Michael Anthony Collins (born 30 April 1986) is an English

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 ...

player and coach. He is currently the Lead u23s coach for

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

. As a player, he has played club football for

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

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 th ...

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 ...

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

and

F.C. Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...

; he also had a spell playing in India for

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

side

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

and represented the Republic of Ireland under-18, under-19 and under-21 teams.

Club career

Huddersfield Town

Collins was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Having come through

's academy, he made his first team debut in a 1–0 home win over

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

on 19 February 2005. Collins made eight appearances in the 2004–05 season, with seven of them being starts. He signed a professional contract with the club on 11 May 2005. He made his first start of the 2005–06 season coming on as an 89th-minute substitute in a 3–1 home win over

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

on 13 August 2005. His first start came in a 4–2 away win in the

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 ...

over

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

on 24 August 2005. Collins scored his first goal on 18 February 2006 in a 5–0 win over

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

. He came on as a substitute in the

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 ...

third round tie in January 2006 against

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 Foo ...

champions

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 ...

, and set-up

Gary Taylor-Fletcher Gary Taylor-Fletcher (né Fletcher, born 4 June 1981) is an English former professional footballer. He has scored in each of the top five divisions of English football. He has been known as Gary Taylor-Fletcher since his marriage to Viv Taylor i ...

for an equaliser. Collins made 21 appearances in all competitions Huddersfield in 2005–06. Collins made his first appearance of 2006–07 on the opening day of the season, coming on in the 66th minute in a 2–1 away defeat away to Gillingham. He made his first start of the season in a 2–0 defeat by

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 ...

at home in the first round of the League Cup on 22 August 2006. His first league start of the season came on 26 August 2006 in a 1–1 draw at home with

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 ...

. Collins scored his first goal of the season in a 2–1 away win over

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

on 21 October 2006. He scored in the last two matches of the season; first in a 4–2 win over

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

on 21 April 2007 and then on the final day in a 3–1 win over

on 5 May. Collins finished 2006–07 with 46 appearances in all competitions, starting 41 with five coming of the bench, scoring four goals. He scored his first league goal of 2007–08 in Huddersfield's 2–0 win over

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

Huish Park Huish Park is a football stadium located in Yeovil, Somerset, England. The stadium has been home to Yeovil Town F.C. since its completion in 1990, following their relocation from Huish. Huish Park has a capacity of 9,565 (of which two stands ...

on 2 February 2008. During 2007–08, Huddersfield manager Andy Ritchie tended to use Collins as cover in right-back and right-midfield positions, but he mainly tended to use Collins in tandem with

Andy Holdsworth Andrew Holdsworth, (born 29 January 1984) is an English retired professional footballer who last played for Guiseley. He has previously played for Huddersfield Town, Oldham Athletic and Morecambe. He is currently the Professional Development Pha ...

in Huddersfield's central midfield. On 16 February 2008, Collins equalised

Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...

's goal on the stroke of half-time in the FA Cup fifth round at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

against Chelsea. However, Huddersfield lost the match 3–1. After being left out of the first-team squad for the most of the first part of 2008–09 by manager

Stan Ternent Francis Stanley Ternent (born 16 June 1946) is an English former footballer and manager. He managed Blackpool, Hull City, Bury, Burnley, Gillingham and Huddersfield Town. He was a scout for Hull City until January 2017. As a manager, he won thre ...

, he was re-called to the team by caretaker manager Gerry Murphy to play in the FA Cup first-round tie at home to

. Collins scored Huddersfield's equaliser, but was unable to prevent them losing 4–3. A week later, Collins scored his first league goal of the season, with a 90th-minute winner in a 2–1 win at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

against local rivals

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 ...

. Collins scored 10 goals in 2008–09, from 39 appearances. Collins gained a red card in Huddersfield's first match of 2009–10 away to

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

on 8 August 2009. His first goal of the season came in the 65th minute of Huddersfield's 2–1 home victory over Yeovil Town on 29 August 2009. Collins was ruled out for the remainder of 2009–10 in April 2010, following surgery on a broken finger, but he returned as a substitute in the 2–1 defeat at

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

. He then came on as an 89th-minute substitute in the first leg of Huddersfield's play-off semi-final match with

, and was an unused substitute in the second leg defeat at

The Den The Den (previously The New Den) is a football stadium in New Cross, south-east London, and the home of Millwall Football Club. The Den is adjacent to the South London railway originating at , and a quarter of a mile from the Old Den, which it ...

on 18 May 2010. Collins made 35 appearances in 2009–10, scoring three goals. Along with seven other players, he was added to the transfer list by manager Lee Clark in May 2010.

