Colin Walker (born 1 May 1958) is a former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
and
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
who is head of coaching at
EFL 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 ...
side
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 ...
.
As a player he was a
striker who notably played in the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
for
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
,
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
,
Cambridge United
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...
,
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
,
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
and
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
. He also spent time playing in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
with three spells at
Gisborne City
Gisborne City AFC was an association football club in Gisborne, New Zealand. Founded in 1939 as Eastern Union, the club changed its name to Gisborne City after winning the Central Districts League at the first attempt in 1967.
As Eastern Union, ...
. He also played non-league football for
Retford Town,
Matlock Town
Matlock Town Football Club is a association football, football club based in Matlock, Derbyshire, Matlock, Derbyshire, England. Nicknamed 'the Gladiators', they are currently members of the and play at Causeway Lane.
History
The club was esta ...
and
Harworth Colliery Institute. Walker was capped 15 times by
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
between 1984 and 1988, scoring 10 goals. He had obtained citizenship during his time spent playing in the country.
As a manager Walker took charge of Gisborne City in 1988 before moving on to manage non-league side
Maltby Miners Welfare. He later had coaching roles at Barnsley and
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...
whilst also working for
Rugby Union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
side
Rotherham Titans
Rotherham Rugby Union Football Club, or Rotherham Titans is a professional rugby union team from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, currently playing in the fourth tier of the English rugby union league system, following their relegation from the Nat ...
. He later joined
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...
as a first team coach before becoming manager between 2007 and 2008. He has since worked for
Forest Green Rovers
Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...
,
Notts County Ladies and
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
in varying coaching positions.
Club career
Born in
Rotherham
Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...
,
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
,
Walker played as a trialist in
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...
's
youth
Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...
and
reserve team
In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...
s in 1976,
after which he moved to New Zealand to play for
Gisborne City
Gisborne City AFC was an association football club in Gisborne, New Zealand. Founded in 1939 as Eastern Union, the club changed its name to Gisborne City after winning the Central Districts League at the first attempt in 1967.
As Eastern Union, ...
in 1980 after being spotted playing in English
non-League
Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
for Retford Town and
Matlock Town
Matlock Town Football Club is a association football, football club based in Matlock, Derbyshire, Matlock, Derbyshire, England. Nicknamed 'the Gladiators', they are currently members of the and play at Causeway Lane.
History
The club was esta ...
by
Kevin Fallon
Kevin Barry Fallon (born 3 December 1948) is an English-born football coach residing in New Zealand. He is the father of New Zealand international footballer Rory Fallon and former coach of the Cook Islands national football team but did not man ...
.
[ ] After the end of the season, he returned to play in England for
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
side
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
in November 1980.
He scored 12 times in 24 games for Barnsley, with an additional five goals in 12 games while on
loan
In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...
at
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
from February 1983, before returning to New Zealand to play for Gisborne City.
Walker reached the final of the
Chatham Cup
The Chatham Cup is New Zealand's premier knockout tournament in men's association football. It is held annually, with the final contested in September. The current champions of the Chatham Cup are 2022 winners Auckland City, who defeated Eastern ...
in
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
with Gisborne.
He scored twice, but the match ended 2–2, and was won by Gisborne's opponents
Mount Wellington 2–0 in the replay.
During the 1983 season, he scored seven goals in 12 appearances.
He scored 16 goals in 22 appearances and won the country's Player of the Year award in 1984.
He then scored 15 goals in 22 appearances in 1985.
Overall, he was the top scorer in New Zealand during three of the five years he spent playing in the country.
In November 1985, Walker returned to Doncaster Rovers on non-contract terms, playing five times before moving to
Cambridge United
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...
in January 1986.
He scored once in 3 games,
but was released by Cambridge and returned to Matlock Town.
From there he joined
Harworth Colliery Institute from where he was signed by
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
in August 1986.
He joined
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
on loan in December 1986, where he made seven appearances, and
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
on loan in October 1987, where he made three appearances.
He left Sheffield Wednesday having played just two league games and after scoring a
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
in a
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
tie,
a 7–0 victory against
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional association football, football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they wer ...
, which Wednesday won 10–0 on aggregate.
He then returned to New Zealand for a final spell with Gisborne City,
where he took over as
player-manager
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
, but left because of financial problems at the club.
He also worked as striker-coach at the club.
After returning to England for a run-out with Doncaster, he suffered a
cruciate ligament
Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in a toy Jacob's la ...
injury to his knee which brought an end to his playing career.
