Colin Woodthorpe
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| Colin Woodthorpe | ||
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Colin John Woodthorpe | |
| Date of birth | 13 January 1969 | |
| Place of birth | Liverpool, England | |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | |
| Playing position | Defender | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Bury | |
| Number | 3 | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1985–1990 1990–1994 1994–1997 1997–2002 2002– |
Chester City Norwich City Aberdeen Stockport County Bury |
155 (6) 43 (1) 51 (1) 153 (4) 166 (0) |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Colin Woodthorpe (born 13 January 1969 in Liverpool) is a veteran English footballer currently playing for Bury. At 39 years old, he is one of the oldest outfield players in the Football League.
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[edit] The Early Years
Woodthorpe has enjoyed an extremely long professional playing career, having made his first-team debut for Chester City in the 1985-86 season at Rochdale in the Freight Rover Trophy as a 17-year old apprentice.
The following season saw Woodthorpe make his Football League debut at current club Bury in a 1-1 draw and he ended the campaign with 30 league starts and two goals to his name. He also found the net in the northern final of the Freight Rover Trophy, but Chester lost 2-1 on aggregate to Mansfield Town. He remained a regular in the left-back slot for the remainder of his time at the club and did not miss a game in the 1989-90 season. At the end of the campaign he joined top-flight side Norwich City for a six-figure sum, having made 155 league appearances and scored six times in four years with Chester's first team.
[edit] A Taste of the Big Time
Woodthorpe was not always a first choice defender at Carrow Road, with Mark Bowen picked ahead of him. However, his four years with Norwich included some highlights, such as playing against Inter Milan in a UEFA Cup tie (1993), appearing in an FA Cup semi-final against Sunderland (1992) and scoring in a 3-0 win over Liverpool (1991).
In 1994 he moved north of the border when he joined Aberdeen for £400,000, again providing matches in European competition. In three years at Pittodrie Woodthorpe made 51 league appearances before returning to the north-west with Stockport County in 1997. County had just won promotion to Division One, a level the club would remain at until 2002 when they were relegated and Woodthorpe left on a free transfer, despite captaining the side in his final season at Edgeley Park.
[edit] The Bury Years
Woodthorpe joined Bury at the start of the 2002-03 season and has remained at Gigg Lane ever since. His first goal for the Shakers was a local derby winner at Rochdale in the LDV Vans Trophy and his first season ended with Bury reaching the Division Three play-offs.
Unfortunately, Bury's fortunes have been less inspiring since then amid fears of being relegated out of the Football League. However, Woodthorpe has remained a regular figure in the Bury defence, despite being 20 years older than some team-mates and opponents. He is also six years older than his manager, Chris Casper.
[edit] External links
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