Daniel Richard Coles (born 30 October 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. His playing career included spells at Bristol City, Hull City, Bristol Rovers, Exeter City and his last club, Forest Green Rovers.

Danny Coles
Coles playing for Exeter City in 2013
Personal information
Full name Daniel Richard Coles[1]
Date of birth (1981-10-30) 30 October 1981 (age 43)[2]
Place of birth Bristol, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2005 Bristol City 148 (6)
2005–2008 Hull City 31 (0)
2007Hartlepool United (loan) 3 (0)
2007–2008Bristol Rovers (loan) 7 (0)
2008–2011 Bristol Rovers 95 (3)
2011–2014 Exeter City 114 (8)
2014–2015 Forest Green Rovers 29 (1)
Total 427 (18)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Bristol City

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Coles began his career at Bristol City. He made his debut for the club on 24 April 2000 in a 2–2 home draw against Oxford United. He became a regular fix in the squad at Ashton Gate Stadium two seasons later during the 2001-02 campaign. He scored his first goal for the club in December 2001 in a 2–0 away win over Wrexham.[3]

In January 2003, he helped Bristol City to the third round of the FA Cup and played the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 away defeat against Leicester City.[4] Later that year, he was named Young Player of the Year at the club for the 2002–03 season.[5]

He played a central role in the Bristol City side that reached the Division Two play-off final in May 2004, only to lose 1–0 against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in front of 65,167 spectators.[6]

In July 2005, he was arrested and charged for being drunk and disorderly during a pre-season trip.[7] In February 2005, he was placed on the transfer list at Ashton Gate Stadium.[8]

Hull City

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On 26 July 2005, Coles was signed by Hull City manager Peter Taylor for a fee of £200,000.[9] He made his debut for Hull on 6 August 2005 in a goalless home draw against QPR.[10]

After a promising start having agreed a two-year contract at the club, he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament knee injury which ruled him out for the remainder of the 2005–06 season.[11] He returned to full fitness in October 2006, coming on as a half time substitute in a 2–0 away defeat against Burnley at Turf Moor.[12]

Hartlepool United

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Struggling to break into the first team at Hull at the start of the 2007-08, on 1 October 2007 he signed for League One side Hartlepool United on a one-month loan deal.[13] He made his debut for Hartlepool five days later in a 2–1 away defeat against Nottingham Forest.[14]

Bristol Rovers

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On 1 November 2007, Coles joined Bristol Rovers in League One on a 3-month loan from Hull City.[15] The move became permanent on 8 January 2008 when he moved for an undisclosed fee, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract with The Pirates.[16][17]

On 6 January 2008, he scored his first goal for Bristol Rovers in a third round FA Cup tie away to Premier League outfit Fulham.[18] On 12 August 2008, he ended speculation about his future by signing a new two-year contract extension with The Pirates, despite interest in him from Plymouth Argyle.[19]

On 11 October 2008, he scored in a 2–1 home win over Leyton Orient however suffered a serious knee injury.[20] He visited American specialist Bill Knowles during the off-season and returned to The Pirates' squad for the 2009–10 season.[21] In just his second game back from injury, at the start of the 2009-10 season, he scored alongside Joe Kuffour on 15 August 2009 in a 2–0 away victory against Stockport County.[22]

Exeter City

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In early June 2011, rumours circulated of a potential move for Coles to Exeter City.[23] A few days later, on 11 June 2011, he moved to League One Exeter.[24] His debut for the Grecians came on 6 August 2011 in a goalless draw away at Stevenage.[25] Later that month, on 24 August 2011, he was a part of the Exeter side that hosted Liverpool in the second round of the League Cup, suffering a 3–1 defeat against the Premier League club.[26]

On 12 March 2012, he suffered a fractured spine in a collision with goalkeeper Artur Krysiak during training, an injury that caused him to miss the remainder of the 2011–12 season.[27] As a result, he was unable to help Exeter avoid relegation into League Two.[28]