International career
Whilst at Gisborne City, Walker acquired New Zealand citizenship, and so played for the
New Zealand national team and scored 10 goals in 15
caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
.
The highlight of his international career came against
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, during which he was marked by
Aldair
Aldair Nascimento dos Santos (; born 30 November 1965), known simply as Aldair, is a Brazilian retired association football, footballer who played as a defender (association football), defender, and who was part of the Brazil national football ...
.
Coaching and managerial career
Walker spent three-and-a-half-years after his playing career ended as
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
of
Maltby Miners Welfare,
whom he took from the
Northern Counties East Football League
The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English association football, football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the English football lea ...
Division One to the Premier Division.
He won the Presidents' Cup in his
final season in charge.
He had coaching appointments with
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
, where he held a variety of different positions from youth team coach to assistant manager. Walker left Barnsley, along with manager
Glyn Hodges
Glyn Peter Hodges (born 30 April 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former professional player who is assistant manager at Bradford City.
During his playing career he played for Wimbledon, Newcastle United, Watford, Crystal Palace, Sheffield Un ...
, in July 2003.
He soon found employment at the
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...
youth academy in addition to work at
Rotherham R.U.F.C.
Rotherham Rugby Union Football Club, or Rotherham Titans is a professional rugby union team from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, currently playing in the fourth tier of the English rugby union league system, following their relegation from the N ...
and undertaking scouting assignments for lower league clubs while trying "to earn enough to pay the mortgage".
Billy McEwan appointed him as first team coach at
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...
on 28 May 2005, stating that Walker would "bring honesty and commitment to the club, as well as a lot of knowledge".
He took over as
caretaker manager
In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular Manager (association football), manager is dismissed or leaves for a ...
at York on 19 November 2007, following McEwan's sacking by the club.
His first game in charge finished as a 2–1 victory against
Weymouth and after achieving five wins and a draw in six games, he was appointed as the club's permanent manager on 26 December 2007.
He won the
Conference National
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...
manager of the month award for December 2007, when the team gained 10 out of a possible 12 points in the league and made progress in the
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
and
Conference League Cup
The Conference League Cup (formerly known as the Setanta Shield for sponsorship reasons, and before that the Bob Lord Trophy) was a football competition open to clubs playing in the Football Conference.
History
The competition was formed for ...
.
He led the team to a
14th place finish in the Conference in the
2007–08 season, and also reached the
semi-final
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
of the FA Trophy and the
fifth round
Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five.
Fifth or The Fifth may refer to:
* Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth"
* Fifth column, a political term
* Fifth disease, a contagious rash th ...
of the Conference League Cup.
During York's 1–0 defeat to
Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...
in an
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
fourth qualifying round replay in October 2008, Walker was targeted by some fans chanting his name.
He was sacked as York manager on 21 November 2008.
Walker joined
Forest Green Rovers
Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...
as assistant manager to caretaker manager
David Brown in August 2009.
Walker left Forest Green in September after the club appointed
Dave Hockaday
David Hockaday (born 9 November 1957) is an English professional footballer who is currently Head of Male Football at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. He has previously worked as a manager at Leeds United, Forest Green Rovers, Kidde ...
as their new manager.
He later joined Doncaster, who he played for during his playing career, as Centre of Excellence technical development officer.
Walker is currently with Notts County Ladies where he is assistant manager. He was appointed as assistant on 16 December 2013.
In 2017 he moved to
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 ...
as head of coaching, within the clubs academy system.
[https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-walker-bbb70214/?originalSubdomain=uk]
Career statistics
Managerial statistics
Honours
Maltby Miners Welfare
*
Northern Counties East Football League
The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English association football, football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the English football lea ...
Presidents Cup: 1992–93
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Colin
1958 births
Living people
Footballers from Rotherham
English footballers
New Zealand association footballers
New Zealand international footballers
Association football forwards
Retford Town F.C. players
Matlock Town F.C. players
Gisborne City AFC players
Barnsley F.C. players
Doncaster Rovers F.C. players
Cambridge United F.C. players
Harworth Colliery F.C. players
Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players
Darlington F.C. players
Torquay United F.C. players
English Football League players
English football managers
New Zealand association football coaches
Maltby Main F.C. managers
York City F.C. managers
National League (English football) managers
York City F.C. non-playing staff
Doncaster Rovers F.C. non-playing staff
Grimsby Town F.C. non-playing staff