Colin John Methven (born 10 December 1955) is an Indian-born Scottish former professional footballer. A

centre-half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, Methven began his career with East Fife in 1974, whilst also working as a mineworker. He went on to make 154 league appearances and score fifteen goals in five years, before joining

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 193 ...

in September 1979 for a fee of £30,000. Methven remained at Springfield Park for seven years, making close to 300 appearances for the club and scoring 21 goals. He was part of the team that won the Freight Rover Trophy in 1985. He was the club's captain when

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and ...

came in for his services in 1986 for £20,000. He made his debut for the Seasiders on the opening day of the 1986–87 season in a goalless draw with Chesterfield at

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a single-tier football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the ...

and became a virtual ever-present for the next four years. Methven was a "footballing" centre-half who enjoyed going up for attacking corners, as evidenced by his 50 career league goals, and he was voted Player of the Year for two consecutive years by Blackpool's fans, who were angry when he was sold to

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is t ...

in November 1990 after an earlier loan spell at

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

. In his early days of his short spell as Blackpool manager,

Graham Carr William Graham Carr (born 25 October 1944) is an English former professional footballer, manager and scout. He is currently an associate director for Northampton Town. Club career Carr, a half-back, joined his first professional club, Nor ...

declared that Methven was "neither fast enough nor good enough for Fourth Division football". In the final game of the 1990–91 season, on 11 May 1991, Methven helped Walsall to a 2–0 win at Blackpool, denying the hosts automatic promotion to

Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

. In 1998, Wigan Athletic fans voted Methven as the club's Best Football League Player of All-Time. Methven finished his career with Barrow in 1994.

References

;Sources * Calley, Roy: ''Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887-1992'', Breedon Books Sport, 1992.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Methven, Colin 1955 births Living people Scottish footballers East Fife F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Indian emigrants to Scotland Men's association football defenders