Billinge-born Greenall made his professional debut with Blackpool on 23 September 1980, at the age of 16 years and 237 days, becoming the club's then-youngest-ever league player (a record broken by Trevor Sinclair in 1989). 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 club. 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.
GillinghamEdit
After 183 league appearances in just over five years, Greenall had a contractual dispute with Blackpool, and in September 1986 he moved to Third DivisionGillingham for £40,000.
Oxford UnitedEdit
Greenall joined Oxford United in February 1988 for £235,000, and the U's soon made him skipper following the departure of Tommy Caton, as he enjoyed a brief taste of top-flight football before they were relegated at the end of the season.
Bury and Preston North EndEdit
In July 1990, he moved to Bury for £100,000 after an initial loan spell at Gigg Lane, before departing for Preston North End during 1991–92 – a move in his favour as Preston narrowly beat the drop from Division Three while Bury were relegated. Preston would follow suit 12 months later, however.
Latter yearsEdit
After a year at Chester City, where he won promotion and player of the season in 1993–94, and a spell with Lincoln City, Greenall joined Wigan Athletic 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 he defied his advancing years to help Wigan beat Millwall 1–0 to win the Football League Trophy.
In 2001, Greenall became caretaker manager of Wigan for six games, losing only once, but he did not get the job permanently and lost his coaching job at Wigan shortly afterwards. He returned to playing with Rossendale United while searching for new coaching opportunities.
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.
Calley, Roy (1992). Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992. Breedon Books Sport. ISBN1-873626-07-X.
External linksEdit
Colin Greenall's career stats at Soccerbase
● Playfair football annuals 1981–82 to 1999–2000
October 19, 2023
colin, greenall, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations December 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Colin Greenall news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Colin Anthony Greenall born 30 December 1963 is an English former professional footballer who made over 600 Football League appearances between 1980 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 Colin GreenallPersonal informationFull nameColin Anthony Greenall 1 Date of birth 1963 12 30 30 December 1963 age 59 Place of birthBillinge Higher End Wigan EnglandPosition s DefenderSenior career YearsTeamApps Gls 1980 1986Blackpool183 9 1986 1988Gillingham62 4 1988 1990Oxford United67 2 1990 1992Bury71 5 1992 1993Preston North End29 1 1993 1994Chester City42 1 1994 1995Lincoln City43 3 1995 1999Wigan Athletic162 14 Total659 39 Managerial career2001Wigan Athletic caretaker Club domestic league appearances and goals Contents 1 Playing career 1 1 Blackpool 1 2 Gillingham 1 3 Oxford United 1 4 Bury and Preston North End 1 5 Latter years 2 Coaching career 3 Honours 4 References 5 External linksPlaying career EditBlackpool Edit Billinge born Greenall made his professional debut with Blackpool on 23 September 1980 at the age of 16 years and 237 days becoming the club s then youngest ever league player a record broken by Trevor Sinclair in 1989 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 club 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 Gillingham Edit 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 Oxford United Edit Greenall joined Oxford United in February 1988 for 235 000 and the U s soon made him skipper following the departure of Tommy Caton as he enjoyed a brief taste of top flight football before they were relegated at the end of the season Bury and Preston North End Edit In July 1990 he moved to Bury for 100 000 after an initial loan spell at Gigg Lane before departing for Preston North End during 1991 92 a move in his favour as Preston narrowly beat the drop from Division Three while Bury were relegated Preston would follow suit 12 months later however Latter years Edit After a year at Chester City where he won promotion and player of the season in 1993 94 and a spell with Lincoln City Greenall joined Wigan Athletic 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 he defied his advancing years to help Wigan beat Millwall 1 0 to win the Football League Trophy As of 2021 Greenall summarises for football commentaries on BBC Radio Lancashire 2 Coaching career EditIn 2001 Greenall became caretaker manager of Wigan for six games losing only once but he did not get the job permanently and lost his coaching job at Wigan shortly afterwards He returned to playing with Rossendale United while searching for new coaching opportunities 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 Honours EditBlackpool PFA Fourth Division Player of the Year 1980 81Chester City Player of the Season 1993 94 Wigan Athletic Football League Division Three IV champions 1996 97 Football League Trophy winners 1998 99 References Edit Colin Greenall Barry Hugman s Footballers Retrieved 25 November 2017 Staff Lancashire FA Calley Roy 1992 Blackpool A Complete Record 1887 1992 Breedon Books Sport ISBN 1 873626 07 X External links EditColin Greenall Latics Legends Wigan Athletic Official Club Site Colin Greenall s career stats at Soccerbase Playfair football annuals 1981 82 to 1999 2000 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Colin Greenall amp oldid 1176656957, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
