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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and coach. He is a first team coach for

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

. As a player, he has played club football for

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in ...

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional association football club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, London. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in ...

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

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. ...

and F.C. Halifax Town; he also had a spell playing in India for

I-League The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...

side

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

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 town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

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 ( ; ) 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 ...

on 13 August 2005. His first start came in a 4–2 away win in the League Cup over Chesterfield 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 EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

. 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 Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

third round tie in January 2006 against

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

champions Chelsea, and set-up Gary Taylor-Fletcher 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 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 ...

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 a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

. 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 , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

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

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 off 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, a town in Somerset, England, with a council named Yeovil Town * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town W.F.C., an English women's football team affiliated with Yeovil T ...

Huish Park Huish Park is a Association football, 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 Athletic Ground, Huish. Huish Park has ...

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 the Professional Development Phase manager ...

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 English club Coventry City. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, one of Chelsea's greates ...

'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 ...

against Chelsea. However, Huddersfield lost the match 3–1. After being left out of the first-team squad for 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 ...

, 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, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...

against local rivals

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 ...

. 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, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

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 level 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 Bermondsey, 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, whic ...

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 sys ...

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 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 ...

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 who is the head coach of EFL League Two club Shrewsbury Town. As a player, he operated as a midfielder, in a nine-year career that ...

'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 National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

F.C. Halifax Town

On 9 December 2017, Collins came out of retirement to sign for his hometown club, F.C. Halifax Town 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 Alf ...

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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

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 , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. 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 as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

. Collins made his under-21 debut against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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 2 Bundesliga team SpVgg Greuther Fürth. The stadium was originally opened on 11 September 1910 u ...

Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is the Franconia#Towns and cities, s ...

on 21 August 2007. His home debut came against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

at Turners Cross in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

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. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

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 club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

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 jurist who has served since 2015 as the 48th governor of Texas. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served from 2002 to ...

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 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 ...

's academy.

Sheffield United

In November 2020, Collins joined the Sheffield United Academy as a midfield position specific coach. During the following summer of 2021, Collins was appointed as the head of individual development for the Under 21's and below. In January 2022, and following Paul Heckingbottoms promotion to the manager of the football club, Collins was appointed the lead under 21 coach. Collins would go on to lead the under 21's to the Professional Development League North title. In the season of 2022-2023, Collins would again lead them to another Northern title. They then narrowly missed out on the Professional Development League National Title, losing 2-1 to Millwall FC in extra time. For season 2023-2024 Collins, and the under 21's, would go one better. They succeeded in doing the double of Professional Development League North Champions, as well as beating Birmingham City 2-0 in the National Title Final. In the summer of 2024, Collins was promoted to join Chris Wilders staff as first team coach ahead of the 2024-2025 season.

Personal life

He is the cousin of professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

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 Championship. He previously played for the Doncaster Dragons, Halifax, Leigh Centurions and the Wid ...

and

Simon Grix Simon Grix (born 28 September 1985) is an Ireland national rugby league team, Ireland international rugby league footballer who played as a forward for Halifax R.L.F.C., Halifax in the RFL Championship, Championship and was the team's manager fr ...

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

Scunthorpe United *

Football League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English Football League (EFL ...

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 men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Men's 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 men's 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 21st-century English sportsmen 21st-century Irish sportsmen