Sam Collins

Huddersfield Town

Collins was born in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. He started his career at First Division club Huddersfield Town as a trainee, signing a professional contract on 6 July 1994.

Bury

Collins signed for Second Division club Bury on 2 July 1999 for a £75,000 fee. He was released at the end of the 2001–02 season, following the club's relegation to the Third Division.

Port Vale

He signed for Second Division club Port Vale on 26 June 2002, in a move that reunited him with Brian Horton, his manager at Huddersfield. He was signed as a replacement for Sagi Burton. After an initial shaky start, Collins played 49 matches for Port Vale and was named their Player of the Year in the 2002–03 season, later becoming captain. In September 2003, he was given the Second Division Player of the Month award, as he settled into a highly successful centre-back partnership with new signing George Pilkington. At the end of the 2003–04 season he signed a new two-year contract, having put in a 47-match haul. Collins made 37 appearances in 2004–05, helping the club to avoid relegation with an 18th-place finish in League One. His continuing strong performances in 2005–06 led to Championship club Plymouth Argyle inquiring about signing him. He rejected the approach, and instead joined another Championship club, Hull City, on 2 November on loan from Vale, prior to a permanent transfer for a £65,000 fee in January 2006. Michael Talbot later studied him heading the…

Collins played as a centre back and was described in March 2011 by his Hartlepool United manager Mick Wadsworth as a "warrior" who "leads by example" and as a "fearless header of the ball. Soon after signing for Hartlepool, manager Danny Wilson stated in February 2008 that: "He's a calming influence, he's a leader and that's what we needed in that backline. You'll get that consistency from him, he doesn't complicate his game." He also had an excellent range to his throw-ins.

Collins took on the role of assistant first and reserve-team coach at Hartlepool United in May 2014 when signing a new contract with the club, while remaining part of the playing squad. After Colin Cooper resigned as manager of Hartlepool, Collins was appointed caretaker manager alongside Stephen Pears on 5 October 2014. He took charge of four matches, overseeing one win and three losses, before Paul Murray was appointed as manager. Murray was dismissed on 6 December after only 45 days in charge, and Collins was again appointed caretaker manager. He took charge of one match, a 4–0 defeat away to Burton Albion on 13 December, before Ronnie Moore was appointed as manager on 16 December, who then appointed Collins as his assistant. Collins took over as caretaker manager on 15 January 2017 after Craig Hignett left the club by mutual consent. He was in charge for Hartlepool's 2–0 home win over Stevenage on 21 January before Dave Jones took over as manager on 23 January. Collins was dismissed by Hartlepool on 10 March, with Jones explaining the decision by saying: "We're changing the culture and the ethos here and when that happens sometimes there are casualties". Collins joined League One club Bradford City on 3 July 2017 as their Professional Development Coach, a role in which he "[worked] closely with Stuart McCall and Kenny Black in helping to bring forward the younger professionals within the first team squad". He left his role with Bradford on 28 June 2018. Collins was…

Collins married Claire in 1999, and the couple have four children. After finding that Collins had been having an affair, Claire posted derogatory messages on Collins' Twitter account, which were widely reported in the tabloids. She wrote in a separate message, "I hope he feels as meaningless as I do!" In June 2022, Collins' son Cody signed his first professional contract with Mansfield Town.