George Foster (footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | George Walter Foster | ||
| Date of birth | 26 September 1956 | ||
| Place of birth | Plymouth, England | ||
| Playing position | Central defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1974–1982 | Plymouth Argyle | 212 | (6) |
| 1976 | → Torquay United (loan) | 6 | (3) |
| 1981–1982 | → Exeter City (loan) | 28 | (0) |
| 1982–1983 | Derby County | 30 | (0) |
| 1983–1993 | Mansfield Town | 373 | (0) |
| 1993 | Telford United | 2 | (0) |
| Total | 651 | (9) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1989–1993 | Mansfield Town (player-manager) | ||
| 1993–1995 | Telford United | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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George Walter Foster (born 26 September 1956) is an English former footballer and manager, who now works as Swansea City's European scout.
He began his career as a full-back, but was later moved into central defence. He began his career at Plymouth Argyle in 1974, and went on to spend eight years with the "Pilgrims", winning promotion out of the Third Division in 1974–75, as well as the club's Player of the Year award in 1978 and 1980. He also played on loan at Torquay United and Exeter City. He was sold on to Derby County for a £40,000 fee in June 1982, before moving on to Mansfield Town the following year. He spent the next decade with the "Stags", and after being named as the club's Player of the Year, was then named on the PFA Team of the Year as he helped Mansfield to win promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1985–86. He also won the Football League Trophy with the club in 1987. He was appointed player-manager in February 1989, and led the club to promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1991–92, but was sacked after failing to keep Mansfield in the Third Division. He ended his playing career with 649 league appearances in a 20-year career in the Football League. He later managed Conference club Telford United from 1993 to 1995, before becoming a professional scout.
Foster began his career at his hometown club Plymouth Argyle, making his debut in a Third Division match against Hereford United on 20 February 1974. The club finished in 17th place in 1973–74, before winning promotion as the division's runners-up in 1974–75 – they finished just one point behind champions Blackburn Rovers. Argyle went on to finish 16th in the Second Division in 1975–76, before slipping back into the third tier after finishing two points short of safety in 1976–77. Foster also spent a brief time on loan at Devon rivals Torquay United, scoring three goals in six league games. The "Pilgrims" replaced manager Tony Waiters with Mike Kelly, and only avoided a second successive relegation by just two places and three points in 1977–78 after Malcolm Allison replaced Kelly as manager in March. Under the stewardship of new boss Bobby Saxton, Plymouth moved up to a more secure 15th-place finish in 1978–79 and 1979–80. Plymouth rose to seventh place in 1980–81, before new manager Bobby Moncur led the club to a tenth-place finish in 1981–82. Foster spent part of the season on loan at Brian Godfrey's Exeter City, playing 28 Third Division games at St James Park. During an eight-year spell at Home Park, Foster scored six goals in 248 league and cup appearances and was named as the club's Player of the Year in 1978 and 1980.
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