Colin Campbell Little (born 4 November 1972) is an English 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 lea ...

who played as a striker. After starting in non-league football with Rossendale United and Hyde United, Little joined

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

in 1996. He had loan spells with

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

and Macclesfield Town, and later made his stay in Macclesfield permanent. Little made eight appearances for Halifax Town before joining

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

in 2004 – where he went on to make over 200 appearances for the club. He later played for

F.C. United of Manchester Football Club United of Manchester, more commonly known as FC United, is a semi-professional association football, football club based in Moston, Manchester, Moston, Manchester, England, that competes in the , the seventh tier of the English ...

, Altrincham,

New Mills New Mills is a small town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England, south-east of Stockport and from Manchester at the confluence of the River Goyt and River Sett, Sett. It is close to the border with Cheshire and above the Torrs, a ...

and Witton Albion. Little worked as an Under-15s coach during his time at

, and joined

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

as an Under-13s coach in 2009. He now works for the club as an Under-18s coach.

Career

Born in

Wythenshawe Wythenshawe () is an area of Manchester, England. Historically part of Cheshire, in 1931 Wythenshawe was transferred to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a large housing estate there in the 1920s. With an area of approximately , ...

, Manchester, Little began his career in

Non-League football Non-League football describes association football, 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 ...

with Rossendale United before signing for Hyde United. After being spotted by

manager Dario Gradi he signed for them for £50,000 in the summer of 1996. After initial success at Crewe he became a journeyman around

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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

, playing for Macclesfield Town and Halifax Town before being released in 2004. Shortly after this Little signed for

. He was the club top scorer at Altrincham for the next four seasons. He scored his 100th goal for the club in the 1–0 victory away to

Newcastle Blue Star Newcastle Blue Star F.C. is a association football, football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It was established in 1930 and joined the Wearside League in 1973. In 1978, the club won the FA Vase. They won promotion to the Northern Prem ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

fourth qualifying round on 26 October 2008. On 7 April 2010, it was announced that Little would leave Altrincham at the end of the 2009–10 season, to become assistant coach for

under-13s. He joined FC United of Manchester as a player in the summer of 2010 and was named in the 21 player squad for the 2010–11 season by the club. He then scored 2 goals in his league debut on 8 August 2010 for the club after coming on as a substitute in a 5–1 victory over Retford United. However, on 10 September 2010 it was announced he had left the club to re-sign for Altrincham on a pay-as-you-play, home game-only deal, whilst still coaching at Manchester United. He did not make another appearance for Altrincham before he signed for

in early October 2010. He made his first, and only appearance for the club on 9 October against

Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest attenda ...

, before then signing for Witton Albion on 26 October 2010. Little retired from playing at non-League level in 2012 although can still be found turning out for Sunday League sides in the Wythenshawe area.

Honours

;with Crewe Alexandra *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

play-off final winner:

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Colin Living people 1972 births Footballers from Wythenshawe English men's footballers Rossendale United F.C. players Hyde United F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. players Altrincham F.C. players F.C. United of Manchester players New Mills A.F.C. players Witton Albion F.C. players National League (English football) players English Football League players Manchester United F.C. non-playing staff Men's association football forwards