Gary Coatsworth (born 7 October 1968) is an English former footballer who made 60 appearances in the Football League playing as a defender for Barnsley, Darlington, and Leicester City. He scored the goal that confirmed Darlington as winners of the 1989–90 Football Conference title, and played in Leicester City's 1994 Football League First Division play-off final victory over Derby County. Injury forced his retirement from professional football in 1995 at the age of 26, though he was able to continue for some years in non-league football.
Early and personal life
Gary Coatsworth was born on 7 October 1968 in Sunderland. After leaving school, he worked as a panel beater and played youth football locally. Two of his team-mates at Sunday league team Moorside, Lee Howey and Clive Mendonca, also went on to play professional football. In 1986, a trial with Football League Second Division club Barnsley proved successful, and he accepted the offer of a contract.
League football
Barnsley
Coatsworth made his Football League debut on 19 December 1987 at home to Millwall. His team were 2–0 up when his "sloppy pass-back" allowed the visitors' Teddy Sheringham to score, but Barnsley went on to win 4–1. He did not return to the first team until the last few matches of the season, when he made three appearances as a substitute and two starts, but he played only reserve-team football in 1988–89 and was released at the end of the season.
Darlington
Coatsworth signed for Darlington, newly relegated to the Conference but managed by the ambitious Brian Little. Initially unable to displace Les McJannet from the right-back position, Coatsworth finally made his debut in November 1989; he broke a collarbone and was out for six weeks. By the last match of the season, away to Welling United, Darlington needed a draw to ensure promotion back to the Football League, whatever result was achieved by rivals Barnet. They had injury problems in defence, so Coatsworth came into the side and, with four minutes left and the match still goalless, he met a free kick with a header that looped over the goalkeeper and secured a 1–0 win. At a 2003 event held to mark the club's leaving their long-time home, Feethams, the award for the club's most important goal went to Coatsworth, for "the winner at Welling that took Quakers back into the Football League".
He began the new Fourth Division season as a reserve, starting twice in October when both McJannet and David Corner were unavailable and a further twice in similar circumstances in December; he scored his first Football League goal on 1 December with a powerful header in a 3–1 defeat away to Stockport County. The last of his 12 league appearances was in the final match of the campaign, from which Darlington needed and achieved a win against Rochdale to secure a second successive title. Little left for Leicester City in May 1991 and, after finally becoming a regular in Darlington's starting eleven, Coatsworth followed him to the Second Division club in October for a £15,000 fee.
Leicester City
He made his first league start on 30 November in a 2–1 win away to Derby County, and performed well enough to keep his place for the next match, during which he was substituted with what was reported as a jarred knee. Minor surgery and specialist rehabilitation failed to fix the problem, and a second operationnearly three months after the original injuryconfirmed a ruptured cruciate ligament. It was another year before he returned to the first team, but his return marked the start of a winning run that included his first goals for Leicestera header and a "superb angled drive" with three minutes left to complete a 3–2 win away to his former club, Barnsleyand pushed the team into the play-off positions for a second year. Also for a second year, Coatsworth was unfit for the play-off final, having put a premature end to his season by playing on an already injured ankle.