Here are those players that have worn the number 12 shirt in competitive games since squad numbers were brought into the Football League in the 1999/2000 season.
Kenny Lunt (Jul 99 – Jun 00)
We look at Lunt’s career in the number 4 column, he wore the number 12 in his third season with the first team.
Efe Sodje (Jul 00 – Jun 02)
Sodje would sign for the club in the summer of 2000 from Luton Town on a free transfer, making over 100 appearances in his 3 seasons at the club before joining Huddersfield Town. He would also play for Yeovil Town, Southend United, Gillingham, Bury (as a player/coach), Barrow and Macclesfield Town (where he would be John Askey’s assistant before registering also as a player). He was sentenced to 18 months in prison alongside 2 of his brothers for fraud.
Neil Sorvel (Jul 02 – Jun 03)
We looked at Sorvel’s career in the number 7 column, he wore the number 12 in his fourth season in his second spell at the club.
Lee Bell (Jul 03 – Jun 06)
We also looked at Bell’s career in the number 7 column, he wore the number 12 in his final 3 seasons in his first spell.
Luke Varney (Jul 06 – Jun 07)
Varney joined the Alex from Quorn in 2003, making over 100 appearances for the club before a £2m+ move to Charlton Athletic in the summer of 2007. He would also play for Derby County, Sheffield Wednesday, Blackpool, Portsmouth, Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers, Ipswich Town and Burton Albion before joining his most recent club Cheltenham Town in September 2018 and is now a free agent.
Ben Rix (Jul 07 – Jun 09)
Rix would come through the Academy, making his debut in October 2001 and he would go on to make over 150 appearances for the first team, spending time on loan at Scarborough and Bournemouth before leaving the Alex in January 2009. He would also play for St. Blazey and Nea Salamina in Greece before retiring in March 2010.
Mat Mitchel-King (Jul 09 – Jun 10)
Mitchel-King joined the club in the summer of 2009 from Histon, making 51 appearances in his 2 seasons with the club. He would also play for AFC Wimbledon, Dartford, St Neots Town, Hemel Hempstead Town, Chesham United, Mildenhall Town and Hayes & Yeading United before retiring in the summer of 2018.
Lee Bell (Jul 10 – Jun 11)
As above, Bell wore the number in the first season of his second spell with the club.
Danny Shelley (Jul 11 – Jun 12)
Shelley came through the Academy, making his debut for the club in December 2008, making almost 80 appearances before he was released in the summer of 2012. He has been playing for current club Leek Town since then.
Oliver Turton (Jul 12 – Jun 13)
We looked at Turton’s career in the number 2 column, he wore the number 12 in his third season as a first-team player.
George Ray (Jul 13 – Jun 14)
We looked at Ray’s career in the number 5 column, he wore the number 12 in his third season as a first-team player.
Lauri Dalla Valle (Dec 14 – Jun 16)
Dalla Valle joined the club in the middle of the 14/15 season having spent time on loan at the club during the 12/13 season, making almost 50 appearances across the two spells with the club. After leaving the Alex in the summer of 2016, he would also play for Serbian side Zemun before retiring in 2018.
Eddie Nolan (Jul 17 – Jun 19)
We looked at Nolan’s career in the number 6 column, he wore the number 12 in the first 2 of his 3 seasons at the Alex so far.
Paul Green (Jul 19 – Jun 20)
The latest player to wear the number was Irish international midfielder Green who joined the club initially on loan in January 2018 from Oldham Athletic before making the move permanently that summer. He made almost 80 appearances for the club before he was not offered a new deal this summer.