On his return from injury, he was named team captain by manager Paul Tisdale for the 2012–13 season.[29] On 25 October 2012, he signed a new contract with Exeter City.[30]

In June 2014, he was disciplined by Exeter over offensive comments he made on Twitter. The tweet in question was Coles' response to a tweet he had been sent, with his response including two expletives.[31] He was fined two weeks' wages by Exeter, stripped of the captaincy and transfer-listed by the club.[32]

Forest Green Rovers

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On 5 August 2014, Coles joined Forest Green Rovers on a one-year contract from Exeter City.[33] He made his debut for the club only four days later on 9 August 2014 in a 1–0 away win over Southport.[34] His first goal for the club came on 18 October 2014 as he scored the only goal of the game in a 1–0 away victory over his former club, Bristol Rovers, at the Memorial Stadium.[35]

In January 2015, he signed a contract extension ensuring he would remain at Forest Green until the summer of 2016.[36] On 31 March 2015, following the departure of assistant manager Dave Kevan to Notts County, he stepped up to fill a player-coach role until the end of the 2014-15 season.[37]

On 3 May 2015, he featured in the second leg of Forest Green's Conference National play-off clash with former club Bristol Rovers, although he couldn't prevent a 2–0 defeat which saw Bristol Rovers win the tie 3–0 on aggregate.[38] It proved to be his last game for the club as his contract was cancelled by mutual consent in August 2015.[39] Coles stated at the time that he has "no real plans to play anymore", effectively signalling his retirement.[40]

Career statistics

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As of 19 October 2013
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[a] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bristol City 1999–00[41] Second Division 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2000–01[42] Second Division 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0
2001–02[43] Second Division 23 1 1 0 0 0 6 0 23 1
2002–03[44] Second Division 39 2 3 0 0 0 6[b][c] 1 0 3
2003–04[45] Second Division 45 2 3 0 3 1 4 0 55 3
2004–05[46] League One 38 1 2 0 1 0 2 0 43 1
Total 148 6 9 0 4 1 19 1 180 8
Hull City 2005–06[47] Championship 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
2006–07[48] Championship 21 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 22 0
2007–08[49] Championship 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 31 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 32 0
Hartlepool United (Loan) 2007–08[49] League One 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Total 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Bristol Rovers (Loan) 2007–08[49] League One 7 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 9 1
Total 7 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 9 1
Bristol Rovers 2007–08[49] League One 17 1 4 1 0 0 0 0 21 2
2008–09[50] League One 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
2009–10[51] League One 36 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 36 1
2010–11[52] League One 37 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 41 0
Total 95 3 5 1 0 0 3 0 103 4
Exeter City 2011–12[53] League One 31 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 31 2
2012–13[54] League Two 46 6 1 0 1 0 0 0 48 6
2013–14[55] League Two 38 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 13 1
Total 114 8 4 0 3 0 2 0 123 8
Forest Green Rovers 2014–15[56] Conference Premier 29 1 1 0 3 0 33 1
Total 29 1 1 0 3 0 33 1
Career total 432 18 22 2 7 1 30 1 491 22
  1. ^ Includes Football League Trophy FA Trophy, Second Division play-off matches and Conference Premier play-off matches.
  2. ^ Appearances in Football League Trophy matches
  3. ^ Appearances in Second Division play-off matches.

