George Foster (footballer)

Foster began his career at his hometown club Plymouth Argyle, moving from the youth team through the reserve team and into the first-team.[2] He made his debut in a Third Division match against Hereford United on 20 February 1974.[6] 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 in October 1976, 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. Foster was changed to the centre-back position during the campaign and it was there that he established himself as a mainstay in the starting eleven.[2]

Under the stewardship of new boss Bobby Saxton, Plymouth moved up to a more secure 15th-place finish in 1978–79, and Foster recovered from a broken leg to regain his first-team spot for the 1979–80 campaign.[2] 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 after making his debut against Plymouth on 28 December.[3]

He was an ever-present at Exeter for the remainder of the campaign and became the first player to win the club's Player of the Year award whilst on loan from another club.[3] He turned down a transfer to Sheffield United as he did not want to drop down to the Fourth Division.[7] 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.

In June 1982, Derby County manager Peter Taylor paid £40,000 for his services. Foster would only spend one season at the Baseball Ground, playing 30 Second Division games for the "Rams".

Foster joined Mansfield Town on a free transfer in summer 1983. He made his Mansfield debut on 27 August 1983 in a 4–0 defeat against Bristol City.[8] However, things would soon take a turn for the better, and Foster was named the club's Player of the Year as Ian Greaves's "Stags" finished 19th in the Fourth Division in 1983–84. He was then named team captain, and marshalled a defence that only conceded 38 goals in the league in 1984–85. In 1985–86, Foster helped the Field Mill outfit gain promotion in third place, and was recognised by his peers with a place on the PFA Team of the Year.

Mansfield then finished tenth in the Third Division in 1986–87, and Foster captained the side in their triumph at Wembley as Mansfield won the Football League Trophy after a penalty shoot-out victory over Bristol City. Town then finished just two places and two points above the relegation zone in 1987–88.

When Ian Greaves stepped down as Mansfield manager in February 1989, Foster was named player-manager. The "Stags" ended the 1988–89 season in 15th place in the Third Division. In his first full season in charge, 1989–90, Mansfield again posted a 15th-place finish. They suffered relegation after finishing bottom of the division in the 1990–91 campaign. Foster then took the Field Mill outfit straight back up after leading the club to the third and final automatic Fourth Division promotion place in 1991–92. However, he could not keep the club in the Third Division, as they went straight back down in 1992–93. In September 1993, following a poor start to the 1993–94 season, Foster was sacked as manager. Mansfield went on to finish in 12th place under new manager Andy King.

In October 1993, Foster was named player-manager at Telford United, where he stayed until June 1995. He led the "Bucks" to 17th and 19th-place finishes in the Conference in 1993–94 and 1994–95, as Telford finished just above the relegation zone.