Colin Todd (born 12 December 1948) is an English
football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of
Esbjerg fB
Esbjerg forenede Boldklubber (; commonly known as Esbjerg fB or EfB in short) is a Danish professional football club based in Esbjerg, West Jutland, that plays in the 2nd division, the third-tier of the Danish football league system. Found ...
. As a player, he made more than 600 appearances in
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
, playing for
Sunderland,
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
,
Everton,
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...
,
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
,
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...
and
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
, and also played in 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 b ...
for the
Vancouver Whitecaps
Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Mar ...
.
He won two
Football League titles with Derby County during the 1970s, and won the
PFA Players' Player of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Men's Players' Player of the Year (often called the PFA Men's Players' Player of the Year, the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is ...
award in 1975. He was
capped
In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...
by
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
on 27 occasions.
He has managed English league clubs
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
,
Bolton Wanderers,
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
,
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
,
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
...
,
Darlington and
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each ye ...
side
Randers FC
Randers FC () is a professional football club based in Randers, East Jutland, Denmark, that plays in the Danish Superliga, the top flight of the Danish football league system. Founded on 1 January 2003, the club builds upon the license of Rande ...
. He took
Bolton Wanderers to the Division One title with 98 points and 100 goals, although he was unable to establish them in the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
. Todd was also portrayed in the 2009 movie,
The Damned United
''The Damned United'' is a 2009 British sports drama film directed by Tom Hooper and adapted by Peter Morgan from David Peace's bestselling 2006 novel ''The Damned Utd'' – a largely fictional book based on the author's interpretation of Bria ...
.
Playing career
Club career
The young Todd had opportunities to sign for Newcastle United and
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
, but chose
Sunderland "because of their tradition for youth".
He was a member of the youth team coached by
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Engl ...
in 1965,
and played a major part in Sunderland's 1967 victory in the
FA Youth Cup. By then Todd was already a first-team regular. He made his debut as
substitute for
Charlie Hurley
Charles John Hurley (born 4 October 1936) is an Irish former footballer who played mainly in the Center Back position. Hurley is best known for his long career at Sunderland, where he was named the Black Cats' "Player of the Century" by th ...
in a 1–1 draw away against
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
in the
First Division on 10 September 1966,
and by mid-season had established himself in the starting eleven.
He missed only three league games in the next three seasons, at the end of which Sunderland were
relegated
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
from the top flight. After 191 appearances and three goals in all competitions for Sunderland, Todd rejoined Clough at
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
in February 1971.
On joining Derby, he had cost them a British record transfer fee for a defender of £175,000. When linked with the club, Brian Clough famously remarked "We're not signing Colin Todd, we can't afford him". He then signed him that same day. Clough sent the chairman
Sam Longson
Sam Longson (11 April 190017 January 1989) was a British businessman and chairman of Derby County F.C. Longson founded a road haulage business in Chapel-en-le-Frith that became the largest in Derbyshire. He sold the company by 1967 and also buil ...
a telegram informing him of the signing and the size of the fee: £175,000. He formed a defensive partnership with fellow England international
Roy McFarland
Roy Leslie McFarland (born 5 April 1948) is an English former football manager and former player. With Derby County, he played 442 league games, helping him to earn 28 caps for England.
Playing career
Born in Liverpool, McFarland was a player f ...
, winning two league titles together. Under Clough, Todd helped Derby win the First Division title in his
first full season at the
Baseball Ground and collected a second title winner's medal under Clough's successor
Dave Mackay in 1975.
He won the
PFA Players' Player of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Men's Players' Player of the Year (often called the PFA Men's Players' Player of the Year, the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is ...
award in 1975 – the same year that he won his second league title.
He later played for
Everton,
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...
,
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
, and
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...
, finally retiring from playing in 1984 after a brief spell with
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
.
International career
He won 27
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
caps. He made his international debut was against
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
on 23 May 1972, and his last appearance came on 28 May 1977, also against Northern Ireland.
Managerial career
Middlesbrough
Todd entered management in March 1990 with
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
, succeeding
Bruce Rioch
Bruce David Rioch (; born 6 September 1947) is a football manager and former player for the Scotland national team. His last managerial post was at AaB in the Danish Superliga in 2008.
As a player, he made more than 550 appearances in the Fo ...
. He had coached the club from the
Third Division to
First Division in successive seasons but on taking the manager's job, Middlesbrough were struggling in the Second Division and facing the real threat of moving from the Third to First Division and back again in successive seasons. Todd kept the club in the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
and they qualified for the play-offs a year later, although they were denied the chance of promotion after losing to eventual winners
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...
in the semi-finals and Todd quit soon afterwards.
Bolton Wanderers
He moved on to
Bolton Wanderers in 1992 as assistant to his predecessor at Middlesbrough, Bruce Rioch. After Rioch left to manage
Arsenal, having achieved promotion in the
1994–95 season, McFarland moved to Bolton as joint-manager alongside Todd.