Scunthorpe United

Collins joined

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club

on 6 July 2010 for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract. On 20 February 2014, Collins joined

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 ...

for the rest of the 2013–14 season.

Oxford United

On 15 July 2014, Collins signed a one-year deal at

, becoming new manager

Michael Appleton Michael Antony Appleton (born 4 December 1975) is an English professional football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of Blackpool. As a player, he operated as a midfielder, in a nine-year career that began in 1994 and e ...

's first signing. Appleton said: "Michael has played 300 league games, most of them at a higher level, and will bring a little bit of know-how and quality to the squad." He made 43 appearances for Oxford, scoring twice, before joining their League Two rivals

on 2 October 2015 on a one-month loan. Collins left Oxford by mutual agreement on 7 January 2016, after failing to make any first-team appearances in the 2015–16 season.

Bengaluru

On 21 January 2016, Collins signed for

club

. He played a total of 11 league matches for the Blues' and left the club in May 2016.

Leyton Orient

On 28 October 2016, Collins signed for

on a three-month contract. He turned down the offer of a new one-year contract with Orient at the end of 2016–17, after the club's relegation to the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

F.C. Halifax Town

On 9 December 2017, Collins came out of retirement to sign for his hometown club,

of the National League.

Alfreton Town

He returned to playing in December 2018 with

Alfreton Town Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street. History The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alfr ...

International career

Qualifying through the parentage rule, Collins made his international debut in a Republic of Ireland under-18 match in April 2003. He was the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the Irish under-19 squad and on 14 March 2007, he got his first call-up to the Republic of Ireland under-21 squad for a match against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. However, he was forced to withdraw from the squad after picking up a shoulder injury in a league match for Huddersfield against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

. Collins made his under-21 debut against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in a friendly match at the

Sportpark Ronhof Sportpark Ronhof , Thomas Sommer is an association football stadium in the district of Ronhof in Fürth, Bavaria, Germany, and the home ground of Bundesliga team SpVgg Greuther Fürth. The stadium was originally opened on 11 September 1910 u ...

Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the t ...

on 21 August 2007. His home debut came against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

at Turners Cross in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

on 7 September 2007. On 15 May 2008, he scored his first goals for the under-21s in a 3–1 win over

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

in an Intercontinental Cup match in

. Collins made six appearances scoring twice between 2007 and 2008.

Coaching career

Bradford Under 18's

In July 2017, Collins joined League One club

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. Th ...

as their under-18s lead coach.

Bradford head coach

He was appointed head coach of

on 18 June 2018, with Martin Drury and

Greg Abbott Gregory Wayne Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the 48th governor of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 50th Tex ...

named as his assistants. He won his first league game, 1-0 away at Shrewsbury, but won only one more game out of 7 in total, and was sacked by the club on 3 September 2018. He later became a coach at Sunderland's Academy.

Personal life

He is the cousin of professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

players

Scott Grix Scott Byron Grix (born 1 May 1984) is a former Ireland international rugby league footballer who last played as a for Halifax Panthers in the Betfred Championship. He previously played for the Doncaster Dragons, Halifax, Leigh Centurions and ...

and Simon Grix.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

Scunthorpe United *

Football 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 ...

runner-up: 2013–14 Bengaluru *

: 2015–16

References

External links

Michael Collins profile
at the Football Association of Ireland website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Michael 1986 births Living people Footballers from Halifax, West Yorkshire English footballers English expatriate footballers Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers Republic of Ireland youth international footballers Republic of Ireland under-21 international footballers Association football midfielders Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players AFC Wimbledon players Oxford United F.C. players York City F.C. players Bengaluru FC players Leyton Orient F.C. players FC Halifax Town players English Football League players I-League players Bradford City A.F.C. non-playing staff Expatriate footballers in India English expatriate sportspeople in India Irish expatriate sportspeople in India English people of Irish descent English Football League managers Alfreton Town F.C. players English football managers Sunderland A.F.C. non-playing staff