Colin Irwin (footballer)
Colin Irwin Thomas ( born February 9, 1957 in Liverpool ) is a former English footballer. The originating from the youth work of Liverpool FC center-back failed the sporting breakthrough after the transition to the professional sector. Then he moved in 1981 to Swansea City. There he remained until his early career end in the summer of 1984.
Sports career
Liverpool FC (1974-1981)
Irwin was part of the youth department of FC Liverpool, before the age of 17 in November 1974 signed his first professional contract with the " Reds ". Although he was on the center-back position to be very talented, but he could not against high-profile opponents like Alan Hansen and Phil Thompson prevail. Unlike most regular players in Liverpool Irwin was only part-time footballer and he went a parallel employment as a camera technician and electrician after. It was only on 25 August 1979, he represented the first time the injured Hansen and made his debut in a 3-1 home win against West Bromwich Albion. While Hansen continues paused, Irwin also denied much of the next league games and on September 1, 1979 he succeeded against FC Southampton his first competitive goal. To this end, he was part of the team that already in the first round of the European Champions' Cup failed unexpectedly of Dinamo Tbilisi. After a 2-1 in the first leg, the 0-3 defeat was in Tbilisi for the time being Irwins last appearance for Liverpool. Hansen returned to the starting eleven, and only about six months later was offered another opportunity to replace the left-back Alan Kennedy. At this time the championship was already almost " in the bag " and a total of eight league games was enough for Irwin's contribution not for obtaining an official medal.
The longest phase in the Liverpool starting eleven Irwin was granted from the end of November 1980, when he was in a league game in the starting lineup in a 2-1 win against the eventual champions Aston Villa for the first time in the 1980/81 season. Due to a Blessur Phil Thompson and Alan Hansen later he graduate from the following 13 league matches, but with just four wins the Reds slipped off to a disappointing fifth place in the table completion. Far better was for him the second attempt in the European national champion competition. Here he was first off the bench in the quarter-final first leg against CSKA Sofia ( 5:1) after almost 20 minutes for Thompson. After that, he was just in the return match in Sofia (1-0 ) in the starting as shortly afterwards in the second semifinal game at Bayern Munich as he claimed a 0-0 draw in the first leg a 1-1 won with his team and the finals mitverantworte. There, however, he sat in a 1-0 victory against Real Madrid at the Parc des Princes stadium on the substitutes' bench. After a total of 44 competitive match appearances for Liverpool, he left the club in August 1981 in the direction of Swansea City. Crucial to this decision, the recently incurred an obligation of the Irish international's Mark Lawrenson from Brighton had been.
Swansea City (1981-1984)
The former Liverpool player John Toshack in 1981 was coach of the " Swans ", who had just gained in the highest English Game checkout. He settled the Irwin - cost transfer record transfer fee of 340,000 pounds and immediately received the newcomer the captain's armband. The 1981/82 season was surprisingly good and the "small" Swansea City finally finished sixth. Irwin had thereby denied 37 of 42 league games.
The positive approaches but found no sequel. Irwin had suffered serious knee problems and so he came in the next two years only in eleven league games used. It rose in 1983 from Swansea in the second division. In the summer of 1984 Irwin ended his active career in English football, emigrated to Australia, where he played for a club with the name Perth Azzurri.
In December 1985 he returned to his homeland. His former teammate Phil Neal had become player-coach at Bolton Wanderers and hired him as an assistant. In this role, Irwin worked until the end of the season 1986 / 87th Subsequently, he found himself back in Perth Western Australia, where he began working as a sales manager for a wine and spirit merchant.
Title / Awards
- Welsh Cup (2): 1982, 1983