Bolton struggled to cope with the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
and McFarland was dismissed in early 1996, leaving Todd in sole charge. He was unable to prevent Bolton's relegation but guided them back to the top-flight by winning the First Division in the
1996–97 season, ensuring Bolton's
new stadium would host Premier League football. Despite strengthening the squad with new signings, Bolton struggled in the top flight and were relegated again at the end of the season. Todd led the club to the play-off final in 1999 but lost to
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
, and he resigned seven games into the
1999–2000 season following the sale of
Per Frandsen
Per Frandsen (born 6 February 1970) is a Danish football manager and former professional football player. He is currently the manager of Hvidovre IF.
He won the 1994–95 Danish Cup with F.C. Copenhagen, and played 265 league games as a midfi ...
to
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
.
Despite Bolton's status as a yo-yo team in the mid-1990s, Todd's team is remembered with affection amongst the Wanderers support.
Swindon Town
Todd returned to management with
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
. His spell at Swindon was unsuccessful as poor results meant the club faced a relegation battle when it had been hoped to gain promotion. Todd won only five out of twenty games with the club.
Derby County
Todd resigned as Swindon manager in November 2000 to return to Derby as assistant manager to
Jim Smith. When Smith resigned in October 2001 Todd was promoted to manager but he was sacked after just three months having failed to improve the struggling club's form.
Bradford City
Todd joined
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
...
in 2003 as assistant to manager
Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson OBE (born 11 January 1957) is an English football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club captain before moving to Manchester United in ...
. When Robson left at the end of the
2003–04 season, Todd was named his successor. It was the fourth time he had been promoted from assistant to manager. He became the longest serving Bradford manager for twenty years, and led the club to several mid-table finishes. After only winning once in ten games, Todd was sacked in February 2007. Shortly afterwards, the club was relegated to
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
and Todd pointed to the departure of key players and lack of funds for new signings as reasons for Bradford's demise.
Randers FC
Todd became manager of Danish side
Randers FC
Randers FC () is a professional football club based in Randers, East Jutland, Denmark, that plays in the Danish Superliga, the top flight of the Danish football league system. Founded on 1 January 2003, the club builds upon the license of Rande ...
in the summer of 2007, replacing the former
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
1992 European champion Lars Olsen
Lars Christian Olsen (born 2 February 1961) is a Danish former footballer and current manager, who was most recently the manager of Esbjerg fB in the Danish Superliga. He started his coaching career with Randers in 2003, guiding them to promoti ...
who had signed with
Odense Boldklub
Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city Odense. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play in the Danish Superliga ...
.
Todd was due to leave Randers at the end of June 2009, to be replaced by another 1992 European champion former
Arsenal player
John Jensen
John Jensen (born 3 May 1965), nicknamed Faxe (), is a Danish football manager and former player.
A former midfielder, his playing career lasted almost two entire decades, including a stint with Arsenal in England and three stints with Brøndb ...
. However, in January 2009 Todd and Randers agreed to go separate ways. Jensen then took over as manager.
Darlington
Todd was announced as the new manager of League Two
Darlington on 20 May 2009. He replaced
Dave Penney
David Mark Penney (born 17 August 1964) is an English football manager and former player. Born in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, Penney entered professional football at the relatively late age of 21. He had been working as a bricklayer and ...
who left the club to join
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
side
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
as a result of Darlington's administration. Todd brought
Dean Windass
Dean Windass (born 1 April 1969) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played spells at Bradford City and contributed to his hometown team Hull City's promotion to the Premier League in 2008.
Windass started ...
, a player whom he had at Bradford City, as his
assistant player manager. Darlington made a poor start to the 2009–10 season, and having picked up just one point from eight league games, Todd agreed with chairman
Raj Singh Raj Singh may refer to:
*Raj Singh I (1629–1680), Rana of Mewar the maternal uncle of Ajit Singh of Marwar
*Raj Singh II (1743–1761), son of Maharana Pratap Singh II
* Raj Singh (businessman) (born 1964), Sukhraj 'Raj' Singh, Indian businessman ...
that he would leave the club if they failed to win their ninth game against
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...
. Darlington drew 1–1 with Grimsby and Todd, as well as Windass, left the club.
They had won only one of their 11 games in charge, and none in the league—the club's worst start to a season.
After leaving Darlington, Todd is believed to have applied for the manager's job at English-based
Scottish Football League Third Division
The Scottish Football League Third Division was the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system between 1994 and 2013.
History
The Scottish football league system had operated with three divisions in the Scottish Football League (SFL) fr ...
side
Berwick Rangers
Berwick Rangers Football Club is a football team based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, England, just south of the border with Scotland.
Founded in 1881, they currently play in the , the fifth tier of Scottish football, despite hailing fr ...
.
In 2012, Todd was scouting for his former club
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...
.
