Colin Thomas Irwin (born 9 February 1957) is a professional footballer of the early 1980s. A defender, able to play at left-back or in the centre, Irwin came through the youth ranks at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, and his first call-up to the first-team squad came, remarkably, in the 1978 European Cup Final. Irwin did not get on the pitch, but Liverpool won the game, and Irwin collected a winners medal. He was not involved in the first-team squad for all the 1978–79 season, but he made his debut early the following season, against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

, and went on to make 14 appearances throughout the season. 1980–81 saw a revamp of the Liverpool squad, with many young players given their chance, including Irwin. Although not an automatic first-team selection, he made 30 appearances and was a regular squad member as Liverpool won the League Cup and

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

. The summer of 1981 saw Liverpool sign

Mark Lawrenson Mark Thomas Lawrenson (born 2 June 1957) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender for Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, among others, during the 1970s and 1980s. After ...

, Irwin was made surplus, and he and other players released by Liverpool moved on to

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

, managed by

John Toshack John Benjamin Toshack (born 22 March 1949) is a Welsh former professional football player and manager. He began his playing career as a teenager with his hometown club Cardiff City, becoming the youngest player to make an appearance for the ...

, for £340,000. This was the club's record transfer paid. Much of it was still owing when the club went bankrupt in 1984, and settled in when they paid out £400,000 for Ashley Williams. He was made captain, but suffered a knee injury in 1983 which forced him to retire. Following retirement, he served as a coach at

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

, under former teammate

Phil Neal Philip George Neal (born 20 February 1951) is an English retired footballer who played for Northampton Town, Liverpool and Bolton Wanderers as a full-back. He is regarded as one of the most successful English players of all time, having won ei ...

, from 1985 to 1987.

Honours

Liverpool *

: 1978, 1981 * Charity Shield: 1980 *

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

: 1981 Swansea City *

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...

: 1982, 1983

References

External links

Liverpool FC profile

Profile at LFCHistory.net
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Colin 1957 births Living people English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Liverpool F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players English Football League players Bolton Wanderers F.C. non-playing staff Footballers from Liverpool UEFA Champions League–winning players English football coaches