Colin George Pates (born 10 August 1961) is an English former professional

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 made more than 400 appearances 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

. He played for various clubs, mainly in London, in a defensive role.

Career

Pates was born in

Wimbledon, London Wimbledon () is a suburb of southwest London, England, southwest of Charing Cross; it is the main commercial centre of the London Borough of Merton. Wimbledon had a population of 68,189 in 2011 which includes the electoral wards of Abbey, Wimb ...

. He began his career with Chelsea, making his debut as an 18-year-old in a 7–3 victory against

Orient The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

in 1979. He remained with Chelsea through the turbulent early 1980s and as club

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

led the side to promotion in 1983–84. He was sold to

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

in October 1988 for £400,000 having made 346 appearances for the Blues. 15 months later Pates joined

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 ...

for £500,000 in January 1990. His debut for Arsenal came at Hillsborough against

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

17 February 1990. Arsenal, already having

Steve Bould Stephen Andrew Bould (born 16 November 1962) is an English football coach and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a defender from 1980 until 2000. Bould began his football career with his hometown club Stoke City where he g ...

Tony Adams Tony Alexander Adams (born 10 October 1966) is an English former football manager and player. Adams played for Arsenal and England, captaining both teams. Known as Mr. Arsenal, he spent his entire playing career of 19 years as a centre-back t ...

David O'Leary David Anthony O'Leary (born 2 May 1958) is a football manager and former player. The majority of his 20-year playing career was spent as a central defender at Arsenal, where his tally of 722 appearances stands as a club record. He played 68 time ...

and

Andy Linighan Andrew Linighan (born 18 June 1962) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender from 1980 until 2000, notably in the Premier League for Arsenal and Crystal Palace. He also played in the Football League for Hartlepoo ...

dominating the centre half positions, Pates was reduced to playing in only 12 full League games in his stay at

Highbury Highbury is an area of North London, England, in the London Borough of Islington. Highbury Manor Highbury was once owned by Ranulf, brother of Ilger, and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor hou ...

of over two and a half years. He was part of the Arsenal side that won the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

in 1991 but only played in one match, which was not enough games to earn a winner's medal. He came in as a substitute for Linighan after 63 minutes against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

at Highbury 23 February 1991. Pates was loaned out to

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

when the club had an injury crisis, for the rest of the 1990-91 season, playing a valuable role and helped them reach the

Second Division play-offs The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

. Pates became an important figure for Arsenal in the 1991-92 season, when he stepped in to cover for injuries to Adams and Bould. His only goal for the Gunners came when he scored the goal that put Arsenal in front against Benfica in the European Cup second round tie at Highbury 6 November 1991. Arsenal had granted Pates a Free transfer in August 1993 and a move to Brighton & Hove Albion became permanent. After a knee injury forced his retirement from the top-level game, he moved into coaching. He was appointed

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 ...

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...

, leaving in 1996, and then had a brief stint playing for

Romford Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...

. He gained coaching qualifications while managing Wingate & Finchley, and since 2001 has coached football at

Whitgift School Whitgift School is an independent day school with limited boarding in South Croydon, London. Along with Trinity School of John Whitgift and Old Palace School it is owned by the Whitgift Foundation, a charitable trust. The school was prev ...

South Croydon South Croydon in south London is the area surrounding the valley south of central Croydon and running as far south as the former Red Deer public house on the Brighton Road. It is bounded by Waddon to the West and Selsdon and Sanderstead to the E ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pates, Colin Living people 1961 births Footballers from the London Borough of Sutton People from Carshalton English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Chelsea F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players Romford F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players English football managers Crawley Town F.C. managers Wingate & Finchley F.C. managers English football coaches