Second spells at Randers
On 5 June 2012, it was announced that Colin Todd would replace
Michael Hemmingsen as caretaker for Randers F.C., until a replacement has been found for the club. On 3 August 2012, it was announced that Todd would continue as a
more permanent manager at least until 31 December 2012. On 8 February 2013,
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
recognised Todd's Coaching Diploma as valid, which meant that Randers could announce him as their permanent manager. On 4 May,
Randers FC
Randers FC () is a professional football club based in Randers, East Jutland, Denmark, that plays in the Danish Superliga, the top flight of the Danish football league system. Founded on 1 January 2003, the club builds upon the license of Rande ...
announced that Todd would leave the club following the
2015–16 Danish Superliga
The 2015–16 Danish Superliga season was the 26th season of the Danish Superliga, which decides the Danish football championship. Midtjylland were the defending champions.
As Denmark dropped from nineteenth to twenty-second place in the 2015 ...
season. Initially, Todd hinted that he would retire from professional football. However, later that same day, he informed Danish press that he would consider another managerial position if he was approached.
Esbjerg fB
On 8 July, just 40 days after his final game in charge of
Randers FC
Randers FC () is a professional football club based in Randers, East Jutland, Denmark, that plays in the Danish Superliga, the top flight of the Danish football league system. Founded on 1 January 2003, the club builds upon the license of Rande ...
, Todd was announced as the new manager of the
Superliga club
Esbjerg fB
Esbjerg forenede Boldklubber (; commonly known as Esbjerg fB or EfB in short) is a Danish professional football club based in Esbjerg, West Jutland, that plays in the 2nd division, the third-tier of the Danish football league system. Found ...
, signing a one-year contract. On 17 July, Todd made his debut as Esbjerg manager in a 4–0 loss away to
Brøndby IF. On 8 August, Todd got his first point in charge of Esbjerg, drawing 2–2 at home with
AGF, having led the game 2–0. One week later, Esbjerg were handed a 2–1 defeat away to
AaB, tying the worst start to a
Superliga season in the club's history, having also just recorded one point in the first five games back in the
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
edition of the tournament, back then ultimately resulting in relegation. One week later, Todd managed his first win in charge of Esbjerg, beating
OB 3–2 at
Blue Water Arena
The Esbjerg Stadium ( da, Esbjerg Stadion), known as the Blue Water Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium located within Esbjerg Idrætspark in Esbjerg, Denmark. It is the home ground of Esbjerg fB and has a capacity of 16,942, of w ...
.
Following a tough half year as manager Todd was sacked on 5 December 2016 with Esbjerg being last in the league.
Personal life
Todd was born into a
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...
family in
Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street (), also known as Chester, is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England, around north of Durham and also close to Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the River Wear, which runs out to sea at ...
, County Durham. As a boy he was a fan of
Newcastle United and could have signed for them, but he chose
Sunderland because he preferred their approach to youth development.
His son
Andy
Andy may refer to:
People
* Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds
* Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and pi ...
is an assistant manager, having previously appeared under his father's management for Middlesbrough and Bolton.
Managerial statistics
* – ''Todd underwent a bypass operation in February 2014 and therefore missed the first five games of the spring season. His assistant
Thomas Thomasberg was in charge in those games resulting in 3 draws and 2 defeats.''
Honours
As a player
Sunderland
*
FA Youth Cup finalist:
1965-66
Derby County
*
First Division Title winner:
1971–72,
1974–75
*
Texaco Cup
The Texaco Cup, officially known as the International League Board Competition, was an association football competition started in 1970, involving sides from England, Scotland, and Ireland that had not qualified for European competitions.
It wa ...
winner:
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...
*
FA Charity Shield winner:
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
Oxford United
*
Second Division Title winner:
1984–85
Individual
*
PFA Players' Player of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Men's Players' Player of the Year (often called the PFA Men's Players' Player of the Year, the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is ...
winner:
1974–75
As a manager
*
Bolton Wanderers
**
First Division Title winner:
1996–97
Individual
*
League One Manager of the Month: October 2004
References
External links
bbc.co.uk Biography*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Todd, Colin
1948 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Chester-le-Street
Footballers from County Durham
English footballers
Association football central defenders
Sunderland A.F.C. players
Derby County F.C. players
Everton F.C. players
Birmingham City F.C. players
Nottingham Forest F.C. players
Oxford United F.C. players
Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–1984) players
Luton Town F.C. players
England international footballers
England under-23 international footballers
English Football League players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
English football managers
Expatriate football managers in Denmark
Middlesbrough F.C. managers
Bolton Wanderers F.C. managers
Swindon Town F.C. managers
Derby County F.C. managers
Bradford City A.F.C. managers
Randers FC managers
Darlington F.C. managers
Esbjerg fB managers
English Football League managers
Premier League managers
Danish Superliga managers
English Football League representative players
Vancouver Royals players
United Soccer Association players
English expatriate sportspeople in Canada
Expatriate soccer players in Canada
English expatriate footballers