Here are those players that have worn the number 8 shirt in competitive games since squad numbers were brought into the Football League in the 1999/2000 season.
Phil Charnock (Jul 99 – Jun 02)
The first player in this list was left-footed midfielder Charnock who joined the club from Liverpool in December 1996. He was a regular for the club in his first 3 seasons before injuries took over, making almost 200 appearances before leaving for Port Vale in the summer of 2002 following our first relegation from the Championship. He would also play for Bury, Linfield, Ballymena United, Fleetwood Town, Leigh RMI and Mossley before retiring in 2008.
Dave Brammer (Jul 02 – Jun 04)
The Alex signed Brammer from Port Vale in the summer of 2001 for £500,000, spending 3 seasons with the club and captaining the club in both of these 2 seasons. He made over 100 appearances before leaving for Stoke City and he would also play for Millwall and Port Vale. Since retiring, he has become a football agent.
Justin Cochrane (Jul 04 – Jun 06)
The Antigua & Barbuda international joined the club from Hayes in the summer of 2003 on a free transfer and would make over 70 appearances in his 3 seasons at the club. After leaving the club, he spent time at Gillingham, Rotherham United, Yeovil Town, Millwall, Rushden & Diamonds, Aldershot Town, Hayes & Yeading United, Boreham Wood twice and Antigua Barracuda before retiring in 2013. Since retiring, he was a youth coach at Tottenham Hotspur and is currently head-coach of England’s Under-16s.
Michael O’Connor (Jul 06 – Jun 09)
Next on the list is the first Academy graduate as O’Connor was given the number following our relegation from the Championship. He would make almost 100 appearances for the club before spending time at Lincoln City on loan, Scunthorpe United, Rotherham United, Port Vale, Notts County and Lincoln City. He joined Salford City in January this year but didn’t have his contract extended and is now a free agent.
Clayton Donaldson (Jul 09 – Jun 10)
We looked at Donaldson’s career in yesterday’s column, he wore the number 8 for the Alex in his 2nd of 3 seasons with the club.
Luke Murphy (Jul 10 – Jun 13)
The homegrown player made his Alex debut in December 2008 in the first of 186 appearances in the first team, captaining the club in his final season as he lifted the EFL Trophy in April of that season (also scoring in that final). He left for Leeds United in July 2013 for a 7-figure fee with him also spending 18 months on loan at Burton Albion. He has spent the last 2 seasons at Bolton Wanderers and is now a free agent.
Abdul Osman (Jul 13 – Jun 14)
Abdul joined the club from Kerkyra in Greece in the summer of 2012 and made over 80 appearances for the club in his 2 seasons here, captaining the club in this season. After leaving in the summer of 2014, he would play for Partick Thistle and Falkirk before joining current club Queen of the South in October 2019.
Chris Atkinson (Jul 14 – Jun 16)
Atkinson was signed by the Alex as a replacement for Osman following a trial spell over the summer of 2014. He made 37 appearances for the club across his 2 seasons and spent time at Crawley Town on loan, Salford City and is currently playing for Farsley Celtic in the National League North.
James Jones (Jul 16 – Jun 20)
The latest number 8 made his debut for the club in November 2014 as he made almost 200 appearances for the Alex before joining Lincoln City earlier this week.
