Colin West (born 13 November 1962) is an English former

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 ...

. He played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

and scored 158 goals in 555 league and cup games in the

English 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, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

Conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

and the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...

. He began his career at

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

in 1981, playing more than 100 games for the ''Black Cats'' before moving on to

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

in March 1985. He was sold to

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

the following year for £180,000. However, he only occasionally appeared as Rangers won the

Scottish Football League Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League Scottish Football League First D ...

title during the 1986–87 season. He returned to England with

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

in September 1987 for a fee of £150,000. Two years later, he signed with

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

before he joined

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

in August 1992, following a

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

spell at

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

. He moved on to

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

in July 1993 and spent five years at the club. In 1997, he was loaned out to

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

before he switched clubs to Conference club

Rushden & Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town F.C., Ket ...

. The next year, he signed with

Northwich Victoria Northwich is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire, England. It lies on the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers River Weaver, Weaver and River Dane, Dane, east of Chester, south of Warr ...

before signing with

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

in 2000. After retiring in 2001, he spent the next ten years

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

ing at various clubs, including Hartlepool United,

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

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 Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

and

. He served Hartlepool United and Millwall 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 is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caret ...

. He was most recently the assistant

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

at Hartlepool United.

Playing career

Sunderland

West turned professional in July 1980 and made his debut for

on 17 October 1981 against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

in a 2–0 defeat at

Roker Park Roker Park was a football ground in Roker, Sunderland, England, which was the home of Sunderland from 1898 to 1997, before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Its final capacity was around 22,500, with only a small part being seated; it h ...

under

Alan Durban. The club narrowly avoided

relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

out of the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

in 1981–82 under new boss Alan Durban, finishing just one place and two points above relegated

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

. They then finished four places and three points above the drop in 1982–83. West was the club's top scorer in 1983–84 with nine goals. The next season, he scored three goals over the two legs in the League Cup semi-final win over Chelsea but was left out of the

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

by manager Len Ashurst. Following this snub, he joined league rivals

for £115,000 in March 1985. The "Black Cats" went on to lose their top-flight status in 1984–85, finishing two places and ten points short of safety. He scored 28 goals in 122 competitive appearances for Sunderland.

Watford, Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday

Following his arrival at

, West helped the club to a mid-table finish in the league. He was then the club's top scorer in 1985–86 with 16 goals. He hit 23 goals in 56 league and cup appearances for

Graham Taylor Graham Taylor (15 September 1944 – 12 January 2017) was an English football player, manager, pundit and chairman of Watford Football Club. He was the manager of the England national football team from 1990 to 1993, and also managed Lincoln ...

's Watford. In May 1986, he became new

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. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

Graeme Souness Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player, manager and television pundit. A midfielder, Souness achieved his greatest period of success as an integral part of the Liverpool team of the late 19 ...

's first signing when he moved to Scotland for a £175,000 fee. However, a serious knee injury sustained in only his fourth game restricted his impact at Ibrox, but he did manage to play 12 games in the title-winning 1986–87 campaign, scoring three goals. He returned to England to sign with First Division side

for £150,000 in September 1987. The club finished eleventh in 1987–88 under

Howard Wilkinson Howard Wilkinson (born 13 November 1943) is an English former footballer and manager. Despite having a low-profile playing career, Wilkinson embarked on a successful managerial career. He won the First Division championship in 1992 with Leeds ...

's stewardship before heading into a relegation dogfight under Peter Eustace in 1988–89. West made 57 league and cup appearances at Wednesday, scoring 13 goals.

West Bromwich Albion

He signed with Second Division side

in exchange for Carlton Palmer in February 1989. He was unable to fire

Brian Talbot Brian Ernest Talbot (born 21 July 1953) is an English former football player and manager. He was capped six times for the England national team. Talbot played in midfield for Ipswich Town, Arsenal, Watford, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion ...

's side into the

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

in 1988–89, as they ended up two places and four points short of their target. The "Baggies" dropped to 20th in 1989–90 and were just two places and three points above relegated

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...

. The 1990–91 season was a disaster, and West Brom were relegated to the Third Division for the first time in their history. Not highly rated at

the Hawthorns The Hawthorns is an All-seater stadium, all-seater association football, football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of EFL Championship, Championship club West Bromwich Albion F.C. ...

, he made 73 league appearances, scoring 22 goals, during his stay in the West Midlands. He joined Second Division club

in November 1991, making five appearances and scoring one goal for

John Rudge John Robert Rudge (born 21 October 1944) is an English former professional football player and manager who is the president of club Port Vale. Rudge began his playing career at Huddersfield Town in November 1961, but made little impact at t ...

's side.

Swansea City

He was signed by

manager

Frank Burrows Frank Burrows (30 January 1944 – 24 November 2021) was a Scottish football player and manager who played as a central defender. Life and career Frank Burrows began his football career at Scottish club Raith Rovers. In 1965, he moved south t ...

in August 1992 and scored two goals in his first start for the club in a 2–0 win over former side Port Vale. He went on to score 12 goals in 33 Second Division appearances, as the "Swans" reached the play-offs in 1992–93, only to be

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

for

fouling Fouling is the accumulation of unwanted material on solid surfaces. The fouling materials can consist of either living organisms (biofouling, organic) or a non-living substance (inorganic). Fouling is usually distinguished from other surfac ...

