FORMER footballer Colin Dobson has died aged 82.
The inside-forward had spells with Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield and Brighton, before joining Bristol Rovers as a player-coach.
He also played twice for England U23’s.
After hanging up his boots Dobson ventured into coaching and managed in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.
Known for his pace and skill, Dobson was a popular figure at all of his clubs during the 1960s and 70s.
Upon learning of his passing, Bristol Rovers wrote: “We were saddened to learn of the passing of former Rovers player and coach Colin Dobson.”
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Huddersfield posted on their Twitter account: “All at #htafc are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Colin Dobson, who played for the Club between 1966-1972.
“Our thoughts our with his family, friends and loved ones at this time.
“Once a Terrier, always a Terrier.”
Fans also took to social media to pay their respects.
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One wrote: “One of my favourite players. RIP Colin.”
A second reminisced: “RIP Colin Dobson. Saw him play for Huddersfield at Fratton Park mid 60s.
“Skilful and hard as nails. Remember some old lady giving him the verbals. Very amusing to us kids at the time.”
A third tweeted: “RIP Colin Dobson remember Colin so well as a boy going to Bristol Rovers brilliant winger.”
And another added: “RIP the great Colin Dobson.”
Turning professional at Sheffield Wednesday in 1957, the Eston-born attacker made 177 league appearances for the Owls, scoring 49 times.
He moved to Huddersfield for £25,000 in 1966, going on to play 155 times for the Terriers, scoring 50 goals.
Dobson helped Town win the Second Division title in 1970, having been their top scorer in the prior two seasons.
He played four games on loan at Brighton in 1972, although his time with the Seagulls was cruelly curtailed by a broken leg.
His former Wednesday team-mate Don Megson made Dobson his first signing as Bristol Rovers manager later that year.
He would return from his broken leg injury to debut that November, going on to excel for the club.
Dobson helped Rovers to promotion in the 1973-74 season – also featuring in an 8-2 victory over former club Brighton along the way.
He retired in 1976 before launching a managerial career in the 1980s.
Dobson took charge of Bahraini side West Riffa in 1984 and 1985, before being appointed Al Rayyan boss in Qatar.
He managed them between 1985 and 1987, later going on to lead Kuwaiti side Al Arabi in 1994-95.
The coach then took charge of Oman’s Under-17s in 1997.
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In addition to his coaching work, Dobson also worked extensively as a scout.
During his time as chief scout at Stoke City, he was credited with unearthing future England keeper Ben Foster, who had been playing for non-league Racing Club Warwick.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
