Francis John Patrick Collin (born 20 April 1987) is an English 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 ...

who plays as a striker for Hythe Town where he holds the role of player-coach.

Career

Collin is a former England Schoolboy under 18 international. After having trials with various clubs during his youth, including Crystal Palace and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, he eventually signed professionally for Gillingham. He made his debut for the first team with a goal in Gillingham's 2–0 win over Crawley Town in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

first round. In October 2005 he signed his first professional contract with the club and scored his first league goal against

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

in a 3–1 defeat on 1 November 2005. Collin found first team opportunities at Gillingham limited and most of his appearances came as a substitute. Collin's spell at Priestfield was ended when Gillingham released him in May 2007. He was subsequently signed by former Gillingham boss

Andy Hessenthaler Andrew Hessenthaler (born 17 August 1965) is an English football manager and former player who is head of recruitment at club Gillingham. He began his career in non-league football and did not turn professional until he joined Watford at ...

Dover Athletic Dover Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 198 ...

in June 2007, and signed a new one-year contract in May 2008. The following season saw Dover Athletic clinch the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

Premier Division title with the help of Collin's 21 goals and he extended his stay at Dover in May 2009 by signing another contract with the Kent club. He left the club at the end of the 2009–10 season to join

Tonbridge Angels Tonbridge Angels Football Club is a professional football club based in Tonbridge, Kent, England. The club was founded as Tonbridge Football Club in 1947 and became known as "The Angels" in 1949 when they started playing at the Angel Ground. S ...

. In his first season with Tonbridge, Collin bagged 21 goals in all competitions from 43 appearances, with 16 coming from 40 appearances in the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

. He was named Tonbridge Angels player of the year for the 2011–12 season and won the Golden Boot for the

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

in the same season with 29 league goals. In the 2013 close-season, Collin announced he was leaving

after three years at the club. After much speculation, which saw the player linked with

clubs Sutton United, Whitehawk and

, Collin signed for

Maidstone United Maidstone United Football Club is a professional football club based in Maidstone, Kent, England. The team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league system. The current club filled the void left by the ol ...

, who had just been promoted to the Isthmian League Premier Division. On 7 January 2022, he signed for Isthmian League South East Division side Ashford United, having been without a club for over a month following his departure as player/coach for divisional rivals Hythe Town. In June 2022, Collin returned to Hythe Town in the role of player-coach.

References

External links

*
Dover Athletic profile

Ashford United profile (Nuts and Bolts Archive)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collin, Francis 1987 births Living people Footballers from Chatham, Kent Men's association football forwards English men's footballers Gillingham F.C. players Dover Athletic F.C. players Tonbridge Angels F.C. players Maidstone United F.C. players Leatherhead F.C. players Hastings United F.C. players Margate F.C. players Hythe Town F.C. players Ashford United F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Isthmian League players