Ian Hamilton during a 2–0 defeat by his former club West Bromwich Albion in the second leg of the semi-finals, which left Swansea with a 3–2 aggregate loss. West later said that "I instantly thought 'why on earth did I do that?' but the

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

rightly sent me off. It was a very sad way for me to end my time with the club."

Leyton Orient

West switched to Second Division rivals

in July 1993, who were then managed by his former boss, Peter Eustace. The "O's" finished 18th in 1993–94, before being relegated in last place in 1994–95. The club struggled in the fourth tier and posted a 21st-place finish in 1995–96 under

Pat Holland Patrick "Patsy" Holland (born 13 September 1950) is an English former footballer who played for clubs West Ham United, Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic and Team Hawaii. Holland has also coached and scouted for teams such as Leyton Orient, Totten ...

, three positions above

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

, the

's bottom club. He scored five goals in 26 appearances in 1996–97, as Orient moved up to 16th under

Tommy Taylor Thomas Taylor (29 January 1932 – 6 February 1958) was an English association football, footballer, who played as a Forward (association football), centre-forward and was known for his aerial ability. He was one of the eight Manchester United ...

's stewardship. He made 142 league appearances for Leyton Orient, scoring 42 goals. In September 1997, he joined Second Division side

on loan but made just two goalless appearances for

Ian Atkins Ian Leslie Atkins (born 16 January 1957) is an English football manager, scout, and former player. Atkins amassed over 300 appearances for Shrewsbury Town, the club where he began his career. He also made appearances in the Football League for ...

' "Cobblers". Two months later, he was loaned out to

of the

, in a move that reunited him with former manager Brian Talbot and helped to fire the "Diamonds" to a fourth-place finish in 1997–98. The loan was made into a permanent

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies * ...

Later career

West permanently signed with Rushden & Diamonds for the 1998–99 season and helped the club to another fourth-place finish. He scored two goals against

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

in an

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 ...

replay to secure Rushden a tie with

Nene Park Nene Park was a sports stadium situated at Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England, along the bank of the River Nene, which could accommodate 6,441 spectators, with 4,641 seated and 1,800 standing. It formerly hosted football matches but ...

in the next round. His

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

was cancelled by mutual consent in September 1999. He moved on to Mark Gardiner's Conference strugglers

in the 1999–2000 campaign, before ending his career at

, where he made just a single appearance in 1999–2000.

Style of play

West was a

who was "powerful in the air and determined on the ground".

Coaching career

When West joined

in November 1999, he was appointed as assistant manager to Chris Turner. The pair helped the club avoid falling into the

when they arrived, before they led the club to three successive Third Division

. However, they never made it past the semi-finals. When Turner left the club to take over as manager of

in November 2002, West briefly took charge of the first-team on a caretaker basis. After a win and a draw, West left to team up with Turner at Hillsborough, and later followed him to

, before the pair left

Edgeley Park Edgeley Park is a association football, football stadium in Edgeley, Stockport, England. Built for Stockport RFC, a rugby league club, in 1891, by 1903 the rugby club was defunct and Stockport County F.C., Stockport County Football Club moved i ...

in December 2005. He then spent time as

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

, being appointed assistant caretaker manager to Richard Shaw after Willie Donachie was dismissed. He later took up the reserve team coaching position at

in December 2008. Three months later, with Turner back in charge at "Pools" on a caretaker basis, West left the position at Southend to return to Hartlepool as assistant coach. He left Hartlepool again in June 2010 after the club chose not to renew his contract. In February 2012,

manager

Keith Curle Keith Curle (born 14 November 1963) is an English football manager and former professional player, who was most recently the manager of National League side Hartlepool United. He played as a centre back from 1981 to 2005, notably in the Prem ...

recruited West to work as a coach. He left the club a year later, when Curle was sacked. He was appointed assistant manager at

when Curle took charge of the club in September 2014. The pair left

Brunton Park Brunton Park is a football stadium and the home of Carlisle United. It is situated in the city of Carlisle and has a certified capacity of 17,949. The ground opened in 1909. Brunton Park's grandstand burned down in 1953 and the stadium floode ...

at the end of the 2017–18 season. On 1 October 2018, Curle was appointed as

, and again hired West as his assistant. The pair were sacked on 10 February 2021. In July 2021, he re-united with Curle after being named assistant

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

. Curle and West both left Oldham on 24 November 2021 with the club sitting in 22nd-position in League Two. West rejoined Hartlepool United as assistant manager on 18 September 2022, once again alongside Keith Curle, who was appointed

interim manager Interim management is the temporary provision of management resources and skills. Interim management can be seen as the short-term assignment of a proven heavyweight interim executive manager to manage a period of transition, crisis or change wi ...

on the same day. On 22 February 2023, Curle and West were sacked.

Career statistics

Playing statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

Rangers *

: 1986–87

References