Colin Greenall
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| Colin Greenall | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Colin Greenall | |
| Date of birth | December 30, 1963 | |
| Place of birth | Billinge, England | |
| Height | 5ft 10in | |
| Playing position | Defender | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1981-1986 1986-1988 1988-1990 1990-1992 1992-1993 1993-1994 1994-1995 1995-2000 |
Blackpool Gillingham Oxford United Bury Preston North End Chester City Lincoln City Wigan Athletic |
183 (9) 62 (4) 67 (2) 71 (5) 29 (1) 42 (1) 43 (3) 193 (18) |
| Teams managed | ||
| 2001 | Wigan Athletic (caretaker manager) | |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Colin Greenall (born December 30, 1963 in Billinge, Lancashire) is an English former professional footballer who made over 600 Football League appearances between 1981 and 1999. Starting his career at Blackpool as an apprentice, Greenall had spells at Gillingham, Oxford United, Bury, Preston North End, Chester City and Lincoln City before finishing his career at his hometown club, Wigan Athletic.
At Blackpool, Greenall made his professional debut on August 23, 1980, at the age of 16 years and 237 days, becoming the club's then-youngest-ever league player. Three days later, he appeared in a League Cup game against Everton at Goodison Park.
Greenall was one of a host of young players brought to Blackpool by Alan Ball during his short managerial reign at the seaside. Unlike most of the others, however, he remained at the club for years and developed into a dependable defender. He eventually took over the central role, combining with captain Steve Hetzke and Mike Conroy to form a successful defensive partnership.
Greenall won England Youth honours and, at 20, was voted the Fourth Division's Player of the Year by the PFA.
After 183 league appearances in just over five years, Greenall had a contractual dispute with Blackpool, and in September 1986 he moved to Third Division Gillingham for £40,000. Blackpool had lost one of their most influential players.
Greenall joined Oxford in February 1988 for £235,000, and the U's soon made him skipper following the departure of Tommy Caton.
In July 1990, he moved to Bury for £100,000 after a loan spell at Gigg Lane.
After spells at Preston, Chester and Lincoln, Greenall joined Wigan in 1995. At Wigan, he helped guide the team to Third Division success as an ever-present captain in 1997. After coming out of retirement, Greenall made his Wembley debut in 1999 when Wigan beat Millwall 1-0 to win the Auto Windscreens Shield.
In 2001, Greenall became caretaker-manager of Wigan for six games, losing only once. In June 2002 he was appointed Head of Youth Development at Rochdale and in June 2004 Director of the Centre of Excellence at Rochdale. In August 2005 he was appointed to the role of Coach Education Manager at the Lancashire FA.
[edit] References
- Calley, Roy (1992). Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887-1992. Breedon Books Sport. ISBN 1-873626-07-X.
[edit] External links
- Colin Greenall: Latics Legends. Wigan Athletic Official Club Site
- Colin Greenall's career stats at Soccerbase
Categories: 1963 births | Living people | People from Billinge | English footballers | English football managers | Blackpool F.C. players | Gillingham F.C. players | Oxford United F.C. players | Bury F.C. players | Preston North End F.C. players | Chester City F.C. players | Lincoln City F.C. players | Wigan Athletic F.C. players | Wigan Athletic F.C. managers
