Colin Chad Lyman (9 March 1914 – 9 May 1986) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. He scored 54 goals in 188 league games in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

playing for

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 ...

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

, and

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

. He went on to serve

Nuneaton Borough Nuneaton Town Football Club is an English football club that was based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. It withdrew from Southern League Premier Division Central on 18 January 2024 due to financial problems and faces liquidation. In 1889, Nuneaton S ...

player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

from August 1948 to December 1950.

Playing career

Lyman played for

Rushden Town Rushden Town F.C. was a football club from Rushden, England. Founded in 1889, the club merged with Irthlingborough Diamonds to form Rushden & Diamonds in 1992. Nicknamed "the Russians", the club played at Hayden Road. History The club was foun ...

and

before playing one

Third Division South The Third Division South of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

game at

Roots Hall Roots Hall is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium located in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. The stadium is the home ground of the National League (English football), National League team Southend United F.C., Southend United. With a ...

for

in 1933. He moved on to league rivals

, turning professional at the club in 1935. He scored 29 goals in 86 league games at the County Ground in 1934–35, 1935–36, and 1936–37. He then moved up to the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

with

for a £3,000 fee. He spent the 1937–38 and 1938–39 seasons at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

, and scored 11 goals in 54 league and cup matches. He also guested for

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, Chesterfield,

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

and

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Having played four games for the Vale as a guest in 1946, he signed permanently for the club in May 1946 for a 'fairly substantial fee'. He played 11 Third Division South games for the club in 1946–47, scoring at the

Old Recreation Ground The Old Recreation Ground was a football stadium located in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, England, and home to Port Vale F.C. from 1913 to 1950. It was the sixth ground the club used. Structure and facilities The stadium was in rather bad conditi ...

in a 1–1 draw with

. After putting in a

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies * ...

request, he was sold on to

in October 1946 for a 'substantial sum' above what the Vale had paid for him. He scored nine goals in 23

appearances for Billy Walker's Forest in the rest of the 1946–47 season. After leaving the

City Ground The City Ground is a association football, football stadium in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest F.C., Nottingham Forest since 1898 and has a capacity of 30,455. ...

, he moved on to

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

. He scored five goals in 21 Third Division South games for the "Magpies" in 1947–48 before leaving

Meadow Lane Meadow Lane is a football (soccer), football stadium in Nottingham, England. It is the home ground of Notts County F.C., Notts County, who have played there since it opened in 1910. The stadium was also home to Notts County Ladies F.C. from 201 ...

Management career

Lyman was appointed as

Birmingham Combination The Birmingham Combination was an English football competition for teams in Birmingham and the surrounding areas, which was active from 1892 until 1954. It was founded as the Birmingham & District Junior League, and changed its name in 1908. The ...

club

on 2 August 1948. He brought 24-year-old

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

forward Jimmy Campbell, as well as

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

inside-forward David Metzger and Notts County goalkeeper Harold Orgill. He led the club to lift the

Birmingham Senior Cup The Birmingham Senior Cup is a regional Association football, football competition for Birmingham County FA club teams, organised by the Birmingham County Football Association. It began in 1876 and is the oldest County Football Association, count ...

and a second-place league finish to Bedworth Town, with Lyman contributing 18 goals from 35 games. He strengthened the squad by signing 23-year-old outside-left Alan Daley from

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

. They finished third in the 1949–50 season and reached the third round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

for the first time in the club's history, beating Bedworth Town, Moira United, Atherstone Town, Gresley Rovers, Wellington Town,

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

and

Mossley Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, south-east of Oldham and east of Manchester. The town grew ...

, before they were eliminated by

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

. Speaking at the end of season dinner he declared that: ''"I know my directors are keen to see first-class football in Nuneaton the same as myself, but there is a long way to go yet. There are other clubs with the same idea, but if we get the support, I think in a few years first class football will be seen in Nuneaton.''" In an attempt to overcome champions Bedworth Town, he signed their inside-left Jim McKeown, who was regarded as one of the division's finest players. He also brought in Ralph Dulson at inside-right, who had helped Linby Colliery to the

Central Alliance The Central Alliance was a football league in England, covering the East Midlands. History The league was established in 1911 with twelve clubs, most of which had previously been members of the Notts & Derbyshire League; Derby County Reserves ...

title. The front three was completed with the arrival of

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

international Eddie Freimanis from Northampton Town. Lyman resigned in December 1950 to take up another job. He went on to serve Long Eaton Town as player-manager and played for British Timken.

Career statistics

Honours

Nuneaton Borough *

: 1949

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyman, Colin 1914 births 1986 deaths Footballers from Northampton English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Rushden & Diamonds F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. wartime guest players Leicester City F.C. wartime guest players Notts County F.C. wartime guest players Chesterfield F.C. wartime guest players Derby County F.C. wartime guest players Coventry City F.C. wartime guest players Port Vale F.C. wartime guest players Port Vale F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Nuneaton Town F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football player-managers English football managers Nuneaton Town F.C. managers 20th-century English sportsmen