Colin Foster (born 16 July 1964) is an English retired football defender.

Colin Foster
Personal information
Full name Colin John Foster
Date of birth (1964-07-16) 16 July 1964 (age 60)
Place of birth Chislehurst, Kent, England
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Central defender
Youth career
Elmstead
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1982–1987 Leyton Orient 178 (10)
1987–1989 Nottingham Forest 72 (5)
1989–1994 West Ham United 93 (4)
1994Notts County (loan) 9 (0)
1994–1997 Watford 66 (8)
1997Cambridge United (loan) 7 (0)
1997–1998 Cambridge United 27 (1)
Total 425 (55)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Starting out at non-League club Elmstead,[1] Foster made his league debut for Leyton Orient in January 1982 whilst still an apprentice. He moved to Nottingham Forest, for a fee of £50,000 in May 1987, making 72 league appearances under manager, Brian Clough. In September 1989, he became manager Lou Macari's second and most expensive signing for West Ham United for £750,000. Never a regular player under Macari, he became so under new manager Billy Bonds in a team which won promotion from the second division in season 1990-91. Foster's time at West Ham is most often associated with scoring a spectacular mid-air volley in an FA Cup Quarter-final versus Everton in March 1991. Everton were in the upper reaches of the First Division (then the top tier) while West Ham were a second-tier side. West Ham won the match 2-1 [1] before being knocked out in the semi-finals by Foster's old club Nottingham Forest. Three seasons broken by regular injury followed and after a projected £400,000 move back to Nottingham Forest fell through, when Foster could not agree terms, he remained at West Ham on a weekly contract. A loan to Notts County followed before he eventually moved, for a fee of £100,000, to Watford in March 1994.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Club history Archived 23 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine at fcelmstead.co.uk
  2. ^ Who's Who. A player by player guide to West Ham United FC. London: Independent UK Sports Publications. 1995. p. 68. ISBN 1-899429-01-8.
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