Colin James Barlow (14 November 1935 – 19 December 2018) was an English professional footballer who played as a Winger for

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, Oldham Athletic and Doncaster Rovers.

Club career

Barlow joined Manchester City as a schoolboy, turning professional in 1956. p25 He made his first team debut on the opening day of the 1957–58 season, scoring the first goal in a 3–2 win against Chelsea at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

. He ended his first season with 17 goals in 40 appearances. The following season, he scored 18 goals, making him the club's top scorer for 1958–59. The 1959–60 season was his goal scoring peak, with 20 goals in 40 appearances. In 1962 he lost his first team place to Neil Young; following Young's debut he made only 19 further appearances for the club. When he left Manchester City he was the club's twelfth highest all-time goalscorer. As of 2007 he was eighteenth.

Later career

With first team opportunities limited at Manchester City, in August 1963 he followed manager

Les McDowall Les McDowall (25 October 1912 – 18 August 1991) was a Scottish football player and manager. He managed Manchester City between 1950 and 1963, and then Oldham Athletic until 1965. McDowall was the longest serving manager in Manchester City's h ...

to Oldham Athletic. He later played for Doncaster Rovers.

Personal life

After finishing his playing career, Barlow moved into business. In 1994 this saw him return to football as part of

Francis Lee Francis Lee may refer to: *Francis Lee (director), English actor and film director of ''God's Own Country'' *Francis Lee (footballer) (1944–2023), English professional footballer. *Francis Lee (physician) (1661–1719), English writer known for h ...

's takeover of the club. Barlow became the club's first chief executive, and was a member of the board. He left the role in January 1997, stating that he wished to devote more time to his companies. He resigned as a director in December 1997, but retained his shareholding. Barlow died on 19 December 2018 at the age of 83.

References

1935 births 2018 deaths English men's footballers Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Manchester City F.C. directors and chairmen Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Footballers from Manchester Men's association football midfielders {{England-footy-midfielder-1930s-stub