WINGER                                                                                                                    

89/90 LEAGUE APPEARANCES: ONE

TONY COYLE’S TIME AT THE PARK WAS CERTAINLY A BRIEF ONE, AND A REMINDER OF THE DAYS BEFORE THE MODERN RESTRICTIONS OF THE TRANSFER WINDOW.

Moving from Albion Rovers to Stockport County in December 1979, Tony went on to feature in 219 Football League matches for the Edgeley Park side, scoring 28 goals.

He was transferred to Chesterfield in June 1986 and stayed at Saltergate for two seasons, during which time he added a further 76 league outings and five goals.

Tony then returned to Stockport for a second spell at the club in August 1988, playing a further 23 league matches and scoring three goals, before signing for Northwich Victoria in the summer of 1989.

Terry Cooper signed Coyle on non-contract forms as an experinced back-up option in November 1989, and he went straight into the side to make his one and only appearance in a 1-1 draw at home to Wrexham, a match in which he was substituted for Steve Harrower.

In what goes down in the history books as one of the shortest spells at St James Park, Tony left after just one month with the club, returning to Northwich.

He later spent two seasons with Hyde United, joining them in the summer of 1991, where he scored once in 26 matches before finally hanging up his boots.