Born in Wythenshawe, Manchester in 1972, Colin Little was recruited from non-league football and turned out to be a superb goal-poacher who was also a huge fans favourite and equally as popular with players, staff and management of Crewe Alexandra Football Club.

After beginning life with Hyde United, with whom he had an enviable goalscoring record, Little was one of several players Dario Gradi spotted in the non-league game, and he was snapped up for £50,000 in May 1996.

'Super Col', as he was quickly to be known, was handed his full league debut early in the 1996/97 season in a 1-0 home win over Cheshire rivals Stockport County and made 20 appearances in the regular season that term.

However the goals didn't immediately flow for Little, as he failed to score in any of those games, but his first goal proved to be crucial and make him a cult hero with the Alex fans.

In the Play-Off Semi-Final against Luton Town, Little collected his first Alex goals as he netted in both legs as the Alex went through to the final 4-3 on aggregate. He was also part of the side which defeated Brentford 1-0 at Wembley to clinch promotion to the First Division.

In the Alex first season following promotion, Colin finished as top scorer at the club with 13 goals, including a superb hat-trick on the penultimate day of the season in a 5-0 drubbing of Bradford City at Gresty Road.

He scored another 12 goals the following year, including a vital brace in a win over Portsmouth which ensured the Alex's survival and remained a regular over the next couple of years, scoring some crucial goals, including a stunning volley against his boyhood idols Manchester City at Maine Road in August 2001.

Following the Alex's relegation back to the Second Division in 2002, Little became the only player to secure promotion to Division One twice as the Railwaymen bounced straight back up by securing the runners-up spot.

Unfortunately he didn't feature as much as he would have liked that season, making just 7 first team appearances as the emergence of Dean Ashton, Rob Hulse and Steve Jones saw his first team opportunities more and more limited. What was most impressive though was the great humility and endeavour in which he applied himself that year.

He was sent for loan spells at Mansfield Town and Macclesfield Town that term, and left the club in the summer of 2003 when his contract wasn't renewed.

In total Colin made 220 appearances for the Alex, scoring 45 goals and joined Macclesfield permanently after leaving Gresty Road.

He made 29 appearances for the Silkmen in 2003/04, helping them secure their Football League status, but spend the tail end of the campaign at Conference side Halifax Town for whom he played 8 times scoring two goals.

After being released from the Moss Rose in 2004, Little returned to non-league football with Conference North side Altrincham, and enjoyed a stunning season with the Robins.

Little scored 38 goals in all competitions and helped Altrincham to promotion to the Conference National, for the first time in five years, via the play-offs.

After renewing his deal with Alty in the summer, Super Col continued to attack the goalscoring charts in the Conference National, regularly appearing on the scoresheet for Graham Heathcote's side. Although they were relegated at the end of the 2007/08 season, Little still managed to be one of the leading scorers in the Blue Square Premier League with 22 goals.

The goals have continued to flow for the 38-year-old and his overall record at Alty stands at 65 league goals in 145 starts at the conclusion of the 2008/09 season.

Career Stats