Colin Larkin (footballer)
Colin Larkin (born 27 April 1982 in Dundalk, County Louth) is an Irish professional footballer, who plays as a forward for Sunderland RCA.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Colin Larkin | ||
| Date of birth | 27 April 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Dundalk, Ireland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Sunderland RCA | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1999–2002 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 3 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | → Kidderminster Harriers (loan) | 33 | (6) |
| 2002–2005 | Mansfield Town | 95 | (25) |
| 2005–2007 | Chesterfield | 80 | (11) |
| 2007–2009 | Northampton Town | 54 | (3) |
| 2009–2012 | Hartlepool United | 54 | (4) |
| 2012–2013 | Lincoln City | 29 | (8) |
| 2013 | Harrogate Town | 13 | (1) |
| 2013–2014 | Gateshead | 31 | (9) |
| 2014 | Harrogate Town | 1 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | West Auckland Town | ||
| 2015– | Sunderland RCA | 1 | (3) |
| National team | |||
| 1999 | Republic of Ireland U17 | 2 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 August 2014 | |||
He has previously played for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Kidderminster Harriers, Mansfield Town, Chesterfield, Northampton Town, Lincoln City and Gateshead.
Playing career
Larkin began his professional career with Wolverhampton Wanderers. He progressed through their youth ranks to make his first team debut on 24 August 1999 in a League Cup exit to Wycombe Wanderers, where he scored within eight minutes of coming off the bench.
Despite this bright start to his senior career, he was unable to gain any real first team action at Molineux and managed just three (goalless) appearances over three seasons for the club. To gain playing time, he was loaned out to the then League 2 side Kidderminster Harriers during the 2001-2002 season where Larkin made a big impact starting 33 games and scoring 7 goals.
However, with chances limited, Larkin, with two years left on his contract at Wolves, joined Mansfield Town for a £125,000 fee in July 2002. He scored 25 goals over a three-year stay at Field Mill, but an apparent fall-out with then manager Carlton Palmer led to his eventual release to join Chesterfield in 2005 on a two-year contract.
Larkin netted 13 goals in total over a two-year spell at Chesterfield. When the club suffered relegation to League Two, Larkin remained in the third tier as he joined Northampton Town on a free transfer, on 28 June 2007 in a two-year deal.
On 7 August 2009, Larkin signed a contract with League One side Hartlepool United after impressing during a short trial period. In May 2011 he signed a new contract with the club.[1] Larkin was released on 10 May 2012 and joined Lincoln City at the start of the 2012–13 season. He was released by Lincoln in March 2013 and subsequently signed for Harrogate Town[2] and scored on his debut for Town in a 2–2 draw against Bishop's Stortford.
On 12 May 2013, Larkin signed for Gateshead.[3] He made his debut on 10 August as a second-half substitute against Kidderminster Harriers.[4] Larkin scored his first goal for Gateshead on 17 August 2013 in a 1–2 defeat against Barnet.[5] At the end of the season, Larkin was released by Gateshead.[6]
On 8 August 2014, Harrogate Town announced that Larkin had re-signed for the club.[7] However, his second spell with the club would be short as they encountered an injury crisis amongst their forwards. As Larkin, who had recently had groin surgery was viewed as lacking the necessary match fitness to play games during the club's injury crisis, they took the decision to release him in order to be able to bring in new signings.[8] He moved on to join West Auckland Town,[9] reuniting him with his erstwhile Gateshead manager Anth Smith. However, Smith departed the club on 16 December 2014 and a month later Larkin was on the move again, joining Sunderland RCA.[10]
Colin has linked up once again with David Rush and Anth Smith, this time in a coaching role for Sunderland College coaching the men's category 3 team. He is also head coach of Evolution Football Elite Academy.
Career statistics
- As of 18 May 2014
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other[A] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1999–2000 | Division One | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2000–01 | Division One | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2001–02 | Division One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers Total | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | ||
| Kidderminster Harriers (loan) | 2001–02 | Division Three | 33 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 7 |
| Kidderminster Harriers F.C. Total | 33 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 7 | ||
| Mansfield Town | 2002–03 | Division Two | 22 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 7 |
| 2003–04 | Division Three | 40 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 8 | |
| 2004–05 | League Two | 33 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 11 | |
| Mansfield Town Total | 95 | 25 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 106 | 26 | ||
| Chesterfield | 2005–06 | League One | 41 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 7 |
| 2006–07 | League One | 39 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 6 | |
| Chesterfield Total | 80 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 90 | 13 | ||
| Northampton Town | 2007–08 | League One | 33 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 3 |
| 2008–09 | League One | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 2 | |
| Northampton Town Total | 54 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 63 | 5 | ||
| Hartlepool United | 2009–10 | League One | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 1 |
| 2010–11 | League One | 30 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 3 | |
| 2011–12 | League One | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Hartlepool United Total | 54 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 63 | 4 | ||
| Lincoln City | 2012–13 | Conference Premier | 29 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 8 |
| Lincoln City Total | 29 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 8 | ||
| Harrogate Town | 2012–13 | Conference North | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| Harrogate Town Total | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | ||
| Gateshead | 2013–14 | Conference Premier | 28 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 36 | 9 |
| Gateshead Total | 28 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 36 | 9 | ||
| Harrogate Town | 2014–15 | Conference North | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Harrogate Town Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career totals | 389 | 66 | 23 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 20 | 2 | 444 | 74 | ||
- A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances (including substitutes) and goals in the Football League Trophy, FA Trophy and play-offs.
References
- "Ten players shown door by Hartlepool United". BBC Sport. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
- "First Summer Signing Unveiled". Gateshead FC. 12 May 2013. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- "Kidderminster v Gateshead". BBC Sport. 10 August 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
- "Gateshead v Barnet". BBC Sport. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- "Eleven Not Offered New Deals". Gateshead FC. 29 May 2014. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- "Breaking news..." Harrogate Town FC (via Twitter). 8 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
- "Harrogate Release Larkin". NonLeague.pitchero.com. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- "Experienced Pair Sign for West Auckland". NonLeague.pitchero.com. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- "Larkin Boost For RCA". NonLeague.pitchero.com. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- "Colin Larkin Stats". Soccerbase.
- "C. Larkin". Soccerway.
External links
- Colin Larkin at Soccerbase
