Colin Foster (born 26 December 1952 in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire) is an English retired footballer who played as a central defender for Mansfield Town and Peterborough United. Foster came through the ranks at Mansfield, and made his debut on 4 September 1971 against

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

, in the same game that his unrelated namesake Barry Foster also made his debut. Due to sharing the same name and being similar in appearance, the two were often assumed to be brothers. Throughout his years at Field Mill, Foster formed a strong defensive partnership with

Kevin Bird Kevin Bird (7 August 1952 – 15 February 2023) was an English professional footballer who played as a defender for Mansfield Town and Huddersfield Town. Career Born in Doncaster, Bird began his career as an apprentice at his hometown club Do ...

. He played 43 matches when Mansfield won the

Division Four The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

title in 1974-75, and was also almost ever-present when the Stags won Division Three in 1976-77. During the 1976-77 campaign, Foster also scored a career-best nine goals. In 1979, after nine years at Field Mill, Foster moved to Peterborough United for a £13,000 transfer fee. In total, he played 241 first-team games for Mansfield and scored 19 goals. His spell at Peterborough lasted two years, and he later wound down his career with spells at non-league clubs

Grantham Town Grantham Town Football Club is a football club, based in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the South Kesteven Sports Stadium. History The club was established in 1874 as Grantham Football Club.

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and Corby Town, where he was player-manager. After his retirement from the game, Colin settled in the Peterborough area, where he works as a painter and decorator. His son

Steve Foster Stephen Brian Foster (born 24 September 1957) is an English former footballer. Football career Born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, Foster was an associate schoolboy with Southampton, but was not offered a professional contract. He started his prof ...

also became a professional footballer, and currently plays for Mansfield Town

References

1952 births Living people English men's footballers Mansfield Town F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Corby Town F.C. players King's Lynn F.C. players Grantham Town F.C. players House painters Men's association football defenders People from Bulwell {{England-footy-defender-1950s-stub