Robert Anthony Coy (born 30 November 1961) is an English former
footballer who played as a
defender in the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
for three clubs in the 1980s.
Playing career
Coy began his career as an apprentice with
Wolverhampton Wanderers, signing professional forms in November 1979. He had to wait until the
1981–82 season for his league debut, which he made on 12 September 1981 in a 0–1 defeat to
Tottenham Hotspur.
He went on to make 21 top-flight appearances during his first season. Although Wolves were relegated at the end of the season, Coy was involved in them winning promotion in
1982–83. However, he only played five times the following season (when Wolves were once again relegated) and in March 1984 he joined
Division Four's bottom side
Chester City in a joint loan deal with
David Wintersgill. Coy's loan was quickly made permanent. He played in all of Chester's final 14 games of the season, including a spell at centre forward.
Coy became an established figure in a defence including future England international
Lee Dixon,
Andy Holden,
Martin Lane
Martin Lane (born 12 April 1961) is an English former footballer who played mainly as a full-back. Born in Altrincham, he made appearances in The Football League for four clubs, with most of his career being spent with Chester City.
Playin ...
and
Peter Zelem
Peter Zelem (born 13 February 1962, Manchester) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played in The Football League for four clubs during the 1980s. He is the uncle of Manchester United and England midfielder ...
and he went on to make 35 league appearances in
1984–85. This increased to 44 in
1985–86, when Chester were
Division Four runners-up and Coy was named as player of the season.
But Coy was then surprisingly released by manager
Harry McNally and he joined
Northampton Town.
He enjoyed another promotion as the Cobblers won
Division Four in
1986–87, but he made just 17 appearances for them and did not play again after promotion. After a spell on loan with
Altrincham, Coy joined
Southern League side
Aylesbury
Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...
. Once more there was promotion joy for Coy, and he played in their solitary season in the
GM Vauxhall Conference
The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...
.
Coy then played lower down the non-league pyramid for
Moor Green,
Armitage and
Boldmere St Michaels, before he retired at the end of the
1996–97 season. Away from football he has worked in insurance and as a sales rep.
[Chester City vs. Northampton Town matchday programme, 20 November 1993]
Honours
Wolverhampton Wanderers
*
Football League Division Two
The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...
runners-up:
1982–83 (18 apps, 0 goals)
Chester City
*
Football League Division Four runners-up:
1985–86 (44 apps, 1 goal)
*Player of the Season:
1985–86.
Northampton Town
*
Football League Division Four champions:
1986–87 (17 apps, 0 goals)
Aylesbury United
*
Southern League champions:
1987–88 (23 apps, 0 goals)
References
External links
Bobby Coy's Aylesbury United career statsList of Chester City player of the season winners
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coy, Bobby
1961 births
Living people
Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands
Men's association football defenders
English men's footballers
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
Chester City F.C. players
Northampton Town F.C. players
Altrincham F.C. players
Aylesbury United F.C. players
Moor Green F.C. players
Boldmere St. Michaels F.C. players
Armitage 90 F.C. players