season, so i think he might be the longest.