Honours

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Bristol City

References

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  1. ^ a b Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. ^ "Danny Coles". 11v11. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  3. ^ "Wrexham 0-2 Bristol City". BBC Sport. 6 December 2001.
  4. ^ "Foxes hold off dogged Bristol". BBC Sport. 11 February 2003.
  5. ^ "Defender Coles on transfer list". BBC. 2 February 2005. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Bristol City 0-1 Brighton". BBC Sport. 30 May 2004.
  7. ^ "City defender on drinking charge". BBC News. 22 July 2005. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
  8. ^ "Defender Coles on transfer list". BBC Sport. 2 February 2005.
  9. ^ "Hull seal deal for defender Coles". BBC Sport. 26 July 2005.
  10. ^ "Hull 0-0 QPR". BBC Sport. 6 August 2005.
  11. ^ "Hull rocked by Coles injury agony". BBC Sport. 22 September 2005.
  12. ^ "Burnley 2-0 Hull". BBC Sport. 14 October 2006.
  13. ^ "Hartlepool recruit Hull's Coles". BBC News. 1 October 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2007.
  14. ^ "Nottingham Forest 2-1 Hartlepool". BBC Sport. 6 October 2007.
  15. ^ "Bristol Rovers sign Hull's Coles". BBC Sport. 1 November 2007.
  16. ^ "Coles seals Rovers deal". Sky Sports. 8 January 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  17. ^ "Rovers seal permanent Coles deal". BBC Sport. 8 January 2008.
  18. ^ "Fulham 2-2 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 6 January 2008.
  19. ^ "Coles extends Bristol Rovers stay". BBC. 12 August 2008. Retrieved 12 August 2008.
  20. ^ "Trollope backs Bristol Rovers defender Coles to beat injury". Bristol Post. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  21. ^ "Trollope cautious with Coles". Sky Sports. 21 July 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
  22. ^ "Stockport 0-2 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 15 August 2009.
  23. ^ "Bristol Rovers may lose Coles to Exeter". Bristol post. 4 June 2011. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  24. ^ "Exeter City sign Bristol Rovers defender Danny Coles". BBC Sport. 11 June 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  25. ^ "Stevenage 0-0 Exeter". 6 August 2011. 6 August 2011.
  26. ^ "Exeter City 1-3 Liverpool". BBC Sport. 24 August 2011.
  27. ^ "Exeter City's Danny Coles fractures spine in training". BBC Sport. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  28. ^ "Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale set to rebuild squad". BBC Sport. 8 May 2012.
  29. ^ "Exeter City captain Danny Coles signs contract extension". BBC Sport. 25 October 2012. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  30. ^ "Danny Coles – Bio". Exeter City Football Club. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  31. ^ "Exeter City captain Danny Coles faces backlash over offensive Tweets to fans". No. 20 June 2014. Express & Echo. Archived from the original on 24 June 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  32. ^ "Exeter City: Danny Coles stripped of captaincy and transfer listed". BBC Sport. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  33. ^ "Forest Green Rovers sign Exeter City defender". BBC Sport. 6 August 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  34. ^ "Southport 0–1 Forest Green". BBC Sport. 9 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  35. ^ "Bristol Rovers 0–1 Forest Green". BBC Sport. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  36. ^ "Forest Green defender signs new contract". BBC Sport. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  37. ^ "Forest Green assistant manager Dave Kevan quits to join Notts County". Gloucester Citizen. 31 March 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  38. ^ "Bristol Rovers 2-0 Forest Green". BBC Sport. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  39. ^ "Adrian Pennock: Forest Green Rovers boss joy at start". BBC Sport. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  40. ^ "Danny Coles set to become a football agent after injury forces him to hang up his boots". Stroud News & Journal. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  41. ^ "Games played by Daniel Coles in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  42. ^ "Games played by Daniel Coles in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  43. ^ "Games played by Daniel Coles in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  44. ^ "Games played by Daniel Coles in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  45. ^ "Games played by Daniel Coles in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  46. ^ "Games played by Daniel Coles in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  47. ^ "Games played by Daniel Coles in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  48. ^ "Games played by Daniel Coles in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  49. ^ a b c d "Games played by Daniel Coles in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  50. ^ "Games played by Daniel Coles in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  51. ^ "Games played by Daniel Coles in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  52. ^ "Games played by Daniel Coles in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  53. ^ "Games played by Daniel Coles in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  54. ^ "Games played by Daniel Coles in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  55. ^ "Games played by Daniel Coles in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  56. ^ "Games played by Daniel Coles in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  57. ^ "Bristol City 2–0 Carlisle". BBC Sport. 6 April 2003. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
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