Adrian Webster (born 6 November 1951) is an English retired footballer who played in England, Canada and the United States.
Webster joined
Colchester United F.C.
Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...
as a fourteen - year-old schoolboy, where he also started his senior career, playing at Colchester for three years from 1968–1971. After leaving Colchester he went on to play for Hillingdon F.C.
When
Bobby Cram moved to Canada in 1972 to become player-coach for the Vancouver Spartans, with him he took two Colchester United players, Adrian Webster and Neil Partner. Webster went on to play with the Spartans for two seasons In the BC Premier League. When the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to:
*North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league
*North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league ba ...
awarded a franchise to the
Seattle Sounders
Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...
for the upcoming 1974 season, Seattle coach
John Best spotted Webster playing in a Cup Final for the Spartans and signed him immediately.
1974 Seattle Sounders: Adrian Webster
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Webster spent six seasons with the Sounders, starting off as a right back. In 1977 now Head Coach Jimmy Gabriel moved Webster into central midfield and made him team captain. That season the Sounders went on to make the play-offs, losing in the final to a New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to
* New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada)
* New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...
side which included the legendary Pelé
Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA ...
. Webster missed a considerable number of games in his last two seasons with the Seattle Sounders owing to injuries.
In 1979, he moved to Major Indoor Soccer League where he played with the Pittsburgh Spirit
Pittsburgh Spirit were an indoor soccer team based in Pittsburgh and were one of the original six teams that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). The Spirit were founded in 1978, suspended operation for the 1980–81 season, then retu ...
. The Spirit sat out the following season and Webster turned down an offer to join Cleveland Force in favour of a move to another new franchise the Phoenix Inferno
The Phoenix Inferno was an American indoor soccer team in Phoenix, Arizona, that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1980 to 1983. In 1983 new ownership renamed the team the Phoenix Pride. The Pride folded at the end of the 1983–1 ...
. During his first season Webster took over as head coach and lead the Inferno into the play-off's. After a poor start to their second season, Webster was sacked. However, Webster stayed in Phoenix and managed an indoor soccer facility for five years. During that time he started a soccer programme at Scottsdale Community College.
In 1989 Adrian joined forces with local property developer Tony Koleski to form the Arizona Condors
The Arizona Condors was an American soccer team founded in 1989 as a member of the Western Soccer League. The team folded following the 1990 season.
History
In January 1989, the amateur Arizona Condors entered the Western Soccer League as an exp ...
, playing in the South Division of the 1989 Western Soccer League
Final league standings for the 1989 Western Soccer League season.
League standings
North Division
South Division
Playoffs Bracket
Semifinal 1
----
Semifinal 2
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Final
Points leaders
Honors
* MVP: Kasey Keller
* Leading goal sco ...
. He was General Manager/Head Coach for two seasons before the team folded. The Condors played one season in the WSL and their second season in the American Professional Soccer League
The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...
(APSL).
In 1991 Webster returned to England and was soon given the Manager's job at Brightlingsea Regent. During this period Webster started a Summer Soccer Camp for Colchester United
Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...
. After one season with Brightlingsea he then joined Halstead Town F.C.
Halstead Town Football Club is a football club based in Halstead, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Rosemary Lane.
History
The club was established in 1879 as Halstead Football Club following a meeting in th ...
as Manager. In 1993 Webster was offered a full-time job in Youth Development at Colchester United where he spent 13 years working as the Soccer Centre Manager, Recruitment Officer, Youth Development Officer, Centre Of Excellence Manager and Coach of the U'16s side.
In 2006 Webster left Colchester to take up the role of Assistant Director of Football at the Colne Community School in Brightlingsea, Essex. While coaching at the Colne ex Colchester United player Steve Mc Gavin took him to Ipswich Town FC where he spent 5 years in the Youth Recruitment program. After 10 years at the Colne he is now retired. Is currently helping ex Colne player Tom Austin as his number two for FC Clacton.
References
External links
NASL/MISL stats
Catching up with Sounder Adrian Webster
Colne Community School and College - Football College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Adrian
Living people
1951 births
English men's footballers
English expatriate men's footballers
Colchester United F.C. players
Hillingdon Borough F.C. players
Vancouver Spartans players
Seattle Sounders (1974–1983) players
Pittsburgh Spirit players
Phoenix Inferno players
Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players
English football managers
Phoenix Inferno coaches
Arizona Condors coaches
Brightlingsea Regent F.C. managers
Halstead Town F.C. managers
Men's association football defenders
English expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
English expatriate sportspeople in Canada
Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada
Men's association football midfielders
Footballers from Colchester